Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Art of Guiding in Nature-Based Adventure Tourism – How Guides Can Create Client Value and Positive Experiences on Mountain Bike and Backcountry Ski Tours

Abstract This paper examines the ways in which guides contribute to creating value to clients. The context is nature-based adventure tourism in the specific mediums of mountain bike and backcountry ski tours in Utah and Idaho, USA. Qualitative interviews of clients and guides combined with participant observations are used to explore how guides interact with clients to increase their perceived value. Important findings are related to how guides use their knowledge about the activity, the area, safety management, as well as their organizational skills, to effectively and conveniently facilitate fun experiences with minimum risk exposure. The paper also documents guides’ contributions related to learning, relational aspects, entertainment techniques, and providing information about environmentally friendly behavior. An important theoretical contribution is the identification of how guides carefully balance thrilling and safe experiences and avoid experiences that cause anxiety. The study documents how guides can contribute to prevent negative incidents like conflicts within the client group, or possible accidents. The study indicates that there is a potential for increased contributions from guides especially related to choreographing experiences, interpreting nature, and learning of behaving environmentally.
The Role of Absorptive Capacity in Acquisition Knowledge Transfer

This article examines the role of absorptive capacity in acquisitions. We propose that absorptive capacity is an important determinant of acquisition knowledge transfer. Also, we identify antecedents of absorptive capacity in the specific context of acquisitions. These include contextual (national cultural differences), individual (employee withdrawal), and organizational design level (integration process communication, knowledge processing system) antecedents. We test our hypotheses on a sample of domestic and foreign acquisitions conducted by Finnish companies. This study contributes to the acquisition literature by elaborating on the role of absorptive capacity in acquisitions and to the general absorptive capacity literature by highlighting the importance of previously underexplored antecedents and outcomes of absorptive capacity.
Interactions and Interrogations: Negotiating and Performing Value for Money Reports

This paper explores the interactions, mediations and interrogations at play by the different actors involved in the final stages of the Value for Money reporting process. The VFM auditing arena is a complex setting with groups of actors carrying out various and at times, conflicting roles. Drawing on the dramaturgical writings of Goffman, the paper examines the ways in which these actors create and manage impressions of themselves. Differences in style, tone and rhetoric are analysed to understand the way in which key parties perform to their audiences. The paper shows how the cautionary style of VFM reports is mediated with the auditees and then elaborated and improvised by the Public Accounts Committee to construct drama into the final accountability process. It is argued that through the process of writing and presenting VFM reports, auditors, MPs and auditees perform roles to manage their identities and address expectations of their audiences.
Non-Hierarchical Clustering as a method to analyse an open-ended questionnaire on algebraic thinking

The problem of taking a data set and separating it into subgroups, where the members of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to members outside the subgroup, has been extensively studied in science and mathematics education research. Student responses to written questions and multiple-choice tests have been characterised and studied using several qualitative and/or quantitative analysis methods. However, there are inherent difficulties in the categorisation of student responses in the case of open-ended questionnaires. Very often, researcher bias means that the categories picked out tend to find the groups of students that the researcher is seeking out. In this paper, we discuss an example of application of a quantitative, non-hierarchical analysis method to interpret the answers given by 118 Tenth Grade students in Palermo (Italy), to six open-ended questions about algebraic thinking. We show that the use of non-hierarchical analysis allows us to interpret the reasoning of students solving different mathematical problems using Algebra, and to separate them into different groups, that can be recognised and characterised by common traits in their answers, without any prior knowledge on the part of the researcher of what form those groups would take (unbiased classification). Keywords: algebraic thinking; cluster analysis; mathematics education; quantitative analysis
A Comparison of Situational and Dispositional Predictors of Perceptions of Organizational Politics

Abstract The present study is an investigation of situational and dispositional characteristics that may predispose an employee to perceive his or her organization as political. Participants were 501 regular members, civilian members, and public servants of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Measures used for this research were the Formalization Scale (G. R. Oldham & J. R. Hackman, 1981), the Job Autonomy Scale (H. P. Sims, A. D. Szilagyi, & R. T. Keller, 1976), the Mach IV (A. Zook & G. J. Sipps, 1986), the Dominance subscale from the Manifest Needs Questionnaire (R. M. Steers & D. N. Braunstein, 1976), the Survey of Organizational Climate (J. C. Taylor & D. G. Bowers, 1972), the Perceptions of Organizational Politics Scale (G. R. Ferris & K. M. Kacmar, 1992), and the Work Locus of Control Scale (P. E. Spector, 1988). Results indicated that organizational climate, formalization, work locus of control (both internal and external measures), and Machiavellianism were significant predictors, accounting for 52% of the variance in participants' perceptions of organizational politics. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are outlined.
An international assessment of bachelor degree graduates' learning outcomes

This paper examines rationales, aspirations, assumptions and methods shaping an international assessment of learning outcomes: the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) feasibility study. The first part of the paper is analytical, exploring formative rationales, and shaping contexts and normative perspectives that frame the evaluation. The discussion then turns to review scientific and practical challenges involved in an assessment of the study, which will be tested on an international scale, and to sketch ideas and innovations being created in response. In conclusion, the paper offers reflective suggestions for positioning AHELO in global higher education, should the initiative prove feasible.
Heritage and tourism conflict within world heritage sites in China: a longitudinal study

Although the conflicting relationship between heritage and tourism has been debated at length in the Western academic literature, interest in the relationship is now becoming increasingly pronounced across the developing world with particular interest noted in China. To examine this phenomenon further, this study explores the cause and temporal variation of conflicts between heritage and tourism over the past decade in China. Content analysis was adopted as the most appropriate methodology for the study with data from online media reports serving as the primary data for the analysis of the occurrence of heritage and tourism conflicts in China. The findings highlight antiquated management structures, inappropriate tourism operations, and the ineffective use or deficiency of legislation as the primary causes of heritage and tourism conflicts in China with the categories of conflicts varying from clashes relating to resource use to clashes over values. The findings also shed light on the significant role played by the media in the resolution of conflicts. Finally, implications and limitations of the study's findings are discussed.
Effects of Apis mellifera Propolis on the Activities of Streptococcal Glucosyltransferases in Solution and Adsorbed onto Saliva–Coated Hydroxyapatite

Propolis, a resinous hive product collected by Apis mellifera bees, has been used for thousands of years in folk medicine. Ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) have been shown to inhibit the activity of a mixture of crude glucosyltransferase (Gtf) enzymes in solution. These enzymes synthesize glucans from sucrose, which are important for the formation of pathogenic dental plaque. In the present study, the effects of propolis from two different regions of Brazil on the activity of separate, purified Gtf enzymes in solution and on the surface of saliva–coated hydroxyapatite (sHA) beads were evaluated. The EEP from Minas Gerais (MG; Southeastern Brazil) and Rio Grande do Sul (RS; Southern Brazil) were tested for their ability to inhibit the enzymes GtfB (synthesis of insoluble glucan), GtfC (insoluble/soluble glucan) and GtfD (soluble glucan). The effects of propolis on Gtf from Streptococcus sanguis (soluble glucan synthesis) was also explored. The EEP from both regions effectively inhibited the activity of all Gtfs in solution (75–95%) and on the surface of sHA beads (45–95%) at concentrations between 0.75 and 3.0 mg of propolis/ml. However, the two samples of propolis showed different levels of inhibition on each of the enzymes tested. In general, EEP RS demonstrated a significantly higher inhibitory activity on GtfB and C activities (both solution and surface assays) than EEP MG at concentrations between 0.047 and 0.187 mg/ml (p<0.05). EEP MG, on the other hand, exhibited a greater inhibitory effect on the activities of surface GtfD (at 0.375, 0.75 and 1.5 mg/ml) and S. sanguis Gtf (at 1.5 and 3.0 mg/ml; p<0.05). These data indicate that EEP is a potent inhibitor of Gtf enzymes in solution and adsorbed on an experimental pellicle; however, its effect on Gtf activity is variable depending on the geographical origin of the propolis samples. There is a need to identify the active compounds of propolis.
Age Differences in Source Monitoring and Referent Discrimination

In contrast to previous studies which addressed separately memory for source and referent, the present experiment analyzes the effects of aging on memory for both, source and referent. The experiment simulated a conversation between two people exchanging descriptors of themselves and the other speaker (e.g., “I am helpful,” “you are capable”). Participants (N = 60) were divided into two age groups: younger (M = 23.47 years old, SD = 2.37), older (M = 70.30 years old, SD = 3.73). Recall, recognition, and accuracy in identifying source (e.g., “who said helpful? ”) and referent (e.g., “about whom was capable said? ”) were analyzed. Younger and older adults recalled and recognized equally well information read by the experimenter about herself, but only young adults showed better memory for the descriptors they read about themselves. Older adults were impaired in source monitoring, but not in reference discrimination. Normal referent discrimination in older adults is attributed to the fact that the referent forms part of the content of the episode, whereas who spoke it is part of its context, and older adults tend to show greater deficits in context than in content memory. These results are explained within the source and reality monitoring framework. A diferencia de estudios anteriores que han abordado por separado la identificación del origen y del referente de la información, este experimento analiza los efectos del envejecimiento sobre la discriminación conjunta de ambos, origen y referente. El experimento simula una conversación entre dos personas (investigadora y participante) que intercambian descriptores de sí mismas y de su interlocutora (e.g., “yo soy amable”, “tú eres capaz”). Se dividió a los participantes (N = 60) en dos grupos en función de la edad: joven (M = 23′47 años, DT = 2′37), mayor (M = 70′30 años, DT = 3′73). Se analizó recuerdo, reconocimiento y precisión en la identificación del origen (e.g., “¿quién dijo amable? ”) y del referente (e.g., “¿sobre quién se dijo que era capaz? ”) de los descriptores intercambiados en la conversación. Los resultados indicaron que jóvenes y mayores recordaron y reconocieron por igual la información que la experimentadora leyó sobre sí misma, pero sólo los jóvenes recordaron mejor los descriptores que ellos leyeron sobre sí mismos. Los mayores tuvieron dificultades en la identificación del origen, pero no del referente. El mantenimiento de la discriminación del referente se atribuye a que forma parte del contenido del episodio, cuyo recuerdo no está afectado por el envejecimiento. Por el contrario, el recuerdo del origen, como parte del contexto, sí se ve afectado. Los resultados se explican en el marco teórico del control del origen en la memoria.
Empirical development taxanomy of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in South Moravian Region

This paper represents a pilot study examining entrepreneurial behavior patterns within the area of development of micro, small and medium-sized market active enterprises in South Moravian Region from the perspective of strategic management. The main aim of this article is to classify the enterprises by the character of development activities into relatively homogeneous groups and identify those activities that contribute to considerable differences between the individual groups. Empirical evidence is based on a quantitative survey in terms of a random choice of respondents obtained by means of an e-mail questionnaire. The major analytic procedure applied within this research comprises methods of Cluster Analysis and validation technique based on chi-square and G-square nonparametric tests for testing differences (independence) of variables between the clusters. By means of Cluster Analysis three relatively homogenous SME groups were identified. The first cluster, called “global”, (approximately 6% of the respondents) prevails in most of the strategic development aspects of the researched enterprises. Global SMEs rely on development activities in the area of product innovations and risk diversification into other activities. In terms of changes in functional strategies this involves primarily the area of new technology and human resources development, and the ability to benefit from participation in networks of cooperating organizations. The second cluster, called “transition”, (approximately 59% of the respondents) is developed mainly by means of investments in business specific knowledge, and/or in technical skills of their employees. They are more conservative in the area of product innovations and risk diversification into other activities, which is then reflected in a lower level of investments in technologies and marketing. In comparison with global enterprises the major difference lies in a much lower number of activities in the area of seeking cooperation with other enterprises. The third cluster, called “local”, (approximately 35% of the respondents) chooses the way of product innovations whose supply is mostly composed of standardized products and services, especially in local or regional markets. Local enterprises, when compared to the former clusters, are typical for a lower level of business cooperation, and in fact for absence of utilizing the support programs.
Inflation, Unemployment and the NAIRU in Australia

In this paper we investigate the relationship between inflation and unemployment in Australia, post 1959. We focus on two features of the data: firstly, we find that forecasting models are surprisingly stable through our sample period. We also estimate the nonaccelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), focussing on both the level of the NAIRU, and the stability and precision of our estimates.
The global left behind child in China : 'unintended consequences' in capitalism

58 million children in China are estimated to be ‘left behind’ in rural areas. Their parents are migrant workers who come home once or twice a year or less, and most of the children are in the care of grandparents or other family members and some live alone. On closer inspection, however, the term ‘left behind children’ turns out to be a global label for children affected by parental migration. Worldwide such children are classified as ‘left behind’ and according to the classification have a similarly defined set of social and emotional problems. This working paper discusses the main ascertained problems of suchlabelled children for China and puts them into relation to a discourse about ‘left behind children’ worldwide. It critically investigates the label ‘left behind’ based on Hacking’s theory about classification as an interactive kind (1999), on Stephens’ theory about children that are labelled as ‘at and as risk’ in capitalism (1995), and on Bauman’s work about processes of wasting lives (2004). The paper critically analyses the label, which appears to have created one global type of ‘the typical left behind child’ who displays same social and emotional reactions regardless to his or her cultural context. According to previous findings about the cultural diversity of growing up and the importance of cultural context to emotional and social development of children, such a sameness of emotional and social reaction seems odd. This paper offers two possible answers for those similarities, based on a discussion on reliance on global expert language (especially psychology and medicine) and social relations in capitalism. These assumed reasons for global similarity of ‘the left behind child’ are exemplified by a discussion about two major reasons for parental migration: education and need for remittances. The paper ends with a brief presentation about how children themselves deal with the label in online sources and offers questions for further investigations. As ‘left behind children’ are usually dealt with nationally, the global character and indeed labelling of millions of children has so far not been tackled critically. The aim of this paper is thus to raise awareness of the global character and offers a critical angle of talking about ‘left behind children’ in China and elsewhere.
Factors affecting consumers' behavioural intention to adopt broadband in Pakistan

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine various attitudinal, normative and control factors affecting the adoption of broadband internet by consumers in a developing country by focusing on Pakistan.Design/methodology/approach – A survey approach was employed to achieve the overall aim of this study. The empirical data concerning the attitudinal, normative and control variables were collected using a questionnaire. A regression analysis was performed to test the role of various variables on consumers' behavioural intentions (BIs) to adopt broadband internet in Pakistan.Findings – The findings of the study suggest that primary influence, facilitating conditions, resources, cost, perceived knowledge and perceived ease of use were all significant factors for explaining consumers' BIs to adopt broadband.Originality/value – The primary value of this paper lies in extending the current understanding of broadband adoption, by providing insights from a developing country perspective. This has been achieved by.
Understanding Consumers’ Behaviour: Can Perceived Risk Theory Help?

Aims to highlight the use of Perceived Risk Theory in understanding and influencing consumers′ behaviour. Recent evidence from numerous food scares and product recalls have demonstrated the power of perceived risk on consumption patterns. Argues that perceived risk is so important to consumers′ thinking that all managers should at least be aware of its existence. Describes how uncertainty and risk affect the consumer decision‐making process and gives some indications as to how the theory might be used by organizations better to manage their communications mix.
Understanding Performance Differences of FPGAs and GPUs

This paper aims to better understand the performance differences between FPGAs and GPUs. We intentionally begin with a widely used GPU-friendly benchmark suite, Rodinia, and port 15 of the kernels onto FPGAs using HLS C. Then we propose an analytical model to compare their performance. We find that for 6 out of the 15 ported kernels, today's FPGAs can provide comparable performance or even achieve better performance than the GPU, while consuming an average of 28% of the GPU power. Besides lower clock frequency, FPGAs usually achieve a higher number of operations per cycle in each customized deep pipeline, but lower effective parallel factor due to the far lower off-chip memory bandwidth. With 4x more memory bandwidth, 8 out of the 15 FPGA kernels are projected to achieve at least half of the GPU kernel performance.
Application of Non Standard Finite Difference Method on Logistic Differential Equation and Comparison with Standard Difference methods

One of the most interesting themes of the mathematical ecology is the description of population biology and human epidemic models, which are almost nonlinear dynamic equations. In this communication we described the population biology by the logistic differential equation and applied an unconditionally stable nonstandard finite difference method through the methodology of Mickens. It has been proved that the Mickens scheme is dynamically consistent with the original differential equation regardless of the step sizes used in numerical simulations, in comparison with the standard finite difference methods.
The Battle for China's Top Nine Leadership Posts

There is no better vantage point for understanding Chinese leadership politics than to analyze the nine individuals who make up the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). Despite the highly diverse and divergent assessments of elite politics which populate the overseas China-watching communities, the last decade has witnessed a surprisingly strong consensus emerge on the pivotal importance of the PSC. The top Chinese leader, General Secretary of the Party and President Hu Jintao, is now understood to be no more than the ‘‘first among equals’’ in this supreme decisionmaking body. Within the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a new Chinese term, jiuchangwei, was recently created to refer exclusively to these nine political heavyweights. In line with this development, the Chinese authorities have placed increasing emphasis on ‘‘collective leadership,’’ which the 2007 Party Congress Communiqué defines as ‘‘a system with division of responsibilities among individual leaders in an effort to prevent arbitrary decision-making by a single top leader. ’’ Given that China is set to undergo a major turnover in leadership at the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the fall of 2012, it is more important than ever to grasp the changes likely to occur to the PSC. It is expected that seven out of the committee’s nine current members, including Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, will step down as a result of retirement age rules. After 2012, the principal figures responsible for the country’s political and ideological affairs, economic and financial administration, foreign policy, public security, and military operations will be mostly
Managerial and Stockholder Welfare Models of Firm Expenditures

T HIS study investigates within a comrnon analytical framework the determinants of firm expenditures o;n capital investment, research and development and dividends. Its two basic objectives relative to past work are: first, to probe more deeply into the forces determining these outlays by taking into account the interdependencies among them,' and second, to provide a framework for evaluating alternative assumptions regarding firm motivation. A firm maximizing stockholder objectives will exhibit different behavior in its expenditure decisions from one pursuing managerial goals. Consequently, two main variants of a model of firm expenditures, based on these rival concepts of motivation, are developed and tested.