Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CSFs in Competitive Tendering and Negotiation Model for BOT Projects

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) model of project development is implemented through the award of a concession to a private sector consortium for the financing, building, and operating of infrastructure projects. Project promoters must, however, realize that the process of winning a major BOT contract in a competitive tender is full of uncertainties and risks. This paper shows that the financial and technical strength of the consortium is regarded as the most important critical success factor in a BOT tender. It also presents the competitive tendering and negotiation model for BOT promoters involved in tendering BOT projects. BOT promoters must give special and continued attention to the model in order to develop a superior proposal that will increase their chances of securing a profitable BOT contract.
An Extensible Secure OS Architecture for Embedded Systems

: Some recent researches have shown that using a monitoring service outside the target system above hy-pervisors is an e ﬃ cient way to protect the target system. The hypervisors isolate the monitoring service based on MMU-methods to improve security. However, The MMU-method may cause heavy overhead when there is no hardware support, which makes this method not viable for embedded processors that are rarely equipped with hardware virtualization extensions. In addition, the vulnerabilities that exist in hypervisors may compromise the isolation. In this paper, we propose a secure OS architecture that ﬁts embedded systems without the dependency of a hypervisor. It provides a robust isolation between the monitoring service and the guest OS based on local memory, a hardware feature. In order to generalize this architecture, we adopt a secure pager to extend the local memory space (physically small) virtually by a swap mechanism with integrity checking of the monitoring service. The secure pager can also update the monitoring service to extend monitoring functions without disturbing the running of the guest OS. Comprehensive evaluations are made in our framework with one instance of embedded Linux as the guest OS and an isolated monitoring service running with the secure pager. The results demonstrate functions of the secure pager and inﬂuence of the secure pager on Linux in our system. On processors with a proper architecture, we can build an extensible secure OS architecture with reasonable resource consumption, without the issue of heavy overhead to the guest OS.
Immune defence mechanisms of triatomines against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites

Abstract Triatomines are vectors that transmit the protozoan haemoflagellate Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. The aim of the current review is to provide a synthesis of the immune mechanisms of triatomines against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites to provide clues for areas of further research including biological control. Regarding bacteria, the triatomine immune response includes antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as defensins, lysozymes, attacins and cecropins, whose sites of synthesis are principally the fat body and haemocytes. These peptides are used against pathogenic bacteria (especially during ecdysis and feeding), and also attack symbiotic bacteria. In relation to viruses, Triatoma virus is the only one known to attack and kill triatomines. Although the immune response to this virus is unknown, we hypothesize that haemocytes, phenoloxidase (PO) and nitric oxide (NO) could be activated. Different fungal species have been described in a few triatomines and some immune components against these pathogens are PO and proPO. In relation to parasites, triatomines respond with AMPs, including PO, NO and lectin. In the case of T. cruzi this may be effective, but Trypanosoma rangeli seems to evade and suppress PO response. Although it is clear that three parasite-killing processes are used by triatomines – phagocytosis, nodule formation and encapsulation – the precise immune mechanisms of triatomines against invading agents, including trypanosomes, are as yet unknown. The signalling processes used in triatomine immune response are IMD, Toll and Jak-STAT. Based on the information compiled, we propose some lines of research that include strategic approaches of biological control.
How HR professionals drive TQM: a case study in an Indian organization

Purpose – The main objectives of the present research were to: look at the strategic role‐played by the HR professionals at various stages of TQM implementation; identify precisely how do they operate as internal consultants; study the interface between HRD and other departments to support TQM; and uncover various human resources challenges associated with TQM implementation in the sample organization.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected both from the primary and secondary sources. The secondary data had been retrieved from the sources like the files, records, and documents, Annual Reports of the Company. Nevertheless, the analysis made is primarily based upon findings of the structured interview held with the senior executives of the HRD and Personnel Department, TQM‐ISO Cell, and other Supporting Departments, and trade unionist leaders.Findings – The study finds out that the HR professionals helped out the top management in aligning HR and quality policies; formulating quality friendly poli.
Candidate Recruitment, Party Organisation and the Communist Successor Parties: The Cases of the

THE DEMOCRATISATION OF THE COUNTRIES of post-communist Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has offered an excellent opportunity for students of party politics to test some long-held propositions on the development of party organisations. Indeed, the systematic investigation of the organisational development of political parties has already begun to take place-there have been a number of excellent individual case studies and a few works which have compared across several countries in East Central Europe.1 However, one key element of party development has yet to be investigated comparatively in post-communist politics-the relationship between candidate recruitment and organisational development. An important function performed by political parties is to act as channels for leadership recruitment.2 Previous studies have argued that the candidate recruitment behaviour of parties provides valuable insight into what kinds of parties are emerging in post-communist politics.3 Nonetheless, little work has been done on the effects of candidate recruitment practices and the consequences these behaviours have on the development of post-communist political parties. For instance, parties which select candidates who have considerable personal political appeal may improve the vote-getting ability of the party, but may also weaken the party's ideological and programmatic unity by introducing individuals into the party who are less likely to be ideologically reliable. In this article I investigate the consequences of the candidate recruitment behaviour for three communist successor parties, or those parties which were formerly the governing party in the communist regime and which inherited the preponderance of the former ruling parties' resources and personnel.4 Specifically, I examine: (1) the candidate recruitment behaviour of the Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Part-MSzP), the Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party (Lietuvos Demockratines Darbo Partijos-LDDP), and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiiskoi Federatsii-KPRF); and (2) the voting behaviour of deputies once elected. These cases were selected for three reasons. First, unlike 'new parties', the communist successor parties are not merely clubs of notables. They are, by any definition, 'real' political parties. Second, the MSzP, the LDDP and the KPRF
China's Pattern of Trade and Growth after WTO Accession : Lessons for Other Developing Countries

Purpose - World Trade Organization (WTO) accession marked a new beginning for China's economic, legal and institutional reforms and rapid integration with the rest of the world. The purpose of this paper is to review China's post-WTO transition experience, synthesize and update studies on China's pattern of trade and structural transformation, and provide both positive and negative lessons for other developing countries. Design/methodology/approach - The paper has broadly reviewed the latest policy changes after China's WTO accession, and literatures on China's trade and economic development issues in order to understand the Chinese success and its speciality, and draw some useful lessons for both China's decision-makers and other developing countries. Findings - There are two main findings: first, market liberalization alone is not sufficient, and economic system reform and the liberalization are closely related and complement and promote each other. Second, experimentations via special economic zones (SEZs) and opening to foreign direct investment (FDI), which facilitated and supported cluster development and learning-by-doing, are needed for industrial upgrading and export competitiveness. Originality/value - The paper demonstrates the wisdom of China's simultaneous pursuit of domestic economic system reform, and opening to the international market. However, China has also paid a high social and environmental cost for its rapid growth. It is important for developing countries to have an exclusive, balanced and sustainable strategy in the future development.
ON THE RELATIVE PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONAL AND CELLULAR LAYOUTS‐ AN ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL‐BASED COMPARATIVE STUDIES LITERATURE

Paralleling the increased interest in cellular manufacturing in recent years, a large number of studies have emerged that focus on the relative performance of cell systems and the functionally organized systems they replace. This paper is an analysis of studies that use model‐based, controlled experimentation to seek answers to the questions of if, when, and why cellular layouts outperform their functional counterparts. Twenty‐four model‐based studies are analyzed with respect to their definitions of cellular versus functional layouts, the experimental factors that have been investigated, the results concerning relative performance, and the findings' relevance to layout choice. We conclude that although the comparative studies have been very valuable in their efforts at identifying the factors that embody the essence of cells and shape performance improvements, most of the basic findings are known from past research. Furthermore, the studies' findings cannot assist practitioners in making specific choices between existing layouts and alternative cell systems. However, the totality of the findings reinforce our knowledge of how work systems in general can be designed and organized to reduce throughput time, and can also be used to identify environments and conditions for which conversions to cells may have more or less potential.
The Role of Psychological Traits for the Gender Gap in Full-Time Employment and Wages: Evidence from Germany

This paper shows that differences in various non-cognitive traits, specifically the "big five", positive and negative reciprocity, locus of control and risk aversion, contribute to gender inequalities in wages and employment. Using the 2004 and 2005 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel, evidence from regression and decomposition techniques suggests that gender differences in psychological traits are more important for inequalities in wages than in employment. Differences in the "big five", in particular in agreeableness, conscientiousness and neurocitism matter for both wages and employment. For the latter, the results also show a large effect of differencesin external locus of control.
OPEC Strategies and Oil Rent in a Climate Conscious World

In the UNFCCC process, energy exporting countries (primarily OPEC) claim compensationfor losses in expected oil rent due to CO2 mitigation measures. However, there are mechanisms that may raise rather than lower the oil rent. If a carbon price is implemented universally, the cost of using oil substitutes such as unconventional oil or synthetic diesel from coal or natural gas will increase even more than the cost of using conventional oil. Here, a dynamic model that takes into account OPEC’s dominant position in the world’s liquid fuel market is developed in order to analyze these mechanisms. In this model, OPEC is assumed to act as strategic leader while all other liquid fuel producers act as price-takers. We find that the net present value of OPEC’s conventional oil rent increases by about 5% due to the carbon prices needed to reach stringent CO2 emission targets. For less ambitious targets, the increase in oil rent could be even higher. An extensive sensitivity analysis is also performed, which corroborates the main result.
The Mental Health Act 1983 Section 5(2): Clinical application and predictors of outcome

This study examined trends and influences of variables in the 100 most recent applications of Section 5(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 in a major teaching hospital in England. Case notes, section-forms, log-books and computerised records were scrutinised. Sixty-four per cent of the cases were converted to Section 2(28%) or Section 3(36%), the remainder were rescinded or lapsed. No demographic, illness characteristic or grade of doctor significantly effected conversion or lapse rate of Section 5(2). The clinical implications of a high rate of non-conversion of Section 5(2) is clear. Non-psychotic patients may be less likely to be regarded for further Sections when detained under Section 5(4) before detention under Section 5(2), yet no single factor determines the outcome of emergency detention.
Introducing children to rugby: elite coaches’ perspectives on positive player development

The overall aim of the study was to identify what elite coaches believed were the key components for organised rugby union participation during childhood (7–11 years old). Nine elite male rugby union coaches participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis identified the importance of an age-appropriate competitive games pathway, where more specialised skills were built sequentially on top of the foundations of basic evasion, handling and tackling skills. The findings were generally supportive of the principles of the developmental model of sports participation (DMSP). In particular, elite coaches identified that an emphasis on less-structured games (deliberate play) and early diversification (sampling) were beneficial for player development in the mini rugby years (under 12). However, contrary to a strict interpretation of the DMSP, the coaches also identified that appropriate adult involvement and organised competition could be beneficial to development in these sampling years.
What's the deal? An exploration of career management behaviour in Iceland

This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study that investigated the nature of the career deal in Iceland, chosen as a research setting because it potentially offers a very different career environment to that which exists in the UK and US, where most previous research examining contemporary careers has been conducted. The findings show that certain dimensions of the contemporary career deal shown to exist in the UK are less apparent in the Icelandic context. While a close reciprocal relationship between career self-management behaviour and organizational career management help does exist, other potential aspects of the deal are absent. In Iceland, individuals who get more help with managing their careers are more committed to their employer but this commitment does not imply that they will do more to manage their own careers with their current employer as result. In addition, no links were found between career management activities and job performance. In Iceland individuals do not engage in career self-management behaviour to any great extent and when they do, their behaviour does not seem to have the same kind of focus or meaning that it has been shown to have in the context of the contemporary career deal that exists in the UK.
Analysis of Semi-Ellipsoid Scattering Channel Models for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication Environments

In this paper, we present a three-dimensional (3D) geometric channel model for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication environments. We adopt a two-cylinder model to describe moving vehicles as well as semi-ellipsoid model to depict stationary roadside scenarios, where the received signal is constructed as a sum of the line-of-sight (LoS), single-, and double-bounced rays. Accordingly, the proposed channel model is sufficient for depicting a variety of V2V scenarios, such as macro-, micro-, and picocells. From the reference model, we analyze the proposed channel statistics such as space correlation functions (CFs) and frequency CFs are studied for different channel parameters. Additionally, we perform the Doppler frequency due to the relative motion between the mobile transmitter (MT) and mobile receiver (MR). The results demonstrate that the proposed model can fit those of the previous channel models and the measurement results for V2V scenarios very well, which validate the accuracy of the proposed 3D channel model.
Correlation between Soil-Transmitted Helminths Infection and Serum Iron Level among Primary School Children in Medan

BACKGROUND: The latest estimates indicate that more than 2 billion people worldwide are infected by Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). The burden of STH infection is mainly attributed to the chronic effect on health and quality of life of those infected. It is also contributed to micronutrient deficiencies such as iron-deficiency anaemia. The prevalence of worm infection in Public Primary School students in Medan was quite high (40.3%), and 33.3% was anaemic in the latest study. AIM: To determine the correlation between STH infection with serum iron (SI) level on primary school children, as well as to determine the prevalence of SI level and worm infection, and the type of worm that infects the most of them. METHODS: This study was conducted in the cross-sectional method. Consecutive sampling technique was used and a total of 132 students age 8-12 years old were included. The study took places in Public Primary School 060925 Amplas, Medan and 101747 Hamparan Perak, Deli Serdang throughout May-October 2016. Fisher Exact test was used to analyse the correlation between STH infection and SI level. RESULTS: The prevalence of STH infection was 7.6%, and low SI was 11.4%. CONCLUSION: There was no significant correlation between STH infection and SI level (P = 0.317). The prevalence of low SI level was not significantly dependent on STH infection (RP = 1.877, 95% CI = 0.481-7.181).
Tourists' Shopping Orientations for Handcrafts

Abstract This study was designed to explore key factors that influence tourists' shopping orientations for handcrafts. Specifically, the effects of shopping value, attitude toward shopping experiences, subjective norm on tourists' intention to shop/purchase at tourism retail stores, and demographical influence on tourists' shopping orientations were investigated. Mail survey method was employed for data collection. MANOVA, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regressions were used in data analyses. Results suggested significant impact of utilitarian value and shopping companions' preference on tourists' attitudes toward shopping experiences, which in turn, affected their shop/purchase intentions. Findings also indicated that demographical factors such as sex, age, education, and income were associated with tourists' shopping orientations. Based on empirical findings, managerial implications for the souvenir and tourism retail industries were discussed.
Determinants of the Choice of Accounting for Investments in Associated Companies

The Australian standard on investments in associated companies first took effect in 1984. It prohibited the use of equity accounting in the primary financial statements but required the provision of supplementary equity accounting disclosures. Prior to this, firms voluntarily adopted either of the alternative cost and equity methods in their primary financial statements. This paper contributes to the positive accounting literature by analyzing the accounting policy choice of listed Australian companies in the first year in which the standard took effect. Noncompliance with the standard took the form of either adopting the equity method in the primary financial statements or using the cost method without supplementary disclosures. We focus on the choice of noncompliance procedures. The results support the contractual efficiency but not the alternative opportunistic behavior perspective on accounting method choice. They indicate that the choice is associated with the proportion of listed associates, the materiality of investments in associates, and the existence of guarantees but not with the degree of ownership nor the number of associates. Resume. La premiere norme australienne au sujet des participations dans des societes apparentees remonte a 1984. Cette norme proscrit le recours a la methode de la comptabilisation a la valeur de consolidation dans les etats financiers de base, tout en exigeant la presentation d'information complementaire preparee selon cette methode. Auparavant, la comptabilisation des participations a la valeur d'acquisition ou a la valeur de consolidation etait laissee a la discretion des entreprises dans leurs etats financiers de base. Les auteurs ajoutent ici aux ecrits portant sur la theorie comptable positive en analysant le choix des methodes comptables effectue dans les societes australiennes dont les valeurs sont cotees, au cours de la premiere annee d'existence de la norme. Le non-respect de la norme se manifeste tantot par l'adoption de la methode de la comptabilisation a la valeur de consolidation dans les etats financiers de et base tantot par celle de la methode de comptabilisation a la valeur d'acquisition sans information complementaire. Les auteurs s'interessent particulierement au choix des avenues de non-conformite. Les resultats obtenus confirment l'efficience du contrat mais non l'autre perspective, celle du comportement opportuniste en ce qui a trait au choix de la methode comptable. Ils revelent que le choix de la methode est lie a la proportion de societes apparentees dont les valeurs sont cotees, a l'importance des participations dans les societes apparentees et a l'existence de garanties, mais qu'il n'est pas lie aux pourcentages de participation ou au nombre des societes apparentees.
Agile design of low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles

The capital cost of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is still prohibitive for wide spread mass adoption. To address this, the ecoSUB programme is developing small low-cost reusable AUVs designed to minimize platform cost while acquiring measurements of essential physical and biogeochemistry ocean variables for scientific or industrial applications. This paper describes: the agile design methodology adopted for the ecoSUBμ5 development, presents results from initial trials and reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of utilising iterative development when compared to a more conventional waterfall design process.