Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A critical review of performance measurement in construction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically review the literature of performance measurement both in general and in the construction industry in particular. By doing so, it seeks to provide valuable insights into how to construct a comprehensive performance measurement model for the construction industry.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review on performance measurement, the paper presents a critical review of the development of performance measurement, with a special focus on the construction sector. The strengths and weaknesses of most previous measurement frameworks and techniques are investigated. Performance information that each can generate is analyzed in the context of the construction industry.Findings – The research findings showed that performance measurement studies in construction can be divided into three levels: project, organizational, and stakeholder levels. In addition, the major frameworks of performance measurement in construction were found to.
Correlation between Extravascular Lung Water and Oxygenation in ALI/ARDS Patients in Septic Shock: Possible Role in the Development of Atelectasis?

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between PaO2/FiO2 ratio and extravascular lung water in septic shock-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome in a prospective observational clinical trial. Twenty-three patients suffering from sepsis induced acute respiratory distress syndrome were recruited. All patients were ventilated in pressure control/support mode. Haemodynamic parameters were determined by arterial thermodilution (PiCCO) eight hourly for 72 hours. At the same time blood gas analyses were done and respiratory parameters were also recorded. Data are presented as mean±SD. For statistical analysis Pearson's correlation test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used respectively. Significant negative correlation was found between extravascular lung water and PaO2/FiO2 (r= −0.355, P<0.001), and significant positive correlation was shown between extravascular lung water and PEEP (r=0.557, P<0.001). A post-hoc analysis was performed when “low” PEEP: <10 cmH2O and “high” PEEP: (10 cmH2O PEEP was applied, and neither the oxygenation, nor the driving pressure or the PaCO2 differed significantly, but the extravascular lung water showed significant difference when “high” or “low” PEEP was applied (13±5 vs 9±2 ml/kg respectively, P=0.001). This study found significant negative correlation between extravascular lung water and PaO2/FiO2. The mechanism by which extravascular lung water affects oxygenation is unknown but the significant positive correlation between PEEP and extravascular lung water shown in this trial suggests that the latter may have a role in the development of alveolar atelectasis.
The Return of Keynesianism in Australia: The Rudd Government and the Lessons of Recessions Past

The global recession of 2008–09 brought Keynesian countercyclical budgeting back into vogue – conveniently for governments of the Left such as the incoming Rudd Labor government in Australia. This paper reviews some of the key moments of 20th century macroeconomic policy to assess the reasons and rationale for this revival and concludes that the lessons of those experiences are not always what they seem to be. The paper argues that: (1) Keynesianism is often confused with a narrow focus on fiscal, rather than monetary, policy and an emphasis on full employment at any cost; (2) the return of Keynesianism in Australia has only been made possible by an unusual, if not unprecedented, convergence of conducive conditions; (3) the ‘automatic stabilisers’ significantly reduce the necessity for discretionary fiscal policy; and (4) policy achievements must be seen in the light of Australia's external economy.
Activation of the anti-cancer agent upamostat by the mARC enzyme system

Abstract 1. Upamostat (Mesupron®) is a new small molecule serine protease inhibitor. The drug candidate was developed to inhibit the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system, which plays a major role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Upamostat is currently in clinical development as an anti-metastatic and non-cytotoxic agent against pancreatic and breast cancer. 2. Upamostat is the orally available amidoxime- (i.e. hydroxyamidine-) prodrug of the pharmacologically active form, WX-UK1. In this study, the reductive enzymatic activation of upamostat to its corresponding amidine WX-UK1 was analyzed. 3. The recently discovered molybdenum enzyme “mitochondrial Amidoxime Reducing Component” (mARC) catalyses together with its electron transport proteins cytochrome b5 and NADH cytochrome b5 reductase the reduction of N-hydroxylated prodrugs. In vitro biotransformation assays with porcine subcellular fractions and the reconstituted human enzymes demonstrate an mARC-dependent N-reduction of upamostat.
Quality of Education offered to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the era of Free Primary Education (FPE) in Rural Kenya: Perspectives of Educationists, Teachers and Parents

The education of children with special educational needs (SEN) has been a focus of international inquiry. There is a strong advocacy for the inclusion of children with SEN in regular schools although this remains contentious and challenging. Despite an emphasis by the Kenyan government that children with SEN should be included in regular schooling, there has not been substantial investigation especially in rural settings on how these children can receive quality education. This thesis seeks to address this issue by exploring the perspectives of educationists, teachers and parents on the quality of education offered to children with SEN in the era of free primary education in a rural setting. A qualitative interpretive approach to research was used to generate data through interviews with government officials, teachers and parents, focus group discussions with regular teachers and observations in three schools spread over three rural districts. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing the data. A critical theory approach focussing on social justice and rights of children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was used as a lens. The findings revealed that despite policy articulation, children with SEN occupied the role of “others” in schools and the society and were described in negative terms. Participants, especially regular staff and parents were emphatic that children with SEN required “experts” and “special” resources both of which were not available in regular schools. The participants felt that the available curriculum was relevant for “normal” children and therefore could not meet the educational needs of children with SEN. The broad conclusion drawn from this study is that there is need to distinctly define the terms inclusive education, special education and mainstream education in a way that the core stakeholders can understand, interpret and implement within their contexts. Designing a means of progress monitoring other than national examinations may help motivate both regular teachers and parents to see the need to have children with SEN in regular schools. There is need for further investigation on how regular teachers can be persuaded from existing beliefs that they are not qualified to teach children with SEN and how to convince parents that their children are worthy of an education.
Acute Antibody‐Mediated Rejection in Living ABO‐Incompatible Kidney Transplantation: Long‐Term Impact and Risk Factors

The impact of acute antibody‐mediated rejection (AAMR) on the long‐term outcome on ABO‐incompatible (ABOI) kidney transplantation is not well understood. We retrospectively analyzed the long‐term impact of AAMR and risk factors for AAMR in 57 consecutive recipients performed between 1999 and 2004. Nineteen patients (33%) who developed AAMR within 3 months posttransplantation constituted of the AMR group. The graft survival rate was significantly lower in the AMR group (AMR vs. non‐AMR, respectively; 5 years: 84% vs. 95%; 8 years: 45% vs. 95%; p = 0.009). The prevalence of transplant glomerulopathy at 1 year posttransplantation was significantly higher in the AMR group (AMR 64% vs. non‐AMR 3%, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that anti‐blood group IgG antibody titers of 1:32 at the time of transplantation (OR, 9.52; p = 0.041) and donor‐specific anti‐HLA antibodies (DSHA) detected by Luminex single bead method (OR, 5.68; p = 0.015) were independent risk factors for AAMR regardless of baseline anti‐blood group IgG antibody titers. Our results indicate that AAMR has a heavy impact on the long‐term outcome and preoperative DSHA appears to have a more significant association with poor graft outcomes than anti‐blood group antibodies, even in ABOI kidney transplantation.
The impact of personal and organisational variables on the leadership styles of managers

While several studies have examined only one dimension of the leadership styles of managers this study has investigated several variables for their possible individual and joint impact on the managerial practices of organisational leaders. The rationale for the study was to obtain a more complete and accurate picture of the variables related to leadership practice. Collecting data from more than 400 managers from UK industries, it finds that age is directly related to the consultative, participative and delegative leadership styles of managers. The older a manager, ceteris paribus, the more consultative, participative and delegative leadership processes s/he engages in, preferring more of collective decisions in contrast with younger managers who appear happy to take decisions that may not necessarily get the approval of the majority of workers. It was interesting to find that hierarchy is directly related to consultative and participative leadership style, but not to directive or delegative leadership. While gender alone does not appear to affect the result in any significant and systematic way, a number of multiple variables, including gender and hierarchy, for example, proved to be useful in explaining the complex styles of managers.
New Firm Formation and Industry Clusters: A Case of the Drugs Industry in the U.S

The importance of new firms in regional growth led many scholars to probe the determinants of new firm formation. A close examination of cluster theory predicts that industry clusters can enhance new firm births as well as the productivity of existing firms. Linkages among firms and related institutions, which are the key characteritics of the cluster phenomenon, can serve as an important determinant of new firm formation. The network aspect of clusters helps nascent entrepreneurs find resources and information easier and faster than in an isolated environment. In addition, nascent entrepreneurs in industry clusters often have rich experience in existing local firms, which becomes important prior knowledge to explore new market opportunities. This study examines the effects of clusters on new firm formation. We found that the cluster based on knowledge sharing (i.e., knowledge–labor cluster) significantly affects the new firm formation process, whereas the cluster based on market transactions (i.e., value-chain cluster) does not seem to play a role in new firm formation.
Outcome of Temporary Silicone Oil Tamponade in Complex Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment

Purpose To evaluate the anatomic and visual outcomes and complications of temporary silicone oil (SO) retinal tamponade in patients with complex rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RD). Methods The retrospective study included 100 eyes of 93 consecutive patients. Indications for the use of SO were proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) (30 eyes), difficult RD (30 eyes), giant retinal tears (17 eyes), RD after penetrating trauma (14 eyes), and macular holes in highly myopic eyes (9 eyes). Vitrectomy surgery was performed with 5000-centistoke SO as the retinal tamponade. All eyes underwent prophylactic 360° retinopexy at the time of the retinal reattachment operation. The mean duration of SO tamponade was 26.4 weeks, with a mean follow-up of 67.5 weeks after removal of SO. Results In 6 of 100 eyes (6%), the retina redetached after removal of SO. Including the successfully reoperated eyes, the final anatomic success rate was 96%. Other complications were cataract (61%), increased intraocular pressure (13%), hypotony (4%), keratopathy (4%), intravitreal hemorrhage (1%), and suprachoroidal hemorrhage (1%). Corespondence analysis demonstrated that redetatchment and hypotony were associated with PVR and trauma. Overall, good visual outcome (20/200 or better) was achieved in 51% of the whole study group, and in 70.6% of eyes with giant tears, 62.1% of eyes with difficult RD, 44.8% of eyes with PVR, 33.3% of eyes with macular holes, and 28.6% of eyes with trauma (p=0.0382). Logistic regression analysis identified initial visual acuity of 20/200 or better as a factor associated with good visual outcome and occurrence of retinal redetachment/hypotony and old age (≥50 years) as factors negatively associated with good visual outcome. Conclusions The low redetachment rate might be due to prophylactic 360° retinopexy. Giant tears had the best visual outcome. Redetachment/hypotony had a negative impact on achievement of good visual outcome and were associated with PVR and trauma.
Dynamics of Manufacturing Competitiveness in South Asia: Analysis Through Export Data

The outstanding export performance of South Asian countries (India in particular) over the 1990s has prompted some observers to see in it the roots of an export-led growth similar to that of its Southeast Asian neighbors. We employ export unit values (UVs) cum real competitiveness analysis to the manufacturing sector of four South Asian countries (with particular focus on India), in order to investigate the determinants of this apparent success. Shifts toward higher UVs relative to technology leaders serve as the most appropriate indication of underlying structural changes, and such change is manifested in technology closing-up processes among countries. According to our indices, the export competitiveness of South Asian countries (except Pakistan) seems to have slightly improved relative to its Southeast Asian comparators, but not relative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. South Asian export growth has been mainly driven by relative quantity expansion through a reduction in relative costs rather than relative quality improvement. Such expansion has been concentrated in natural-resource-intensive, standard technology-intensive (in India), and labor-intensive sectors (in Bangladesh). On the other hand, the more technology-intensive sectors in India still suffer from a significant gap relative to Thailand, which has not been closing up in the last decade. These findings suggest some notes of caution in interpreting the recent good export performance of South Asian economies.
Foreign Currency Exposure of Multinational Firms: Accounting Measures and Market Valuation*

The accounting method in SFAS No. 8 for restatement of a foreign operation's financial statements denominated in a foreign currency into the parent's currency equivalents for inclusion in the parent company's financial statements was several criticized by market participants and managers. Its replacements, SFAS No. 52, represented an attempt to improve on the methods of SFAS No. 8. This study examines two questions: Did SFAS No. 8 produce relevant information for valuing US multinational firms, and are the results reported under SFAS No. 52 more valuation-relevant than those reported under SFAS No. 8? Valuation relevance is studied because the FASB has stated that relevance is an important criterion for choosing among alternative accounting methods. Considered collectively, the results suggest that the rules in SFAS No. 8 produced a poor accounting measure for valuing US multinational firms, and that the introduction of SFAS No. 52 has resulted in a significant improvement in the valuation relevance of the accounting numbers associated with the restatement of a foreign operation's financial statements. However, this improvement applies only to the subset of firms that designated a foreign currency as their functional currency (i.e., switched to the current-rate method) and not to firms that designated the dollar as their functional currency (i.e., as if they still reported under SFAS No. 8).
Investigating the value and efficiency of intellectual capital

Purpose – This paper seeks to provide an empirical view of the present state of intellectual capital (IC) in Finnish companies. It also examines the relationship between the concepts value of IC and efficiency of IC.Design/methodology/approach – Calculated Intangible Value (CIV), which measures the monetary value of IC, and Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM), which describes how a company's IC adds value to the company, were applied to approximately 20,000 companies per year during the period 2001‐2003 and studied using correlation analysis.Findings – Value and efficiency of IC are described in 11 industries in both SMEs and large companies. The theoretically unclear relationship between the value and efficiency of IC remains vague even after the empirical analysis. Calculating the value of IC in relative terms by dividing the value of a company's IC by the value of its tangible assets was found to be illustrative in comparing different industries.Research limitations/implications – The measure.
Bid Resistance by Takeover Targets: Managerial Bargaining or Bad Faith?

This paper examines management’s motives for rejecting takeover bids and the associated shareholder wealth effects. We develop measures of initial bid quality and find a significant negative correlation between the quality of a bid and rejection. The likelihood of higher follow-on offers decreases with bid quality and is greater when targets have classified boards and chief executive officers (CEOs) with significant personal wealth tied to the transaction. Target CEOs who fail to close high-quality offers experience a significant rate of forced turnover. Overall, the results support a price improvement motive for contested bids.
Host Range Specificity of Flaviviruses: Correlation with In Vitro Replication

Abstract Vector-borne flaviviruses have been traditionally grouped into either mosquito-borne or tick-borne group. However, this vector range specificity has sometimes been questioned because of the puzzling records of occasional isolation of mosquito-borne viruses from ticks and of tick-borne viruses from mosquitoes. In this study, host range of the flaviviruses representing not only the two vector-borne groups but also insect flaviviruses and vertebrate viruses that are not arboviruses was comprehensively reexamined by a serial passage experiment in vitro by using cell cultures derived from mosquitoes, ticks, and vertebrates. The results showed that the host range specificity in the four groups of viruses, based on replication for five consecutive passages as a criterion to evaluate the ability of viruses to replicate in three different cell cultures, agreed with the conventional grouping as well as phylogenetic clustering. Thus, this assay provides useful, supplementary information regarding host range for those flaviviruses when their natural host range is unknown, ambiguous, or questionable.
Does distance matter for institutional delivery in rural India?

This article estimates the causal effect of distance to health facility on in-facility birth in rural India, taking into account the endogenous placement of the health facility. We find that women living farther away from the health facilities are less likely to give birth at a health facility. Each additional kilometre from the nearest health facility is associated with a 4.4% decline in the probability of in-facility birth. Policy simulation results indicate that providing access to a health facility within 5 km would increase institutional delivery by 10%. Overall, our findings confirm that distance is an important barrier to in-facility births in rural India.
Corporate governance in shipping: an overview

Globalization that matches the nature of shipping companies has to be a key factor for their organizational structure and operation. A growing number of them, to exploit the benefits of international integration of capital markets, have adopted a more specific organizational structure trying to implement corporate governance mechanisms. Meanwhile, the majority of maritime firms, particularly with headquarters in Greece, continue to operate in a traditional basis, since the family capitalism still holds the scepters. This article aims to assess the role of corporate governance as a determinant of the operational and financial performance of maritime business, raising questions for further investigation. It reviews the literature on corporate governance practices, focusing on maritime firms trying to analyze the effects of corporate governance in their financial performance. Research on corporate governance in the shipping sector, despite the growing stream of related studies, remains still understudied. This is the reason why empirical findings of the reviewed studies should be treated with caution, since the theoretical framework in corporate governance is still under investigation in shipping. Further research needs addressing all major subsystems of a maritime firm, so as their impact on governance structures of maritime business to be evaluated and measured.
Hermes Revisited: A Replication of Hofstede's Study in Hong Kong and the UK

Hofstedes' well-known study of cross-cultural values has come to be regarded as among the most influential in the field, and the subsequent extensive citation of a study, which involved the measurement of international differences in cultural values within IBM or ‘Hermes’, is testimony to its seminal status. Unfortunately, this success has not been matched by increased co-operative research amongst social scientists into cultural issues, namely through an ‘intersubjective’ approach which was one of Hofstede's hopes for subsequent development. Hofstede's approach, based on the comparative explanation of work-related values, is categorized and labelled variously and using different typologies, thus re-emphasizing that his approach is not the only perspective.
A new wide-band planar balun on a single-layer PCB

A new wide-band microstrip balun implemented on a single-layer printed circuit board (PCB) is presented in this letter. The proposed planar balun consists of a wide-band Wilkinson power divider and a noncoupled-line broad-band 180/spl deg/ phase shifter. To demonstrate the design methodology, one prototype is realized. The new design was simulated and validated by the measurement. Measured results show that 10-dB return loss of the unbalanced port has been achieved across the bandwidth from 1.7 GHz to 3.3 GHz, or 64%. Within the operation band, the measured return losses for both the two balanced ports are better than -10 dB, and the balanced ports isolation is below -1.5 dB. The measured amplitude and phase imbalance between the two balanced ports are within 0.3 dB and /spl plusmn/5/spl deg/, respectively, over the operating frequency band.