Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kinect gait skeletal joint feature-based person identification

Gait not only defines the way a person walks, but also provides interesting cues on individuals daily routine, mental state, health condition or even cognitive function. The importance of incorporating cognitive behavior and analysis in biometric systems has been noted recently. In this article, we develop a biometric-security system using gait-based skeletal information from Microsoft Kinect v1 sensor. The gait cycle is calculated by detecting the three consecutive local minima between the distance of left and right ankle joints. We have utilized the distance feature vector for each of the joints with respect to other joints in the gait cycle for extraction. Mean and variance features are extracted from the distance feature vector. The K Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithm is used for classification purpose. The classification accuracy of our proposed approach is 93.33%. The effectiveness of the method is evaluated by comparing it with others existing approaches. Experimental results show that proposed approach is having better recognition accuracy compared to other approaches. Incorporating this biometric in situation awareness system that can identify the mental state of a human is the future direction of this research.
Verbreitung und ökonomische Effekte von Betriebsräten und alternativen Mitbestimmungsformen in der Industrie und deren Verbundbranchen

Zusammenfassung Eine empirische Analyse auf Basis des IW-Zukunftspanels, eine reprasentative Befragung von Unternehmen in der Industrie und deren Verbundbranchen, zeigt, dass Betriebsrate und alternative Formen der Mitarbeitervertretung abseits der Betriebsverfassung unter spezifischen Kontextbedingungen existieren. Dieses Nebeneinander legt nahe, dass Betriebsrate eine wichtige Rolle beim Schutz von Quasi-Renten in Arbeitsbeziehungen spielen, die fur opportunistisches Verhalten anfallig sind. Dagegen erleichtern alternative Formen der Interessenvertretung die Aktivierung des Wissenspotenzials der Mitarbeiter. Die unterschiedlichen Gewichte beider Funktionen konnten auch einen Ansatz zur Erklarung dafur sein, dass Unternehmen mit einem Betriebsrat in der Gruppe der Unternehmen am unteren Ende der Produktivitatsverteilung eine signifikant hohere Produktivitat aufweisen, Unternehmen mit einem freiwillig errichteten gemeinsam besetzten Entscheidungsgremium hingegen eine hohere Produktivitat in der Gruppe der.
Do industries contain predictive information for the Fama–French factors?

We examine whether the returns of US industry portfolios predict the returns and volatility of Fama and French's small-minus-big (SMB) and high-minus-low (HML) factors. The analysis reveals that all 30 industry returns strongly forecast one-month-ahead SMB factor returns. Moreover, a significant number of industry returns predict the volatility of the SMB and HML factors by up to two or three months. These findings suggest that US industry returns contain profitable information on Fama–French SMB and HML factors, and since most investors cannot extract the profitable information contained in industry returns in a timely manner, this information gradually diffuses in equity markets.
Performance implications for the relationships among top management leadership, organizational culture, and appraisal practice: testing two theory-based models of organizational learning theory in Japan

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among top management leadership, organizational culture and human resource (HR) practices, and their associative effects on organizational performance. Based on the theory of organizational learning, we developed and tested two different causal models: (1) a feed-forward learning flow model in which supportive leadership by top management would create a community culture and HR practices within organizations; and (2) a feedback learning flow model in which a community culture would support the practice of supportive leadership by top management and HR practices within a firm. Our structural equation modelling (SEM) results for a sample of 225 Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan supported the second model, in which the dominance of a community culture within the firm is an antecedent of top management's supportive leadership, which in turn necessitates a performance-based appraisal practice and eventually leads to better organizational performance in terms of objective indicators of turnover and absenteeism rates and workforce productivity. The findings are used to discuss the role of top management leadership in a particular organizational culture from the organizational learning perspective. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.
Comparison of immersion ultrasound, partial coherence interferometry, and low coherence reflectometry for ocular biometry in cataract patients.

PURPOSE To compare ocular biometry parameters measured with immersion ultrasound, partial coherence interferometry, and low coherence reflectometry in cataract patients. METHODS Measurements of axial length and anterior chamber depth were analyzed and compared using immersion ultrasound, partial coherence interferometry, and low coherence reflectometry. Keratometry (K), flattest axis, and white-to-white measurements were compared between partial coherence interferometry and low coherence reflectometry. Seventy-eight cataract (LOCS II range: 1 to 3) eyes of 45 patients aged between 42 and 90 years were evaluated. A subanalysis as a function of cataract degree was done for axial length and anterior chamber depth between techniques. RESULTS No statistically significant differences were noted for the study cohort or within each cataract degree among the three techniques for axial length and anterior chamber depth (P>.05, ANOVA test). Measurements between techniques were highly correlated for axial length (R=0.99) and anterior chamber depth (R=0.90 to 0.96) for all methods. Keratometry, flattest axis, and white-to-white measurements were comparable (paired t test, P>.1) and correlated well between partial coherence interferometry and low coherence reflectometry (K1 [R=0.95), K2 [R=0.97], flattest axis [R=0.95], and white-to-white [R=0.92]). CONCLUSIONS Immersion ultrasound, partial coherence interferometry, and low coherence reflectometry provided comparable ocular biometry measurements in cataractous eyes.
Valuing human resources: perceptions and practices in UK organisations

Despite Government and academic interest in valuing human resources, there has been relatively little progress in reflecting the value of human resources in UK organisations. This research uses a survey questionnaire to identify perceptions and practices in the area of valuing human resources in three types of UK organizations; traditional companies, knowledge intensive companies and local authorities. The survey focuses on the importance of valuing human resources, current measurement practices, key barriers to the valuation of human resources and the progress expected in this field over five years in UK organisations. Although the majority of respondents identified that the measurement/valuation of human resources was important to their organization, only little or moderate progress in recognizing the worth of human resources in financial statements was expected. The main reasons for this were identified to be lack of understanding and support of the area by others in the organization, particularly senior management, lack of resources, uncertainty as to what information should be reported and lack of precision and reliability in current human resource measures. The research identified that there is more interest in the area from human resource professionals than accounting professionals and that valuation of human resources should be included in internal reports rather than reported externally. More research is now needed, both on conceptual models for valuing human resources within organizations and empirical research focusing on issues such as gaining commitment to valuing of human resources by senior management, the development of systems of valuing human resources, how systems to value employees, when developed, are implemented in organisations and the consequences, both intended and unintended of how the systems operate in practice.
Beyond early infant diagnosis: case finding strategies for identification of HIV-infected infants and children

There are 3.4 million children infected with HIV worldwide, with up to 2.6 million eligible for treatment under current guidelines. However, roughly 70% of infected children are not receiving live-saving HIV care and treatment. Strengthening case finding through improved diagnosis strategies, and actively linking identified HIV-infected children to care and treatment is essential to ensuring that these children benefit from the care and treatment available to them. Without attention or advocacy, the majority of these children will remain undiagnosed and die from complications of HIV. In this article, we summarize the challenges of identifying HIV-infected infants and children, review currently available evidence and guidance, describe promising new strategies for case finding, and make recommendations for future research and interventions to improve identification of HIV-infected infants and children.
Identification of patients at risk for excessive blood loss during coronary artery bypass surgery: thromboelastography versus coagulation screen.

In light of the potential morbidity associated with transfusion of blood products, a reliable preoperative screening test to identify cardiothoracic surgical patients who are at potential risk for increased intraoperative blood loss would be useful. Accordingly, we examined the efficacy of a variety of coagulation tests to predict intraoperative blood loss in 60 patients presenting for coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). A complete coagulation screen, activated clotting time (ACT), and thromboelastograph (TEG) were performed before surgery. Intraoperative blood loss was determined by weighing sponges and measuring the quantity of blood in suction canisters. The duration of cardiopulmonary bypass was 100 +/- 4 min, and total surgery time was 5.0 +/- 0.1 h. Total crystalloid and colloid requirements were 5.5 +/- 0.2 and 1.4 +/- 0.1 L. Forty-eight percent of the patients required blood with an average requirement of 2.5 +/- 0.5 units. Total intraoperative blood loss averaged 1590 +/- 95 mL with a range from 640 to 3928 mL. Using multiple linear regression, all coagulation and TEG variables were used to model perioperative blood loss. Results showed that all components of the TEG failed to predict blood loss (r < 0.25, P > 0.78). However, three components of the routine coagulation assay, including bleeding time, prothrombin time, and platelet count could be modeled to predict perioperative blood loss (r = 0.75, P < 0.05). Although TEG has been shown to have potential in identifying postcardiopulmonary bypass coagulopathies, these results suggest that it does not appear to be useful in determining the coagulation status of CABG patients preoperatively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
An Experimental Study of the Disposition Effect: Evidence From Macau

The disposition effect-the tendency to sell winning transactions too soon and hold losing transactions too long-is examined experimentally in Macau. The findings show that the disposition effect exists strongly under the modified version of the experiment designed by Weber and Camerer [1998]. This study also points out that a psychological factor, the locus of control, can partly explain the disposition effect observed in this experiment.
Minimalizations of NFA using the universal automaton

In this contribution we shall see how our (algebraic) approach to the so-called universal automaton of a given regular language helps to understand the process of the minimalization of a NFA. The minimality is meant with respect to the number of states. Although it is known that the problem is PSPACE-complete (see [5]) one can propose algorithms of not too high complexities to compute relatively good approximations.
The Effect of Venture Capital Financing on the Sensitivity to Cash Flow of Firm's Investments

This work studies the effect of venture capital (VC) financing on firms' investments in a longitudinal sample of 379 Italian unlisted new-technology-based firms (NTBFs) observed over the 10-year period from 1994 to 2003. We distinguish the effects of VC financing according to the type of investor: independent VC (IVC) funds and corporate VC (CVC) investors. Previous studies argue that NTBFs are the firms most likely to be financially constrained. The technology-intensive nature of their activity and their lack of a track record increase adverse selection and moral hazard problems. Moreover, most of their assets are firm-specific or intangible and hence cannot be pledged as collateral. In accordance with this view, we show that the investment rate of NTBFs is strongly positively correlated with their current cash flows. We also find that after receiving VC financing, NTBFs increase their investment rate independently of the type of VC investor. However, the investments of CVC-backed firms remain sensitive to shocks in cash flows, whereas IVC-backed firms exhibit a low and statistically not significant investment–cash flow sensitivity that we interpret as a signal of the removal of financial constraints.
PARTIAL IMMUNIZATION BOUNDS AND NON-PARALLEL TERM STRUCTURE SHIFTS

A variety of approaches have been proposed to extend classical fixed income portfolio immunization theory to cases where shifts in the term structure are not parallel. Following Reitano (1991a, 1991b, 1992, 1996) and Poitras (2007), this paper uses partial durations and convexities to specify benchmark partial immunization bounds for non-parallel term structure shifts. Theoretical results are obtained by exploiting properties of the multivariate Taylor series expansion of the spot interest rate pricing function. It is demonstrated that the partial immunization bounds can be effectively manipulated by adequate selection of the securities being used to immunize the portfolio. The inclusion of time values permits the results obtained to be related to previous studies by Christensen and Sorensen (1994), Chance and Jordan (1996), Barber and Copper (1997) and Poitras (2005, Ch. 5) on the time value-convexity tradeoff.
Spatial features of labor markets and links to the housing market

This dissertation comprises three papers on spatial features of labor markets and links to the housing market. The first two papers look at how a local parental leave policy and the neighborhood in which one resides can influence women’s decision to work. One paper shows that New Jersey’s 2009 family leave insurance program induces women to remain employed following childbirth. The other reveals that, for women, having other women with similar aged children to yours among your closest neighbors makes you emulate their work behavior. The final paper analyzes how seasonality in occupational employment via either monthly or businesscycle induced fluctuations to labor demand increases the likelihood of holding a home equity line of credit. This finding is consistent with individuals drawing on these credit lines to access stored home equity in order to smooth consumption in the face of short-term breaks to employment. SPATIAL FEATURES OF LABOR MARKETS AND LINKS TO THE HOUSING MARKET
Understanding continuous improvement in an English local authority: A dynamic‐capability perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a model using resource‐based‐view theories of competitive advantage for application to the private sector as a basis for understanding managers' perceptions of high performance in a local authority. The model is evaluated as a substantive case against an English local authority.Design/methodology/approach – The study investigated senior managers' perceptions of the capabilities and assets that their organisation required to achieve high performance relative to government performance criteria. Data were collected using a questionnaire that asked managers to indicate their notions of drivers for change. The key resources required for successful responses to these drivers were related to one of the four types of generic capabilities a priori outlined in the model, i.e. regeneration, leverage, transformational and privileged access. Subsequent interviews with the respondents explored further issues in greater depth.Findings – Managers indicated their beliefs t.
How Smaller Born-Global Firms Use Networks and Alliances to Overcome Constraints to Rapid Internationalization

The authors identify the following key constraints that smaller born-global firms face: lack of economies of scale, lack of resources (financial and knowledge), and aversion to risk taking. The authors explore how such firms overcome these constraints by using technology to achieve competitive advantage and by networking competencies to develop a range of alliances and collaborative partnerships. Thus, the article focuses on a particular aspect of business-to-business marketing, namely, how small firms achieve rapid growth internationally through alliances with suppliers, distributors, and joint-venture partners and how these relationships change over time to meet the changing needs of the partners.
[Concentration of serum lipids and apolipoprotein B in newborns].

OBJECTIVE To determine the concentrations of serum lipids and apolipoprotein B (apo-B) in a population of normal full-term and preterm newborns in a city in Southern Brazil, and assess the impact of gestational age and birth weight on these values. METHODS Two hundred and twelve newborns of both genders were studied, 142 of whom were full-term (>37 weeks of gestation) and 70 preterm (<37 weeks of gestation). According to their birth weights, the full-term and preterm newborns were classified as small for gestational age or appropriate for gestational age. Umbilical cord blood was collected for biochemical analysis. RESULTS The total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C and apo-B values were higher in preterm newborns (79+/-34, 26+/-6, 45+/-15 and 36+/-14 mg/dL, respectively) than in full-term newborns (58+/-19, 20+/-10, 31+/-14 and 28+/-7 mg/dL, respectively; p < 0.0001). Inversely, triglyceride values were lower in preterm newborns (36+/-14 mg/dL) than in full-term newborns (43+/-25 mg/dL; p < 0.0018). Gender and size at birth did not have any impact on the values of total cholesterol and fractions, triglycerides, and apo-B. CONCLUSION Plasma concentrations of lipids and apo-B in the population of newborns studied are similar to those in newborns from other countries and continents reported in medical literature and, as expected, are markedly lower than the values mentioned in literature for infants over two years of age. Fetal maturity has an impact on the concentration of lipids in newborns, but birth weight does not have any effect on these parameters.
Did publication of a clinical practice guideline recommendation to screen for type 2 diabetes in women with gestational diabetes change practice?

OBJECTIVE To determine whether women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were screened postpartum for type 2 diabetes according to the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) guidelines. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The 1998 CDA guidelines recommend that all women diagnosed with GDM be screened postpartum for type 2 diabetes using a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The impact of and compliance with this expert opinion-based recommendation is unknown. All women who delivered at the Ottawa Hospital in 1997 (pre-guideline) and 2000 (post-guideline) with confirmed GDM were identified. Using population-based administrative databases, we determined the proportion of these women who had an OGTT, serum glucose test, or glycated hemoglobin (GHb) test in the first postpartum year. Women who had not undergone any blood work were excluded. RESULTS There were 131 women in 1997 and 123 women in 2000 with confirmed GDM. Of these, only 69 women in 1997 and 52 women in 2000 had blood work recorded in the database. None of these women had an OGTT performed in either period. We found a significant increase in the measurement of serum glucose (50 women pre-guideline [72.1%], 48 women post-guideline [92.3%], P < 0.05) and GHb (8 women pre-guideline [11.6%], 20 women post-guideline [38.5%], P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In our region, physicians are not following the CDA recommendations to screen women with GDM postpartum with an OGTT. However, we did find a significant increase in the measurement of serum glucose and GHb. Publication of expert opinion-based guidelines did not change the postpartum use of an OGTT in these women but may have increased the use of less reliable screening tests for type 2 diabetes.
Relationships of TQM practices and employees' propensity to remain: an empirical case study

Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and employees' propensity to remain within a large Malaysian semiconductor packaging organization. Despite extensive research on TQM practices, none examines this scope of investigative study. Therefore, the proposed model was developed with the intention of examining this relationship.Design/methodology/approach – Original research using self‐completed questionnaires, distributed to all staff within this organization is thoroughly reported. The study sample consisted of 230 employees, resulting in a response rate of 76.6 percent. A questionnaire developed by Udo, Guimaraes and Igbaria was adapted for ascertaining the level of employees' propensity to remain. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and simple linear regression analysis.Findings – The results revealed that customer focus, organizational trust, organizational communication, employee involvement and empowerment are pos.
The symmetric and asymmetric influences of destination attributes on overall visitor satisfaction

Visitors are impressed by specific destination attributes, which are sometimes the main motivating reasons for the travel selection or sometimes they are just one of the elements of a whole destination experience. This is because tourism and travel products are generally a combination of several different supplier offerings or they are a combination of the natural and artificial attributes of a destination that cannot be fully known before the experience of travel. Moreover, the importance and influence of these attributes on overall visitor satisfaction may differ considerably, depending on the market segments. In recent years, some studies have shown that the influences of destination attributes on overall visitor satisfaction are not symmetric in every case. For the purposes of this study, the symmetric and asymmetric influences of destination attributes are investigated for three major market segments of the Side-Manavgat area, Antalya, Turkey. The results show that the importance and influences of destination attributes may change according to the analysis technique employed and the market segment examined.
The intent and extent of multimarket contact

Multimarket research studies the causes and consequences of firms meeting each other in multiple markets, and has found evidence that multimarket contact reduces competitive pressures. Recent work has examined whether multimarket contacts are sought strategically or entered coincidentally, with some papers finding a large role of coincidental entry. The finding is puzzling given the well-documented benefits of multimarket contact. This article takes advantage of advances in multimarket theory and measurement to analyze market entries, and finds that strategic entry is seen when the intent and extent of multimarket contacts are considered, but also that managers appear to be risk-averse when establishing multimarket contacts.