Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Adoption of Internet Shopping for Travel Services

The study explores consumers' adoption of Internet shopping in the context of UK travel services. The key objective is to identify the profile of Internet shoppers and the antecedents of Internet shopping adoption for travel services. The study proposes a model for the prediction of Internet shopping adoption, drawing upon Davis' (1989) Technology Acceptance Model with the inclusion of individual characteristics, perceived risk and trust. The model identifies the structural relationships among the eight constructs (i.e. perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, innovativeness, involvement, opinion leadership, perceived risk, trust and adoption), which were examined through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with AMOS. The study employs a multi-methodology approach, which involves focus group discussions at the exploratory stage and a questionnaire survey in the data collection stage. The final survey was of a screened sample of 500 respondents who had purchased travel services online. A total of 299 qualified respondents from all over the UK completed the online survey. The descriptive results present a profile of travel e-shoppers in terms of demographic, geodemographic and buying patterns. The SEM tested the hypothesised relationships among the constructs, as postulated in the model. Nine of the hypothesised links were supported and six were rejected. Eventually, a robust model that has statistical and explanatory power was confirmed. The results explicitly clarified several key contributions to marketing theory and for the travel and tourism industry. For example, it was demonstrated that perceived usefulness is the key determinant of Internet shopping adoption decisions. Also, consumer innovativeness is the key influence on Internet shopping adoption at the personal level, followed by consumer involvement in the shopping process. The study also reveals three new relationships, between opinion leadership and perceived ease-of-use, consumer involvement and ease-of-use and consumer innovativeness and trust, which have not been examined empirically by previous research. By identifying the primary drivers of Internet shopping adoption for travel services, the study contributes to and extends the understanding of the Internet as a medium for commercial use in the B2C arena as well as expanding the literature on new technology adoption.
Specjalisci ICT w polskich malych i srednich przedsiebiorstwach

The dynamic growth of the ICT sector calls for continuous concern for learning and development on the part of ICT specialists. The ICT sectors traditional paternalistic relationships among employees and employers have been replaced in favor of more temporary, flexible, partner-oriented arrangements at a faster rate than in other sectors. This requires changes in the approach to employability, which not only has an impact on their potential for success, but primarily defines their chances of survival in the unstable and demanding labor market. The presented empirical results of research demonstrate the relationships between certain individual predictors of employability level among ICT sector workers in Polish SMEs. The presented data are a fragment of final research conducted within the context of the multi-year Indic@tor program.
PENGARUH CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN PADA PT BCA Tbk

Company currently must begin to focus on delivering value (value) and increase customer loyalty. Loyalty means consumers returned again and again to conduct business transactions (purchases), although probably instead the company's product the best product on the market or have the lowest prices. This "irrational" consumer behavior’s can be explained by a view that "good relations" (good relationships) which are established with the consumer, is the key to the success of a company in retaining customers. The research goals are to test whether there is influence of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to Customer Loyalty and to test how much influence Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to Customer Loyalty. This research was conducted by distributing questionnaires to the community in the city of Bandung, which has ever conduct banking transactions in PT BCA Tbk. Testing and processing of data using SPSS 11.5 software with the help of regression and simple correlation method. The results showed that customer relationship management affects customer loyalty. Key words: customer relationship management, customer loyalty.
The Antiquities Market, Sensationalized Textual Data, and Modern Forgeries

On Christmas Eve 2004, the Israel Museum announced that one of its most cherished acquisitions, the Ivory Pomegranate, was a modern forgery.1 The inscription reads (arguably), "Qds khnm lb[yt yhw]h," that is, "Holy (Object) of the Priests, Belonging to the T[emple of Yahwe]h. "2 It has often been referred to as a "prized artifact" and even said to have probably come from a "priestly scepter" used in the "Temple of
Determinants of Voluntary Disclosure in Annual Report: A Case Study of Pakistan

This study investigates the factors affecting voluntary disclosures in the annual reports of listed companies in Karachi stock exchange (KSE) of Pakistan. The degree of voluntary disclosure is calculated by an index which is based on financial, non-financial and strategic information. For exploring determinants of voluntary information latest data of 372 manufacturing companies of Pakistan in 2012 is collected. Most recommended cross sectional data analysis techniques multiple regression analysis was used in this study. In order to obtained robust results of regression analysis, diagnostic tests were applied. These tests check the assumptions of multi-collinearty and heteroskdasticity in regression analysis. The finding of this study shows that firm characteristics; profitability, firm size, age and auditor size have positive and significant relationship with voluntary disclosure while leverage has negative and significant relationship with voluntary disclosure. According to author’s knowledge, this study is conducted first time in Pakistan to explore the determinants of voluntary disclosure. This study can be very helpful for the shareholders, financial management and creditors in making decisions about giving voluntary disclosure in annual reports as it provides adequate information for decision making.
Effects of foveal task load on visual-spatial attention: event-related brain potentials and performance.

The effects of foveal task difficulty on the processing of events in the visual periphery were investigated through an analysis of event-related brain potentials and performance measures. Subjects performed a foveally presented continuous monitoring task both separately and together with an arrow discrimination task that was presented at three different retinal eccentricities. The subjects detected occasional failures in the monitoring task while also responding to designated targets in the left and right visual fields. The analysis of the event-related brain potentials elicited by discrete events in the arrow discrimination task indicated that the amplitude of the N190 and P300 components decreased with both the introduction of the foveal task and an increase in its difficulty. The N160 component was sensitive to the distribution of attention within a task but was uninfluenced by dual task demands. These findings suggest that the N160 reflects the distribution of attention to different spatial locations within a task while the N190 may index the distribution of general purpose perceptual resources. P300 appears to index the allocation of perceptual/central processing resources. The implications of the results for models of resource allocation and attentional gradients are discussed.
Kicked by Mos and tuned by MPF—the initiation of the MAPK cascade in Xenopus oocytes

The mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is a paradigmatic signaling cascade, which plays a crucial role in many aspects of cellular events. The main initiator of the cascade in Xenopus oocytes is the oncoprotein Mos. After activation of the cascade, Mos activity is stabilized by MAPK via a feedback loop. Mos concentration levels are, however, not controlled by MAPK alone. In this paper we show, by imposing either a sustained or a peaked activity of M‐phase promoting factor (MPF) (Cdc2‐cyclin B), how the latter regulates the dynamics of Mos. Our experiments are supported by a detailed kinetic model for the Mos‐MPF‐MAPK network, which takes into account the three different phosphorylation states of Mos and, as a consequence, allows us to determine the time evolution of Mos under control of MPF. Our work opens a path toward a more complete and biologically realistic quantitative understanding of the dynamic interdependence of Mos and MPF in Xenopus oocytes.
Service Management and Marketing: A Customer Relationship Management Approach

The Service and Relationship Imperative: Managing In Service Competition. Managing Customer Relationships: An Alternative Paradigm in Management and Marketing. The Nature of Services and Service Consumption, and its Marketing Consequences. Service and Relationship Quality. Quality Management in Services. Return on Service and Relationships. Managing the Augmented Service Offering. Principles of Service Management. Managing Service Productivity. Managing Marketing or Market--oriented Management. Managing Total Integrated Marketing Communication. Managing Brand Relationships and Image. Market--oriented Organization: Structure, Resources and Service Processes. Managing Internal Marketing: A Prerequisite for Successfully Managing Customer Relationships. Managing Service Culture: The Internal Service Imperative. Conclusions: Managing Relationships and the Six Rules of Service. Index.
CLIENT STRATEGIC ACTIONS, GOING-CONCERN AUDIT OPINIONS AND AUDIT REPORTING ERRORS

In this chapter we examine the association between various types of strategic management actions implemented by distressed companies and the likelihood that they receive a going-concern audit opinion. Prior going-concern studies that focus on the impact of non-financial information investigate particular operating turnaround initiatives, such as cost reduction strategies (see, Behn, Kaplan and Krumwiede, 2001; and Geiger and Rama, 2003). We contribute to this literature by studying the impact of a broader set of operating turnaround initiatives (i.e. cost reduction, asset disposal, increased marketing and product upgrading), as well as a set of strategic growth initiatives (i.e. product innovation, expansion and cooperative strategies). As the assessment of an auditee’s likelihood of survival within the next twelve months is critical in the going-concern decision-making context, we further distinguish between strategic growth initiatives that are likely to generate positive cash flows in the short run (i.e. cooperative agreements) versus long run (i.e. innovation and expansion strategies). Based on manually collected data on a sample of 112 distressed manufacturing US firms, we find that operating turnaround initiatives, as well as strategic initiatives that are likely to generate positive cash flows in the long run are positively associated with the likelihood that a going-concern opinion is received. This evidence suggests that these two categories of management initiatives are perceived as going-concern risk factors by auditors. On the contrary, strategic turnaround initiatives that are likely to generate positive cash flows in the short run are negatively associated with the likelihood that a going-concern opinion is received, which is supportive of this category of initiatives being perceived as mitigating factors. 1 The ideas presented in this chapter are further developed in a working paper by L. Bruynseels and M. Willekens (2006), entitled: “Strategic Actions and Going-Concern Audit Opinions”.
Do Announcements of Bank Acquisitions in Emerging Markets Create Value?

The latter half of the 1990s saw a sharp rise in entry of banks from developed countries into emerging market financial systems. This was motivated by, among other things, the belief that expansion into underdeveloped financial markets would result in diversification and efficiency gains, and thus prove to be value creating. This paper uses a standard event-study methodology to determine the reaction of the acquirer’s stock price to announcements of acquisitions in emerging financial markets (EFMs). Under the assumption of efficient markets, a positive reaction is interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that expansion into EFMs is value creating. However, in line with the literature on cross-border banking acquisitions in developed countries, announcements are found to be associated with negative abnormal returns for the acquirer, suggesting that potential downsides, such as operational risk, legal and social barriers, and political risk, are judged by markets to outweigh the potential benefits. Moreover, the value destruction from an acquisition was found to be bigger in all regions in the 18 months following the Asian crisis.
Confusion Graph: Detecting Confusion Communities in Large Scale Image Classification

For deep CNN-based image classification models, we observe that confusions between classes with high visual similarity are much stronger than those where classes are visually dissimilar. With these unbalanced confusions, classes can be organized in communities, which is similar to cliques of people in the social network. Based on this, we propose a graph-based tool named “confusion graph” to quantify these confusions and further reveal the community structure inside the database. With this community structure, we can diagnose the model’s weaknesses and improve the classification accuracy using specialized expert sub-nets, which is comparable to other state-of-the-art techniques. Utilizing this community information, we can also employ pre-trained models to automatically identify mislabeled images in the large scale database. With our method, researchers just need to manually check approximate 3% of the ILSVRC2012 classification database to locate almost all mislabeled samples.
Earnings Management Around Seasoned Equity Offerings

This paper examines earnings management around seasoned equity offerings. Consistent with managers managing earnings, I find offering firms to have temporarily high earnings around the offering. The temporary increase in earnings around the offering appears to be primarily driven by abnormally high accruals in the period. By relating my estimates of abnormal accruals to the incentives and abilities of managers to manage earnings, I show that these abnormal accruals result from earnings management. Further, this analysis shows that the ability to manage earnings is constraining mainly for managers with high incentives to manage earnings. Also, I argue that the announcement of an equity offering signals earnings management in prior quarters to the market, which would result in a negative price reaction to the announcement. Consistent with this argument, I show that the earnings management before an offering announcement partly explains the negative market reaction to the announcement.
Rab22a affects the morphology and function of the endocytic pathway.

Soon after endocytosis, internalized material is sorted along different pathways in a process that requires the coordinated activity of several Rab proteins. Although abundant information is available about the subcellular distribution and function of some of the endocytosis-specific Rabs (e.g. Rab5 and Rab4), very little is known about some other members of this family of proteins. To unveil some of the properties of Rab22a, one of the less studied endosome-associated small GTPases, we have expressed the protein tagged with the green fluorescent protein in CHO cells. The results indicate that Rab22a associates with early and late endosomes (labeled by a 5 minute rhodamine-transferrin uptake and the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor, respectively) but not with lysosomes (labeled by 1 hour rhodamine horseradish peroxidase uptake followed by 1 hour chase). Overexpression of the protein causes a prominent morphological enlargement of the early and late endosomes. Two mutants were generated by site-directed mutagenesis, a negative mutant (Rab22aS19N, with reduced affinity for GTP) and a constitutively active mutant (Rab22aQ64L, with reduced endogenous GTPase activity). The distribution of the negative mutant was mostly cytosolic, whereas the positive mutant associated with early and late endosomes and, interestingly also with lysosomes and autophagosomes (labeled with monodansylcadaverine). Cells expressing Rab22a wild type and Rab22aS19N displayed decreased endocytosis of a fluid phase marker. Conversely, overexpression of Rab22aQ64L, which strongly affects the morphology of endosomes, did not inhibit bulk endocytosis. Our results show that Rab22a has a unique distribution along the endocytic pathway that is not shared by any other Rab protein, and that it strongly affects the morphology and function of endosomes.
A Radiography of English Elements in Romania

Abstract This article aims to offer some insight into manifestations of language contact in the particular case of English and Romanian. It focuses on lexical, morpho-syntactic, semantic and discourse-related aspects of the influence of the former in the context of the latter. In particular, after pointing out the areas in which anglicization is especially obvious, attention is paid to: the adaptation of anglicisms so as to fit Romanian syntactic patterns; code switching and its functions; borrowing-triggered semantic change; lexical-semantic calques; and patterns of English written genres imposing new standards for equivalent Romanian genres.
Assessment of emotional reaction induced by visual stimulation based on cross-correlation between pulse wave transmission time and heart rate in the Mayer wave-band

Mayer wave (0.1Hz fluctuation) included in heart rate variability and blood pressure variability appears apparently in the resting state. On the other hand, it can be predicted that a strong emotional reaction may affect the relationship between these variabilities. This prediction suggests that the human emotional reaction can be quantified by the maximum correlation coefficient /spl rho//sub max/ between heart rate and blood pressure whose frequency components are limited to the Mayer wave-band. However, the conventional method of obtaining /spl rho//sub max/ needs a bulky and expensive device for measuring continuous blood pressure. In this study, a smaller and cheaper device for measuring pulse wave transmission time (PTT) has been developed. This work has shown that the PTT can give /spl rho//sub max/ instead of blood pressure and that /spl rho//sub max/ obtained by the PTT may significantly reflect the emotional reaction on the basis of an experiment using nine healthy subjects with nine self-produced devices in which pictures were presented to the subjects to induce their emotional reactions.
Pay-for-Luck in CEO Compensation: Matching and Efficient Contracting

We develop a stylized model of efficient contracting with matching between firms and managers with state-contingent reservation utility. We show that the optimal contract is designed to retain and insure the manager. The retention motive explains pay-for-luck in executive compensation, while the insurance feature explains asymmetric pay-for-luck. This contract can be implemented with call options based on a single performance measure which generally does not filter out luck. When costs of involuntary managerial turnover differ across firms, and the abilities of different managers are more or less precisely estimated ex-ante, the model can also explain the observed association between pay-for-luck and bad corporate governance.
New data on the forsterite-tephroite series

Huggins'(1973) method ofcalculating the degree ofcation order from infrared spectra was tested. The results suggest hat IR spectroscopy may indeed be a rapid and reliable method for determining the mole fraction of Mg on the M(1) site when sensitivity numbers (S) are ' known better. Zincian olivines ranging in composition from (Mgt.33Mno.ntZno.rrFee.6t) to (Mnr.rnMgo.orZno.orFeo.or) ccur in the metamorphosed Zn-Mn-Fe deposits at Franklin and Ogdensburg, Sussex Co., New Jersey. Individual crystals contain oriented lamellae of willemite that evince an exsolution origin from tephroite which originally contained -20 mol. %o ZnrSiOa components. Unit cell parameters vary nonlinearly as a function of mean octahedral cation radius calculated from microprobe analyses and strongly imply the ordering of cations. Zinc is thought to have a moderate preference for the M(1) site.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Clinical Experience in a Large Patient Series

Summary During the last decade, intermittent electrical stimulation of the left cervical vagus nerve was established as a new add-on treatment of drug-resistant seizures. Particularly in Europe, the acceptance of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was tentative in the beginning because of unknown mechanisms of action. We report the outcome in a sample of 95 adult patients with drug-resistant seizures who have received implants since 1998. The last available follow-up data are included. Unavoidable medication changes (e.g., intoxication) were accepted to examine VNS under usual clinical conditions. Median percentage of reduction in seizure frequency as compared to baseline was 30%. The seizure responder rate (≥50% reduction) was 45%. Four patients experienced total release from seizures. Adverse effects were mild in general. Seizure outcome was positively correlated with VNS duration. No potential clinical factor (e.g., syndrome, cause, or lesion) could be identified as an indicator of favorable outcome. Patients with on stimulation-on periods of 30 seconds (standard cycle) had a better outcome than patients with stimulation-on periods of 7 seconds (rapid cycle). During an embedded, randomized, controlled trial, no evidence was found for a differential outcome of initial standard cycle versus initial rapid cycle stimulation conditions. Taking into account the good cost-benefit ratio as well as positive effects on well-being, VNS has to be considered an appropriate strategy for the add-on treatment of drug-resistant seizures, particularly in cases not suitable for epilepsy surgery.
Polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments from Three Gorges Reservoir

This study was conducted to investigate the current contamination status of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) in sediments from the mainstream and 22 primary tributaries of the Yangtze River in the Three Gorges Reservoir region. To accomplish this, the concentrations of 22 polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) congeners, 27 polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners, and 27 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in sediment samples were measured by GC-MS/MS. The result showed that the observed values of PBBs and PBDEs were 22.41 and 35.24 pg g−1 dw, respectively. PBB1, 31 and 103 were the predominant PBB congeners, while PBDE28, 47, 77 and 99 were the predominant PBDE congeners. PBB209 and BDE209 were detected in >39% of the samples, with geometric means 2.43 and 11.92 pg g−1 dw, respectively. PCBs were found to be the predominant compounds in sediment samples among the three PHAH subfamilies, with a geometric mean of 1,231.11 pg g−1 dw, and PCB8, 18, 28, 52 and 66 were the primary PCB congeners. The measured levels of PHAHs were compared with results recently reported in the literature and their respective sediment quality guidelines recommended by the USEPA. The levels of PHAHs in the present study were generally lower than their respective threshold-effect levels, or were comparable to those reported in relatively uncontaminated freshwater samples from other regions. Taken together, these results suggest that, in the reservoir, toxic biological effects on aquatic biota in response to PHAHs contamination of sediments can be expected to be negligible.