Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The R&D Boundaries of the Firm: A Problem-Solving Perspective

Abstract This paper considers, theoretically and empirically, how different organization modes are aligned to govern the efficient solving of technological problems. The data set is from the Chinese consumer electronics industry. Following the problem-solving perspective (PSP) within the knowledge-based view (KBV), we develop and test several PSP and KBV hypotheses, whilst controlling for some relevant transaction cost economics and other variables, in an examination of the determinants of the firms’ R&D organization choice. The results show that a firm’s existing knowledge base is the most important explanatory factor. Problem complexity and decomposability are also found to be important, but it is suggested, contrary to the view of PSP, that they are better treated as separate variables, and that equity-based alliances tend to be reserved for the most complex problems.
Highbush Blueberry: Cultivation, Protection, Breeding and Biotechnology

Highbush blueberry is one of the most commercially significant berry crops. It is mainly cultivated in the United States and Canada, but also in Europe, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. Production of this crop is likely to increase in response to increased consumer demand for healthy foods, including the antioxidant-rich blueberry. This review describes several issues and developments in sustainable blueberry farming, including agronomical and cultural techniques (mulching, irrigation, the beneficial effects of mycorrhizae and fertilization), disease management (biology and control of common and emerging diseases), pest management, pollinators (effects on fruit set and production), conventional breeding and molecular techniques for examining and engineering blueberry germplasm. This paper describes past problems and current challenges associated with the commercial production of highbush blueberry, as well as new approaches and techniques for improving crop quality and future perspectives for innovative research.
Time-Varying Monetary Policy Reaction Function: The Case of Iran

n this paper, we consider the estimation of a time-varying parameter monetary growth rate reaction function for monetary policy in Iran. In order to deal with implicit inflation targets and time-varying parameters, a two-step procedure is employed in estimation of the time- varying monetary policy reaction function. Considering a monetary policy reaction function with stable coefficients, we first estimate the implicit target values of inflation using Kalman filter procedure. Then, using the estimated inflation targets and explicit targets in the Development Plans, DPs, we estimate two versions of the time-varying parameter monetary policy reaction function to show the difference between what has been done and what should be done to achieve target values of the DPs. Our empirical results reveal that there has been no commitment to the target values of inflation during the first, second and fourth DPs, while the third DP was relatively successful in achieving its targets. The estimated time-varying response of monetary growth to both inflation and output gap suggests that the central bank should have reacted more forcefully to both inflation and output gap in order to achieve the targets of the DPs. The conduct of the monetary policy in recent years has been diverging from what should be done in achieving the targets of the DP.
Why has happiness inequality increased? Suggestions for promoting social cohesion

The paper focuses on happiness inequality, an issue rather neglected in the literature. We analyze the increase in happiness inequality observed in Germany between 1991 and 2007 by means of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) database. We make use of a recent methodology that allows decomposing the change in happiness inequality into the composition and the coefficient effect for each covariate. We find that the increase in happiness inequality is mainly driven by changes in the composition of covariates, while coefficient effect is negligible, i.e., returns from happiness “fundamentals” are stable over time. Among composition effect, the rise in happiness inequality is explained –among others- by labour market conditions. Furthermore, the increase in education levels has an inequality-reducing impact on happiness. One clear cut policy implication of our paper is that policies enhancing education and labour market performance are crucial to reduce happiness inequality and the potential social tensions arising from it.
SME's Alliance Dynamics in the Mobile Marketing Industry

This paper presents a case study of the two similar sized, new, technology-based firms acting as alliance partners in the Mobile commerce industry. The analysis describes how the alliance dynamics in our case study relate to seminal research in the field of business alliance formation. Contrary to the established predictions we find that the negative influence on alliance performance described as a consequence of the dissolved routinized alliance pattern by seminal authors is not present. At the same time, the case study shows that internalization of complementary assets does not by necessity result in dissolution of the business alliance as argued from a resource and competence based perspective.
Coarticulation between Aspirated-s andVoiceless Stops in Spanish: An Interdialectal Comparison

In a large number of Spanish dialects, representing many of the world’s Spanish speakers, /s/ is reduced to or deleted entirely in word-internal preconsonantal position (e.g. /este/ → [ehte], este ‘this’), in word-final preconsonantal position (e.g. /las#toman/ → [lahtoman], las toman ‘they take them’), and/or in prepausal position (e.g. /komemos/ → [komemo(h)], comemos ‘we eat’). In those dialects considered the most phonologically innovative (such as the Spanish of Andalusia, Extremadura, Canary Islands, Hispanic Caribbean, Pacific coast of South America), /s/ debuccalization is also found in prevocalic environments word-finally (e.g. /las#alas/ → [lahala], las alas ‘the wings’) and even word-internally, this phenomenon being less common (e.g. /asi/ → [ahi], asi ‘this way’). When considered in detail, the manifestations of aspirated-s can be very different depending on dialectal, phonetic and even sociolinguistic factors. Only in preconsonantal position, for example, different s-apirating dialects behave differently; and, even within each dialect and in preconsonantal position, different manifestations arise as a result of the consonant type following aspirated-s. In this study, I show that aspirated-s before voiceless stops has different phonetic characteristics in Western Andalusian, on one part, and Puerto Rican and Porteno Spanish on the other. While Western Andalusian exhibits consistent postaspiration and shorter or inexistent preaspiration, Puerto Rican and Porteno display consistent preaspiration but no postaspiration. Moreover, Andalusian Spanish voiceless stops in /hC/ clusters show a longer closure than voiceless stops in other conditions, a contrast that does not apply for Porteno and Puerto Rican Spanish. In the discussion, I will argue that a precise timing of some of the gestures involved in the sound sequences studied here is relevant for the sound structure of each dialect. Finally, I will consider an application of the Articulatory Phonology syllabic model to a hypothetical sound change in Western Andalusian Spanish.
Effect of shape on holding capacity of plate anchors buried in soft soil

Plate anchor is one of the most common varieties of anchors used in the construction and maintenance work of various on-land and offshore structures. An accurate estimation of the uplift capacity of anchor foundations is necessary for an economical design as well as for the safety and stability of structures. This paper outlines the effect of shape of anchor plates on their breakout capacity, through a series of model tests. Both shallow and deep anchor behaviours were investigated under conditions developing suction force and without suction force. The results of these tests are presented in terms of load-displacement behaviour, variation of breakout factors (with and without suction force) with depth of embedment, the critical embedment depth of anchors and variation of suction force with embedment ratio. Further, the variations of breakout factor ratio with aspect ratio and embedment ratio are reported. Based on the experimental results and the model test results of other investigators an empirical relationship has been suggested to determine the shape factor and holding capacity of plate anchors buried in saturated cohesive soils.
Insider Trading with Imperfectly Competitive Market Makers

We extend a market model of Kyle (1984) to a multi-period market model in which market makers are imperfectly competitive. When there are only a finite number of market makers who try to maximize their expected profits, Kyle’s λ, price sensitivity to the order flow, is higher than that of Kyle (1985), who assumes perfect competition among risk-neutral market makers. We show that in a multi-period setting, the price movement has a negative serial correlation as Roll (1984) and Glosten and Milgrom (1985).
Max-analogues of N-infinite Divisibility and N-stability

Here we discuss the max-analogues of random infinite divisibility and random stability developed by Gnedenko and Korolev [5]. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for the weak convergence to a random max-infinitely divisible law from that to a max-infinitely divisible law. Introducing random max-stable laws we show that they are indeed invariant under random maximum. We then discuss their domain of max-attraction.
Assessing the Impact of the Reducing Burglary Initiative in Southern England and Wales

This report summarises findings about the impact of Reducing Burglary Initiative projects covered by the Southern Consortium. It considers what worked in reducing domestic burglary and aims to explain the factors underlying this success. The issues of whether interventions were theoretically robust, and how intensively they needed to be implemented in practice to achieve any impact are examined. Projects tended to be more successful if the underlying theory of interventions was clearly thought through so that they complemented rather than contradicted each other. If this was the case, so-called ‘packages’ of interventions were most effective when designed to be relevant to the local area in terms of the local community, local offending and to management experience. The ‘dosage’ of an intervention needed to be considered so as to maximise effect, taking into account financial and personnel restrictions. Combinations of short- and long-term interventions were found to have a more sustainable impact on offending. Other internal and extraneous factors are considered that may have acted to the benefit or detriment of implementation. These may have masked the impact of successful projects from the evaluators, or given the spurious impression of success. The projects could be undermined by changing operational and community priorities. Despite the wide range of problems that projects had with implementation, the Southern Consortium SDPs proved that successful projects were possible.
Thermodynamics of supra-arcade downflows in solar flares

Context. Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) have been frequently observed during the gradual phase of solar flares near the limb. In coronal emission lines sensitive to flaring plasmas, they appear as tadpole-like dark voids against the diffuse fan-shaped "haze" above, flowing toward the well-defined flare arcade. Aims. We aim to investigate the evolution of SADs' thermal properties, and to shed light on the formation mechanism and physical processes of SADs. Methods. We carefully studied several selected SADs from two flare events and calculated their differential emission measures (DEMs) as well as DEM-weighted temperatures using data obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory. Results. Our analysis shows that SADs are associated with a substantial decrease in DEM above 4 MK, which is 1-3 orders of magnitude smaller than the surrounding haze as well as the region before or after the passage of SADs, but comparable to the quiet corona. There is no evidence for the presence of the SAD-associated hot plasma (> 20 MK) in the AIA data, and this decrease in DEM does not cause any significant change in the DEM distribution as well as the DEM-weighted temperature, which supports this idea that SADs are density depletion. This depression in DEM rapidly recovers in the wake of the SADs studied, generally within a few minutes, suggesting that they are discrete features. In addition, we found that SADs in one event are spatio-temporally associated with the successive formation of post-flare loops along the flare arcade.
Divorce and personality development across middle adulthood

This study tested whether divorce helps explain individual differences in personality development in the years that follow a divorce. The sample consisted of 526 middle-aged adults aged 42–46 years at the beginning. Personality traits were measured using the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory at three measurement occasions over 12 years. First, personality development was characterized by individual differences in change. Second, those individuals who experienced a divorce showed a decrease in extraversion and positive affect over time although nondivorced individuals did not change on these traits. Third, divorce was associated with a decrease in dependability. Fourth, divorce was associated with a decrease in orderliness for individuals who were remarried. The results of this study indicated that divorce had little influence on personality development.
Selected results from the ISUAL/FORMOSAT2 mission

The ISUAL (Imager of Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning) is a scientific payload onboard the FORMOSAT2 satellite (FS2). This the first satellite project survey of global transient luminous events (TLEs) as one of the mission objectives. Since the ISUAL/FS2 launch in 2004, ISUAL has continuously monitored TLE occurrences over pre-midnight regions in the past ten plus years. As of December 2015, more than forty thousand TLEs, including the sub-species like elves, sprites, spritehalos, blue jets and gigantic jets, have been recorded from this space platform. In the meantime, as the supporting facilities to the space-borne ISUAL experiment, ground optical imagery systems have been deployed to observe TLEs occurring near Taiwan with several radio wave detection ground stations also installed to register lightningor TLE-related radio signals called sferics. From analyzing the observed events and the associated sferics, many TLE characteristics have been inferred. Among the most notable factors are the global distributions, the occurrence rates, and the charge injection and the energy impact to the upper atmosphere. In this article, the ISUAL payload, the auxiliary ground facilities and a few selected TLE survey results from the ISUAL mission are concisely presented. Article history: Received 14 February 2016 Revised 17 August 2016 Accepted 23 August 2016
Vegetative compatibility and RFLP analysis of Colletotrichum destructivum isolates from alfalfa and red clover

A total of 17 isolates of Colletotrichum from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) plants with anthracnose symptoms were collected from 11 districts in Serbia during 2005-2010 and tested for variability in vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). Nitrate nonutilising (nit) mutants were isolated from each of investigated C. destructivum isolates by selecting chlorate-resistant sectors on medium with chlorate. The isolates were grouped in five VCGs while one isolate was self-incompatible. No relationship was found between VCGs and geographical origin of the isolates. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a 900 bp intron of the glutamine synthetase (GS) gene revealed a unique polymorphic profile of C. destructivum isolates, distinct from the profiles of other Colletotrichum species. An identical profile was produced for all C. destructivum isolates, regardless of their host and geographical origin. PCR-RFLP failed to detect some the Serbian C. destructivum isolates. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31057]
Original Article

Received: 28 January 2014 Accepted: 19 March 2014 Abstract Objective: Bond failure of brackets during orthodontic treatment is a common problem; which results in treatment interference, increased treatment time and prolonged clinical time for rebonding of failed brackets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Coca-Cola and a non-alcoholic beer on the shear bond strength and adhesive remnant index (ARI) of orthodontic metal brackets in vitro. Materials and Methods: Eighty intact human premolars were divided into two experimental groups of Coca-Cola and non-alcoholic beer (Istak), and a control group of artificial saliva. Over a period of thirty days, the test groups were immersed in the respective soft drinks for 5 minutes, twice a day. For the remainder of the time, they were kept in artificial saliva at 37°C. The control group was stored in artificial saliva during the experiment. All samples were subjected to shearing forces using Universal Testing Machine. ARI was determined with a stereomicroscope at ×12 magnification. The data of shear bond strength were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s Post-Hoc test and the data of ARI scores were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: No significant difference was observed in ARIs of the three groups (P≤ 0.552). The shear bond strength of Coke group was significantly lower than that of the two other groups (P≤ 0.035); but there was no significant difference between the shear bond strength of Istak and the control group (P≤ 0.999). Conclusion: Coca-Cola decreased the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets.
The impact of international financial reporting standards on fund performance

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) on the performance of UK investment closed-end trust funds with domestic equity focus using Carhart’s Four-Factor model. ,The paper is based on the Efficient Market Hypothesis, which argues that all available information is already included in the price of assets, and therefore, investors cannot beat the market or generate abnormal returns. ,The results show that on average, UK investment trusts neither do generate abnormal returns, nor is their performance persistent. This paper provides empirical evidence to support the efficient market hypotheses and provides proof that the adoption of IFRS has, on average, a decreasing impact on the excess returns generated by UK investment trusts. ,The findings of this paper have business policy implications for investment trust in the UK.
Understanding expressed low concern and latent concern near a hazardous waste treatment facility

This paper discusses local small town residents’ concerns about risk and safety near a hazardous waste facility at Swan Hills, Alberta, Canada. The majority of the residents studied outwardly express that they have low concern about the facility. The purposes are to both elaborate existing theory that potentially explains low concern and to explore new explanations of low concern in everyday life. Theories or concepts which potentially explain expressed low concern are start-points for this qualitative case study. These include: economic risk theory, psychometric risk theory, cultural risk theory, cognitive dissonance (threat denial), community identity and stigma, and risk attenuation. Thirtyeight in-depth resident interviews involving views of facility risks, as well as community life, are used to better understand the social construction of risk. It is found that despite the fact that 31 residents outwardly insist they have no or low concern about facility risks when first prompted, 11 actually do show latent concerns when probed further, expressed as uncertainty, reservations and doubt. It is argued that juxtaposing the views of insiders against those perceived to be held by outsiders furthers understanding of why facility concern is rarely expressed in such a community. There is a heightened sense of pride and positive community identity manifest as a defensive reaction by insider residents to outsiders who are perceived to hold negative, stigmatizing views of the facility as well as the town. Implications relating to community and industry vigilance as well as the impacts of outsiders sensationalising risk are discussed.
Dear Dr. Werner: We have finished the revision of our manuscript "The 2010-2015 mega drought in Central Chile: Impacts on regional hydroclimate and vegetation" submitted for publication in HESS

We are grateful of the constructive criticism that Dr. Trigo (reviewer 1) and Dr. Enenkel (reviewer 2) formulated on our work. In our opinion, both reviewers have a favorable view of our manuscript. Yet, they expressed general/major comments that helped us to generate a scientifically stronger version. The reviewer's comments also helped us to add key references, as well as correct several typographical, spelling and usage errors.
Tenderness and taste qualification of red brangus beef in Mexico

Beef tenderness is an important trait in consumer satisfaction and has been considered as the main trait for palatability, for which reason it is important to evaluate its variability in different cattle breeds. An experiment was designed to evaluate the Warner Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) of Red Brangus cattle rib eye steaks and consumer acceptance. The tenderness of beef rib eye steaks was evaluated by the WBSF. A consumer preference evaluation test was carried out to quantitatively estimate tenderness, juiciness, flavor, doneness and general acceptance of the evaluated steaks. Mean WBSF was 5.03 kg ± 0.93 kg, theoretically indicating a tough beef. The distribution of the samples showed 21 % and 11 % of moderately tender and tender beef cuts, respectively. Cattle condition (bulls and steers) was not significant for the WBSF (p > 0.5). All the traits evaluated in the hedonic evaluation had approximately 6 points of a total of 8 (8 was best). Tenderness, juiciness and flavor presented a high and significant correlation (p < 0.5). None of the subjective traits was correlated with total acceptance. Under theoretical criteria, tender Red Brangus beef cuts are infrequent; however the beef has a good acceptance. Characterization studies may be necessary and useful to create marketing niches specific for this and other cattle breeds.
Climate and Soil Controls on Flood Frequency

The flood frequency estimation in ungauged basins is an important field that requires the development of innovative statistical tools aimed to improve the available techniques for risk assessment. This research is aimed to better understand and classify the hydrological processes underlying the flood generation exploiting the theoretical model of Iacobellis and Fiorentino (8). The present paper is oriented to investigate the variables responsible of flood generation, analyzing the effects of climatic and physiographic basin features on the main variables of the theoretical flood probability distributions. Investigations are focused on the scaling relationships between estimates of flood distribution variables and physical features of 33 gauged basins in a wide area of Southern Italy. Results provide interesting information for the research of an analytical derivation of a flood frequency distribution whose parameters are directly correlated to climate and geomorphologic characteristics.