Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Marketing service relationships: the role of commitment

As with all relationships, it is commonly agreed on that partners in business must have a high degree of commitment towards their relationship. If commitment is lacking, the relationship will soon come to an end. Affective commitment, that is commitment based on attraction between partners, is to be preferred over calculative commitment. The latter form of commitment is based on constant weighing of the benefits of a relationship with a partner against the costs of that relationship. Relationships based solely on calculative commitment are also most likely not to last for an extended time. This paper identifies theoretical antecedents and consequences of commitment in relationships in a services context. The results of an empirical study reveal that affective commitment is related to trust in the partner’s honesty and benevolence, quality of the outcome of the service process, and customer satisfaction with the service being delivered. The quality of the service process has an indirect effect on affective commitment, as it is related to satisfaction. Furthermore, it is shown that affectively committed customers have a much stronger intention to stay in a relationship with a service provider than calculatively committed customers.
Multiple daytime nucleation events in semi-clean savannah and industrial environments in South Africa: analysis based on observations

Recent studies have shown very high frequen- cies of atmospheric new particle formation in different en- vironments in South Africa. Our aim here was to investigate the causes for two or three consecutive daytime nucleation events, followed by subsequent particle growth during the same day. We analysed 108 and 31 such days observed in a polluted industrial and moderately polluted rural environ- ments, respectively, in South Africa. The analysis was based on two years of measurements at each site. After rejecting the days having notable changes in the air mass origin or local wind direction, i.e. two major reasons for observed multiple nucleation events, we were able to investigate other factors causing this phenomenon. Clouds were present during, or in between most of the analysed multiple particle formation events. Therefore, some of these events may have been sin- gle events, interrupted somehow by the presence of clouds. From further analysis, we propose that the first nucleation and growth event of the day was often associated with the mixing of a residual air layer rich in SO2 (oxidized to sul- phuric acid) into the shallow surface-coupled layer. The sec- ond nucleation and growth event of the day usually started before midday and was sometimes associated with renewed SO2 emissions from industrial origin. However, it was also evident that vapours other than sulphuric acid were required for the particle growth during both events. This was espe- cially the case when two simultaneously growing particle modes were observed. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the relative contributions of estimated H 2SO4 and other vapours on the first and second nucleation and growth events of the day varied from day to day, depending on anthro- pogenic and natural emissions, as well as atmospheric con- ditions.
Generalized Fractional Integral Operators on Generalized Local Morrey Spaces

We study the continuity properties of the generalized fractional integral operator on the generalized local Morrey spaces and generalized Morrey spaces . We find conditions on the triple which ensure the Spanne-type boundedness of from one generalized local Morrey space to another , , and from to the weak space , . We also find conditions on the pair which ensure the Adams-type boundedness of from to for and from to for . In all cases the conditions for the boundedness of are given in terms of Zygmund-type integral inequalities on and , which do not assume any assumption on monotonicity of , , and in .
Prior Knowledge in EFL Reading Comprehension: Native and Nonnative EFL Teachers’ Perceptions, Classroom Strategies and Difficulties Encountered

This study investigates the perceptions of EFL native and nonnative teachers about the role of the prior knowledge in EFL reading comprehension, the instructional strategies used to activate students’ prior knowledge, and the difficulties encountered when activating students’ prior knowledge. Sixty-three EFL teachers in the preparatory year at Aljouf University participated in the study. The data were collected through a questionnaire and an observation checklist. The results showed a very strong agreement of the role of prior knowledge in text comprehension. Furthermore, teachers expressed strong agreement on the teacher’s role in fostering text comprehension with the use of students’ prior knowledge mainly by asking questions before, during and after reading, and providing students with suitable prior knowledge if they lacked it. The findings also showed that brainstorming strategies, audiovisual aids and questioning were very popular strategies used by the teachers. The results also revealed that teachers attributed the difficulties in activating their students’ prior knowledge to the students’ low level of reading, and limited linguistic competence. In light of the findings, some implications for EFL teachers, in-service teacher training, and for curriculum development are offered.
Knowledge of Grammar, Oral Communication Strategies, and oral Fluency: A Study of Iranian EFL Learners

This study tested the impact of implicit and explicit knowledge of grammar on learners’ use of oral communication strategies (OCSs) and the interface of OCSs and oral fluency. The study was performed on 24 male and 36 female Iranian university students of English Translation studying at Payame Nour Universities of Lar, Khonj, and Evaz chosen based on availability and ease of access. The data were gathered using Timed Grammaticality Judgement Test (Dekeyser, 2000) as a measure of implicit knowledge of grammar, a structure section of TOEFL Paper-based Test (version 2004) as a measure of explicit knowledge of grammar, Oral Communication Strategies Inventory (Nakatani, 2006), and two oral production tasks for measuring learners' oral fluency. Analysis of the data using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Pearson’s Correlation showed that both implicit and explicit knowledge of grammar affect learners’ use of oral communication strategies; however, no relationship was found between overall use of OCSs and oral fluency which can be suggestive of greater or possibly overriding impacts of some other variables on oral fluency compared to OCSs. The findings of the study are supposed to provide guidelines for learners, teachers and syllabus designers concerning the use of OCSs, especially with regard to other variables considered in this study.
An area model for on-chip memories and its application

An area model suitable for comparing data buffers of different organizations (e.g. caches versus register files) and arbitrary sizes is described. The area model considers the supplied bandwidth of a memory cell and includes such buffer overhead as control logic, driver logic and tag storage. The model gave less than 10% error when verified against real caches and register files. It is shown that, comparing caches and register files in terms of area for the same storage capacity, caches generally occupy more area per bit than register files for small caches because the overhead dominates the cache area at these sizes. For larger caches, the smaller storage cells in the cache provide a smaller total cache area per bit than the register set. Studying cache performance (traffic ratio) as a function of area, it is shown that, for small caches (less than the area occupied by 256 registers bits-r.b.e.-or 32 b), direct-mapped caches perform significantly better than four-way set-associative caches and, for caches of medium areas (between 256 r.b.e. and 4096 r.b.e.), both direct-mapped and set-associative caches perform better than fully associative caches. >
Variation and fractionation of lithium isotopes within single tourmaline crystals in the pegmatites of the Black Hills, SD

Extremely large elongated crystals, attributed to low nucleation rates and rapid growth during fast cooling (Nabelek et al., 2010), are just one example of the intriguing and unusual disequilibrium features found in granitic pegmatites. Lithium isotope ratios are no exception. Previous studies have shown pegmatites to have significantly elevated δLi compared to normal crustal values and large variations across individual pegmatite intrusions (Teng et al., 2006, Maloney et al., 2008). Variable and extreme isotope fractionation has been linked to kinetics of crystallization, differential diffusion of Li and Li, fractional crystallization, and interaction with fluids. Although a number of isotopic studies of pegmatites exist at the outcrop scale, studies on single crystals are rare. A study by Ludwig et al. (2011) showed a roughly homogenous isotope profile in a tourmaline using secondary ion mass spectroscopy. If, however, Li isotope ratios are in fact variable within individual crystals, the variability has implications for crystallization processes in leucogranite and pegmatite dikes. For this study, tourmaline crystals were collected from several texturally different pegmatite localities in the large, Proterozoic leucogranite-pegmatite field in the Black Hills, SD. Lithium concentrations and isotope ratios were measured at numerous points along the lengths of individual tourmaline crystals. Slices of tourmalines, cut perpendicular to the crystal’s long axis, were dissolved by an alkali fusion technique. Concentrations were determined at the University of Missouri using a PerkinElmer Optima 3300 ICP-OES. Isotope measurements were performed at University of Maryland-College Park using a Nu Plasma Multi-collector ICP-MS. Purification followed the three-column cation exchange chromatography method (Moriguti and
THE NEW ERA OF FINANCIAL INNOVATION: THE DETERMINANTS OF BITCOIN’S PRICE

Financial innovation has entered a new era in which a digitalized system and cryptocurrency have been created. This paper examines the factors that influence the price movement of bitcoin. This is not a legal currency in Indonesia; the Indonesian government has not made any regulations legalizing bitcoin’s use, but it has also not issued any new laws to prohibit the trade in bitcoins and other digital currencies. The demand for, and price growth of, bitcoin are interesting matters to study, especially for Indonesians who still have questions about the progress of Bitcoin transactions and the factors that influent them. In Indonesia itself, without any protection from the government, the bitcoin price on December 14, 2017 had already reached more than IDR224.5 million, compare to IDR60 million in October 2017. Bitcoin is the first peer-to-peer currency, and was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Since its inception, bitcoin has served more than 17 million users, including Indonesians. Bitcoin behaves in a different manner, compared to traditional currencies and the one that affects bitcoin’s price is its attractiveness for investors. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is applied to analyze the short-term and long-term influences. VECM is used in this research because the data is stationary in the first difference and has a cointegration relationship. To make the interpretation clearer, the impulse response function and variance decomposition also are included in this research. The result indicates that the macroeconomic indicator, represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the demand for bitcoins and the gold price influence bitcoin’s price fluctuations in the short-run and long-run. Bitcoin’s supply does not influence its price fluctuation in the long-run but does influence it in the short-run. The implication of this research is bitcoin could compete as an alternative investment compared to the capital markets and gold.
Linking Reputations: The Signaling and Feedback Effects of Umbrella Branding

This paper develops a theory of umbrella branding as a way to link the reputations of otherwise unrelated products. I show that while umbrella branding can credibly signal positive quality correlation, there are no equilibria in which umbrella branding either fully reveals high quality, or signals negative quality correlation. Finally, whenever umbrella branding signals perfect positive quality correlation, firms that already produce high quality products have stronger incentives to invest in developing further high quality products than firms that are currently inactive or produce low quality products.
The Low P/E Effect and Abnormal Returns for Australian Industrial Firms

While the low P/E effect has been examined rather extensively in international markets particularly in the US, there is a notable absence of Australian market-based P/E studies. This research examines the relationship between the investment performance of Australian Industrial common stock and their P/E ratios in an attempt to uncover potential for a P/E based trading strategy. The excess and differential returns of P/E ranked portfolios containing 1310 Industrial firms over a 9 year period (January 1998 to December 2006) are examined. The results show the existence of a low P/E effect in the Australian capital market. Furthermore, the superior returns of low P/E stocks increase when a consensus of two business failure prediction models is applied to the portfolio of low P/E stocks. The statistically significant risk-adjusted returns afforded to hypothetical investors over the sample period (up to 12? % per annum), not only provide support for a P/E based trading strategy, but also suggest a violation of the semi-strong form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
Profitability Ratios in the Early Stages of a Startup

This study develops a mathematical framework to analyze the time series of profitability ratios in the early stages of a startup. It is assumed that the expenditure of the startup grows at a steady rate and generates a proportionally identical flow of revenue in each period. The profitability in terms of the internal rate of return (IRR) and the lag structure of revenue flows are assumed constant over time in describing the adjustment process towards the steady state. The startup is assumed to expense in each period a constant part of periodic expenditure and beginning-of-the-period assets. The adjustment processes of three kinds of profitability ratios are investigated: return on investment ratio, profit margin (as percent of net sales), and (traditional) cash-flow margin (as percent of net sales). It is shown that IRR, growth, expense rate, and lag structure strongly affect the early time-series behavior of profitability ratios. Thus, in the early years, due to unstable adjustment processes, profitability ratios are unable to reflect profitability (IRR) properly and can give distorted signals of the performance of a startup. These findings are supported by numerical analyses with the parameters estimated for a sample of 2608 Finnish startups classified into five clusters.
Excitation of transverse magnetic tube waves in stellar convection zones - I. Analytical approach

Analytical treatment of the excitation of transverse magnetic tube waves in stellar convection zones is presented. The waves are produced by the interaction between thin and vertically oriented magnetic flux tubes embedded in stellar convection zones and the external turbulent motions. A general theory describing this interaction is developed and used to compute the wave energy spectra and fluxes for the Sun.
Local Network Relationships and the Internationalization of Small Knowledge-Intensive Firms

This paper discusses the role of network relationships in the internationalization of small knowledge-intensive firms (SKIFs) by highlighting their local, spatially concentrated network relationships, which can serve as a significant local resource. Little is known in this regard with respect to a developing economy context. Primarily on the basis of a study of four case-firms in the Bangalore software industry and available secondary data, two issues are dealt with: (a) how local network relationships – such as those within clusters or industrial districts – are developed and (b) the impact that these relationships have on the internationalization of SKIFs, specifically in respect to enhancing international competitiveness. Three effects of local network relationships on the internationalization of SKIFs, viz., reputation-related, quality-related and networking benefits, are noted. However, it also emerged from follow-up interviews with local academic experts that these benefits may be passively rather than actively accrued, suggesting that some valuable local resources may be overlooked or wasted.
The Role of Bondholders’ Coordination in Freeze-Out Exchange Offers

This paper develops a model to assess the potential for unfairness in freeze-out bond covenant exchange offers by highlighting the role played by coordination among bondholders. We show that (i) shareholders have an incentive to always structure an exchange offer unfairly and (ii) the coordination costs are positively related to the unfairness of the exchange offer. By improving coordination, bondholders can obtain better contractual conditions, not only with regard to exchange offers, but also in bond issues.
Investigation of the possible use of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) essential oil on butter stability.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) essential oil on butter stability. For this aim, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 wt-% essential oil was added to the butter. Antioxidant activity of the essential oil was compared to that of synthetic antioxidant BHT (100 ppm). All samples were stored at 4±1oC for 90 days. Thiobarbituric acid and peroxide values of all samples containing essential oil were decreased depending on concentrations. The amount of 0.2% of essential oil had showed strong antioxidant activity, which was almost equal to that of BHT. The addition of essential oil reduced total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria and coliform bacteria count during storage period but did not show remarkable antifungal activity. Samples containing essential oil were preferred by the panellists compared to Control sample. Present results indicate that black cumin essential oil may be considered as a new source of natural antioxidant.
Return Predictability from Realized and Option-Implied Moments

In this paper we test which computational method, of computing statistical moments, yields time series that contain most information on future equity returns. The methods we consider are the realized, autoregressive forecasted realized (AR), and option-implied method, the latter both model-free and derived from a Generalized Beta Distribution of the Second Kind (GB2Q). Using a static time series regression, we find a significant positive relation between the volatility of the AR315d (estimated on 315 trading-days), modelfree, and GB2Q method and subsequent excess returns. We do not find any relation using the skewness, and kurtosis. The rolling window regressions show that the coefficients vary substantially over time. Furthermore, these results indicate that the higher moments do not improve the accuracy of forecasting the excess return, and that we lack the statistical support to prefer one method over another in terms of forecasting accuracy. In measuring the performance of trading strategies, created using an utility framework, we find that the model-free and AR315d method perform best, with Sortino ratios of 0.30, compared to 0.24 of the S&P 500 index. Second best is the GB2Q method, followed by the realized and AR15m method (estimated on 15 months). Measured in alpha, the AR315d method performs better than the model-free method. The performance of the daily AR method is enhanced when increasing the estimation window when estimating the AR coefficients. Imposing an upper bound constraint on the optimal weight, slightly improves the performance of all methods. Furthermore, we find that the contribution of the third and fourth moment are economically not significant, that none of the methods perform consistently over time, and that the performance is insensitive to changes in the relative risk aversion parameter.
The Pro-Competitive Eect of Trade: An Empirical Investigation of the Firm Markups Distribution

In this paper, we empirically investigate whether trade liberalization aects the distribution of …rm markups. The identi…cation explores China's WTO accession by the end of 2001. The dierence-in-dierences estimation shows that trade liber- alization reduces the dispersion of …rm markups within a narrowly-de…ned industry. The results are robust to a battery of validity checks on the identifying assump- tion and other econometric concerns. Our study contributes to the literature by identifying another potential channel through which free trade bene…ts a nation.
FIXED FUZZY POINTS OF GENERALIZED GERAGHTY TYPE FUZZY MAPPINGS ON COMPLETE METRIC SPACES

Generalized Geraghty type fuzzy mappings on complete metric spaces are introduced and a xed point theorem that generalizes some recent comparable results for fuzzy mappings in contemporary literature is obtained. Example is provided to show the validity of obtained results over comparable classical results for fuzzy mappings in xed point theory. As an application, existence of coincidence fuzzy points and common xed fuzzy points for hybrid pair of single valued self mapping and a fuzzy mapping is also established.
Evaluation of alvarado score in acute appendicitis: A prospective study

Background: Acute appendicitis is a common cause of abdominal pain for which a prompt diagnosis is rewarded by a marked decrease in morbidity and mortality. Right iliac foss a pain is the hallm ark of acute appendicitis until proven otherwise. Decis ion making in a cases of acute appendicitis may be difficult, es pecially for junior surgeons. Hence we aimed at analyzing the Alvarado Score in patients with right iliac fossa pain. Methods: A prospective study involving 231 patients with right iliac fossa pain were included in the study, with patients from 16-65 years of age (mean-26.3). Patients were categorized into 2 groups: Group I, Alvarado Score 7 (118 patients) and Group II, Alvarado Score I 6 (113 patients). Results: 103 patients in Group 1 underwentsurgeryand 101 had acute appendicitis. In Group 11,24patients underwent delayed surgerywhere 6 patients had appendicitis on histological examination. Ultrasonography diagnosed acute appendicitis in 110 patients out of which 107 had appendicitis, proven histologically. Three patients were over diagnosed to have appendicitis byultrasonography. Negative appendicectomies were seen more in females than in males (6:2). The Alvarado score had an overall sensitivityof88.8% and specificityof75%. Conclusion: The diagnostic accuracy of Alvarado score is found to be helpful in the diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis. Diagnosis of acute appendicitis is virtually confirmed with a score of7-10 especially in males and they should undergo appendicectomy. Diagnostic laparoscopyis advised to minimize the unacceptable high false negative rate in women. Patients with score 5-6 must be admitted and scored frequently. Score 1-4 can be discharged unless otherwise indicated.