Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reverse Takeover and Firm Survivability

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper investigates how firm financial characteristics and governance characteristics affect reverse takeovers’ survival. Research Findings/Insights: Using a sample of reverse takeovers that took place during the 2000–2009 period in the U.S., we find that firms with reverse takeover are more likely to survive when they have higher interest coverage ratio of the shell, while its profitability (return on equity) is lower just before the reverse takeover and the new firm is relatively smaller than the public shell. In addition, firms with new CEOs are more likely to survive than firms without CEO replacement, and this effect is pronounced when the shell has lower liquidity. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our findings suggest that the survivability of reverse takeovers relies both on the financial conditions of the merging firms and on their presumed value-enhancing governance characteristics. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Conventionally, firms try to improve the financial conditions of the merging firms to survive in the reverse takeover. Our empirical results however stress that firms should also practice good corporate governance in order to be successful in reverse takeover.
A study on body weight perception and weight control behaviours among adolescents in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationships between body weight perceptions, estimated body mass index, gender, and weight control behaviours. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Three secondary schools in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1132 secondary school forms 1 and 3 students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The strength of agreement between perceived weight and estimated body mass index, and the association between perceived weight, estimated body mass index, and weight control behaviours. RESULTS A total of 14% of students were estimated to be overweight or obese. The agreement between actual (estimated) body mass index and perceived weight was poor in females and fair in males (Kappa 0.137 and 0.225, respectively). In females, there was no evidence of a relationship between body mass index and weight control behaviours. However, there was a relationship between perceived weight and weight control behaviours such that females who perceived themselves as overweight were more likely to exercise, restrict caloric intake, self medicate with diet pills, purge, or use laxatives. In males, there was evidence of a relationship between perceived weight, body mass index, and weight control behaviours. Males who perceived themselves as overweight or were overweight, were more likely to exercise or restrict caloric intake. CONCLUSIONS Body weight perceptions are not in agreement with actual weight in adolescents. This discrepancy is more marked in females who use a variety of weight control behaviours. These behaviours are motivated by perceived weight rather than actual (estimated) body mass index. Overweight adolescents should be encouraged to adopt appropriate weight control behaviours for their health needs.
How Does Buzz Build Brands? Investigating the Link between Word of Mouth and Brand Performance

How Does Buzz Build Brands? Investigating the Link Between Word of Mouth and Brand Performance BY Andrew M. Baker July 2011 Committee Chair: Naveen Donthu Major Academic Unit: Department of Marketing Marketers have long been interested how word of mouth (WOM) contributes to marketing performance. However, there is a dearth of systematic investigation into how different characteristics of WOM episodes affect consumer response toward brands partly because of the difficulties associated with collecting detailed WOM information. To aid in resolving some of the ambiguity in the literature about the impact of different forms of WOM on brand performance, this dissertation investigates how WOM influences three consumer responses to WOM: purchase, WOM retransmission, and additional information search. The author investigates these questions by analyzing a database comprising more than three years of detailed WOM data from a unique, nationally representative panel merged with other secondary sources that provide various measures of brand strength (the American Consumer Satisfaction Index and Harris Interactive’s Equitrend). The analysis includes 188,510 WOM conversations across 654 brands. Using a series of hierarchical regression models, the results from this study reveal numerous insights into the contextual factors that moderate the impact of a WOM episode. For example, negative WOM about a brand has a larger absolute effect on consumer purchase intentions than positive WOM, but positive WOM has a larger positive effect on WOM retransmission than the positive effect of negative WOM. Offline WOM tends to exacerbate the effect of positive and negative brand sentiment on purchase intentions. WOM between stronger social ties tends to have greater impact on brand-related responses than WOM between weak ties, except in the case of motivating additional information search. The results also indicate that strong brands (those with higher levels of brand equity) tend to reap greater benefits from WOM. For example, negative, mixed, or neutral WOM has greater influence on purchase, and WOM from weak social ties about strong brands motivates
A feature-based approach to conflation of geospatial sources

A Geographic Information System (GIS) populated with disparate data sources has multiple and different representations of the same real-world object. Often, the type of information in these sources is different, and combining them to generate one composite representation has many benefits. The first step in this conflation process is to identify the features in different sources that represent the same real-world entity. The matching process is not simple, since the identified features from different sources do not always match in their location, extent, and description. We present a new approach to matching GIS features from disparate sources. A graph theoretic approach is used to model the geographic context and to determine the matching features from multiple sources. Experiments on implementation of this approach demonstrate its viability.
Did the Electronic Trading System Make the Foreign Exchange Market More Efficient

This paper examines the effects of introducing the electronic trading system (EBS) on the foreign exchange market, the biggest financial market in the world where trading occurs through many dealers. We find that increasing transparency leads to an increase in informational efficiency, an important aspect of market quality. However, informed dealers are found to quote less aggressively in the more transparent market. Overall, we conclude that semi-transparency raises market efficiency in general, but that it is the uninformed dealers who benefit more from this increased efficiency. Advisor: Professor Liang Ding Readers: Professor Vittorio Addona, Professor Gary Krueger
The Family Ownership Logic : Core Characteristics of Family-Controlled Businesses

This paper sets out to identify the core characteristics of family ownership logic. Based on 20 in-depth conversations with family business owners representing different generations, life-cycles, sizes, and industries, listed or privately held, we suggest a family ownership logic indicating seven core characteristics. This logic is characterized by a stable and persistent ownership with few owners and a relative stable strategic development for which tradition and emotional ties are important. This paper concludes that in order to better understand family ownership logic we need to turn to alternative views on corporate governance and theories on psychological ownership. The implications of the family ownership logic are manifold. Related to agency theory and stewardship theory our empirical material raises several questions of relevance for the debate on governance in family-controlled firms.
Does the year-end decline in injury risk reflect reporting error?

BACKGROUND Relatively little is known about seasonal patterns in occupational injury risk. Injury risk may vary seasonally due to weather-related factors or changing work exposure. Employer confusion about recordkeeping rules and injury occurrence near year end may also lead to an undercount of year-end injuries. METHODS Case records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries were used to determine seasonality for a variety of injury types. RESULTS Reported injury rates were higher in summer and lower at year end. Difficult-to-identify injuries showed greater year-end incidence declines. CONCLUSIONS End-of-year injury declines may have reflected reporting errors for some injury types. The summertime increase in injury risk was broad-based and presumably reflected real seasonal factors.
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Organizational Performances (With Special Reference to Tourist Hotel and Hospitality Industry in Jaffna District)

The service industry is the largest and fastest growing role in Sri Lanka. According to the Central Bank Annual Report in 2013, which is indicated this information. The hospitality and tourism industry is strongly taken major role to contribute this service industry to its forward tendency. For the purpose of this study Jaffna district is selected as a sample to represent the whole population in small and Medium scale hotels area because of Jaffna district is major populated to Jaffna town.Under the Entrepreneurial Orientation, here four kinds of dimensions are selected to indicate the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) Such as Innovation, Risk taking, Autonomy and Competitive Aggressiveness
Echinostoma macrorchis in Lao PDR: Metacercariae in Cipangopaludina Snails and Adults from Experimentally Infected Animals

The echinostome metacercariae encysted in Cipangopaludina sp. snails that were purchased from a market in Vientiane Municipality, Lao PDR, were identified as Echinostoma macrorchis (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) through recovery of adult flukes after experimental infection to rats and a cat. The metacercariae were round, 113-128 (121)×113-125 (120) µm, having a thick cyst wall, a head collar armed with collar spines, and excretory granules. The adult flukes recovered from the rats and cat at day 14 and 30 post-infection, respectively, were elongated, ventrally curved, and 3.9-6.3×0.7-1.1 mm in size. The head collar was distinct, bearing 43-45 collar spines with 5 angle spines on each side. Two testes were large (as the name implies), tandem, and slightly constricted at the middle, with irregular margins. Eggs were operculated, ovoid to elliptical, and 88-95×56-60 µm. In scanning electron microscopy, the head collar was prominent, with 43-45 collar spines. Scale-like tegumental spines were densely distributed on the ventral surface between the oral and ventral suckers. Sensory papillae were distributed mainly on the tegument around the 2 suckers. It is confirmed that E. macrorchis is distributed in Lao PDR using Cipangopaludina sp. snails as the second intermediate host.
Risk Factors Associated with Fast-Track Ineligibility After Monitored Anesthesia Care in Ambulatory Surgery Patients

BACKGROUND:Fast-tracking after ambulatory anesthesia has been advocated as a pathway to improve efficiency and maximize resources without compromising patient safety and satisfaction. Studies reporting successful fast-tracking focus primarily on anesthesia techniques and not on specific patient factors, surgical procedure, or process variables associated with unsuccessful fast-tracking. We performed this retrospective study to implement a process for improving fast-tracking, measure change over time, and identify variables associated with patients unable to fast-track successfully after monitored anesthesia care. METHODS:A fast-track protocol for all patients receiving monitored anesthesia care based on the Modified Aldrete Score was instituted. It consisted of written policy changes and weekly review at physician and nursing department meetings for the first month, followed by monthly feedback during a 6-mo intervention period. Data collected for a 3-mo baseline and the consecutive 6-mo intervention period included fast-track status, surgical service and procedure, surgeon and anesthesiology provider, age, gender, ASA status, total time in operating room, and total postoperative time (end of surgery to actual discharge). RESULTS:Three hundred and thirty-two cases were completed during the 3-mo baseline period, and 641 cases were completed during the 6-mo intervention period. Fast-track success rate improved from 23% to 56%, P < 0.001. Independent risk factors for fast-track ineligibility identified by multivariate regression analysis were significant for patients <60 yr-old, ASA III versus I, general surgery versus orthopedics and ophthalmology, month after implementation, and total postoperative time. Total postoperative time was significantly shorter by 64 min in the fast-track group, P < 0.001. CONCLUSION:Fast-track success rate can be improved and sustained over time by education and personnel feedback. We identified risk factors that were significantly associated with fast-track ineligibility. If those factors are found to be associated with fast-track ineligibility in a prospective investigation, they should enable development of multidisciplinary patient and procedure-specific guidelines for fast-tracking.
Government Sponsored Versus Private Venture Capital: Canadian Evidence

This paper investigates the relative performance of enterprises backed by government-sponsored venture capitalists and private venture capitalists. While previous studies focus mainly on investor returns, this paper focuses on a broader set of public policy objectives, including value-creation, innovation, and competition. A number of novel data-collection methods, including web-crawlers, are used to assemble a near-comprehensive data set of Canadian venture-capital backed enterprises. The results indicate that enterprises financed by government-sponsored venture capitalists underperform on a variety of criteria, including value-creation, as measured by the likelihood and size of IPOs and M&As, and innovation, as measured by patents. It is important to understand whether such underperformance arises from a selection effect in which private venture capitalists have a higher quality threshold for investment than subsidized venture capitalists, or whether it arises from a treatment effect in which subsidized venture capitalists crowd out private investment and, in addition, provide less effective mentoring and other value-added skills. We find suggestive evidence that crowding out and less effective treatment are problems associated with government-backed venture capital. While the data does not allow for a definitive welfare analysis, the results cast some doubt on the desirability of certain government interventions in the venture capital market.
A Study Of Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis With Special Reference To Sepsis Screening Parameters In A Tertiary Care Centre Of Rural India

Objective: To study the maternal risk factors and clinico-bacteriological profile of early onset sepsis (EOS) and performance of sepsis screen parameter in a tertiary care neonatal unit. Methods: Relevant data of neonates born during the study period were obtained from their case records. A diagnosis of early onset sepsis was made if either clinical sepsis developed within 48 hours of life and based on the risk factors and/or clinical features were subjected to various hematological screening parameters and blood cultures. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software, Chi-square values, probability coefficients, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive values of the three diagnostic methods derived and the results correlated.Results: Among 3574 live births, a total of 189 episodes of sepsis occurred in 72 neonates (51.38% culture proven) with an incidence of 52.88 per 1000 live births. The incidence of EOS was 20.15 per 1000 live births and it constituted 38% of overall sepsis. Among the Perinatal risk factors assessed, a significant association of EOS with prolonged rupture of membranes, foul smelling liquor was observed (p<0.05). Among infants at risk of EOS, 20.9% developed sepsis compared to only 0.32% of those without these risk factors (p 0.001). Klebsiella pneumoniae being commonest (48.6%) isolate. A positive Buffy coat smear was the single best reliable sepsis screen test with a high specificity (82.7%) but, the positive predictive value and specificity was high when two or more sepsis screen tests were combined.
Complaining in Cyberspace: The Motives and Forms of Hotel Guests' Complaints Online

Traditionally, consumers who have been dissatisfied with service have typically complained to the frontline personnel or to a manager in either a direct (face-to-face, over the phone) manner, indirect by writing, or done nothing but told friends and family of the incident. More recently, the Internet has provided various “new” ways to air a grievance, especially when little might have been done at the point of service failure. With the opportunity to now spread word-of-mouth globally, consumers have the potential to impact the standing of a brand or a firm's reputation. The hotel industry is particularly vulnerable, as an increasing number of bookings are undertaken via the Internet and the decision process is likely to be influenced by what other previous guests might post on many booking-linked sites. We conducted a qualitative study of a key travel site to ascertain the forms and motives of complaints made online about hotels and resorts. 200 web-based consumer complaints were analyzed using NVivo 8 software. Findings revealed that consumers report a wide range of service failures on the Internet. They tell a highly descriptive, persuasive, and credible story, often motivated by altruism or, at the other end of the continuum, by revenge. These stories have the power to influence potential guests to book or not book accommodation at the affected properties. Implications for managers of hotels and resorts are discussed.
Extended Male Growth in a Fossil Hominin Species

In primates that are highly sexually dimorphic, males often reach maturity later than females, and young adult males do not show the size, morphology, and coloration of mature males. Here we describe extended male development in a hominin species, Paranthropus robustus. Ranking a large sample of facial remains on the basis of dental wear stages reveals a difference in size and robusticity between young adult and old adult males. Combined with estimates of sexual dimorphism, this pattern suggests that male reproductive strategy focused on monopolizing groups of females, in a manner similar to that of silverback gorillas. However, males appear to have borne a substantial cost in the form of high rates of predation.
Pathological Findings in Dogs Naturally Infected with Angiostrongylus Vasorum in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Fifty-six dogs from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, were evaluated for Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. Small numbers of nematodes were found within pulmonary arteries of 6 dogs. Larvae were identified in fecal samples in 2 of 6 dogs. All 6 dogs had multifocal granulomatous pneumonia and sometimes foci of chronic thrombosis, which varied from very mild to severe. One dog had extensive pulmonary lesions resulting in cor pulmonale. Right heart failure was characterized by right ventricular hypertrophy, hepatic congestion, ascites, and hydrothorax. Microscopically, in most cases, eggs, larvae, and sometimes intravascular adults, were present within lung tissue sections. Small foci of granulomatous inflammation with and without larvae were present in kidney and brain in 4 dogs. An additional dog, diagnosed antemortem with angiostrongylosis via fecal examination, was also examined. Pathological findings consisted of severe pyogranulomatous interstitial pneumonia with myriad eggs, larvae, and numerous intravascular pulmonary adult nematodes with extensive arterial thrombosis. Five hundred and seventy-two adult worms were removed from pulmonary arteries. Foci of granulomatous inflammation, often associated with larvae and/or eggs, were present in tracheobronchial lymph nodes, adrenal gland, brain, and kidneys. Severe seizuring noted antemortem was attributed to several large, discrete areas of acute hemorrhagic infarction within the cerebrum and cerebellum. Natural A. vasorum infection in domestic dogs in eastern Newfoundland causes lung pathology of variable severity, which in some cases, may progress to cor pulmonale and which may be associated with extrapulmonary lesions and clinical signs.
Consumer Negative Voice and Firm-Idiosyncratic Stock Returns

Prior research has largely focused on the positive side of customer experience, such as satisfaction. In contrast, this study investigates the negative side of customer experience and tests the harmful impact of consumer negative voice on firms' stock returns. Based on a longitudinal real-world data set that matches consumer negative voice (complaint records) in the airline industry with firm stock prices, this article finds that higher levels of current consumer negative voice harm firms' future idiosyncratic stock returns. In addition, this harmful impact is robust (albeit different across airline companies) after latent heterogeneity and traditional finance fundamentals are considered. These findings enable marketers and corporate financers to be more confident with customer equity theory and customer relationship management. In addition, armed with “hard” data (record-based, longitudinal), this research helps relieve criticisms against prior studies that are based on “soft” data (survey-based, cross-sectional). To financial analysts, this research suggests that, all else being equal, they should rate downward the stocks of firms that are shadowed by harmful consumer negative voice. In today's high-tech environment with blogs and online forums, the damage caused by negative voice may be nontrivial and should not be ignored. Overall, this research demonstrates to managers that investments in reducing consumer negative voice could indeed make financial sense in terms of promoting firm-idiosyncratic stock returns.