Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Framework for Research on E-Learning Assimilation in SMEs: A Strategic Perspective

Purpose – This study aims to propose an integrative conceptual framework of e‐learning adoption and assimilation that is adapted to the specific context of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – The literature on the state of e‐learning usage in SMEs and on the IT adoption and assimilation factors that can be specifically applied to e‐learning adoption and assimilation in this context are reviewed. These factors are then integrated within a research framework, and a set of 20 propositions formulated.Findings – The paper identifies the technological, organizational and environmental factors that are likely to favor or hinder e‐learning adoption and assimilation in SMEs, as well as the interaction among these factors.Research limitations/implications – The integrative framework and the 20 propositions that emanate from it constitute the conceptual foundation for a research program and hypotheses on the adoption and assimilation of e‐learning in SMEs.Practical implications – T.
Technological leadership and innovation persistence: empirical evidence.

We study how technological leadership affects persistence in product innovation. Relying upon a database of 1818 products marketed between 1990 and 1999 by 265 firms active in a high-tech industry we first construct a measure of technological leadership in terms of firm positioning with respect to the frontier and then relate this measure to persistence in innovation. We find that leaders are systematically more persistent innovators than laggards. We also find that leaders in one market can also systematically innovate in a related market. Laggards in one market can instead innovate systematically in another one only if it is less technologically advanced. We also find evidence that patenting increase persistence in product innovation.
The effects of Environmental, Social and Governance measures on the cross section of stock return, a compensation for risk or mispricing? Evidence from the Swedish stock market

There is a lack of uniformity throughout the literature regarding the effects of socially responsible investing. By implementing a Fama-MacBeth style regression with the Fama French three factors and the momentum factor, extended with several detailed environmental, social and governance scores the lack of uniformity of these effects are confirmed. The combined social score, the product responsibility and community scores are shown to have positive relations to stock returns, while the human rights and management scores are shown to have negative relations. Deepening the analysis, whether these effects are due to mispricing or risk, there is evidence that the combined social score is to be explained by being a risk factor while the other scores are found to be explained by mispricing.
Stock price, risk-free rate and learning

The comovement between stock and short-term bond markets in US data shows to be weak measured by the correlation between stock price-dividend ratio and risk-free rate, as well as the statistics coming from variance decomposition approach. Understanding the weak comovement is important for both investors and policy makers. We show that several rational expectation asset pricing models that match stock market volatility are inconsistent with the weak comovement because stock prices there are fundamental driven. To explain the weak comovement, we present a small open economy model with "Internally Rational" agents, who optimally update their subjective beliefs on stock prices given their own model. Compared with risk-free rate's variation, agents' subjective beliefs are central in generating stock price volatility. When testing our model using the method of simulated moments, we find that it can simultaneously match the basic stock and short-term bond market facts, and the weak comovement between two markets quantitatively.
Are stress drop and rupture velocity of earthquakes independent? Insight from observed ground motion variability

We demonstrate that the variability of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) generated by earthquakes can be simply related to the variability of stress drop (Δτ), rupture velocity (Vr) and their correlation. By compiling recent observations of variability of Δτ and Vr, we show that the hypothesis of independence between Δτ and Vr leads to an overestimation of the PGA variability. We suggest that Δτ and Vr must be anticorrelated so as to match recent observations of PGA variability.
Coral defence against macroalgae: differential effects of mesenterial filaments on the green alga Halimeda opuntia

Several studies have shown that the growth of macroalgae is reduced when in contact with corals, but very few have addressed the mechanisms involved. This study provides for the first time an explicative mechanism for the inhibition of algal growth by scleractinian corals. In experi- mental field contacts between 8 species of scleractinian corals and the green alga Halimeda opuntia, corals extruded their mesenterial filaments (MFs) onto the plant. In some coral species, this extrusion was followed by persistent discolouration of the contacting algal segments. Microscopic examination of these segments revealed migration of chloroplasts away from the surface of segments, as well as the presence of nematocysts from the MFs fired into the algal epidermis. There was a significant rela- tionship between the extent of algal discolouration and both the occurrence and length of the MFs, potentially explaining differences among coral species in their ability to damage algal segments. MF extrusion also occurred in experimental contacts with 2 other species of macroalgae (Lobophora variegata and Dictyota sp.). The use of extruded MFs by scleractinian corals against macroalgae is similar to their aggressive behaviour against other scleractinian coral species. However, the ranking of competitive ability against H. opuntia (measured by the extent of algal discolouration) differed from that established in interspecific aggressions among corals. The great abundance and wide dis- tribution of the species of corals and macroalgae used in this study, together with observations of MFs in natural interactions, suggest that the use of MFs is a common and widespread mechanism of inter- action between corals and macroalgae. We conclude that coral-algal competition involves complex mechanisms and is therefore likely to represent a complex hierarchical structure, in which macro- algae are not always able to overgrow and kill corals.
Physical processes and hydrological structures related to the Bay of Biscay anchovy

SUMMARY: Knowledge of the fundamental physical processes governing hydrological structures is necessary for a better understanding of complex physical - biological interactions. In this review attention is focused on spatial and temporal scales of physical processes and hydrological structures related to the life cycle of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, L.) and potentially affecting the population dynamics in the Bay of Biscay. The Bay of Biscay can be considered an open oceanic bay with a large French continental shelf oriented S-N and a narrow Spanish shelf oriented E-W. The general oceanic circulation is weak and the presence of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies is frequent. A consistent poleward flow is apparent but seasonal changes show different phases at different locations along the slope. The residual currents over the shelf are principally governed by the wind, the tides in the northern part and the water density. The hydrology is also very heterogeneous in the area. The most characteristic structures are, the cold pool extending from the southern Brittany area down to the latitude of the Girond estuary, the winter warm poleward current along the Spanish slope, the cold freshwater in the surface layers extended over the French shelf and the warm waters in the south-eastern part of the bay in late spring. The meteorological conditions show also both spatial and temporal heterogeneities. The mean wind speed is two times higher in the northern part of the bay than in the south-eastern part with an obvious seasonal pattern. The sea surface temperature shows also a clear latitudinal gradient in the summer period. Finally the freshwater runoff from the main estuaries Gironde and Loire shows a clear seasonal pattern but the two estuaries are in phase. The nature and the number of physical process involved in parallel with the fact that the main spawning period of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay takes place during the period of the most important environmental changes (decrease of freshwater runoff, increase of solar heating, daytime duration, changes in dominant winds) makes the study of physical-biological interactions and the understanding of the anchovy population dynamics difficult.
EXTENDING GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM TO THE TARIFF LINE: U.S. DAIRY IN THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

Market access has been at the core of eight negotiating rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Yet, agricultural trade remains a heavily protected sector, characterized by higher tariffs relative to industrial goods, large tariff dispersions, numerous specific tariffs and systems of tariff-rate-quotas. This has made the analysis of trade liberalization a formidable task among policy analysts. Previous studies of agricultural trade liberalization have used partial or general equilibrium models of trade. However, each of these modeling strategies has their drawbacks. General equilibrium (GE) models have been criticized because they face serious aggregation issues and miss much of the policy detail that occurs at the tariff line. Partial equilibrium (PE) models on the other hand are often more disaggregated but lack internal consistency and have nothing to say about the economy-wide effects from trade reform. The purpose of this paper is threefold. One, we develop a methodology that combines PE and GE modeling techniques permitting us to extend GE to the tariff line. Two, we introduce a fully disaggregated U.S. dairy sector and compare PE and GE liberalization results from global dairy reform, thereby offering some insight into the potential errors implicit in current GE studies. Finally, we illustrate how our methodology allows for an explicit treatment of tariff rate quotas in the U.S. dairy sector on a bilateral basis for narrowly defined product lines.
Selected School District Factors and Grade Eight Pupil Achievement in Maine.

The relationship between educational expenditures and pupil achievement has been a topic of increasing interest to legislators, school boards, and more recently, the courts. This paper examines the relationships among various measures of school district wealth and spending, other school district characteristics, and student achievement within the context of a state with a majority of small and rural school systems. Data were collected from all Maine elementary school districts that provided instruction to five or more students in grade 8 in 1991-92. For each of the 193 districts studied, pupil achievement was measured as mean grade-8 scores on the Maine Educational Assessment Tests for the 3 years ended 1991-92. Four school district characteristics differentiated between the 30 highest-achieving and the 24 lowest-achieving districts. High-achieving districts spent more per pupil, had a larger property tax base per pupil, had higher median family income, and employed a higher percentage of elementary teachers with a graduate degree. Achievement was not significantly related to pupil-teacher ratio or district tax levies. Higher percentages of elementary teachers with graduate degrees were found in school systems with higher levels of per pupil e;:penditures and higher median family incomes. The expected correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status was somewhat smaller than has been found nationally, perhaps because of Maine's generally low income levels. (SV) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** c. 00 SELECTED SCHOOL DiSTRICT FACTORS AND GRADE EIGHT PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT IN MAINE
EFFECT OF CAMBIUM AGE AND RING WIDTH ON DENSITY AND FIBRE LENGTH OF BLACK LOCUST AND CHESTNUT WOOD

The relationship between wood density (WD) and fibre length (FL) with cambium age (CA) and ring width (RW) was studied in two ring-porous species, black locust and coppice-grown chestnut, collected in the Sithonia Peninsula, Chalkidiki, Greece. Using regression analysis methods, models of WD and FL in relation to CA and RW were obtained. It was found that the effect of CA and RW on WD and FL was similar for both species examined. WD of black locust and chestnut was predicted better through a model using CA and RW. A model for FL variations was also obtained with CA and RW and was more accurate than the simple models based on the two factors, CA and RW, separately. The multiple regression models suggested that the use of cambial age of growth rings together with their width might explain better their effects on WD and FL of black locust and chestnut.
Quality of aged ewe meat in vacuum-packaging system for different storage periods.

Os consumidores acreditam que a maciez e a caracteristica organoleptica mais importante da carne. No entanto, ha grande variabilidade na maciez da carne disponivel para os consumidores, um metodo de reduzir a variabilidade e melhorar a maciez seria promover a maturacao da carne. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a qualidade da carne maturada de ovelhas. O experimento foi conduzido na Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Foram utilizadas 18 ovelhas da raca Santa Ines. Apos o abate, o musculo Longissimus dorsi foram coletados e submetidos ao tratamento, tres diferentes tempos de maturacao: zero, quatro e oito dias a 5 ± 2 ° C. O aumento do tempo de maturacao provocou uma reducao no pH. Os valores de L *, a * e c* aumentam de forma linear com o tempo de maturacao. Os valores b * e h * apresentaram uma regressao quadratica. A contagem de mesofilos e psicrotroficos apresentaram um aumento linear. O indice de fragmentacao miofibrilar apresentou uma regressao quadratica, e a forca de cisalhamento diminuiu linearmente. Na analise sensorial, uma diferenca na intensidade de odor da carne foi observada. A contagem microbiologica indicou que a carne estava apta para consumo. A maturacao promoveu melhorias na qualidade da carne de ovelhas.
Factors contributing to household food insecurity in Mhlontlo area , Eastern Cape , South Africa

South Africa is considered as food secure at national level, while households in the rural areas are food insecure. Since food is an essential basic human need, it is even constitutionally declared as a need to be protected. The Eastern Cape Province is characterised as one of the provinces which have high rates of food insecurity in the country. The study determines the extent to which the identified factors of household food insecurity contribute to the livelihood in the study area. The primary aim was to investigate whether the community was provided with assistance by different organisations to overcome the situation of being food insecure and, also the strategies employed by the government to improve the situation. The study comprised a sample of thirty-five respondents from the community and three governmental officials of Mhlontlo Municipality and Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development. The study revealed that factors that contribute to food insecurity were high level of unemployment, underemployment and dependence on the State grants. The study also revealed that there is inadequate service from the government to promote programmes that could alleviate food insecurity through promoting substance farming. Community development programmes are unevenly distributed to the community due to the lack of communication, and households have abundance of land but food production is not frequent. Therefore, land is underutilised for food production. The study recommended that the Tsolo Municipality and the Department of Rural Development should establish suitable programmes such as agricultural support programmes through promoting subsistence farming.
Integrating Precision Cancer Medicine into Healthcare, MedicareReimbursement Changes and the Practice of Oncology: Trends in OncologyMedicine and Practices

Reports are showing that, with the growing trend of urbanization and deforestation, the incident of cancer has been increased severely. Medical science, which deals with cancer–related studies and care, is called as ‘Oncology’. Oncological therapeutic interventions mainly consist of field immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The scope of the present ‘Journal of Oncology Medicine & Practice’ covers immune– biology, pathogenesis and treatment of malignant tumors, which includes chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and biological therapies such as antibodies, small molecules and immunotherapy, present ‘Journal of Oncology Medicine & Practice’ current issue presented the overview of thyroid cancer, reported about the overall survival rate of for those who under chemotherapy, and provided the information on patterns of cancer in North–West part of Ethiopia.
Influence of Cereal-Legume Rotation on Striga Control and Maize Grain Yield in Farmers’ Fields in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

On-farm trials were conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003 in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria to evaluate integrated Striga hermonthica control measures under farmermanaged conditions. These included intercropping a Striga -resistant maize variety with cowpea for 3 years and also cropping this maize in rotation with legume trap crops - soybean and cowpea for 1-2 two years. Intercropping Striga -tolerant maize variety, Acr. 97TZL Comp. 1-W, with cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) consistently reduced Striga infestation in maize relative to continuously cropped sole maize over the threeyear period. Maize grain yield was lower in the intercrop than in the sole maize plot probably due to competition from cowpea. However, because of the high value of cowpea in the intercrop, crop value for this system was higher than sole cropped maize. Legume-maize rotation reduced Striga infestation by 35% after one year of legumes in the rotation and by 76% after two years of legumes in the rotation. Soybean was more effective in reducing Striga infestation and also gave higher maize grain yield than cowpea. The rotation of these two legumes with maize had clear advantage over continuously cropped maize. Farmers should therefore be encouraged to adopt the introduction of grain legumes into the cereal cropping systems of the Nigerian savanna.
School Choice and Student Sorting : Evidence from Adachi City in Japan

We examine whether the school choice program of public junior high schools in Adachi city has caused student sorting and has thus increased the differences in scores between the schools. We find that students are sorted in the sense that the students living in the school attendance areas where there is a higher proportion of high-status occupations are more likely to select private schools even after the introduction of the school choice program, or they select public schools with higher scores. However, the differences in scores between public schools have been decreasing, indicating that the sorting is not related to the scores.
Crude Oil Sorption onto Groundnut Shell Activated Carbon: Kinetic and Isotherm Studies

An adsorbent of Activated Groundnut Shell Carbon (AGSC) was prepared to adsorb crude oil from water solution. The study of its adsorption mechanism was studied in terms of equilibriumand kinetics.Popular Freundlich, Langumiur, Temkin and Dubinin Radushkrvich models were adopted to study the isotherms. Although Dubinin Radushkrvich model (R^2=0.368) is not in agreement with the equilibrium data but Freundlich (R^2=0.992), Langumiur (R^2=0.985) and Temkin (R^2=0.54) models were observed to follow the data with Freundlich model best described the data (R^2=0.992). The data were also subjected to kinetic studies using largergreen first order, pseudo second order and intra-diffusion kinetic models. It was found that pseudosecond order with the degree of fitness of R^2=0.99, 0.93, 0.99, 0.97 and 0.99 for crude oil samples A, B, C, D and E respectively, fitted the data better than Largergreen which has the degree of fitness as R^2=0.89, 0.65, 0.66. 0.66 and 0.68, respectively for A, B, C, D and E. The results from the intra-diffusion model revealed that the intra-diffusion and external mass transfer are both rate determining stages of the adsorption process. The results of the study implies that AGSC is a good mop-up and low-cost alternative medium for oil spilled surfaces.
A Deep X-ray Survey of the globular cluster Omega Centauri

We identify 233 X-ray sources, of which 95 are new, in a 222 ks exposure of Omega Centauri with the Chandra X-ray Observatory's ACIS-I detector. The limiting unabsorbed flux in the core is $f_x$ (0.5$-$6.0 keV) $\simeq$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{-16}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ ($L_X$ $\simeq$ 1 $\times$ 10$^{30}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at 5.2 kpc). We estimate that ~$60\pm 20$ of these are cluster members, of which ~30 lie within the core ($r_c$ $=$ 155 arcsec), and another ~30 between 1$-$2 core radii. We identify four new optical counterparts, for a total of 45 likely identifications. Probable cluster members include 18 cataclysmic variables (CVs) and CV candidates, one quiescent low-mass X-ray binary, four variable stars, and five stars that are either associated with w Cen's anomalous red giant branch, or are sub-subgiants. We estimate that the cluster contains $40\pm 10$ CVs with $L_X$ $>$ 10$^{31}$ erg s$^{-1}$, confirming that CVs are underabundant in w Cen relative to the field. Intrinsic absorption is required to fit X-ray spectra of six of the nine brightest CVs, suggesting magnetic CVs, or high-inclination systems. Though no radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are currently known in w Cen, more than 30 unidentified sources have luminosities and X-ray colours like those of MSPs found in other globular clusters; these could be responsible for the Fermi-detected gamma-ray emission from the cluster. Finally, we identify a CH star as the counterpart to the second-brightest X-ray source in the cluster and argue that it is a symbiotic star. This is the first such giant/white dwarf binary to be identified in a globular cluster.
RUN LENGTH PROPERTIES OF THE CUSUM AND EWMA SCHEMES FOR A STATIONARY LINEAR PROCESS

This paper presents the asymptotic expressions of the average run length (ARL) for the cumulative sum (CUSUM) and exponentially weighted moving av- erage (EWMA) control charts in detecting an unknown mean shift in a stationary linear process. Based on the ARL expressions, we compare the detection perfor- mance of the two popular charts in monitoring the mean shifts in such autocorre- lated processes. Both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results show that auto-covariance can play an important role in the detection performance of the two charts.