Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Orientation of SMEs and Its Impact on Firm Performance

In this paper, we investigate the extent to which an organizational learning orientation (LO) impacts performance using a sample of 228 Austrian SMEs. After elaborating the theoretical background, we examine the impact of LO on performance in the context of environmental dynamism and hostility and finally explore implications of the interaction between LO and the environmental dynamism and hostility for SME performance. Results of multiple regression analysis suggest that a high level of LO results in higher performance levels. However, both highly dynamic environments as well as hostile environments absorb possible performance effects of a high LO in SMEs.
Egg quality of hens fed different digestible lysine and arginine levels

This experiment aimed at evaluating the influence of the supplementation of digestible lysine and digestible arginine at different ratios in the diet fed to layers between 24 to 44 weeks of age on egg quality. In total,320 Lohmann LSL laying hens were allotted according to a completely randomized design in a 2 x 4factorial arrangement, consisting of two digestible lysine levels (700 or 900 mg/kg of diet) and four digestible arginine levels (700, 800, 900,or 1000 mg/kg of diet). Diets contained, therefore, digestible Lys:Arg ratios of 100, 114, 128, and 142 when the diet contained 700 mg digestible lysine per kg of diet, and 78, 89, 100, and 111 when 900 mg digestible lysine per kg was supplemented. The data obtained with digestible arginine levels were fitted to polynomial regression equations, and with digestible lysine, the F test (5% probability) was used to compare the means. The following variables were evaluated: egg weight; internal egg quality (yolk percentage and index, albumen percentage, Haugh units), eggshell quality (specific gravity andeggshell percentage); and whole egg, albumen, and yolk solids content. Digestible lysine and arginine interaction did not affect egg quality. Increasing levels of digestible lysine and arginine reduced eggshell quality and albumen solids, respectively. The levels of these amino acids suggested to improveegg quality are 700 mg digestible lysine and 700 mg digestible arginine/kg of feed at a Dig Lys: Dig Arg ratio of 100.
The impact of ICT on the growth of the service industries

This study examines the contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to a growth in services. Data at the firm level is employed to investigate how ICT as a key technology, combined with non-technological determinants, can influence firm performance. The study develops an argument that ICT is one of the major success factors at the present time, and this particularly holds true in the case of service firms, primarily due to their fundamental characteristics of interactivity and intensity of information, which are highly compatible with this technology. The results indicate that the presence of ICT explains the higher growth in productivity and profitability experienced by firms in the service industries. Growth in services was also found to be significantly linked to the level of ICT intensity in service firms, especially when this intensity is complemented by organisational change. The impact of ICT on service firms is assessed in detail, while manufacturing firms and other innovation activities serve as benchmarks.
THE EFFECT OF FRIENDSHIP SKILLS TRAINING ON FRIENDSHIP QUALITY AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF ADOLESCENTS

This study aims to examine the effects of friendship skills training on the quality of friendship and subjective well-being of adolescents. In order to determine the experimental and control groups, the Friendship Quality Scale and the Adolescent Subjective Well-Being Scale were administered to 311 students in 9 th , 10 th and 11 th grade classes from a state school in Iskenderun in Hatay during the 2015-2016 education year. As a result, 21 students who had lower than average scores were included in the study. Students who participated in the study were assigned to the experimental and control groups randomly. An 8-session psycho-education program (“Beginning Friendships, Maintaining and Protecting Training”) which were developed by Morganett (2013) have been conducted with the students in the experimental group while the control group received no treatment. After the sessions, the same measurement tools were applied on both the experimental and control groups. The data gathered was analyzed by using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test to examine the effectiveness of the training program. The analysis of the data has indicated an increase in the friendship quality and subjective well-being of the students who attended the friendship skills training group while there was no change in the friendship quality and subjective well-being of the students in control group. Article visualizations:
Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U . S . Manufacturing : What Does the Evidence Tell Us ?

The authors thank Lawrence Goulder, Raymond Kopp, William Nordhaus, Richard Schmalensee, Martin Weitzman, David Wheeler, and participants in seminars at Harvard University and Resources for the Future for helpful comments. Funding for previous work on this subject from the U.S. Department of Commerce is gratefully acknowledged. The authors alone are responsible for any omissions or other errors.
EVALUATION OF SUNFLOWER PRODUCTIVITY, ROOT-ROT AND DAMPING OFF CONTROL BY USING SOME AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

wo field experiments were carried out at 6 October farm, ElNubaria Province, El-Behaira Governorate, Egypt during the two successive summer seasons (2010 and 2011) to investigate the effect of some agricultural practices; i.e. irrigation treatments and different soil amendments on growth, productivity, suppression of root-rot and damping-off of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) var. Giza-102. Prior to the field experiments a pathogenicity test was carried out and identified that the causal pathogen of sunflower root-rot and damping-off diseases were Macrophomina phasolina, Sclerotium rolfisii, and Rhizoctonia solani. Missing the third irrigation was more appreciated than missing the fifth irrigation treatment compared to the normal irrigation as the control treatment, which represents the highest observations regarding sunflower growth and productivity. Soil amendment treatments increased the sunflower resistance to soil borne diseases hence enhanced its growth and productivity. The most promising results obtained from rice straw + EM1 + urea, Biochar + compost, Rice straw + EM1 and EM-Bokash with no significant differences, compost, and animal manure, respectively, compared to the control treatment (without soil amendment). The interaction (normal irrigation, missing the 3 rd irrigation then missing the 5 th irrigation, respectively) × (rice straw + EM1 + urea), was the best between all the other interaction treatments, under normal, moderate and severe drought conditions, respectively, and compared to normal irrigation × without treatment, as the control treatment.
Network externalities in telecommunication industry: An analysis of Serbian market

Telecommunication industry has probably the highest level of direct network effects. Direct externalities are related to the number of consumers using the same service, and indirect externalities stem from the availability of supporting services. Apart from network externalities, in telecommunication call externalities also exist when user of one network benefits from receiving free calls from users of other networks. Serbian mobile phone telecommunication market was first a duopoly market with majority state- owned Telecom Serbia and privately owned Telenor. After that a third license was sold to VIP mobile. The two incumbents were well established in the market and have long time ago reached the critical mass of users. At the beginning, users of VIP mobile benefited mainly from call externalities and incumbents reacted by price discriminating between on-net and off-net calls aiming to deter entry of new rival in the market. The entrant succeeded in obtaining new users mainly by offering lower prices than incumbents. The subsequent decision of regulatory agency to permit changing operator without changing user? s number levelled the playing field, reduced user? s switching costs and the extent of user? s lock-in. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the current level of network and call externalities in Serbia using data from the Serbian mobile telephone market for the period 2003? 2013 (number of subscribers, providers? market shares and mobile call prices per minute). We show that the number of subscribers that changed their operator increased with the growing size of the new comer? s network installed base. Also, we have found that implicit price discrimination between on-net and off-net calls could be identified both in pre-paid and post-paid packages. In the former case, all operators offer cheap additional packages with large number of minutes for on-net calls. In the latter case, post-paid users can use additional large number of free minutes for on-net calls after they spent all the minutes available for calls to all networks from their existing subscription packages.
Temporal effects of organic farming on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Agricultural intensification has caused a dramatic decline of global biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Organic farming has been shown to partially counteract agricultural intensification by applying environmentally friendly and resource efficient farming practices, but opportunities to improve in efficiency still remain. This thesis investigates the contribution of organic farming to biodiversity and ecosystem services with focus on the effect of the time since transition (TST) to organic farming methods. Surveys on butterflies, plants, moths, carabid beetles and an experimental study on weed seed predation were performed on conventional and organic farms situated in landscapes differing in landscape complexity. The organic farms had been under organic management between 1 and 25 years before surveys. This design allowed for analyzes of the effect of organic farming while accounting for the time since transition and landscape composition. The overall effect of organic farming was small. Only butterflies and plants (in one out of two studies) had higher species richness and abundance on organic compared to conventional farms. However, analyses of the time since transition to organic farming revealed novel facts: butterfly abundance increased gradually by 100% over 25 years, whereas butterfly and plant species richness increased rapidly at the transition and then remained fairly constant. The moths that initially did not appear to increase in the organic farming system showed a clear positive response to newly transitioned farms (TST≤6 years), whereas conventional and old organic farms (TST≥15 years) had similar diversity. Two plant species occurred more frequently on new organic farms and two species on old organic farms. Neither carabids nor seed predation showed any temporal responses to organic farming. This thesis shows that explicitly addressing temporal effects of organic farming may result in novel and unexpected findings. Control for temporal effects opens up for better understanding of the complexities between organic farming, biodiversity and ecosystem services over time. Future evaluations need to address this factor for high credibility and usefulness in the development of improved policies for organic farming.
Does Mother Know Best? Maternal Knowledge Calibration Predicts Children’s Oral Language Development

For young children, maternal testimony is an important source of knowledge. Research suggests that children privilege assertions expressed with certainty; however, adults frequently overestimate their knowledge, which may lead them to express certainty about incorrect information. This study addressed three questions. (1) To what extent do mothers convey domain knowledge when talking to their kindergartners? (2) Do mothers successfully calibrate their knowledge during these conversations? (3) Does mothers’ knowledge calibration predict their children’s language outcomes? Forty-nine mother-child dyads read a picture book about a familiar domain. Mothers’ assertions of domain knowledge were coded for accuracy and expressed certainty. Results revealed that mothers tended to overestimate their knowledge. Knowledge calibration accuracy positively predicted child outcomes. Successful calibration was associated with stronger vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension, whereas poor knowledge calibration was associated with weaker child outcomes. Knowledge calibration may be a crucial factor in the successful transmission of knowledge during mother-child conversations and impact children’s language development.
Serum hepcidin, iron metabolism and infection parameters in children with anemia of inflammation and with iron deficiency anemia (Demir eksikliği ve inflamasyon anemili çocuklarda serum hepsidini, demir metabolizmasi ve enfeksiyon parametreleri)

Objective: Hepcidin is a key regulator of iron homeostasis. Increased hepcidin concentrations cause iron sequestration in enterocytes and macrophages. The role of hepcidin in children with iron-deficiency anemia and anemia of inflammation is unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the use of serum hepcidin level as an index for iron deficiency and inflammation anemia in pediatric population. Furthermore, hepcidin is also known to be an acute-phase reactant induced by interleukin-6 (IL-6) during infection. Therefore, we investigated the relationships between hepcidin and inflammatory markers. Methods: This study included 50 children with anemia (13 with iron deficiency and 37 with inflammation) and 17 age- and gender-matched healthy children (control group). Parameters related to iron metabolism (ferritin, serum iron and total iron binding capacity), infection (Creactive protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage) and hepcidin levels were measured. Results: Serum hepcidin levels in patients with anemia of inflammation (362.63±132.27 ng/ mL) were significantly higher than in patients with iron-deficiency anemia (234.10±93.59 ng/ mL) and healthy controls (220.44±49.52 ng/mL) (p=0.002, p<0.001, respectively). Serum hepcidin levels were positively correlated with ferritin (r=0.246, p=0.045), leucocytes (r=0.259, p=0.034) and CRP (r=0.426, p<0.001) levels in all children. Conclusion: This study suggested that hepcidin may have the potential advantage of being able to distinguish between anemia of inflammation and iron-deficiency anemia. In addition, serum hepcidin levels are significantly correlated with acute phase reactants and can be more useful
Psychometric Study of Organizational Identification

English) To measure organizational identification, this research surveyed the employees at a Norwegian university (N = 74) and a Norway-based multinational company (N = 244). Previous research, the role of social identity theory in organizational identification, and a review of measurement methods was presented. Data were collected with the 10-item Identification with a Psychological Group Scale (IDPG), a verbal identity item (VID) and a graphic identity item (GID). The 6-item Organizational Identification scale was extracted from the 10-item scale. In the pilot study (Study 1), results showed the OID scale had good psychometric properties, and significantly correlated with the GID (r = .56). Correlations between age, gender, years employed, and location were examined but not found to be significant. Serial ordering effect of the GID was investigated but no such effect was found. Results indicated items with company logo could be a marker of OID. In Study 2 the purpose was to measure organizational identification in a multinational company using the GID and OID scale from Study 1. If wearing items with the company logo was a marker of OID was also investigated, and a relationship was found. Convergent validity between the GID and the OID was assessed using regression analysis, and results confirmed that score on the OID could be predicted from the score on the GID, albeit with a wide range of residuals. Correlations between the OID and the GID were moderately high.
Effects of Geophagy on Hemoglobin Level and Iodine Absorption /Assimilation in Albino Rats

Geophagic behaviour has been reported to increase exposure to Lead (Pb) that could influence the bioavailability and assimilation of iron and iodine through metal-metal interactions. Similarly, calcium that is naturally contained in kaolin tends to inhibit the absorption and assimilation of iron. In order to investigate these interactions 80 female albino rats aged 12 weeks and weighing between 212-261g were served with Pb contaminated kaolin pellets in a manner to simulate human consumption of this clay. The size, content of the thyroid gland in iodine, urinary/faecal iodine excretion and hemoglobin level were analytically monitored during this experiment and statgraphic 5.0 used for data analyses. The results show increased thyroid volume, decreased thyroid iodine content, increased urinary iodine excretion and adequate iodine absorption as kaolin is introduced into an iodine sufficient diet. Hemoglobin levels of the various test groups compared to the control group are statistically significant. The study reveals that that kaolin-eating does not influence iodine absorption but, it influences its assimilation at the level of the thyroid gland in albino rats. The study also reveals that the consumption of kaolin affects hemoglobin level.
Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Overwintering Under Different Sowing Densities

Wheat overwintering ability affects the final number of plants that are able to continue their growth and development when necessary conditions are established. This research was conducted to study the overwintering ability of winter wheat cultivars (NS 40S, Prima and Nova Bosanka) under different sowing densities during 2013/14 and 2014/15 in agroecological conditions of Banja Luka. Standard agronomic practices for winter wheat were performed. Wheat cultivars were sown manually, under sowing densities with different seed arrangements: 384, 424, 451, 504, 544, 584, 588, and 604 seeds m-2. Counting of wheat plants in both examined years was carried out in the second decade of February. Statistical analysis was performed using factorial analysis of variance 2×8×3, while significant differences between treatments were tested by LSD test. The average overwintering plants percentage for all three examined wheat cultivars was 50.06%. Sowing density of 588 seeds m-2 stands out as the density with a tendency of the highest percentage of overwintering plants in both years.
Enhancement of MD-55-2 radiochromic film sensitivity using a multilayer film technique for applications in the low dose range

Background: MD-55-2 is one of the Radiochromic film models with the sensitivity suitable for dose measurements ranging from 5 to 100 Gy. However, this lower limit makes the film impractical for its applications in many areas such as brachytherapy source dosimetry. Materials and Methods: In this project, the useful range of the film has been extended by using a multilayer film technique. In this technique, single, double-, and triple- layers of films were exposed to the doses ranging from 0.5 to 10 Gy using a Co-60 photon beam. Calibration curves for corresponding layers of films were obtained with a spectrophotometer using a 680nm wavelength. Results: The results indicated that the sensitivities of double and triple layers were approximately 200% and 300%, respectively, higher than a single-layer film. The impact of multilayer film arrangement on the energy dependence of the MD-55-2 Radiochromic film has also been examined using 100 kVp, 80 kVp, and 6 MV X-ray beams. The results indicated an insignificant (within 5%) change in film responses with the beam energy. Conclusion: Therefore, the multilayer technique enhances the Radiochromic film sensitivity and expands its application to the low dose range in field of brachytherapy source dosimetry. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2005; 3 (1): 11-15
Promoting VET teachers’ innovative behaviour: exploring the roles of task interdependence, learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy

Abstract Changing employer demands, new technological and pedagogical insights are examples of developments which urge Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutes to continually renew and innovate their educational programmes. This, in turn, requires teachers to show innovative behaviour. Our study focuses on the effects of task interdependence on VET teachers’ innovative behaviour. In addition, the mediating roles of learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy in this relationship are examined. A two-wave survey study among 342 teachers, from 54 teams of 6 Dutch VET institutes, showed that task interdependence enhanced teachers’ learning goal orientation, which enhanced their engagement in innovative behaviour over time. Task interdependence also increased teachers’ occupational self-efficacy, which in turn increased their engagement in innovative behaviour. This effect, however, appeared short lived. Apparently, once teachers exceed a certain level of occupational self-efficacy, other variables, like learning goal orientation, play a more important role in sustaining innovative behaviour.
Drivers of industrialisation: intersectoral evidence from the Low Countries in the nineteenth century

In this paper, we trace the causes of regional industrial development in the nineteenth century Low Countries by disentangling the complex relationship between industrialisation, technological progress and human capital formation. We use sectoral differences in the application of technology and human capital as the central elements to explain the rise in employment in the manufacturing sector during the nineteenth century, and our findings suggest a re-interpretation of the deskilling debate. To account for differences among manufacturing sectors, we use population and industrial census data, subdivided according to their present-day manufacturing sector equivalents of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). Instrumental variable regression analysis revealed that employment in the manufacturing sector was influenced by so-called upper- tail knowledge and not by average educational levels, providing empirical proof of a so-called deskilling industrialisation process. However, we find notable differences between manufacturing sectors. The textiles and clothing sectors show few agglomeration effects and limited use of steam-powered engines, and average education levels cannot adequately explain regional industrialisation. In contrast, the location of the fast- growing and innovative machinery-manufacturing sector was more influenced by technology and the availability of human capital, particularly upper-tail knowledge captured by secondary school attendance rates.
Central Bank Independence, financial instability and politics: new evidence for OECD and non-OECD countries

This paper analyses the determinants of a new index of central bank independence, recently provided by Dincer and Eichengreen (2014), using a large database of economic, political and institutional variables. Our sample includes data for 31 OECD and 49 non-OECD economies and covers the period 1998-2010. To this aim, we implement factorial and regression analysis to synthesize information and overcome limitations such as omitted variables, multicollinearity and overfitting. The results confirm the role of the IMF loans program to guide all the economies in their choice of more independent central banks. Financial instability, recession and low inflation work in the opposite direction with governments relying extensively on central bank money to finance public expenditure and central banks’ political and operational autonomy is inevitably undermined. Finally, only for non-OECD economies, the degree of central bank independence responds to various measures of strength of political institutions and party political instability.