Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The limits of top-down transfers within a multinational corporation: the need for knowledge hybridization

To win the competition challenges they are facing, Multinational Corporations are continuously aiming to shape new managerial practices. These companies can take advantage from exploiting the knowledge of their subsidiaries, especially by using hybridization. This article highlights the characteristics of hybridization as a new managerial practice and shows that the transfer of innovations, from Headquarters to subsidiaries, raises several issues in these multidimensional companies. A thorough study of OPERACOM, a multinational company operating in the telecommunications sector, provides answers to two major questions: What are the limits of the top-down transfer in Multinational Corporations? How could knowledge hybridization be considered as a new practice to develop innovation? To assess these questions, we will start by giving a clear overview of our conceptual framework. Then we will explain the outcomes of the empirical investigation within OPERACOM and finally, a cross analysis will be performed and analysed.JEL Codes: L22, L24, L14
Outsourcing in Australia

This paper reports on data pertaining to outsourcing collected from a survey administered in 2002 in Australia. The underlying assumption was that outsourcing is becoming popular for sound business reasons such as economies of scale and enabling executives to concentrate on core business activities. This paper explores the outsourcing decision (to outsource, not to outsource, or to discontinue outsourcing), especially reasons for (not) outsourcing. Most of the reasons have been anticipated in the literature. The strongest group of reasons (termed “Operational”) pertained to cost savings and improving performance, but outsourcing is also used to access skills and resources not available in‐house. The most important impediment to outsourcing was ascertaining relevant costs, and formulating and quantifying requirements. We describe the methodology, report findings and allude to future research.
The dynamic relationship between real exchange rates, real interest rates and foreign exchange reserves: empirical evidence from China

This article examines the long-run and short-run relationship between China's real exchange rate, foreign exchange reserves and the real interest rate differential between China and the United States using monthly data from 1980 to 2002. Extensive testing for unit roots allowing for up to two structural breaks in the trend indicates that the variables are not integrated of the same order. Thus, the bounds testing approach to cointegration is used, which finds that there is a single long-run relationship between the three variables. In the long run the real exchange rate has a statistically significant positive effect on foreign exchange reserves. The coefficient on the real interest rate differential is also positive, but is statistically insignificant. In the short-run it is found that the relationship between the real exchange rate, real interest rate differential and foreign exchange reserves is non-monotonic.
Labor Costs and Investments in Human Capital

This study examines the disclosure of labor-related costs by US firms, and estimates the proportion of these costs that are valued as an asset (human capital) by the market. Separate identification of labor-related costs in US financial reports is voluntary, and is made consistently only by about 10% of all US Compustat firms. The probability of disclosure is found to be positively related to firm size, labor intensity and membership in regulated industries and is inversely related to industry concentration. Using a modification of Ohlson's (1995) framework the study finds that on average about 16% of all such costs are valued by the market as an investment in human capital, and that this human capital asset amortizes at a rate of about 34% per year. Further, the human capital asset averages about 5% of the total market value of the firm and accounts for about 16% of the difference between market and book value. The ratio of the human capital asset to market value is found to be positively related to average salary paid to employees, operating uncertainty, and the ratio of labor expenses to sales, but inversely related to the firm? s size.
Localization of prolyl endopeptidase mRNA in small growing follicles of porcine ovary

Prolyl endopeptidase (EC3.4.21.26) has been considered a unique intracellular enzyme catalyzing internal peptide bond hydrolysis of Pro‐X. In this study, the distribution of prolyl endopeptidase activity and its mRNA was investigated in the follicles of porcine ovary. Both follicular fluid and granulosa cell fractions from small follicles showed higher activity than those from large follicles. Molecular cloning and Northern blot analysis suggested that only one species of prolyl endopeptidase gene was expressed in the ovary. In addition, in situ hybridization study revealed that the prolyl endopeptidase mRNA expresssion was more noticeable in the granulosa cell layers of small ovarian follicles than in those of large follicles, suggesting its importance in the early stage of follicular development. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 50:121–127, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FIT OR MISFIT? ITALIAN PARTIES IN EUROPE

We depart from the argument that policy congruence between the national and the EU parties has a role in bridging the democratic deficit of the EU. We assess it for the difficult case of Italy, where the issue of parties' transnational affiliation is incredibly divisive, and the party system is in a state of flux. Using the EU Profiler data, we are able to show that its parties are remarkably congruent. Yet, we suggest that congruence might overestimate the parties' representative capacity.
Been There, Done that. The History of Corporate Ownership in Japan

Japan's corporate sector has, at different times in recent history, been organized according to every major model. Prior to World War II, wealth Japanese families locked in their control over large corporations by organizing them into pyramidal groups, called zaibatsu, similar to structures currently found in Canada, France, Korea, Italy, and Sweden. In the 1930s, the military government imposed a centrally planned command economy, with private property rights retained as little more than a legal fiction. The American occupation force replaced this with a widely held corporate sector similar to that of the United Kingdom and United States. A bout of takeovers and greenmail ensued. To defend their positions, Japanese top executives placed small numerous blocks of stock with each others' firms, creating dense networks of small intercorporate blocks that summed to majority blocks in each firm. These networks, called keiretsu, halted hostile takeovers completely. Although their primary functions were to lock in corporate control rights, both zaibatsu and keiretsu were probably also rational responses to a variety of institutional failings. Successful zaibatsu and keiretsu were enthusiastic political rent-seekers, raising the possibility that large corporate groups are better at influencing government than free standing firms. In the case of keiretsu especially, this rent seeking probably retarded financial development and created long-term economic problems.
Are Industry Clusters and Diversity Strange Bedfellows

In this address, I review industry clustering and diversification strategies to compare and contrast their underlying foundations. The lack of a consensus choice of one or the other for regional economic development strategies along with the recognition that in the dynamic process of development these two processes are related leads me to conclude that clusters and diversity need not be such strange bedfellows after all, and that a rational approach to economic development can leverage the strengths of each and offset weaknesses. I follow this discussion by introducing a cluster assessment diversification strategy (CADS) apparatus that can be used to measure existing cluster strength, identify industrial strengths and deficit bottlenecks, and explore the regional consequences of potential cluster diversification strategies.
The Association between Adult ADHD Symptoms and Internet Addiction among College Students: The Gender Difference

This study evaluated (a) the association between Internet addiction and adult ADHD; (b) which one of inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity was most associated with Internet addiction; and (c) whether gender modulates the association between Internet addiction and inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity among college students. A total of 2,793 students (937 male and 1,843 female) were recruited from eight colleges in Taiwan, and they all completed the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, and demographic data. The results demonstrated that adult ADHD was associated with Internet addiction. Attention deficit was the most associated symptom of Internet addiction, followed by impulsivity. Furthermore, the association between attention deficit and Internet addiction was more significant among female college students. Adult ADHD should be surveyed and treated among college students to decrease the vulnerability to Internet addiction, and strategies to prevent Internet addiction should be provided for college students with ADHD, especially for females.
Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Acinetobacter Peritoneal Dialysis-Related Peritonitis in Hong Kong—With a Perspective on Multi-Drug and Carbapenem Resistance

♦ Background: Acinetobacter spp. is an important cause of peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis, but studies on Acinetobacter peritonitis have been scarce. In view of the rising concern of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (CRA) and multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter (MDRA) infections, we conducted this study on the incidence of Acinetobacter peritonitis and the impact of CRA and MDRA on its outcome. ♦ Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical characteristics, prevalence, antibiotic sensitivity patterns, outcomes, and factors associated with treatment failure over the past 16 years in our patients with Acinetobacter PD-related peritonitis. ♦ Results: Out of 2,389 episodes of peritonitis, there were 66 episodes (3%) of Acinetobacter peritonitis occurring in 59 patients. Twelve episodes were caused by MDRA (18%), of which 5 were CRA (8%). There was a progressive increase in the incidence of MDRA and CRA infections over the study period. Most isolates were sensitive to sulbactam combinations (ampicillin-sulbactam [95.4%] and cefoperazone-sulbactam [93.9%]), aminoglycosides (amikacin [92.4%], tobramycin [90.9%], and gentamicin [89.4%]), and carbapenems (imipenem [92.2%]). There was 1 case of relapse. Fifteen episodes resulted in catheter removal (23%), and 7 patients died (11%). Hypoalbuminemia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.85, p = 0.006) and carbapenem resistance (OR = 18.2, p = 0.049) were significantly associated with higher rates of treatment failure. ♦ Conclusion: Both carbapenem resistance and hypoalbuminemia were significantly associated with treatment failure. Up to 80% of peritonitis episodes by CRA resulted in catheter loss or mortality. Sulbactam combinations and/or aminoglycosides remained effective for the majority of Acinetobacter isolates. There seemed to be an increasing relative incidence of MDRA and CRA infections over the past 16 years.
Travel and the Built Environment

Problem: Localities and states are turning to land planning and urban design for help in reducing automobile use and related social and environmental costs. The effects of such strategies on travel demand have not been generalized in recent years from the multitude of available studies. Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis of the built environment-travel literature existing at the end of 2009 in order to draw generalizable conclusions for practice. We aimed to quantify effect sizes, update earlier work, include additional outcome measures, and address the methodological issue of self-selection. Methods: We computed elasticities for individual studies and pooled them to produce weighted averages. Results and conclusions: Travel variables are generally inelastic with respect to change in measures of the built environment. Of the environmental variables considered here, none has a weighted average travel elasticity of absolute magnitude greater than 0.39, and most are much less. Still, the combined effect of several such variables on travel could be quite large. Consistent with prior work, we find that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is most strongly related to measures of accessibility to destinations and secondarily to street network design variables. Walking is most strongly related to measures of land use diversity, intersection density, and the number of destinations within walking distance. Bus and train use are equally related to proximity to transit and street network design variables, with land use diversity a secondary factor. Surprisingly, we find population and job densities to be only weakly associated with travel behavior once these other variables are controlled. Takeaway for practice: The elasticities we derived in this meta-analysis may be used to adjust outputs of travel or activity models that are otherwise insensitive to variation in the built environment, or be used in sketch planning applications ranging from climate action plans to health impact assessments. However, because sample sizes are small, and very few studies control for residential preferences and attitudes, we cannot say that planners should generalize broadly from our results. While these elasticities are as accurate as currently possible, they should be understood to contain unknown error and have unknown confidence intervals. They provide a base, and as more built-environment/travel studies appear in the planning literature, these elasticities should be updated and refined. Research support: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Comparison of LH release and luteal function in cyclic and LH-RH-treated anoestrous ewes pretreated with PMSG or oestrogen.

Pretreatment of seasonally anoestrous Clun Forest ewes with 750 i.u. PMSG or 50 microgram oestradiol benzoate 24 or 7 h respectively before a single injection of 150 microgram synthetic LH-RH significantly increased the release of LH compared to that after injection of 150 microgram LH-RH alone. Total LH release in the two "combined" treatments was approximately 70% of that found at a natural oestrus, compared to 25% for LH-RH alone. All but one of the treated ewes ovulated, but only those pretreated with PMSG consistently produced corpora lutea capable of elevating peripheral plasma progesterone concentrations although these were lower than those at natural mid-cycle. These progesterone concentrations were, however, comparable to those during the natural cycle when corrected for the higher metabolic clearance rate found during anoestrus.
Female labour supply and parental leave benefits – the causal effect of paying higher transfers for a shorter period of time

We study the labour supply effects of a major change in child-subsidy policy in Germany in 2007 designed to increase both fertility and shorten birth-related employment interruptions. The reform involved a move from a means-tested maternity leave benefit system that paid a maximum of 300 Euro for up to 2 years to a benefit system that replaced two-thirds of pre-birth earnings for at most 1 year. As the reform took place very recently, we estimate the labour supply effect by using data drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) on the intention of women to return to the labour market. Our results show that the reform yields most of the intended effects: the fraction of mothers who plan to return to the labour market within a year after the interview increased by 14 percentage points.
DISTINCT ROLE OF BILOBALIDE AND GINKGOLIDE A IN THE MODULATION OF RAT CYP2B1 AND CYP3A23 GENE EXPRESSION BY GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT IN CULTURED HEPATOCYTES

In the present study, primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were treated for 48 h with one of several extracts of Ginkgo biloba (10, 100, or 1000 μg/ml). Maximal increase in CYP2B1 and CYP3A23 mRNA levels was obtained at 100 μg/ml. This concentration of G. biloba extract also increased CYP3A2 and CYP3A18 mRNA expression in addition to CYP2B-mediated 7-benzyloxyresorufin O-dealkylation (BROD) and CYP3A-mediated testosterone 6β-hydroxylation. In other experiments, cultured hepatocytes were treated for 48 h with bilobalide, ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B, ginkgolide C, ginkgolide J, kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, or a flavonol diglycoside at a concentration that represented the level present in a 100 μg/ml concentration of an extract. Only bilobalide (2.8 μg/ml) increased CYP2B1 mRNA expression, and the -fold increase (7.9 ± 0.5; mean ± S.E.M.) was similar to that (8.3 ± 1.7) by the extract. By comparison, only ginkgolide A (1.1 μg/ml) increased CYP3A23 mRNA expression, but the extent (2.6 ± 0.5-fold) was less than the 5.3 ± 1.7-fold increase by the extract. A greater concentration (5 μg/ml) of ginkgolide A was required to elevate CYP3A2 and CYP3A18 mRNA expression. Over the range of 1 to 5 μg/ml, bilobalide increased CYP2B1 mRNA and BROD, but not CYP3A23 mRNA or testosterone 6β-hydroxylation, whereas ginkgolide A increased CYP3A23 mRNA and testosterone 6β-hydroxylation, but not CYP2B1 mRNA or BROD. Overall, our novel results indicate a distinct role of bilobalide and ginkgolide A in the modulation of CYP2B1 and CYP3A23 gene expression and enzyme activities by G. biloba extract in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes.
THE JUSTICE RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A LITERATURE REVIEW

by Leslie Tutty, Ph.D., RSW Academic Research Coordinator, RESOLVE Alberta Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence Karen Wyllie, MSW, RSW Research Associate, RESOLVE Alberta Paige Abbott, MA Research Assistant, RESOLVE Alberta Jennifer Mackenzie, B.A., MSW Research Assistant, RESOLVE Alberta E. Jane Ursel, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Manitoba Director, RESOLVE Network and Jennifer M. Koshan, B.Sc. LL.B, LL.M. Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Calgary
Trade Credit, Cash-flow and SMEs in the UK, Germany and France

DR. FRANCIS CHITTENDEN IS SENIOR FELLOW in Business Development and Director of Business Development Programmes at Manchester Business School and Richard Bragg is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Business, University of Manchester, England. This paper is based on the analysis of the detailed accounts of 1200 small firms in the United Kingdom and 250 business (each) in Germany and France. Following the recent policy debate, at both the national and European level, the main objective of the work was to assess the impact of late payment of suppliers' invoices on the operating cash flow of small businesses in order to achieve two major objectives first, given the existence of a 'finance gap' which acts as a barrier to the growth of many small firms, to quantify the scale of the impact of potential reductions in credit terms on business cash flows; second, to determine the proportions of small companies which would benefit or suffer from faster payments made by their customers and to their suppliers. The paper concludes that for most of the small firms examined, in all three countries, reductions in the trade credit cycle would result in improved cash flows, in the short-term, and lower requirements for future investment in working capital if sales increase, in the medium-term.
Monetary Policy Adjustments on the Final Passage Towards the Euro

This study reviews monetary policy options that are seemingly viable for adopting the euro by the new Member States of the European Union. A fully autonomous direct inflation targeting is believed to be suboptimal for convergence to the euro as it does not incorporate convergence parameters into the central bank reaction function and instrument rules. In an attempt to correct for such deficiency, this study advocates adopting a framework of relative inflation forecast targeting where a differential between the domestic and the eurozone inflation forecasts becomes the main objective of the central bank's decisions. At the same time, some attention to the exchange rate stability objective becomes necessary for facilitating the monetary convergence process. Foreign exchange market interventions, rather than interest rate adjustments, are viewed as a preferred way of achieving this objective.
Untangling relative contributions of recent climate and CO2 trends to national cereal production in China

There is increasing evidence of crop yield response to recent global warming, yet there is poor understanding of the relative contributions of different climatic variables to changes in crop production. Using a spatially calibrated crop model with cultivars and crop inputs held constant for the year 2000, we simulate idealized national cereal production during the period 1961–2010 under different combinations of observed climate and CO2 forcings. With increasing CO2 and all climate forcings, production shows a slight and insignificant change (−0.9% between 1961 and 2010); however, without CO2 the combined climate forcings decrease production (−8.6%). Changing one climate variable at a time, whilst holding the other variables constant at 1961 values, observed warming has virtually no overall effect on production (0.01%), precipitation decreases it by 1.2% and radiation decreases it by 7.0%. The effects are management and crop dependent, with decreasing radiation responsible for reduced irrigated crop production, and precipitation for variability in rain-fed crop production. Rice is the most sensitive crop, with the largest decline (−12.4%) in simulated production. Wheat shows reduced yield (−9.7%) owing to climate factors, whilst offset by CO2 fertilization (overall change 0.9%). Maize shows insignificant change (−1.2%) and moderate increase in production (2.6%), respectively. These model results suggest that decreasing radiation due to increasing aerosol concentration and other atmospheric pollutants has had a greater effect on crop production than warming trends in China. This underscores the need for crop–climate studies to resolve better the effects of radiation on crop yield and examine climate model projections of radiation in greater detail.
The Inclusion of Forecasts in the Narrative Sections of Annual Reports and Their Association with Firm Characteristics: The Case of Jordan

This study investigates the disclosure practices toward disclosing forecast information in the narrative sections of the annual reports for industrial and service companies for the year 2007. Additionally, this study examines the determinants of disclosing forecast information for the companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) by encompassing information asymmetry, proprietary cost and corporate governance characteristics. The results document that forecast disclosures are positively related to growth opportunities, role duality, and company size, but it is negatively related to competition rate and performance.
Ex-Post Efficiency and Resource Allocation Under Uncertainty

This paper considers two resource allocation mechanisms which operated in an ex ante exchange environment and have the properties that: 1) equilibrium allocations are ex post efficient; 2) ex post efficient allocations can be attained as equilibrium of the mechanisms. With the possibility of production ex post efficiency is inadequate as a partial ordering of resource allocations and an alternative efficiency notion is introduced.