Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DO LUXURY BRANDS NEED LOYALTY PROGRAM ? A RESEARCH PROPOSITION

This paper examines the necessity, requirements and various dimensions of loyalty programs for luxury brands. Based on the existing literatures and theoretical model, a comprehensive set of hypotheses are formulated and a methodology for testing them is outlined for investigating the relationship among consumer trust, satisfaction, value perception, commitment and loyalty. INTRODUCTION The marketing of luxury brands has been remarkably distinct from that of other industries (Atwal and Williams, 2008), because luxury brands are distinguished in terms of their functional, experiential and interactional dimensions (Vickers and Renand, 2003). Phau and Prendergast (2001) highlight the exclusivity, high brand awareness and identity, sales level retention and loyalty of luxury brands. Reichheld (1996) mentioned that in the automobile industry although 85% to 95% customers expressed their satisfaction with the products and services, only 30-40% of them repurchased from the brand. This study is consistent with the proposition that satisfied customers may not always be loyal to the brand (Oliver, 1999). In the luxury context, the use of customer membership clubs, or loyalty programs, has become prevalent (Sopanen, 1996). Lamb (2013) denotes that when loyalty programs are implemented correctly, luxury brands have the opportunity to develop brand affinity, multiply physical and online store visits, grow brand advocates and, above all, increase transactions. When consumers purchase a luxury good or service, the experience matters just as much as the product. After all, products do not create brand advocates the co-creation of service and experience of the buying process does. Therefore, taking into consideration the limited number of empirical studies on loyalty
Evaluation of experimental Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle and Manceaux, 1909) infection in pigs by bioassay in mice and polymerase chain reaction

The aim of the present experiment was to standardize a nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii in tissues of experimentally infected pigs and to compare the performance of nPCR with the standard isolation technique, the bioassay in mice. Comparison between the two methods was done testing eight 4 month-old pigs orally inoculated with 5 x 104 oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii (AS-28 strain) and three non-infected pigs at the same age, kept as control. All animals were euthanatized 47 days after infection and samples of brain, heart, tongue and retina were collected from each animal for analysis by nPCR and bioassay in mice. By using the bioassay, Toxoplasma gondii was detected in 4 infected pigs, being two in the retina, one in the heart and one in the tongue. Toxoplasma gondii DNA was detected in five of the inoculated pigs, being: three in the tongue, two in the brain and heart and one in retina. The detection threshold of the nPCR on mouse brain suspension artificially infected with the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii was 10 tachyzoites/ml. Although both techniques were unable to detect the parasite in all infected pigs, nPCR showed better performance as it was accomplished in a shorter period of time. When used concurrently, both techniques detected the agent in seven infected animals. The only way to increase sensitivity of either method is to increase the amount of tissue to be examined.
The Influence of Glucose Availability on Events during Germination of Syncephalastrum racemosum Sporangiospores

Germination of Syncephalastrum racemosum sporangiospores was studied in shake flask and batch fermenter cultures. In the presence of glucose, spore swelling preceded outgrowth of germ tubes; dry weight increased markedly only at the time of germ tube emergence. Glucose was essential for initiation of these events. Both swelling and germ tube emergence quickly ceased when glucose-grown cultures were shifted down to non-permissive glucose-free medium. Spore swelling was not a prerequisite for germ tube emergence. Analysis of size distributions within populations of partially germinated spores indicated that larger spores germinated first.
Mind-mindedness in Looked After Children Mind-Mindedness in Parents of Looked After Children Mind-mindedness (Meins, 1997) indexes caregivers’ attunement to their children’s mental and emotional states. In infancy, mind-mindedness is assessed from caregivers’ tendency to comment in an appropriate ma

The studies reported here aimed to test the proposal that mind-mindedness is a quality of personal relationships by assessing mind-mindedness in parent–child dyads where the relationship has not spanned the child’s life or where the relationship has been judged dysfunctional. Studies 1 and 2 investigated differences in mind-mindedness between adoptive parents (ns 89, 36) and biological parents from the general population (ns 54, 114). Both studies found lower mind-mindedness in adoptive compared with biological parents. Study 2’s results showed that this group difference was independent of parental mental health and could not fully be explained in terms of children’s behavioral difficulties. Study 3 investigated differences in mind-mindedness in foster carers (n=122), biological parents whose children were subject to a child protection plan (n=172), and a community sample of biological parents (n=128). The level of mind-mindedness in foster carers and parents who were involved with child protection services was identical and lower than that in the community sample; children’s behavioral difficulties could not account for the difference between the two groups of biological parents. In all three studies, non-biological carers’ tendency to describe their children with reference to pre-adoption or placement experiences was negatively related to mind-mindedness. These findings are in line with mind-mindedness being a relational construct.
Presence of abnormal obturator artery and an abnormal venous plexus at the anterolateral pelvic wall

Introduction: Obturator artery (OA) is a branch of anterior division of the internal iliac artery (IIA). It is accompanied by the obturator vein (OV) which terminates into the internal iliac vein (IIV). In about 20-25% cases, OA arises from the inferior epigastric artery (IEA) instead of the internal iliac artery (EIA) and then it is called an abnormal obturator artery (AOA). Normally we do not find a venous plexus on the lateral wall of the pelvis. Case report: We report the presence of an AOA arising from IEA. AOA was accompanied by an abnormal obturator vein (AOV) which terminated into the inferior epigastric vein (IEV). In addition, there was a normal OV accompanying the obturator nerve (ON). It terminated by opening into the internal iliac vein (IIV). Further there was a prominent venous plexus in relation to the anterolateral wall of the pelvis. This plexus communicated with prostatic and vesical venous plexuses anteriorly; inferior epigastric vein (IEV) and external iliac vein (EIV) superiorly; and OV posteriorly. Conclusion: Knowledge of presence of AOA is very handy in reducing the strangulated femoral hernia. Knowledge of possibility of an abnormal venous plexus on the lateral pelvic wall is important in pelvic surgeries.
Embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality. How do they interact in promoting students' science understanding

Empfohlene Zitierung/ Suggested Citation: Decristan, Jasmin; Klieme, Eckhard; Kunter, Mareike; Hochweber, Jan; Büttner, Gerhard; Fauth, Benjamin; Hondrich, Anna Lena; Rieser, Svenja; Hertel, Silke; Hardy, Ilonca: Embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality. How do they interact in promoting students' science understanding In: American educational research journal 52 (2015) 6, S. 1-27 URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-125517
Hunting patterns and success of an osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) population at Magdalena Bay , Baja California Sur , Mexico

In late autumn 2004 we studied the effect of water surface condition, wind speed, and tidal status on the hunting patterns (flapping, gliding, hovering) and hunting success of the osprey population at Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Through focal sightings we obtained the number of hunting dives, hunting length, and the proportion of hunting length invested in each pattern. Hunting success was 61%. Ospreys required an average of 2.4 dives to catch a prey. Hunting lasted 450 seconds on average, with about 50% of this time invested in flapping, 41% in gliding, and 7% in hovering. The average number of dives to catch a prey varied according to the different water surface conditions, wind speed, and tidal status. The probability of catching a prey decreased when wind speed increased and the condition of the water surface deteriorated; however, hunting length was similar in both cases. Ospreys at Magdalena Bay decrease the proportion of flapping and increase gliding when wind speed increases and the condition of the water surface changes from calm to choppy. The change from low to high tide favored an increase in the probability of catching a prey and in the number of dives, but hunting length was not affected. We compared our results with studies from other regions.
Characteristics of the ingestive behavior and milk production of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows fed with diets containing increasing levels of urea

This work aimed to evaluate the ingestive behavior and milk production of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows subjected to increasing levels of urea in the diets. Diets contained 0, 33, 66 and 100% replacement of soybean bran by urea, which corresponded to 0, 0.92, 1.84 and 2.77% of CP in the form of NPN, formulated to be isoproteic and for an average production of 10 liters of milk per cow day-1. We used two 4 x 4 Latin squares, with 4 animals, 4 diets and 4 experimental periods of 18 days each, with the first 15 days of diet adaptation and the last three days for evaluation of ingestive behavior and milk production. The cows were subjected to visual observation at each period, for two consecutive days. There were differences in feeding and idle times, and total chewing time, with quadratic behavior for these variables. Feeding time decreased with 1.78% NPN and idle time increased with the level of 1.96% of CP in the form of NPN. The total chewing time decreased with 1.95% of CP in the form of NPN. The intake, chewing and ruminating time and the efficiencies of feeding and rumination of the DM and of the NDF did not differ. The replacement of soybean brain by urea in the diet of crossbred cows produced changes in the feeding, idle and total chewing times, however, it did not influence milk production of the cows.
ePubWU Institutional Repository

This paper investigates IT value creation in transition and developed economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Using absorptive capacity theory and data envelopment analysis, we view business process transformation in ERP adoption as an economic production process. Data analysis suggests that the “sum of history” shapes adoption performance of firms, meaning that transition economies may suffer from less developed absorptive capacities in regard to IT and therefore face a greater challenge in ERP utilisation.
Students’ Difficulties in Learning Physics from Dynamic and Interactive Visualizations

In two experimental studies we investigated whether students’ difficulties in understanding line graphs in kinematics can be improved by means of dynamic representations. These representations were designed to help students in mentally bridging the gap between motion phenomena and abstract line graphs. In the first study, contrary to our expectations, the employed representations did not only not improve learning but even impeded it. This finding was underpinned by the second study, in which almost no sign was found of students having internalized the relevant aspects of the dynamic representations. Because similar results have recently been found in other studies, we propose that research on learning with dynamic representations should not only focus on developing guidelines for the external design of representations but also on conceptualising learning strategies which can be taught to students and which help them to successfully process the information presented in the external representations.
Taxation and Dividend Policy: The Muting Effect of Diverse Ownership Structure

Policymakers frequently try to use dividend tax changes to affect payout policy. However, empirical evidence finds the effect to be much smaller than theory implies. Using identification strategy that exploits a large exogenous shock to dividend taxation and comprehensive proprietary data on ownership structure and owners’ tax preference, we show that absent of conflicting objectives between managers and owners, dividend taxation has a large effect on payouts. The impact becomes insignificant as the number of owners increases. Differential tax preferences across owners is one factor. However, even when owners have the same tax preferences, disperse ownership significantly reduces the impact of dividend taxation; plausibly due to coordination problems across owners and conflicting objectives of owners and managers. Our results explain why previous evidence on the impact of dividend taxation has been so elusive. Taxation has a first order impact on payout policy, but disperse ownership mutes its impact substantially.
UCLA Recent Work Title Estimation and Test of a Simple Model of Intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Permalink

A simple valuation model that allows for time variation in investment opportunities is developed and estimated. The model assumes that the investment opportunity set is completely described by two state variables, the real interest rate and the maximum Sharpe ratio, which follow correlated OrnsteinUhlenbeck processes. The model parameters and time series of the state variables are estimated using data on US Treasury bond yields and expected inflation for the period January 1952 to December 2000, and, as predicted, the estimated maximum Sharpe ratio is shown to be related to the equity premium. In cross-sectional asset pricing tests using the 25 Fama-French size and book-to-market portfolios, both state variables are found to have significant risk premia, which is consistent with the ICAPM of Merton (1973). In contrast to the CAPM and the Fama-French 3-factor model, the simple ICAPM is not rejected by cross-sectional tests using the 25 Fama-French size and B/M sorted portfolios. Returns on the 30 industrial portfolios do not discriminate clearly between the three models. When both sets of portfolios are included as test assets all three models are rejected, but the estimated risk premia for both ICAPM state variables are significant while those associated with the Fama-French arbitrage portfolios are insignificant.
Development of a Charter for an Endpoint Assessment and Adjudication Committee

The significant programmatic risk inherent in a decision to advance a product candidate to a late phase of clinical development can be significantly reduced when there is complete objectivity in the data assessment and analysis underlying the decision to proceed in development. Such objectivity is especially needed in fields in which endpoints are determined by clinical or radiological examinations, rather than by predefined laboratory measurements. A charter for an independent Endpoint Assessment and Adjudication Committee was developed for the unbiased assessment of clinical outcomes in a multicenter, phase 3 oncology trial to enable a uniform, controlled-assessment process that would be independent of the sponsor. The End-point Assessment and Adjudication Committee charter enabled objectivity of endpoint assessment and approximated the critical review that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) might impose on clinical endpoint data. The Endpoint Assessment and Adjudication Committee charter was reviewed rigorously in consultation with the FDA, resulting in a charter that may prove to be a useful example in generating independent assessment of pivotal clinical outcomes. The Endpoint Assessment and Adjudication Committee charter is available for review at http://www.vical. com/eaaccharter.pdf.
Awareness related to reporting of adverse drug reactions among health caregivers: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey

Aim: The present cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with an aim of assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) related to pharmacovigilance among the health-care professionals in a teaching hospital located in Central India region. Materials and Methods: To assess the demographic details of the health-care professionals, their KAPs toward pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting; a predesigned, structured, close-ended 18 item questionnaire was used. Results: A total of 392 questionnaires were distributed among the health-care professionals. It was found that only 38.01% health-care professionals comprising 54.43% medical, 38.01% nursing and 19.01% dental professionals were aware regarding the existence of pharmacovigilance program of India. While, only 40.56% health-care professionals felt that ADR monitoring center should be established in every hospital. Similarly, very few health-care professionals, that is, 6.12% have ever reported ADR to pharmacovigilance center. Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that the majority of the health-care professionals had a poor knowledge and attitude about pharmacovigilance. There was a huge gap between the ADR experienced, and ADR reported by the health-care professionals especially among dentist and nursing staff. It has been advised that the health-care professionals; especially dental and nursing, should be trained properly on ADR reporting to improve the current scenario in the pharmacovigilance program of the country.
A Probabilistic FusionMethodology for Face Recognition

We propose a novel probabilistic framework that combines information acquired from different facial features for robust face recognition. The features used are the entire face, the edginess image of the face, and the eyes. In the training stage, individual feature spaces are constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) and Fisher’s linear discriminant (FLD). By using the distance-in-feature-space (DIFS) values of the training images, the distributions of the DIFS values in each feature space are computed. For a given image, the distributions of the DIFS values yield confidence weights for the three facial features extracted from the image. The final score is computed using a probabilistic fusion criterion and the match with the highest score is used to establish the identity of a person. A new preprocessing scheme for illumination compensation is also advocated. The proposed fusion approach is more reliable than a recognition system which uses only one feature, trained individually. The method is validated on different face datasets, including the FERET database.
Basic Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System. 3rd ed.

Margareta Nordin and Victor H. Frankel, editors. Illustrated by Kajsa Forssen. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2001. 450 pages. $49.95. The third edition of this by-now-familiar basic text relies more heavily on outside contributors than did past editions, providing more extensive coverage and including more specific topics. The chapters on basic biomechanics, by Nordin and Frankel, contain much …
Biogeosciences Towards operational remote sensing of forest carbon balance across Northern Europe

Monthly averages of ecosystem respiration (ER), gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) over Scandinavian forest sites were estimated using regression models driven by air temperature (AT), absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and vegetation indices. The models were constructed and evaluated using satellite data from Terra/MODIS and measured data collected at seven flux tower sites in northern Europe. Data used for model construction was excluded from the evaluation. Relationships between ground measured variables and the independent variables were investigated. It was found that the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) at 250 m resolution was highly noisy for the coniferous sites, and hence, 1 km EVI was used for the analysis. Linear relationships between EVI and the biophysical variables were found: correlation coefficients between EVI and GPP, NEE, and AT ranged from 0.90 to 0.79 for the deciduous data, and from 0.85 to 0.67 for the coniferous data. Due to saturation, there were no linear relationships between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the ground measured parameters found at any site. APAR correlated better with the parameters in question than the vegetation indices. Modeled GPP and ER were in good agreement with measured values, with more than 90% of the variation in measured GPP and ER being explained by the coniferous models. The site-specific respiration rate at 10 C (R10) was needed Correspondence to: P. Olofsson (olofsson@bu.edu) for describing the ER variation between sites. Even though monthly NEE was modeled with less accuracy than GPP, 61% and 75% (dec. and con., respectively) of the variation in the measured time series was explained by the model. These results are important for moving towards operational remote sensing of forest carbon balance across Northern Europe.
Detailed response to Anonymous Referee #2

The manuscript “Evaluating seasonal hydrological extremes in mesoscale pre-Alpine basins at coarse 0.5 deg and fine hyper5 resolution” by Buitink et al. provides an interesting excursion into the effects of spatial resolution in hydrological modelling. Two grid resolutions, 500x500 m and 40,000x40,000 m are used in the STAHY model to simulate hydrological processes, and the results are compared in 5 mesoscale basins in the Swiss Alps. The main message is that the coarse resolution model fails to capture the “diverse and contrasting response” from the high resolution model, because topography and land cover are not accurately represented. This is found to be especially true for extremes, where anomalies in climate and their effect on runoff 10 and ET were quantified. It has to be said that these conclusions are not suprising, in fact are to be expected, and there are numerous studies published in hydrological literature that report the same or similar findings. In this sense, the potential innovation of the paper is rather limited, and would have to be found in the details and/or implications that are specific to the study cathments, climates, model used, etc. To highlight what is really innovative and make the relevance of the paper more clear I suggest to focus in the revision 15 on the following points and questions.