Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Research in Consumer Behavior of Automobile Passenger Car Customer

The automobile industry today is the most lucrative industry. Due to increase in disposable income in both rural and urban sector and availability of easy finance are the main drivers of high volume car segments. Further competition is heating up with host of new players coming in and global brands like Porsche, Bentley, and Ferrari all set to venture in Indian market. This research will be helpful for the existing and new entrant car manufacturing companies in India to find out the customer expectations and their market offerings. Indian Automobile car business is influenced by the presence of many national and multinational manufacturers. This paper presents analysis of research in the area of Consumer Behavior of Automobile Car Customer. Proper understanding of consumer buying behavior will help the marketer to succeed in the market. All segments in Indian Car industry were studied and found that buyer has different priority of behaviors in each segment, where as main driver for car purchase is disposable income. Value for money, safety and driving comforts top the rank in terms of customer requirement; where as perceived quality by customers mainly depends on brand image. For this research, methodology adopted was to study the research papers in the area of Passenger Car segment, study the purchase decision process and its interaction with behavior parameters across all the segments of car such as small & Hatch Back segment, Sedan class segment, SUV & MUV segment and Luxury Car segment. The objective of this study is the identification of factors influencing customer's preferences for particular segment of cars. This paper also attempts to consolidate findings & suggestions to overcome present scenario of stagnancy in sales and cultivate future demand for automobile car market.
Am I cheap? Testing the role of store personality and self-congruity in discount retailing

This study examines whether consumer perceptions of store personality (SP) differ according to the store's format (hard-discount versus soft-discount and value retailing). A consumer survey (n = 306) is conducted in which respondents are asked to rate these retail formats on five SP dimensions and in terms of self-congruity (SC). The findings of both repeated measures ANOVA and hypothesis testing of proportion difference indicate that the three formats differ significantly in terms of all five SP dimensions. Moreover, consumers perceive a greater match between their self-concept and the value retailer's personality than the discounter's. A PLS model is estimated linking SP and SC to store loyalty and word-of-mouth intentions (WOM). The SP measurement model is only partially confirmed by the data. The effect of SC is found to dominate in explaining loyalty and WOM. These results provide valuable insights for optimising retail positioning strategies.
Conceptualising and measuring 'employablity' - lessons from a National OLT Project.

The notion that employability should be an explicit outcome of higher education degrees is gaining traction in Australia, the U.K. and elsewhere. It is especially relevant to generalist and semi-professional degrees where the pathway to employment may be less clear than it is for some professional degrees. To be able to promote employability as a worthwhile and sensible outcome of higher education, it is necessary to be able to determine what cluster of abilities should be taken to constitute employability. This paper reports on the results of a national project “Measuring the impact of WIL on student work-readiness”, and focuses on a confirmatory factor analysis of 6 dimensions of ability adopted by the study. It explores the provenance and utility of these measures for future employability research. The dimensions explored are: lifelong learning; professional practices and standards; integration of knowledge/theory and practice; informed decision-making (applied information literacy); commencement readiness; and collaboration.
COMPLEMENTARY USE OF PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS BY SOFTWARE FIRMS: EVIDENCE FROM LITIGATION

This paper explores a fundamental question of innovation strategy: Are IP protections complements or substitutes? We employ litigation data on patents, copyrights, and trademarks to study overlapping IP protections used by software firms. While prior research, as well as the policy debate, has tended to view different types of IP as substitutes, we propose conditions under which they can act as complements. We design an empirical test that uses a fixed-effects seemingly-unrelated-regression (SUR) model to estimate the occurrence of litigation over patents, copyrights, and trademarks, and find evidence of complementarity between these different types of IP used by software firms.
Producer Services and Manufacturing Productivity: Evidence from Japan Industrial Productivity Database

As service sectors account for a growing share of economic activity in advanced economies, economists claim that the quality and cost of producer services supplied by the service sectors are crucial in supporting the competitiveness of manufacturing firms. This paper provides an empirical assessment on this argument by exploring a link between service-sector performance and manufacturing productivity in Japan for the period 1980-2005. Assuming that an improvement in producer services is measured with errors by a price deflator growth of service outputs, I propose an estimation framework in which an observed productivity depends partly on the performance of service sectors weighted by service-input intensities. Robust to a wide range of specifications and alternative indicators of services upgrading, I find little evidence that the service sectors contributed to productivity growth of the manufacturing sector. Thus, my findings do not support the claim that the upgrading of producer services improves manufacturing competitiveness.
Usability of Travel Websites: A Case Study of the Perceptions of Hong Kong Travelers

ABSTRACT The wide-scale application of Internet technology has led to intense competitions in the travel and tourism industry for online reservations. Unfortunately, the issue of the usability on travel websites has been largely overlooked in the literature on hospitality and tourism. This paper reports on a study on the perceptions of Hong Kong travelers towards Hong Kong-based travel agency websites (hereafter known as travel websites). The expectancy disconfirmation theory was used to compare the expected performance and experienced performance of attributes of usability. The empirical results indicated that there were significant differences between perceived performance and expected performance, with the largest gap being in “Information Architecture. ”
Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection in the treatment of Morton's neuroma.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of corticosteroid injection and determine the duration of symptom-free period after treatment with a single ultrasound-guided injection for a painful Morton's neuroma. MATERIALS AND METHODS From May 2002 to November 2003, 35 consecutive patients (7 males, 28 females) (mean age, 54; age range, 29 to 77 years) underwent a single ultrasound guided corticosteroid injection. Thirty-nine injections were performed as 4 patients had bilateral Morton's neuromas. The injection of 1.0 cc Celestone Chronodose (5.7 mg/ml) with 0.5 cc of 1% lidocaine was performed into the symptomatic intermetatarsal web-space. The efficacy of the injection was determined by the Johnson grading scale, and modified lower extremity functional scale. RESULTS On the Johnson scale, 15 of 39 (38%) neuromas showed complete satisfaction 9 months after treatment and 11 of 39 (28%) were satisfied with minor reservations. A total of 26 of 39 (66%) neuromas had a positive outcome 9 months after the injection. On the functional daily activity (FDA) scale, 20 of 39 (51%) neuromas showed no difficulty and 4 of 39 (10%) indicated minor difficulties, which was considered a positive outcome 9 months after injection. Complete pain relief was achieved in 11 of 39 (28%) neuromas 9 months after treatment. Twelve of 39 (31%) neuromas did not respond to conservative treatment and required surgery. The results of treatment suggested improvement in efficacy if injection was used early. The size of the lesion measured on ultrasound showed no correlation with pain relief after injection. CONCLUSION A single corticosteroid injection can offer short-term pain relief in the conservative management of Morton's neuroma.
Metaverse-retail service quality: A future framework for retail service quality in the 3D internet

Abstract This study argues that service quality in retailing in 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (aka Metaverses) is distinct from service quality in the more familiar 2D, mainly menu-driven, web internet store (e-SQ) and conceptualises the determinants of Metaverse Retailing service quality (MR-SQ) through a combination of focus groups and Critical Incident Technique with current users of Metaverse retail stores. The emerging set of four overarching determining elements of MR-SQ includes customer service, product dimension, store dimension and a 3D platform dimension. While some of these features are found in 2D e-SQ others are unique to MR-SQ such as human contact, emotional expressiveness, virtual trial and fantasy products, in addition to the 3D platform features. Thus, the CVE/Metaverse context presents opportunities for retailers to enhance social experience, responsive service and creative co-production opportunities. The study provides a framework for guidance for retailers to improve service quality in 3D Metaverse stores, as well as for future research.
Where Do Australian Active Equity Managers Outperform

The appropriateness of benchmarks is particularly critical in performance evaluations of equity managers, and inferences made from them in terms of managerial skill Recent empirical research for Australian equity managers shows, on average, outperformance relative to the market over long-run periods. This paper aims to identify more accurately the main sources of that excess return, and finds that it stems from a combination of style exposures and stock selection, both primarily within the large-cap arena especially bank and finance stocks.
Pain Relief in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome due to Spinal Cord Stimulation Does Not Depend on Vasodilation

Background Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is known to relieve pain in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and, in general, to cause vasodilation. The vasodilatory effect of SCS is hypothesized to be secondary to inhibition of sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction, or through antidromic impulses resulting in release of vasoactive substances. The aim of the present study was to assess whether pain relief in CRPS after SCS is, in fact, dependent on vasodilation. In addition, we tried to determine which of the potential mechanisms may cause the vasodilatory effect that is generally found after SCS. Methods Twenty-four of 36 patients with unilateral CRPS responded to the test of SCS. Twenty-two of these 24 responders (hand, n = 14; foot, n = 8) who had undergone previous sympathectomy were enrolled for the study. In addition, 20 control subjects (10 controls for each extremity) were studied. By means of laser Doppler flowmetry, the skin microcirculation of the patients was measured bilaterally while the SCS system was switched off and while it was activated. Control subjects (n = 20) were tested once only. The ratio of the rest flow at heart level and the dependent position was defined as the vasoconstriction index. Results Both in affected hands and feet, patients were found to have lower vasoconstriction indices (P < 0.01) as compared with controls, indicating a decreased sympathetic tone. Applying SCS did not result in any microcirculatory change as compared with baseline or the contralateral clinically unaffected side. Conclusions The current study failed to show that SCS influences skin microcirculation in patients with CRPS and a low sympathetic tone. Therefore, we may conclude that pain relief in CRPS due to SCS is possible without vasodilation. Because sympathetic activity was greatly decreased in our patients, these results support the hypothesis that the vasodilation that is normally found with SCS is due to an inhibitory effect on sympathetically maintained vasoconstriction.
Differential modulation of voltage-dependent currents in Hermissenda type B photoreceptors by serotonin.

1. In identified photoreceptors in the eyes of Hermissenda, serotonin (5-HT) enhances the peak and plateau phases of light-evoked generator potentials and modulates light-dependent and voltage-dependent currents. In addition, electrophysiological and morphological studies indicate that 5-HT may contribute to cellular plasticity detected in the visual system of Hermissenda produced by classical conditioning procedures. With the use of conventional two-electrode voltage-clamp techniques, we examined the effects of 5-HT on three distinct currents recorded across the soma membranes of identified lateral and medial type B photoreceptors in the isolated circumesophageal nervous system. 2. The inward rectifier (Iir), a putative K(+)-dependent conductance, activates in 0-Na artificial seawater at membrane potentials greater than -60 mV, is voltage dependent, noninactivating, and reaches steady-state within 800 ms to 3 s at -100 mV. Bath application of 10(-4) M 5-HT consistently enhanced the magnitude of Iir at all potentials tested (-60 to -100 mV) and, in some cases, allowed expression of Iir, which was not initially detectable before the application of 5-HT. 3. The major component of outward K+ current in type B photoreceptors with IA and IK(Ca) blocked is the delayed rectifier [IK(v)]. 5-HT (10(-4) M) produced both an increase as well as a decrease in the peak amplitude of IK(v) and consistently slowed its inactivation rate and reduced twin-pulse inactivation. 4. A previously identified outward K+ current in type B photoreceptors has properties that are similar to the A current (IA). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Numbers of working carers whose employment is 'at risk' in England

Recent evidence suggests that a key threshold at which carers in England are at risk of leaving employment occurs when unpaid care is provided for 10 or more hours a week, a lower threshold than previously thought. Previous studies had shown that providing care for 20 or more hours a week had a negative effect on employment. One implication is that there are more working carers whose employment is at risk than previously thought. This paper aims to estimate the numbers of working carers whose employment is at risk because they provide care for 10 or more hours a week. A subsidiary aim is to estimate the numbers of working carers providing care for 10 or more hours a week to someone in a private household. Using the 2011 Population Census, Understanding Society (2010/11) and the Survey of Carers in Households (2009/10), we find that there are approximately 790,000 working carers aged 16-64 whose employment is at risk because they provide care for 10 or more hours a week. Of these, approximately 735,000 provide care to someone in a private household. There are nearly a quarter of a million more carers whose employment is at risk than previously thought.
Understanding internet health search patterns: An early exploration into the usefulness of Google Trends

Abstract Google, the leading internet search engine company, offers a feature known as Google Trends. This feature uses the search term data from Google's search engine to graphically display the search volume history for any term since January 2004. While Google considers the Google Trends service to still be in its early stages of development, and to still contain a number of inaccuracies, the information it provides is compelling and may offer insight into the search behaviours of online health information seekers. Initial exploration into search volumes associated with health-related search terms in the USA reveal stable or gradually declining search volume trends with annual and weekly search pattern cycles. Other findings from this initial investigation of health search terms include the disassociation between the incidence of cancer conditions and search volumes for search terms related to those conditions, a considerable influence by celebrity and media on health-related search term search volumes, and similarities in general search volume trends and patterns between search volumes for health-related terms in the USA and in other countries. The Google Trends service as it now exists and these initial findings are discussed here and recommendations outlining how the service may be improved so that it becomes a useful tool for healthcare professionals are offered.
Information diffusion and value redistribution among transaction partners of the IPO firm

This paper examines the diffusion of information around the initial public offering (IPO) process and identifies transaction partners on which IPO firms are dependent. Using a resource payments perspective, we argue that this dependence will lead to greater cumulative abnormal stock returns for transaction partners when this information is revealed in the market (when the initial form S-1 is filed with the SEC). Moreover, we examine the uniqueness of the resource configuration between the IPO firm and transaction partners and find that greater uniqueness is associated with higher valuation for these transaction partners. We also find that multiple dependencies (by the IPO firm) reduce the valuation effect for transaction partners, indicating that a bargaining effect reduces the potential value that any transaction partner can appropriate.
Etiology of Acute Coronary Syndrome after Noncardiac Surgery

Background: The objective of this investigation was to determine the etiology of perioperative acute coronary syndrome with a particular emphasis on thrombosis versus demand ischemia. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, adult patients were identified who underwent coronary angiography for acute coronary syndrome within 30 days of noncardiac surgery at a major tertiary hospital between January 2008 and July 2015. Angiograms were independently reviewed by two interventional cardiologists who were blinded to clinical data and outcomes. Acute coronary syndrome was classified as ST–elevation myocardial infarction, non–ST–elevation myocardial infarction, or unstable angina; myocardial infarctions were adjudicated as type 1 (plaque rupture), type 2 (demand ischemia), or type 4b (stent thrombosis). Results: Among 215,077 patients screened, 146 patients were identified who developed acute coronary syndrome: 117 were classified as non–ST–elevation myocardial infarction (80.1%); 21 (14.4%) were classified as ST–elevation myocardial infarction, and 8 (5.5%) were classified as unstable angina. After coronary angiography, most events were adjudicated as demand ischemia (type 2 myocardial infarction, n = 106, 72.6%) compared to acute coronary thrombosis (type 1 myocardial infarction, n = 37, 25.3%) and stent thrombosis (type 4B, n = 3, 2.1%). Absent or only mild, nonobstructive coronary artery disease was found in 39 patients (26.7%). In 14 patients (9.6%), acute coronary syndrome was likely due to stress-induced cardiomyopathy. Aggregate 30-day and 1-yr mortality rates were 7 and 14%, respectively. Conclusions: The dominant mechanism of perioperative acute coronary syndrome in our cohort was demand ischemia. A subset of patients had no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease, but findings were consistent with stress-induced cardiomyopathy.
The link between compliance with corporate governance disclosure code, and firm performance for Kenyan firms.

In 2002, The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya issued the CMA guideline on Corporate Governance. Listed Companies are required to comply or give reasons for non-compliance with the “guideline”. Studies in developed markets investigating the link between compliance and performance of companies have produced mixed results; some have documented weak or non-existent relationship while others have indicated a significant positive relationship between compliance and stock returns. Furthermore, the direction of causality of any relationship is still debatable. We investigated the extent to which differences in the extent of firm level corporate governance disclosures help to explain firm performance in a cross-section of companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), an emerging market. We constructed a broad Kenyan corporate governance index (KCGI) for firms listed at the NSE and related it to firm’s performance. We observed a positive relationship between governance disclosure practices and firm performance. This has implications for investing community as quality of disclosure could serve as a signal on which investment strategies could be based.
A model for the three-dimensional structure of human plasma vitronectin from small-angle scattering measurements.

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were used to characterize vitronectin, a circulatory protein found in human plasma that functions in regulating cell adhesion and migration, as well as proteolytic cascades that affect blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and pericellular proteolysis. SAXS measurements were taken over a 3-fold range of protein concentrations, yielding data that characterize a monodisperse system of particles with an average radius of gyration of 30.3 +/- 0.6 A and a maximum linear dimension of 110 A. Shape restoration was applied to the data to produce two models of the solution structure of the ligand-free protein. A low-resolution model of the protein was generated that indicates the protein to be roughly peanut-shaped. A better understanding of the domain structure of vitronectin resulted from low-resolution models developed from available high-resolution structures of the domains. These domains include the N-terminal domain that was determined experimentally by NMR [Mayasundari, A. , Whittemore, N. A. , Serpersu, E. H. , and Peterson, C. B. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 29359-29366] and the docked structure of the central and C-terminal domains that were determined by computational threading [Xu, D. , Baburaj, K. , Peterson, C. B. , and Xu, Y. (2001) Proteins: Struct. , Funct. , Genet. 44, 312-320]. This model provides an indication of the disposition of the central domain and C-terminal heparin-binding domains of vitronectin with respect to the N-terminal somatomedin B (SMB) domain. This model constructed from the available domain structures, which agrees with the low-resolution model produced from the SAXS data, shows the SMB domain well separated from the central and heparin-binding domains by a disordered linker (residues 54-130). Also, binding sites within the SMB domain are predicted to be well exposed to the surrounding solvent for ease of access to its various ligands.
Body fatness and motor performance during preadolescence.

Abstract Performance differences between males and females have been attributed to both biological and cultural factors, although the relative significance of each has not been ascertained. Differences in body fatness between males and females has been frequently mentioned as one biological factor responsible for variations in physical performance. In children, it has been shown that boys exhibit slightly higher performance levels than girls until adolescence, when the differences favoring the boys become greater. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between selected physical performance tests and body fatness in preadolescent boys and girls. Measures of age, height, weight, skinfold thicknesses at two sites, and performance scores on the vertical jump, standing broad jump, modified pullup, 40-yard dash, and 400-yard run were obtained on 563 elementary school children. The results of a one-way ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference between boys and girls on all of.