Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic Value and Adoption of Electronic Commerce: An Empirical Study of Chilean Small and Medium Businesses

ABSTRACT By combining 2 independent research streams, we attempt to identifi specific relationships between a manager's perceptions of the strategic value of ecommerce and the variables that may influence e-commerce adoption. Eightythree top managers/owners of small and medium size companies in Chile participated in the study. me results corroborate previous theory that posits several factors as determinants of the strategic value of e-commerce in other information technologies as well as factors that may influence e-commerce adoption. In addition, we found a significant relationship between the strategic value of e-commerce and e-commerce adoption. Factor analysis was conducted in order to test the measurement model while canonical analysis was employed to test the structured model.
The History of Finance

Here is Professor Miller's view of what he sees as the highlights of the forty-year-plus life of finance in its modern form, which he characterizes as an interaction of the business school (micro normative) stream and the economics department (macro normative) stream of research. His history extends from finance's “big bang” (read Markowitz's “Portfolio Selection” in 1952) through the Sharpe-Litner-Mossin CAPM, the efficient markets hypothesis, and the Modigliani-Miller capital structure propositions to that options research of Black, Scholes, and Merton. The options revolution means that for the first time the field of finance can be rebuilt, according to Miller, on the basis of “observable” magnitudes. Options research the new center of gravity for finance offers much to both the management science/business school wing and the economics wing of the profession.
A Disaggregated Analysis of Movements in East Asian Regional Stock Volatility

In the absence of comprehensive evidence regarding disaggregated volatility and correlations, this paper applies a disaggregated approach to examine these characteristics in the East Asia region. Testing commences with an examination of portfolio risk faced by an East Asian investor with the application and extension of the models advanced by Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel and Xu (2001) to a portfolio of East Asian stocks. Thereafter, we identify diversification benefits accruing to investors expanding their portfolio composition beyond Australian securities (Sault 2005) to include stocks within the East Asia region. Testing reveals that an increase in the geographical scope of the investment opportunity set is coupled with decreases in mean levels of volatility and correlations. Further, investors holding this regionally diversified portfolio are rewarded by reduced correlations during times of increased volatility, highlighting the benefits of wider-reaching diversification.
Effect of acute and daily cocaine treatment on extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens

The behavioral stimulant effect of peripheral cocaine injection into rats is augmented following daily adminstration. In vivo dialysis in the nucleus accumbens of conscious rats was used to determine if the increased behavioral response following daily cocaine administration is associated with in increase in extracellular dopamine concentration. Acute injection of cocaine (15 mg/kg, ip) produced and elevation in extracellular dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens. Following daily pretreatment with cocaine (15 mg/kg, ip × 4 days), a subsequent acute injection of cocaine (15 mg/kg, ip) significantly elevated the extracellular dopamine levels compared to that produced by a single acute injection. Although the levels extracellular dopamine metabolites was significantly lowered by both acute cocaine and daily cocaine, no difference between these two groups of animals was measured. The increase in extrecellular dopamine following a single acute injection of cocaine was not correlated to the motor stimulant response. However, after daily pretreatment with cocaine the motor stimulant response to acute cacaine was positively correlated with the increased extracellular concentration of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. These data demonstrate that enhanced dopamine release into the nucleus accumbens may mediate the behavioral sensitization produced by daily injections of cocaine, but that other neural systems are influential in mediating the acute motor stimulant effect of cocaine.
Informal Employment in a Growing and Globalizing Low-Income Country

We document several facts about workforce transitions from the informal to the formal sector in Vietnam, a fast growing, industrializing, and low-income country. First, younger workers, particularly migrants, are more likely to work in the formal sector and stay there permanently. Second, the decline in the aggregate share of informal employment occurs through changes between and within birth cohorts. Third, younger, educated, male, and urban workers are more likely to switch to the formal sector than other workers initially in the informal sector. Poorly educated, older, female, rural workers face little prospect of formalization. Fourth, formalization coincides with occupational upgrading.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles may affect endothelial progenitor cell migration ability and adhesion capacity.

BACKGROUND AIMS Cell labeling with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles enables non-invasive tracking of transplanted cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether SPIO nanoparticles have an effect on endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) functional activity and the feasibility of a protocol for labeling swine- and rat-origin EPC using SPIO nanoparticles at an optimized low dosage. METHODS EPC were isolated from the peripheral blood of swine and bone marrow of rat and characterized. After ex vivo cultivation, EPC were labeled with SPIO nanoparticles (to make a series of final concentrations, 50, 100, 200 and 400 microg/mL) or vehicle control. We also investigated the long-term effects of 200 microg/mL SPIO nanoparticles on EPC (4, 8, 12 and 16 days after labeling). The labeling efficiency was tested through Prussian blue (PB) staining and the intracellular iron uptake was also measured quantitatively and confirmed. EPC proliferation and migration were determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and transwell chamber assay, respectively. An EPC adhesion assay was performed by replating the cells on fibronectin-coated dishes and then counting the adherent cells. EPC apoptosis was evaluated using an Annexin V-FITC apoptosis kit. RESULTS SPIO nanoparticles impaired EPC migration and promoted EPC adhesion. EPC proliferation and apoptosis were not affected. SPIO nanoparticles could label EPC efficiently at 200 microg/mL overnight without significantly affecting EPC functional activity. CONCLUSIONS SPIO nanoparticles impaired the EPC migration ability and promoted the EPC adhesion capacity. EPC could be labeled efficiently at an appropriate concentration (200 microg/mL) without significantly affecting their functional activity.
Financial Reporting Transparency and Earnings Management

Prior research indicates that greater transparency in reporting formats facilitates the detection of earnings management. The current study hypothesizes and demonstrates that greater transparency in comprehensive income reporting also reduces the likelihood that managers will engage in earnings management in the area of increased transparency. In our experiment, 62 financial executives and chief executive officers decide which available‐for‐sale security to sell from a portfolio. We manipulate the transparency of comprehensive income reporting and the relationship of projected earnings to the consensus forecast in a 2×2 between‐subjects design. When projected earnings are below (above) the consensus forecast, participants sell securities that increase (decrease) earnings. However, the rarely used, more transparent format for reporting comprehensive income significantly reduces both income‐increasing and income‐decreasing earnings management. Participants in the less transparent setting indicate that earni.
Membership retention in the public sector

Based on a survey of UNISON members, this article examines the reasons underpinning membership retention in the public sector. It shows that collective reasons are central to retention and that packages of financial services have little impact on retention. An article to be published in the next issue of this journal develops the themes raised here by reference to a survey of union leavers.
Memory and learning: Selecting users in the port of Rotterdam, 1883–1900

During the closing decades of the nineteenth century, the port of Rotterdam experienced very strong growth. Changing views and concrete experiences induced the port to widen the initially limited circle of regular users of berths. We study this case in order to increase our understanding of the dynamic interrelationship between organisational memory and learning. While organisational memory guides the application of routines, this practical experience may also question underlying beliefs. Our study of deliberations by the Rotterdam government – to a significant degree representing the preferences of the local business elite – demonstrates how so-called lower order learning on the level of routines induces a so-called higher order learning on the level of beliefs. Finally, our case-study suggests that the traumatic nature of initial experiences that are part of organisational memory may hinder the deliberation of beliefs and thus retard higher order learning.
Receptor-mediated elimination of phosphocholine-specific B cells in x-linked immune-deficient mice.

The combined expression of the M167 mu/kappa anstiphosphocholine (PC) transgenes with the x-linked immunodeficiency gene, xid, results in an almost total failure to develop B cells in the peripheral lymphoid organs of such mice. Although there is no significant difference between the normal transgene positive (TG+) female offspring and the immunodeficient TG+ xid males with respect to the number of B220+ pre-B cells and IgM+B220+B cells that develop in their bone marrow, the hemizygous xid males have 85% fewer B cells in their spleens than the phenotypically normal heterozygous F1 females. In xid M167-mu-transgenic mice, PC-specific B cells also fail to develop in the spleen; however, numerous B cells bearing the mua+VH1(+)-transgene product associated with endogenous kappa L chains that do not give rise PC-specific antibodies are present. In the phenotypically normal TG+ (B6.CBA/N x mu 243-4)F1 female mice, PC-specific B cells represent almost 10% of the total B cell population, and these B cells express an M167-Id that has been produced by association of the VH1 transgene product with an endogenous V kappa 24L chain. B cells expressing the normally dominant T15-Id are not detectable in the spleens of these M167 mu-transgenic mice. Furthermore, M167-Id+ B cells are present at a fivefold lower level in the bone marrow of mu-TG+ normal mice than in their spleens. These data suggest that the PC-specific B cells that develop in TG+ xid mice are either clonally deleted via some "IgR-directed" mechanism or they fail to receive the appropriate signals to exit the bone marrow or to enter the peripheral lymphoid tissues. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that TNP-specific B cells develop normally and do not undergo clonal deletion in xid mice carrying the Sp6 mu/kappa anti-TNP transgenes.
Work integrated learning for engineering qualifications: a spanner in the works?

Work-integrated learning (WIL) has been identified as a way of equipping graduates with attributes that make them work-ready. Many higher education institutions (HEIs) require their students to go through a compulsory work place learning form (WPL) of WIL. The complications of WPL can affect HEIs’ student throughput. To address this challenge, a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa is curriculating engineering diplomas and degrees which do not make WPL a compulsory module. This is in line with the new Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework and Engineering Council of South Africa requirements. We employed in-depth interviews to gain an insight into the new programmes without WPL. Our findings indicate that WPL, in its current form, does not make graduates work-ready. Employers use it either to get extra cheap labour or as a recruitment process. It is envisaged that the new programme will increase the UoT’s throughput without adverse effects on the graduates’ attributes. These findings have important implications for HEIs, students and employers. It implies that HEIs will greatly improve throughput, which is desirable for both the HEIs and the students. For employers, this means they will have qualified people who might need higher wages, in comparison with students on WPL and they will need to plan for more in-house induction.
A semiparametric approach to examine wage flexibility

This article analyses wage flexibility within the framework of a semiparametric panel data model by using a bi-dimensional nonparametric term in the wage regression. The results point to a high degree of wage rigidity in Spain. However, semiparametric estimation allows us to find an interaction effect involving regional unemployment and productivity when explaining regional wages and, as a result of that, some signs of flexibility in the Spanish labour market.
Firm-Specific Advantages Intra-Regional Sales and Performance of Multinational Enterprises

This article is an extension of recent work that has examined the intra-regional sales of large multinational enterprises (MNEs). First, we examine the interaction between the performance of MNEs and four proxies for their firm-specific advantages (FSAs). This includes: firm size, knowledge (as represented by R&D), marketing ability, and industry type. We find that FSAs in R&D and service sector type are best exploited within the home region. In contrast, the FSA firm size is better exploited by global and bi-regional firms. Second, we find that a service MNE tends to be more home-region oriented and has a higher proportion of intra-regional sales than a manufacturing firm.
The Validation of the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief on an Older Latino Sample

Abstract Purpose: Bereavement is considered to be one of the most profound experiences in older adulthood. However, assessments of emotional reactions to grief and loss have often been based on measures tested on primarily Anglo samples. This study examined the validity and factor structure of a commonly used bereavement measure on an older Latino sample. Design and Methods: Using convergent and discriminant validation procedures, this instrument was tested using a purposive sample of 134 older, recently bereaved Latinos. Results: While the instrument was originally designed to measure two domains of grief: Past Behaviors and Present Feelings, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution for this sample which included also Disbelief of the loss. Items within this domain included anger, rejection, and a sense of injustice. Implications: This study underscores the need for improved measures in research on grief and bereavement to capture the intensity and severity of grief in a cross-cultural context.
Weather risk and the viability of weather insurance in China's Gansu, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate weather risks facing Chinese farmers, and to determine whether farmers would have a preference for weather insurance over other types of agricultural insurance. Design/methodology/approach - The data are based on 1,564 farm households surveyed in Shaanxi, Henan, and Gansu provinces in Central China between October 2007 and 2008. Findings - Results suggest that the greater risk for farmers is drought followed by excessive rain. Heat is less critical as a risk but more significant than cool weather. Results suggest a strong interest in precipitation insurance with 50 and 44 percent of respondents indicating strong interest in the product. Supplementary results indicate that interest is equal between planting, cultivating, and harvesting. Furthermore, results suggest that farmers are willing to adopt new ideas, and where possible action has already been taken to self-insure through diversification and other means. Research limitations/implications - This research is based on primary data gathered in China. However, the authors are limited in the access to Chinese weather station data to illustrate how weather insurance operates. Instead, the authors use weather data from the weather station in Ashland, Kansas which has similarities to the wheat growing regions of China. While the example is for illustrative purposes only, the authors cannot claim that it actually represents premiums that might actually be found in China. Practical implications - The Chinese Government has within the past year authorized an investigation into agricultural insurance. The burst of research and applications of weather insurance in both developed and developing countries suggest that a wide array of applications could be feasible in China. The results are encouraging because they suggest that farmers in China would have an interest in purchasing weather insurance. Originality/value - The authors believe that this is the first study conducted on weather insurance in China. The survey instrument is designed to specifically determine what weather risks are important to Chinese farmers and the interest that farmers would have in using such a product.
Non-Parametric Future Looking Value-at-Risk

This paper proposes a new model for computing Value-at-Risk forecasts. The model is fully non-parametric and easy to implement. Further, it incorporates information about the markets perceived uncertainty about the future. The future looking information is obtained from the option market via CBOEs implied volatility index VIX. Using SP500 data from 1990-2010 we …nd that the new model compares favorably to extant models in terms of its forecast performance.
THE BARYON CONTENT OF COSMIC STRUCTURES

We make an inventory of the baryonic and gravitating mass in structures ranging from the smallest galaxies to rich clusters of galaxies. We find that the fraction of baryons converted to stars reaches a maximum between M500 = 1012 and 1013 M☉, suggesting that star formation is most efficient in bright galaxies in groups. The fraction of baryons detected in all forms deviates monotonically from the cosmic baryon fraction as a function of mass. On the largest scales of clusters, most of the expected baryons are detected, while in the smallest dwarf galaxies, fewer than 1% are detected. Where these missing baryons reside is unclear.
High-Resolution Radar Imaging of Space Debris Based on Sparse Representation

Short data and large Doppler bandwidth in a low-pulse-repetition-frequency system is a challenging problem for space debris imaging. Meanwhile, space debris usually rotates at a high speed so that the echo suffers from the shadow effect during the observation. To solve the problem, we propose a new 2-D inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging algorithm. Based on the fact that space debris usually rotates for several periods during the observation and the scattering field presents strong spatial sparsity, the proposed method can efficiently improve the imaging quality by constructing the measurement matrix to utilize the support data in multiple cycles. Theoretical analysis confirms that the methodology can obtain a well-focused image. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for space debris imaging.
Governance and Charities: An Exploration of Key Themes and the Development of a Research Agenda

The concept of governance has been widely discussed in both the business and non-business sectors. The debate has also been entered into within the charity sector, which comprises over 169,000 organizations in the UK. The UK-based Charity Commission, which describes itself as existing to promote sound governance and accountability, has taken a lead in this debate by promoting greater regulation and producing numerous recommendations with regard to the proper governance of charitable organizations. However, the concept of what is meant by governance is unclear and a myriad of ideas are placed under the umbrella of good governance. This paper explores the major themes that form the basis of much of this discussion, examining both the theoretical underpinnings and empirical investigations relating to this area (looking from the perspective of the key stakeholders in the charity sector). Based on an analysis of the extant literature, this paper presents a broad definition of governance with respect to charities and outlines a future research agenda for those interested in adding to knowledge in this area
Husbands’ and Wives’ Relative Earnings

Whereas much research has explored the causes and consequences of the gender wage gap, far less has examined earnings differentials within marriage. This article contributes to this literature by utilizing the 2000 wave of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine variation in husbands’ and wives’ relative income by race/ethnicity, human capital, labor supply, and life stage. The author finds that Black women’s disproportionate concentration among high relative earning wives can be attributed more to their greater attachment to paid labor than to their husbands’ labor supply. Nonetheless, Black women’s odds of earning as much as or more than their husbands are greater than those of White women. In addition, unlike research on the motherhood wage gap more generally, the author finds that the impact of motherhood on women’s earnings relative to their husbands can be largely explained by mothers’ lower labor supply relative to their childless counterparts.
The long-run performance of initial public offerings: The UK experience 1980-1988

Conventional wisdom suggests that the presence of positive first day returns for initial public offerings (IPOs). documented for almost every capital market in the world, constitutes evidence of deliberate underpricing. A number of recent studies, however, appear to cast doubt on this long-established position. They show that firms that obtained a public listing during the 1970s and 1980s underperformed similar size and industry firms by as much as 29% by the third anniversary of their first day of trading.