Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors determining firms' perceived performance of mobile commerce

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse which factors impact firms' perceived performance in mobile commerce (m‐commerce). Introducing the perspective of firms, the paper advances the literature of m‐commerce adoption that mainly focuses on the consumer standpoint.Design/methodology/approach – The authors complement the technology‐organization‐environment (TOE) framework by adding customer value for the firm and the relationship marketing and fit‐viability approaches. Using a sample of 125 Spanish firms, structural equations models are used to validate measures and test the proposed hypothesis.Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this work is the sample size. New studies using larger and more heterogeneous samples in terms of size could consolidate the results achieved in this work, that must be understood as a first step in the analysis of firm m‐commerce adoption.Findings – Findings show that the perception of performance by firms engaging in m‐commerce depends on the ext.
Type of earnings management against managerial entrenchment and corporate governance mechanisms

The purpose of this research is to determine the type of earnings management in Canadian firms. To do this, we studied the effect of discretionary accruals, proxy of earnings management, on the future profitability of the firm. In addition, we studied the effect of entrenchment and governance mechanisms namely the board independence, the audit committee existence and the audit quality on the type of earnings management. Our study was based on a sample of 113 Canadian firms listed on the Toronto stock exchange. Using multiple regressions, we found that the type of earnings management chosen by Canadian firms result tends towards efficiency, and that the effect of discretionary accruals on future profitability is moderated only by the manager's entrenchment and the audit quality.
Attitudes and Behavioral Responses to Parking Measures

This paper reports the results of a study of attitudes and behavioral responses of car drivers to planned parking measures at the campus of the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. In an on-street questionnaire, car drivers were asked their opinion about restricting access to the campus area for cars of non-university car drivers through (i) a barrier, (ii) proper identification when entering the campus area, and (iii) payment. The responses of more than 700 car drivers are used in a multinomial logit analysis. Most car drivers indicate to continue driving to the university by car. Almost half of the car drivers indicate that they will change their travel behavior should they have to pay for entering the campus area by changing transport mode or parking their car outside the campus area. Respondents are invariant with respect to different types of identification. The most favorite way of paying is by bank/credit card, followed by a special university card.
The contribution of social entrepreneurship in meeting the needs of orphans in the Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe

Since the turn of the millennium Zimbabwe has witnessed a raft of socio-economic and political challenges, exacerbated by the devastating effects of the HIV and Aids pandemic. This diminished the government’s ability to provide safety nets to vulnerable groups. The responsibility for orphan care has been shifted to the community, which has become the core focus of intervention initiatives by devising local-level coping mechanisms to deal with the orphan care crisis. The study explored the contribution of social entrepreneurship in meeting the needs of orphans in the Mberengwa district. The study concludes that the income-generating projects based on social entrepreneurship principles in Mberengwa play an important role in poverty alleviation and social protection, and particularly in meeting the needs of orphans. However, this cannot be achieved without the supportive role of government in promoting private-public partnerships.
Hypocortisolism as a potential marker of allostatic load in children: Associations with family risk and internalizing disorders

Abstract Although the majority of research attention to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in stress-related disorders and as a marker of allostatic load has focused on overactivation of this stress system, theory and data clearly indicate that underactivation is also an important type of dysregulation. In the current study we focused on low cortisol, exploring a constellation of risk factors including stress exposure, maternal depression, and attenuated basal and stress reactive cortisol in two samples of children. The first sample was comprised of 110 preschoolers living in high-stress environments. Cortisol was assessed across the day at home and at child care as well as across two stress paradigms. These data were used to classify whether children's HPA axis activity was attenuated. Serious family financial strain, maternal depression, and attenuated cortisol all made unique contributions in models predicting current clinical levels of internalizing symptoms as rated by mothers and teachers. The second sample was 166 third, sixth, and ninth graders studied five times across a 1-year period. Maternal and child depression were determined through structured clinical interviews, and stress exposure was assessed via checklist and interview techniques with the child and parent. Cortisol was assessed multiple times across a lab visit at Time 1, and these data were combined into a single continuous measure. Cortisol concentrations across the lab visit interacted with stress exposure across the year such that children with lower average cortisol at Time 1 and increased stress across the 12 months showed elevated levels of internalizing symptoms. Based on these and related data we propose that prior to puberty low cortisol may be an important marker of allostatic load, particularly for risk of depression and anxiety.
Voice pitch measurements in schizophrenia and depression

Synopsis A monotonous voice is produced by schizophrenic patients whose expression of emotion is damped down and by patients with a severe degree of depression. Clinically, the distinction between these two diagnostic entities is virtually impossible to establish auditorily on the basis of voice quality alone. The laryngograph has been developed recently to record laryngeal activity. It was used to study voice pitch in a series of emotionally blunted and non-blunted schizophrenics, and retarded and non-retarded depressives. The frequency distributions of the laryngographic recordings were analysed to yield kurtosis scores. The group of retarded depressives had a significantly higher kurtosis score than the group of blunted schizophrenics. Hence this technique allows an objective distinction to be made between two kinds of monotonous voice produced by psychiatric patients. Furthermore, blunted schizophrenics had a higher mean kurtosis score than non-blunted schizophrenics, indicating that this measure can also be used as an objective index of blunting of affect in schizophrenia.
Use of Bayesian Estimates to determine the Volatility Parameter Input in the Black-Scholes and Binomial Option Pricing Models

The valuation of options and many other derivative instruments requires an estimation of exante or forward looking volatility. This paper adopts a Bayesian approach to estimate stock price volatility. We find evidence that overall Bayesian volatility estimates more closely approximate the implied volatility of stocks derived from traded call and put options prices compared to historical volatility estimates sourced from IVolatility.com (“IVolatility”). Our evidence suggests use of the Bayesian approach to estimate volatility can provide a more accurate measure of ex-ante stock price volatility and will be useful in the pricing of derivative securities where the implied stock price volatility cannot be observed.
Paraneoplastic Syndromes in Patients with Urological Malignancies

Introduction: Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) may represent the main clinical problem in cancer patients; however, the knowledge of their clinical aspect remains quite poor among urologists. Objective: To provide urologists with an overview on main clinical aspects of PNS that have been reported to be associated to urological cancers. Methods: Literature search of peer-reviewed papers published by July 2008. Results: All genitourinary tumors can cause a PNS, and renal cell carcinoma is the most frequent urological malignancy involved. Prostate cancer is the second urological tumor associated with PNS which, conversely, are uncommon in bladder cancer and rare in testicular cancer. Tumor neuroendocrine differentiation is involved in most endocrine PNS. Neurologic PNS are very uncommon but may dominate the clinical picture and need a high suspicion index to be recognized. Important advances have been made on radionuclide scan methods in order to detect the primary tumor. The most effective treatment strategy is always represented by the radical therapy of the underlying cancer, but specific therapeutic options are sometimes available. Conclusions: Endocrine PNS are frequently associated with urological cancers, especially renal and prostate carcinoma. PNS have been rarely reported in association with cancers of bladder, urethra and testicle.
Competition and Stability in Banking

I review the state of the art of the academic theoretical and empirical literature on the potential trade-off between competition and stability in banking. There are two basic channels through which competition may increase instability: by exacerbating the coordination problem of depositors/investors on the liability side and fostering runs/panics, and by increasing incentives to take risk and raise failure probabilities. The competition-stability trade-off is characterized and the implications of the analysis for regulation and competition policy are derived. It is found that optimal regulation may depend on the intensity of competition.
Achieving quality in colonoscopy: bowel preparation timing and colon cleanliness

Background: Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard for investigation of large bowel pathology. Numerous factors influence the efficacy of bowel preparation for colonoscopy. Inadequate bowel preparation can lead to missed pathology. Timing of fasting and bowel preparation, timing of procedure and possibly patient bowel habit and presence of diverticula may have an influence on the quality of the preparation. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of cleansing of sodium picosulfate (Picoprep‐3™, Pharmatel Fresenius Kabi Pty Ltd, Pymble, NSW, Australia) with different administration schedules and to evaluate whether patient's bowel patterns influence the quality of cleansing.
Changes in the Relative Structure of Wages and Employment: A Comparison of the United States, Canada, and France

Standard models suggest that adverse labor demand shocks will lead to bigger employment losses if institutional factors like minimum wages and trade unions prevent downward wage adjustments. Some economists have argued that this insight explains the contrast between the United States, where real wages fell over the 1980s and aggregate employment expanded vigorously, and Europe, where real wages were (roughly) constant and employment was stagnant. We test this hypothesis by comparing changes in wages and employment rates over the 1980s for different age and education groups in the United States, Canada, and France. We argue that the same forces that led to falling real wages for less-skilled workers in the U.S. affected similar workers in Canada and France. Consistent with the view that labor market institutions are more rigid in France, and more flexible in the U.S., we find that relative wages of less-skilled workers fell the most in the U.S., fell somewhat less in Canada, and did not fall at all in France. Contrary to expectations, however, we find little evidence that wage inflexibilities generated divergent patterns of relative employment growth across the three countries.
Thiazolidinediones Downregulate Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase 1 Gene Expression in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are known to have potent increases of insulin sensitivity. Because peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), a receptor for TZDs, is mainly expressed in adipocytes, we tried to search the TZD-targeted genes in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes. By the mRNA differential display method, one band repressed by troglitazone was obtained, which corresponded to the partial sequences of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) gene. Troglitazone dramatically decreased SCD1 mRNA levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Pioglitazone also repressed the SCD1 mRNA expression, whereas WY-14,643 had no apparent effect. Both troglitazone and pioglitazone raised the composition (weight percentage) of myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), and stearic acid (C18:0), but lowered the composition of the Δ9-cis desaturated fatty acids such as myristoleic acid (C14:l, Δ9), palmitoleic acid (C16:l, Δ9), oleic acid (C18:l, Δ9), and linoleic acid (C18:2, Δ9,12). These results indicate that TZDs repress SCD1 activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes via downregulating SCD1 enzyme gene expression.
JIT Manufacturing Systems: Use and Application in Australia

Reports the results of the first stage of a study which investigates the adoption of just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturing systems and the design of appropriate accounting information systems (AIS). While almost all adopters report that JIT has provided benefits to their business, it is not clear that managers fully understand or are, as yet, capable of exploiting the full advantages of JIT. Identifies several factors which appear to be important in the successful implementation of JIT management systems in Australia, including the close geographic proximity of suppliers and customers, the existence of a highly competitive market, a broad product range, small to medium firm size, the existence of flexible manufacturing technology, large inventory holdings as a percentage of total assets, the use of JIT by dominant industry members (automobile manufacturers) and a low degree of vertical integration in the firm. Industry type is also an important factor.
The role of social capital and gender in linking financial suppliers and entrepreneurial firms: A framework for future research

Equity capital fuels growth companies and yields high returns for investors. The process of equity investment and ultimate harvesting of innovative companies has created significant wealth among fund investors, venture capitalists, angels and new entrepreneurs. Extensive research investigates all phases of the venture capital investment process, industry characteristics and returns to investors. Surprisingly absent from current research are studies including women, on both the supply (equity provider) and demand (equity seeker) sides. Women make significant contributions to the US economy in the workforce and as business owners, yet research about women as recipients of equity capital and providers of equity is extremely scarce. This raises a question--are women being left out of the wealth creation process? Our paper addresses this question by exploring women's role in supply and demand of equity capital. We utilize a social capital perspective to develop a conceptual framework and focus our analysis on early stage and angel investment. The paper concludes with directions for future research.
Investing in Art

In recent years, there has been increased interest in art as an investment class and in the possibility of securitizing art portfolios. Several entrepreneurs have sought to market art investment funds, targeted in the main to wealthy clients. The authors use an early study of the investment potential of one segment of the art market, the market for modern prints, as a cautionary tale. Passive investment in a diversified portfolio of art is not likely to provide high real returns, except during a transition period when the segment of the art market is moving from the periphery to the mainstream. The authors show that, in the period 1979 to 2003, the real return on a diversified portfolio of modern prints averaged only 1.22% per year, less than the real return on Treasury Bills. This is in dramatic contrast to the estimated real return of 21% per year in the preceding 25 years.
Approach to investigation and treatment of persistent symptoms following sport-related concussion: a systematic review

Objective To conduct a systematic review of the literature regarding assessment and treatment modalities in patients with persistent symptoms following sport-related concussion (SRC). Data sources We searched Medline, Embase, SPORTSDiscus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane library and ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global electronic databases. Study eligibility criteria Studies were included if they were original research, reported on SRC as the primary source of injury, included patients with persistent postconcussive symptoms (>10 days) and investigated the role of assessment or treatment modalities. Results Of 3225 articles identified in the preliminary search, 25 articles met the inclusion criteria. 11 articles were concerned with assessment and 14 articles with treatment of persistent symptoms following SRC. There were three randomised control trials and one quasi-experimental study. The remainder consisting of cross-sectional studies, historical cohorts and case series. Summary ‘Persistent symptoms’ following SRC can be defined as clinical recovery that falls outside expected time frames (ie, >10–14 days in adults and >4 weeks in children). It does not reflect a single pathophysiological entity, but describes a constellation of non-specific post-traumatic symptoms that may be linked to coexisting and/or confounding pathologies. A detailed multimodal clinical assessment is required to identify specific primary and secondary processes, and treatment should target specific pathologies identified. There is preliminary evidence supporting the use of symptom-limited aerobic exercise, targeted physical therapy and a collaborative approach that includes cognitive behavioural therapy. Management of patients with persistent symptoms is challenging and should occur in a multidisciplinary collaborative setting, with healthcare providers with experience in SRC.
Portfolio investment strategies in the Finnish venture capital industry: A longitudinal study

The objective of this study is to identify realized strategies of venture capital firms when undertaking portfolio investments. We analysed data for the period 1994 through 1997 on a sample of Finnish venture capital firms representing virtually the entire population of the Finnish venture capital industry. The results indicate that, over time, the venture capital firms specialized the industry scope of their portfolio. Further, the venture capital firms consistently diversified geographically throughout the 4 year period of the study, and they diversified their portfolio in terms of stage-of-growth by investing in increasingly later stage companies through the first years of the study, before entering a period of equilibrium in which this degree of stage-of-growth diversification held relatively constant. Finally, the importance of accumulated experience was illustrated by the finding that less experienced venture capital firms showed a time lag in these investment patterns compared to more experienced firms.
Polymers in the gut compress the colonic mucus hydrogel

Significance Hydrogels are critical components of biological systems; however, how these structures are affected by polymers abundant in their environments (e.g., dietary fiber in the gut and soluble glycoproteins in tissues) remains unknown. Here we find that the colonic mucus hydrogel (a protective barrier and mediator of microbe–host interactions) is compressed by gut polymers. Surprisingly, the predictions of a simple thermodynamic model are able to describe our experiments on this complex biological system, providing insight into the underlying physics. Moreover, we find that gut microbes modulate mucus structure by degrading dietary polymers into smaller, noncompressing fragments. These findings reveal a mechanism of mucus restructuring and illustrate an unexpected interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and the biological structures that protect a host. Colonic mucus is a key biological hydrogel that protects the gut from infection and physical damage and mediates host–microbe interactions and drug delivery. However, little is known about how its structure is influenced by materials it comes into contact with regularly. For example, the gut abounds in polymers such as dietary fibers or administered therapeutics, yet whether such polymers interact with the mucus hydrogel, and if so, how, remains unclear. Although several biological processes have been identified as potential regulators of mucus structure, the polymeric composition of the gut environment has been ignored. Here, we demonstrate that gut polymers do in fact regulate mucus hydrogel structure, and that polymer–mucus interactions can be described using a thermodynamic model based on Flory–Huggins solution theory. We found that both dietary and therapeutic polymers dramatically compressed murine colonic mucus ex vivo and in vivo. This behavior depended strongly on both polymer concentration and molecular weight, in agreement with the predictions of our thermodynamic model. Moreover, exposure to polymer-rich luminal fluid from germ-free mice strongly compressed the mucus hydrogel, whereas exposure to luminal fluid from specific-pathogen-free mice—whose microbiota degrade gut polymers—did not; this suggests that gut microbes modulate mucus structure by degrading polymers. These findings highlight the role of mucus as a responsive biomaterial, and reveal a mechanism of mucus restructuring that must be integrated into the design and interpretation of studies involving therapeutic polymers, dietary fibers, and fiber-degrading gut microbes.
Bankruptcy and Care Choice

This article considers the care choice of a potentially bankrupt injurer when care is pecuniary and the legal system is characterized by strict liability. I show, contrary to previous results, that such an injurer may take too little or too much care, and that neither injurer care nor victim welfare is necessarily increasing in injurer wealth when injurers behave optimally. Analysis of an "expected cost function" demonstrates that injurer expected costs are a concave and increasing function of injurer assets, a result suggesting applications to the study of vertical relationships and markets for agents.
Economie et Statistiques Working papers du STATEC

paper studies the empirical relation between market competition and innovation using Luxembourg's Structural Business Statistics. The competitive pressure in Luxembourg's markets is assessed by computing a profit elasticity measure, based on the idea of cost-efficiency. From this, the paper analyses the relation between competition and innovation performance by estimating an equation for the determinants of R&D expenditure. The results show that Luxembourg's industries are characterised by low levels of competition intensity, especially in markets relevant to competition policy and regulation. The relation between competition and innovation is non-linear and depends crucially on the efficient use of inputs to production. The impact of the distribution of technological efficiency on innovation is assessed by measuring both average technology gap and technology spread. The innovation effort is increasing as industries are closer to the frontier, and decreasing in the technology spread.