Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Governance changes in strategic alliances: Antecedents of contractual renegotiations

This study provides an empirical investigation of the incidence and antecedents of contractual renegotiations in strategic alliances. We bring together initial conditions based on transaction cost theory and ex post contingencies highlighted by recent conceptual and qualitative research on the evolution of collaborative agreements. The results indicate that firms tend to change the governance of alliances when a misalignment exists between the chosen structure and features of the transaction. Further, we find that asset specificity affects alliance design as well as post-formation governance decisions. Contractual alterations are more likely in the presence of strategic change and when firms employ less extensive ex post deterrents in their alliances. We find no evidence that cross-border ventures are any more or less likely to experience contractual renegotiations than domestic alliances.
THE IMPACT OF AKAN ORAL INTERACTIONAL DISCOURSE ON UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC WRITING

Research in English as an additional language (EAL) has received global attention, because of the need for effective communication across and within geographical boundaries. The focus of this area of research, in recent times, has evolved from a deficit model, to an investigation of text invention practices of non-native speakers of English in academic settings. From an analysis of the features of oral discourse practices, written assignments, and interviews of some Ghanaian undergraduate students of the University of Ghana, this study, which uses an academic literacies approach, reveals social practices reflected in the way some prior oral and cultural discourse practices of Akan, a major language in Ghana, are brought into students’ academic work in English to express their ideas. Examples of these are: face to face strategies of a conversational norm, storytelling elements that appear in introductions of essays, and conclusions based on the collectivist nature of their Akan oral culture. The findings, therefore, suggest that learners going through an acculturation process, and staff representing native speaker authority or ‘standards’ could mediate their preferences to reflect the transformational nature of academic literacies.Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are provided at the end of this paper.
Bacteriophages of Pseudomonas tolaasii for the biological control of brown blotch disease

Pseudomonas tolaasii causes brown blotch disease in cultivated mushrooms by producing tolaasin, a peptide toxin, which forms pores on the membrane and disrupts the cellular and fruiting body structures of mushrooms. For the biological control of this mushroom disease, virulent bacteriophages of P. tolaasii were isolated from the sewage of Cheongju, Korea. Twenty-one phages were isolated from four different locations, and their toxicities to host bacteria were measured by inspecting the turbidity and size of their plaques. They were divided into three categories on the basis of their toxicities to host bacteria. In order to test if these phages can be used for the biological control of mushroom diseases, a pitting test was performed. The surfaces of mushroom caps were inoculated with both pathogenic bacteria and their phages. Phage toxicity was analyzed by measuring the size of the blotches that formed on the surface of mushrooms, because these sizes are representative of the amount of tolaasin peptide produced by pathogenic bacteria in the presence of bacteriophages. The formation of blotches was completely blocked by co-incubated phages. These results show that phages can sterilize pathogenic bacteria in mushroom tissues as well as be useful for the biological control of brown blotch disease. The optimum conditions for the bactericidal activity of the phages were also determined.
Effect of preliminary treatment on the superficial morphology and the corrosion behaviour of AA2024 aluminum alloy

The effect of the superficial preliminary treatment on the properties of the oxide film and its influence on the corrosion behaviour of AA 2024 aluminum alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution was investigated. It was done applying crystallographic optical and atomic force microscopic techniques, combined with electrochemical measurements - linear voltammetry (LVA) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Three approaches were used for preliminary treatments of the samples, as follows: only degreasing (without removal of oxide film), mechanical polishing and a combination between mechanical polishing with etching in alkaline solutions. The parameters of the corrosion process (polarization resistance, pitting nucleation potential, impedance module and capacitance) were used as a quantitative measure for the effect of the preliminary treatment approach. It was established that the most effective pretreatment in terms of removal of the oxide layer is the mechanical polishing. The undertaken electrochemical measurements evidenced that the approach of etching in alkaline solutions, used in a large number of articles, causes a formation of a film, which could not be removed completely by desmutting with diluted solutions of HNO3. Etching procedure could be appropriate for other Al-alloys but it is not recommended for the AA2024 alloy.
Inflation targeting in Brazil: 1999–2006

This paper describes the Brazilian experience with inflation targeting in 1999–2006. The data presented in the paper show that inflation targeting managed to reduce inflation in Brazil after its 1999 and 2002 currency crises, with a substantial help of exchange‐rate appreciation. The data also show that economic growth was slow under inflation targeting than during exchange‐rate targeting in Brazil, but with a smaller volatility and an apparent upward trend during inflation targeting than during exchange‐rate targeting. The paper also shows that inflation targeting reduced the real interest rate of the economy, which nevertheless remained well above international standards and more than three times higher than the Brazilian gross domestic product growth rate.
An Extended Tropospheric Scintillation Model for Free Space Optical Communication Systems

Fluctuations caused mostly by tropospheric scintillation at the free space optical receiver end have been a major problem in the rapid development of telecommunication and the increasing demands for larger bandwidth is forcing the use of free space optical (FSO) technology. This paper examined existing tropospheric scintillation models of Karasawa, Van de Kamp model, Otung, Ortgies and ITU-R, and discovered that all of them operate at the microwave range, which limits their application in FSO laser beam technology that operates in PHz frequency-range. ITU-R model was later selected owing to its global application and modified for use in FSO communication system. The new model can serve as basis for communication engineers to use as platform in the link budgetary for planning and design of low margin systems of free space optical communication link.
Homelessness: Emotion Discourse and the Reproduction of Social Inequality

This article draws on data gathered in focus groups to analyze how people talk about homelessness and compares the findings to how homelessness is represented in the media, specifically newspapers. It examines how ideas about homelessness that circulate in society are taken up, used, and reproduced by people in social interaction. People “care” about homelessness and use emotion discourse in the focus group context to construct a moral identity and to manage interactional dilemmas. They express sympathy for homeless people, deflect responsibility for any negative feelings they may have, and shift responsibility for doing something about homelessness. In using emotion discourse, they reproduce conceptions of homelessness that circulate widely in the media and in society generally; this, in turn, reproduces existing social relations of inequality and exclusion. Cet article a recours a des donnees provenant de groupes de discussion afin d’analyser comment les gens parlent d’itinerance entre eux, puis il compare les resultats de cette analyse a la representation de l’itinerance dans les medias contemporains, particulierement les journaux. Il examine comment les gens dans leurs interactions adoptent, utilisent et reproduisent des idees sur l’itinerance qui circulent deja dans la societe. Les gens se « soucient » de l’itinerance et ont recours a un discours emotif dans leurs groupes de discussion pour se construire une identite morale et gerer les dilemmes interactionnels. Ils expriment de la sympathie pour les sans-abris, tout en declinant toute responsabilite pour les sentiments negatifs que ces derniers peuvent eprouver et rejetant sur autrui le devoir d’agir sur l’itinerance. En utilisant un discours emotif, ils reproduisent des conceptions sur l’itinerance qui circulent abondamment dans les medias et dans la societe en general. Leurs pratiques reproduisent ainsi des rapports d’inegalite et d’exclusion.
Optimisation of Calcium Lactate Washing Treatment on Salad-cut Lettuce: Quality Aspects

Markers of quality retention: colour, texture, browning, texture related enzymes and sensory properties, were analysed during storage. The use of high temperatures (50°C) showed a positive effect on enzymes related to quality maintenance. It reduced the activity of the browning-related enzymes polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase but it increased the activity of pectin methyl esterase, an enzyme involved in the maintenance of texture. High calcium lactate concentrations (3 %) produced a reduction in the respiration rate of the salad-cut lettuce during storage, but also a loss of luminosity and greenness (a*). The use of high temperatures and intermediate calcium lactate concentrations (1.5 %) proved to be the best washing treatment to maintain the quality of salad-cut lettuce over 10 days storage. These conditions (50 °C and 1.5 % calcium lactate) gave higher freshness scores and lower browning scores than conventional chlorine treatment when evaluated by a sensory panel.
The Influence of Algal Exudate on the Hygroscopicity of Sea Spray Particles

We examined the effect of organic matter released by four different algal species on the hygroscopic growth and droplet activation behaviour of laboratory-generated marine aerosol particles. Hygroscopic growth factors and dry diameters for activation were reduced by less than 10%, compared to that of sodium chloride or of artificial seawater that was devoid of marine surfactants. Concentration-dependent nonideal behaviour was observed for the artificial seawater. But within measurement uncertainty, the measured hygroscopic growth and droplet activation behaviour for the samples that contained organic matter were consistent with a hygroscopicity parameter that was constant between the sub- and supersaturated measurement points. Also, the hygroscopic growth measured for hydrated particles after 3 and after 10 seconds was similar, which implies that in this time range no kinetic effects were detected.
Connected Teens: Measuring the Impact of Mobile Phones on Social Relationships through Social Capital.

Over the past twenty years, the high penetration of mobile phones as a means of interpersonal communication, especially among adolescents, has facilitated access to broader social environments outside their own family. Through the extension of their social environment, teenagers are able to establish new and more extensive relationships, while facing risks that may negatively affect their socialization process. The aim of this article was to find out how computer-mediated communication helps or obstructs the creation of social capital between teenagers, and what are the consequences of its use for this age group. To achieve this, an index of social capital was developed in the study, designed to determine the positive or negative impact of certain components of mobile mediated communication in the creation of this intangible resource. Questionnaires were distributed among Spanish adolescents of secondary and high school age, from different public and private schools of Navarre. Furthermore, the study considered the adolescents’ own perceptions about the incidence of the use of mobile phones in their social relationships. As reflected in the results, to identify the components of mediated communication that significantly affect social capital it is necessary to conduct an objective measurement of this resource.
Twenty years study of solar, geomagnetic, cosmic ray activity links with monthly deaths number (n-850304)

The interrelationship between human life and death at the end of the XX and beginning of the XXI centuries is the topic of this study. The aim of the study is to study links between time, Solar (SA), Geomagnetic (GMA) and Cosmic Ray (CRA) (Neutron) activity and monthly deaths distribution from all and six subgroups of death causes in years 1990-2009 for additional clarification of the role of exogenic factors in human homeostasis. Methods and patients: 850304 deaths (44657 men, 400647 woman) and 6 subgroups were studied in 240 consecutive months in the Republic of Lithuania in relation to the months of year (1 - 12), 4 indices of SA (Sunspot number and Solar Flux), 3 indices of GMA (planetary and regional for the Middle Latitudes), and CRA described by Neutron activity on the Earth's surface-remains of crushed atoms in the high space levels and measured by Imp/min. The cosmophysical data came from Space Science Institutions in the USA, Russia and Finland. Statistical analysis of the results for monthly comparison are presented. Results: It was a significant and inverse relationship of monthly deaths number for both gender with CRA and SA, less with GMA. It was a significant drop of deaths from IHD and suicides. Oncology deaths also show similarity in their timing with other groups. A strong inverse relationship was seen in monthly death number from IHD and Stroke. (r = -0.76, p < 0.0001), woman show more seasonality in death's distribution. Most deaths show annual rhythm with acrophase in February. Only Suicide pick appears in the summer months. Conclusion: at the beginning of the XXI century, in addition to accepted risk factors, environmental physical activity is linked to timing of death. Cosmic Ray (Neutron) activity is one of the main regulators of this relationship. Stroke related deaths are becoming a more prominent cause in the collection of cardiovascular deaths. Suicide related deaths show a drop, possibly related to a massive trend for immigration in the high risk group of the population. The precise mechanism of action of the studied physical factors needs additional studies.
A Survey of the Effectiveness of Instructional Design ADDIE and Multimedia on Learning Key Skills of Futsal

The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of ADDIE instructional design and multimedia on learning key skills of futsal. The study method is experimental and is applied in terms of purpose. The study population is all female students of Kharazmi University in first half of academic year 2012-2013 being selected by convenient sampling method as 36 people (in three groups of 12 experimental and control group). The data collection measure to evaluate key skills of futsal is skill tests of Futsal as dribble, Shoot, passing and control as inspired by "physical fitness, skill and mental evaluation tests". The reliability of test is evaluated by split half test. For data analysis, descriptive statistics mean and standard deviation and inference statistics of variance analysis/ university covariance is used to test the comparative difference. The study findings show that 1-The students trained by multi-media have high scores mean (performance) compared to the students trained by traditional method. 2-The studies trained by ADDIE model have high scores mean compared to the students learning Futsal by traditional method of key skills.
Regional productivity and efficiency in the U.S.: effects of business cycles and public capital

Previous research on the slowdown of U.S. productivity growth suffers a co=on weakness by assuming economic agents adjust instantaneously to altered market conditions. This may lead to biased estimates. We avoid this problem, adapting a . technique that allows decomposition of productivity growth into efficiency change and technological innovation. The Malmquist index measures each component for each observation, which allows exploration of factors that may lead to differences in the productivity components across regions. We consider the effects of business cycles, both own-state and cross-border public infrastructure investment, and relative sizes of the manufacturing, service and public sector. * Southern Methodist University ** Southern illinois University *** Southern Methodist University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Corresponding author: Kathy Hayes, Departmentof Economics, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0496. Telephone (214) 768-2714. Fax (214) 768-1821. e-mail: H2KRlO01@vm.cis. smu.edu The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System.
Scale morphology and specialized dorsal scales of a new teleosteomorph fish from the Aptian of West Gondwana

Abstract. Scales of a new species of Teleosteomorpha from the continental Aptian of the south of South America are studied. These neopterygians are from the La Cantera Formation in central Argentina, and were previously identified as Pholidophoriformes. They present ganoid scales; most of them are rhombic with well-developed peg-and-socket articulations and possessing a smooth surface. They have a straight posterior margin, but occasionally, some scales of the flank have a sinuous posterior margin with one or two serrations. The shape of the scales varies along the body from large, rectangular and deeper than long scales behind the head to the preanal region to smaller and rhomboidal scales in the caudal region. There are a few horizontal rows along the flank and about 32 lateral line scales. Thick, round ganoid scales are present in the prepelvic region close to the ventral margin. The round and rhombic scales present growth lines, which form concentric ridges on the external side. A characteristic row of deep scales forms the dorsal margin on each side of the body; a row of median ridge scales is not present. This is a unique feature of the studied fishes. Scutes covered with unornamented ganoine precede the pelvic, dorsal, and anal fins, as well as the dorsal and ventral margins of the caudal fin. The posterior margin of the dorsal lobe of the caudal fin is formed by a single line of scales, which continues and covers the base of the first principal caudal ray. Histological studies reveal a lepisosteoid-scale type with multiple ganoine layers, lack of dentine, and the presence of canaliculi of Williamson. The macro- and micromorphology of the scales shows features that are found in other teleosteomorphs, but also in other neopterygians.
The island species–area relationship: biology and statistics

Aim We conducted the most extensive quantitative analysis yet undertaken of the form taken by the island species–area relationship (ISAR), among 20 models, to determine: (1) the best‐fit model, (2) the best‐fit model family, (3) the best‐fit ISAR shape (and presence of an asymptote), (4) system properties that may explain ISAR form, and (5) parameter values and interpretation of the logarithmic implementation of the power model.
A Study on the Effects of Family and Delinquent Peers on Juvenile Delinquency in Turkey

The aim of this article is to explore the effects of peers and family on juvenile delinquency. Open-ended and multiple choice questionnaires were applied to 1526 juveniles in two cities of Turkey; Ankara and Istanbul. Consistent with the literature findings showed that the family has an indirect and partial effect on juvenile’s tendency to commit crime because they cannot provide organized social networks, role models, and social controls for their children. On the other hand, by developing a differential association with the juvenile, by which violence and criminal acts are learned, legitimated, supported or encouraged; the peer network has a direct and an incredible influence to initiate the juvenile into crime.
Omnidirectional Reflection from Generalized Kolakoski Multilayers

The origin of omnidirectional band gaps in one-dimensional layered photonic structures which are aligned according to the generalized Kolakoski inflation rule are studied using the transfer matrix formalism. On their basis some particular designs of cascaded aperiodic heterostructures are proposed. It is found that the proposed cascaded structures stand out by the omnidirectional reflection bands which cover whole near-infrared spectral region.
Teaching the Systematic Dictionary Use as a Strategy for Accuracy and Confidence Building

This is a longitudinal study, which started in 2004 and ended in 2005. There participated sixteen high-school pupils-same number of boys and girls, aged 13-15, of similar socioeconomic background, whose MT is Turkish but living in Thrace, Greece and attending Greek State Schools rather than minority Public Schools. The fact is that we expected to have more subjects but, unfortunately, we had to exclude a lot of pupils due to a number of reasons such as differences in the socioeconomic level of the families, gender availability-having more male than female pupils, negative attitude towards the research, etc. What we are investigating is whether and to what extent the systematic use of both monolingual English dictionaries and bilingual Greek-English and English-Greek dictionaries could possibly result in a better reading comprehension and, in the long run, in an improvement and enrichment of their English vocabulary and, to a lesser extent, in Greek. Our aim is to reinforce their general linguistic competence and performance but also their strategic competence by encouraging them to use dictionaries when working at home, too. Furthermore, we are measuring their confidence levels before and after using dictionaries, at certain intervals over the whole period of the experiment. All the participants were given individualised instruction on dictionary use in pair and group work at certain intervals over the whole period of the experiment, too. It is important to notice that we are not really evaluating certain dictionaries, it is rather unrealistic as their resources are rather poor; nevertheless, we are trying to exploit what we really have at our disposal, that specific time. The results justified our expectations as most the students that collaborated seem to be very comfortable with dictionary use and confident with the information they expect to find there.
Human Capital and Spatial Heterogeneity in the Iberian Countries’ Regional Growth and Convergence

Human capital is believed to be an important conditioning factor in explaining the convergence and the speed of convergence of regional economies, although it is usually excluded from the estimated models due to a lack of consistent data. In contrast this paper, using a newly constructed series on human capital at the NUTS III level for Portugal, evaluates the role of human capital on the speed of convergence using a spatial econometric methodology, for a sample of Iberian NUTS III regions over the period 1991-2006. This is the first study to consider human capital effects at the NUTS III level and the results show convergence, both absolute and conditional, occurs mainly in the peripheral group of regions, while human capital plays a positive role only in the club of the richest regions, in contrast with an insignificant effect in the periphery. There is also evidence of important regional spillovers between the regions and evidence of the importance of EU regional policy in enhancing the convergence of the NUTS III regions.