Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accounting Information in the Bond Market – The Financial Distress Perspective

This study extends recent accounting research in the corporate debt market by incorporating a dynamic element into investment decision frameworks that is linked to the recent financial crisis. Controlling for the presence of systematic risk and private information of credit rating agencies, we provide evidence that accounting accruals and cash flows are not associated with corporate bond returns in the three years preceding the financial crisis. However, using a point estimate of the conditional mean of annual bond returns, we find a positive and significant association of accounting accruals with annual bond returns during the recent financial crisis. Additionally, using a semi-parametric technique to include conditional quantiles of bond returns, we show that the rate of change in the regression coefficients is dependent on those quantiles. Thus, we provide evidence that, conditional on the distribution of bond returns, both changes in cash flows and accruals are positively and significantly associated with annual bond returns during the recent financial crisis. Our results suggest that debt market investors base their investment decisions on credible market-based measures during the prefinancial crisis, but complement these information signals with accounting-based measures during the recent financial crisis. Therefore, accounting signals may reflect information about a firm’s closeness to default and creditworthiness that is not captured by market-based measures.
Nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (NMFA) for the elucidation of cellular physiology

Many current and future applications of biological engineering hinge on our ability to measure, understand, and manipulate metabolism. Many diseases for which we seek cures are metabolic in nature. Small-molecule biomanufacturing almost always involves metabolic engineering. Biofuels, a current topic of great interest, is essentially a metabolic problem. Even bioprocesses that involve complex products, such as enzyme or antibody manufacturing, still rely on a healthy and optimal metabolism and can benefit from a greater understanding therein. A cell’s metabolic flux distribution has been proposed to be one of the most solid and meaningful indicators and descriptors of metabolism. Metabolic fluxes represent integrative information and are a function of gene expression, translation, posttranslational modifications, and protein-metabolite interactions. Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) is a powerful method for determining these flux distribution through a cellular reaction network. However, MFA has experimental limitations (most notably, a requirement for isotopic steady state) that restrict the scope of biological contexts in which it can be applied. Nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (NMFA) has recently emerged as a combined computational and experimental method that improves upon MFA with the capacity to estimate fluxes even during periods of isotopic transience in metabolism, allowing flux analysis to be applied in a broader range of experimental settings. In this thesis, we have developed and applied robust and efficient NMFA tools and techniques and applied them to understand various cellular physiologies. We built a software package (MetranCL) that combines the elementary metabolite unit (EMU) framework, a new network decomposition strategy termed block decoupling, and a customized differential equation solver. MetranCL performs flux estimations as much as 5000 times faster than the previous state-of-the-art NMFA methods, opening entirely new types of biological systems to the possibility of flux analysis. We applied MetranCL to a simulated large network representing E. coli metabolism and were able to successfully estimate reaction fluxes and metabolite concentrations
The Origin of Outperformance for Stock Recommendations by Sell-Side Analysts

We examine the structure of portfolios built on sell-side analysts’ recommendations and show that those portfolios’ abnormal returns are explained primarily by the analysts’ stock picking ability and only partially by the effect of overweight in small-cap stocks, given that more than 80% of the studied portfolios are concentrated in the three smallest Size Deciles. We document the portfolios’ abnormal returns by examining the number of stocks in the portfolios and the weights assigned to market-cap Size Deciles and Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) sectors and perform an attribution analysis that allows us to identify the sources of overall value-added performance. We find that the average monthly added value of 0.46 (0.34) percent obtained on Strong Buy and Buy recommendations from Stars (Non-Stars) is primarily explained by the analysts’ intra-sector stock-picking skills and that the monthly added value of 0.16 (0.18) percent obtained from Stars (Non-Stars) is related to the portfolios’ allocation among size-specific deciles.
Family Firms, Family Generation and Performance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of family ownership on firm performance. In particular the authors investigate whether family firms outperform non-family firms and whether first generation family firms perform better than second generation family firms in an emerging economy using Bangladesh as a case. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a data set of 141 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period 2005-2009. The methodology is based on multivariate regression analysis. Findings – The result shows that family firms perform better than their non-family counterparts. The authors also find that family ownership has a positive impact on firm performance. The analysis further reveals intergenerational differences where family firms and performance are associated positively only when founder members act as CEOs or chairmen. However, when descendents serve as CEOs or chairmen family firms are associated with poorer firm performance. Originality/value – The aut.
High-Frequency Trading in Limit Order Markets: Equilibrium Impact and Regulation

We investigate the impact of high-frequency trading (HFT) on market quality and investor welfare using a general limit order book model. We find that while the presence of HFT always improves market quality under symmetric information, under asymmetric information this is the case only if competition between high-frequency traders is sufficiently strong. While HFT does not negatively impact investor welfare, it reduces the welfare of slow speculators. The flexibility of the model allows investigating the effect of the main recent regulatory initiatives designed to curb HFT on market quality and investor welfare. We consider time-in-force rules, cancellation fees, transaction taxes, rebate fee structures, and speed bumps. While some of these regulations lead to improvements in a number of market quality measures, this generally does not translate into higher welfare for long-term investors. Rather, the main effect of such regulations is to generate wealth transfers from high-frequency traders to slow speculators. These regulations therefore appear inadequate to enhance investor welfare in the presence of HFTs. Of the different measures, transaction taxes are the least harmful; while they reduce welfare roughly by the amount of the tax, they do not significantly worsen market quality. The common practice by exchanges of granting rebates to limit orders is detrimental to market quality and investor welfare, causing both higher effective spreads and longer execution times.
Influences on the Growth of Portuguese Smes

Data from Portuguese SMEs is utilizedinorder to understand the impact of cultural factors upon firm performance.Characteristics of and differencesamong both high growth and low/nogrowth firms are examinedin order to identify the impact of respectivemanagement styles. Based upon the data analyses, higher growth rates were present among firmswith the following characteristics: firms that were bigger and younger; firmsthat were owned by younger entrepreneurs; firms whose owners devoted more timeto the business; firms with well-trained employees; firms who consider outsideadvice; firms with accurate internal data; and firms whose owners have receivedhigher education. Lower growth rates were observed among firms with focusstrategies and firms who monitor competitor behavior. (AKP)
The Effects of Program Responses on the Processing of Commercials Placed at Various Positions in the Program and the Block

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to test if valence and intensity dimensions of responses to general programming affect commercial processing in everyday life. Results from analyses on data from a large telephone survey showed that indicators of program-induced valence and intensity significantly affected several advertising processing measures. Intensity had a positive impact on measures of attention and recall, while valence was positively related to attitude toward the advertisement. Next, we investigated the moderating influences of variations in commercial placement on these relations. We found that effects of intensity and valence on commercial processing were stronger for interrupting blocks than shoulder blocks. However, the position of the commercial within the block did not have an impact on these carryover effects.
Visual selection and action in Balint's syndrome

We examined the relations between attention and action in a patient with Balint's syndrome following bilateral damage involving the parietal lobes. The first two experiments used prolonged stimulus exposures and showed that unlike normals, the patient GK made independent actions to bilateral stimuli, even when explicitly instructed to make coordinated reaches. In contrast, bimanual actions to a single stimulus were coordinated in time. Experiments 3 and 4 employed reduced stimulus exposures to produce visual extinction. We found comparable extinction effects in detection and action, along with improved bimanual movements when the stimuli were grouped by collinearity and surface contrast, plus better coordination with bilateral stimuli proximity. The results are discussed in relation to the common role of visual selection processes in perception and action.
Use of a Multichannel Auditory Brainstem Implant for Neurofibromatosis Type 2

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF 2) typically results in deafness due to disruption of the cochlear nerves, making peripheral devices such as cochlear implants ineffective. Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs), for direct electrical stimulation of the cochlear nucleus, have been used to provide auditory stimulation in this group of patients. Currently, 141 patients have been implanted in our institution, most recently using an advanced multichannel device. We report results of a recent series of 86 patients who received ABIs. Of this group, 60 had successful implantation, recovered from surgery, responded successfully to stimulation and underwent a full course of device programming and audiologic testing. This group had significant improvement in scores on several audiologic tests compared to baseline. When used to augment lip reading, improvement was also seen. The degree of improvement varied considerably among patients. ABI is a useful device for deaf patients with NF 2. As measured by audiologic testing, many patients receive substantial benefit with regard to sound and speech comprehension.
Evaluating the web presence of voluntary sector organizations: an assessment of Canadian web sites

In recent years, considerable attention in Canada has been focused on strengthening relationships between the voluntary sector, government and industry. Information technology is an important tool for the sector, but systems are often difficult and costly to purchase and maintain—particularly for small- and medium- sized groups. Unlike e-business and the private sector, little attention has been paid to how the Internet can be used in the voluntary sector. This article addresses three specific research questions: 1) How are national Canadian voluntary sector organizations using Web sites? 2) How well-designed are these Web sites in terms of usability and aesthetics and 3) How can Canadian voluntary organizations improve their Web sites to meet organizational objectives? Some 184 English language, national Canadian voluntary organizations' Web sites were rated, using a standardized tool to assess organizational objectives and to evaluate functionality, navigation and aesthetics. These sites currently offer limited functionality, and many are not well-designed. The article draws lessons from information technology theory and practice to demonstrate how the functionality and design of voluntary sector Web sites (in Canada and elsewhere) can be improved, to better support organizational objectives and to reduce the “digital divide” between the profit and nonprofit sectors.
Corruption and Innovation: A Grease or Sand Relationship?

This paper provides a firm-level empirical analysis on the ways in which corruption affects innovative activity. Particularly with respect to the African continent that is striving to reconcile with instability and poverty, this issue seems to be of utmost importance. Using a newly available dataset on African firms, it is shown that corruption has a negative effect on product innovation and organisational innovation. Corruption does not affect process innovation while it facilitates marketing innovation.
Economic and non-economic factors of Korean manufacturer-retailer relations

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of antecedent channel power sources on satisfaction, conflict, trust, dependence and long-term channel relationships between Korean retailers and manufacturers. The sample included 210 cosmetic retailers in 15 Korean cities. The results indicate that Korean manufacturers' exercised coercive power decreases retailers' economic and non-economic satisfaction, while exercised non-coercive power increases economic and non-economic satisfaction. Second, exercised coercive power increases both economic and non-economic conflict, and exercised non-coercive power decreases non-economic conflict. Third, retailers' economic and non-economic satisfaction is negatively related to economic and non-economic conflict. Fourth, trust is a mediating factor between satisfaction (economic and non-economic) and a long-term relationship. Finally, results indicate that neither conflict nor satisfaction is unidimensional; each has an economic and non-economic dimension. This finding is an important contribution to the channel relations literature.
Electromagnetic Analysis for Inhomogeneous Interconnect and Packaging Structures Based on Volume-Surface Integral Equations

Electromagnetic analysis for interconnect and packaging structures usually relies on the solutions of surface integral equations (SIEs) in integral equation solvers. Though the SIEs are necessary for the conductors in the structures, one has to assume a homogeneity of material for each layer of a substrate if SIEs are used for the substrate. When the inhomogeneity of materials in the substrate has to be taken into account, then volume integral equations (VIEs) are indispensable. In this paper, we consider the inhomogeneous materials of substrate and replace the SIEs with the VIEs to form volume-surface integral equations (VSIEs) for the entire structures. Also, the use of VIEs could alleviate low-frequency effects, remove the need of selecting a basis function for magnetic current, and facilitate geometric discretization in some scenarios. The VSIEs are solved with the method of moments by using the Rao-Wilton-Glisson basis function to represent the surface current on the conductors and Schaubert-Wilton-Glisson basis function to expand the volume current inside the substrate. To avoid the inconvenience of charge density in the traditional implementation of the VIEs, we suggest that the dyadic Green's function be kept in its original form without moving the gradient operator onto the basis and testing functions. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Human Resource Practices and Perceived Organizational Support — A Relationship in Indian Context

Perceived Organizational Support is considered to be a significant variable with important implications for desired employee behavior and attitudes that could lead an organization to attain competitive advantage. In order to find out what leads to higher POS in Indian context, the data has been collected from 308 employees working in different organizations in the National Capital Region (NCR). The present study attempts to examine the relationship between perceived human resource practices and perceived organizational support (POS). Regression analysis reveal that along with employee age, HR practices including supervisor support, career development, compensation and selection and staffing are the significant predictors of perceived organizational support.
Investigating the business value of information management

Research on the effect of information management on organizational performance is an important issue. The primary problem of the business value of information is embedded in the following reasoning: information management creates business value indirectly but creates business costs directly, making the evaluation and measurement of information management and the benefits thereof difficult for organizations. In this study an empirical survey was conducted in ten large South African organizations to establish practices and norms in managing the business value of information management, information management investment and benefits evaluation. The most common criteria considered to be important were the ability to adapt and support business changes and the stability and quality of information management services to the user community.
Baclofen withdrawal causes psychosis in otherwise unclouded consciousness.

To the Editor: Baclofen is a well known GABA B receptor agonist, and intrathecal baclofen therapy is increasingly used to treat medically intractable spasticity. In recent studies of rodent models, activation of GABA B receptors with baclofen was reported to reverse sensory gating deficits, a known endophenotype of psychosis. There needs to be a greater awareness of the dangers of baclofen toxicity and withdrawal, including its neuropsychiatric effects. Here we report an unusual case of repeated exposure to baclofen toxicity and a subsequent withdrawal state resulting in the emergence of frank psychotic symptomatology without concomitant clouding of consciousness and with retained attention and orientation.
Loyalty's influence on satisfaction in cross‐cultural settings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of customer loyalty on the predictive relationship between the meets expectations and affective feeling state customer satisfaction constructs and customers' future (re)purchase behavior.Design/methodology/approach – New measures were developed for the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of customer loyalty, while extant measures were used for the satisfaction constructs and future (re)purchase behavior, leading to a survey that was administered to US and Chinese samples. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling for testing hypotheses developed from extant literature.Findings – The study found that attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are two distinct constructs with both US and Chinese samples, and that the influence of the two loyalty constructs on the predictive paths between meets expectations and affective feeling state and future (re)purchase intent vary by product category and culture.Research limitations/implicat.
Strategic alignment and performance of market‐seeking MNCs in China

This study explores the environment–strategy–performance relation of foreign firms, especially those with a market‐seeking mandate, in China. The results indicate that the Analyzer orientation is best suited to the turbulent Chinese market, which has been undergoing an economic transition in recent years. There is also a significant difference in financial performance among market‐seeking MNCs depending on strategic orientations, with the Analyzer orientation producing the highest performance. The Prospector and the Defender orientations lead to poor financial performance because of the mismatch with China's market, which is highly dynamic and complex. Our findings reiterate the importance of understanding local market traits and opportunities and developing proper strategic configurations for market‐seeking MNC subsidiaries, especially in an emerging economy like China. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How does marketing effectiveness mediate the effect of organizational culture on business performance? The case of service firms

Addresses two important and interrelated questions: (1) Do firms showing an identifiable set of organizational cultural values demonstrate superior strategic marketing effectiveness? (2) What effect does strategic marketing effectiveness have on business performance? The findings from 388 service firms located in Hong Kong suggest that organizational cultural values are related to dimensions of strategic marketing effectiveness. Furthermore, the findings suggest that dimensions of strategic marketing are related to profitability but not to market share. Finally, the findings further show that organizational cultural values affect both directly and indirectly the performance of the company through its impact on marketing effectiveness.
Product convergence perspective on collaboration success factors

Convergence represents an important trend in today’s business environment and calls for system-wide perspective on interactions between technology, product, and strategy and operations management. In relation to the information and communications technology industry, technological innovations and changes in consumer preferences have led technologies and product features to partially merge. Two types of product-based industry convergence are identified in the literature: product substitution and product complementarity. To adapt to new business conditions, companies need to collaborate to get access to new competencies and knowledge for converged product development. This paper, using personal interviews as the research method, contributes to the existing body of knowledge on convergence and intercompany collaboration from an operational management level point of view by determining and comparing the main success factors needed for partnering under product convergence types. The differentiating factors are.