Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between strategic type and firm capabilities in Chinese firms

Proposes that firms of different Miles and Snow strategic types will have different bundles of firm-level capabilities; that is, certain capabilities will be more important to certain strategic types. Specifically, proposes that prospectors have greater relative inside-out capabilities and information technology capabilities, while defenders have greater relative outside-in capabilities and marketing capabilities. Empirically tests, and finds support for, the propositions using a data set of 245 Chinese firms, comprised mostly of state-owned enterprises. Understanding the Chinese business environment is of importance to businesses around the world as the Chinese economy undergoes rapid expansion and decentralization of strategic decision making to the level of the state-owned enterprise. As the central government takes on a lesser role in the management of enterprises, and Chinese enterprise managers become more responsible for their own strategic decision making, a clear understanding of the enterprise's specific capabilities and advantages is required in order to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Concludes by discussing managerial implications.
Efficiency versus value maximisation in co‐manufacturing relationships

Purpose – This paper examines two co‐manufacturing relationships, which were efficient with the aim of understanding why they were not value maximising.Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilises a methodology designed by Wilding and Humphries and based on Williamson's organisation failure framework. Using a case study approach, it is applied in a new context to provide insights into the dynamics within two co‐manufacturing relationships in the food‐manufacturing industry.Findings – The relationships are judged as operationally efficient by both sides but frustrations and conflicts have emerged over time, leading to a real danger of relationship breakdown. These problems are caused by failure to involve co‐manufacturing partners in strategy discussions, shortcomings in relationship management, and lack of recognition of partners' developing capabilities.Research limitations/implications – The paper challenges the transaction cost economics (TCE) focus on efficiency in the context of co‐manufacturing .
Listening to the customer’s voice: examining perceived service value among business college students

This article examines the concept of service value in business education with data collected from 402 students of a small business school. A set of factors were found to impact on students’ evaluation of value during their educational experience. More precisely, the results indicate that the relationship between price and quality, the knowledge acquired, the economic utility of a business degree, image, as well as social and emotional value, are important drivers of value in business education. Moreover, when comparing value judgements on the basis of gender and year of study, the results show that male students are more inclined to focus on social value during service consumption, and that females are more critical of the price/quality relationship as it relates to value. Overall, the results show that as students progress in their studies they are less likely to believe that a business degree will guarantee a good salary and career advancements. Conversely, a positive affective response toward the business school is observed over time. Implications for formulating strategies that promise to create and foster service value in business education are given.
A TIME-DEPENDENT ANALYSIS FOR QUASI-ONE-DIMENSIONAL NOZZLE FLOWS WITH VIBRATIONAL AND CHEMICAL NONEQUILIBRIUM

Abstract : A new technique is presented for the numerical solution of quasi-one- dimensional, vibrational and chemical nonequilibrium nozzle flows including nonequilibrium conditions both upstream and downstream of the throat. This new technique is a time-dependent analysis which entails the explicite finite- difference solution of the quasi-one-dimensional unsteady flow equations in steps of time, starting with assumed initial distributions throughout the nozzle. The steady-state solution is approached at large values of time. A virtue of the present time-dependent analysis is its simplicity, which prevails from its initial physical formulation to the successful receipt of numerical results. Also, the present solution yields the transient as well as the steady- state nonequilibrium nozzle flows. To exemplify the present analysis, results are given for several cases of vibrational and chemical nonequilibrium expansions through nozzles.
Job design under lean manufacturing and its impact on employee outcomes

The implications of lean manufacturing for employee well-being remain unclear as previous research yields conflicting findings and struggles to identify an applicable model of job design. This paper adapts and integrates both the job characteristics model and the job demands–resources model to demonstrate the everyday implications of lean manufacturing for job design, and in doing so, how job designed according to lean manufacturing principles influence motivational and health-related outcomes for employees. A research agenda is created to improve our understanding of the employee experience of lean work, and a number of practical implications for the configuration of jobs under lean manufacturing are outlined.
Unsuspected pulmonary emboli adversely impact survival in patients with cancer undergoing routine staging multi‐row detector computed tomography scanning

Background: While symptomatic venous thromboembolism adversely impacts survival among cancer patients, the outcome of cancer patients with unsuspected pulmonary embolism (UPE) found on routine cancer staging multi‐row detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans is unknown. Objective: To determine whether UPE detected on routine staging MDCT scans impacts overall survival among cancer patients. Patients and methods: We performed a matched cohort study of cancer patients diagnosed with UPE on routine staging scans between May 2003 and August 2006. Two controls (n = 137) were individually matched by age (± 5 years), cancer type and stage for each UPE patient (n = 70). We used Cox’s proportional hazard models to compare the mortality between UPE patients and their matched controls. Results: The hazard ratio (HR) for death among UPE patients was 1.51 (95% CI 1.01–2.27, P = 0.048). Compared with their matched controls, patients with UPE more proximal than the subsegmental arterial branches had a HR for death at 6 months of 2.28 (95% CI 1.20–4.33, P = 0.011) and an overall HR of 1.70 (95% CI 1.06–2.74, P = 0.027). Survival among UPE patients with isolated subsegmental PE (ISSPE) was not significantly different than that of matched controls (HR 1.04 95% CI 0.44–2.39, P = 0.92). Conclusions: UPE identified more proximal than the subsegmental arterial branches has a significant negative impact on survival among cancer patients.
Information provision and dissemination in Iran tourism industry

Iran tourism industry, despite the variety and quality of its products, its potential in meeting the different expectations and wills of tourists and finally its high capacity for concurrence with the best tourism destinations in the world; is not on its real position from tourist numbers and receipts point of view. The present paper aimed at studying the process of information provision and dissemination in Iran tourism industry in both national and international levels, as one of the main reasons behind the failure of Iran tourism in achieving a steady pattern of well-known and developed tourism destination. This was the first attempt to study the double dimensions of information provision and dissemination in Iran tourism industry within a systematic and professional structure. The method that the research enjoyed was based on library as well as, survey (descriptive and analytical statistics). The main finding of the study showed that there was a meaningful difference between the current situation of information provision and dissemination in Iran tourism industry and the optimal standard at the moment. Based on the findings and the research literature, the structure of an efficient information provision and dissemination system along with its implementation strategies were devised and put forward to bridge the existing gap. Key words: Information provision and dissemination, tourists information centers, Iran tourism houses, tourism data banks.
EGFRvIII‐induced estrogen‐independence, tamoxifen‐resistance phenotype correlates with PgR expression and modulation of apoptotic molecules in breast cancer

The tumor‐specific, ligand‐independent, constitutively active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) variant, EGFRvIII, remains understudied in breast cancer. Here, we report that expression of EGFRvIII in the ErbB‐2‐overexpressing, estrogen‐dependent MDA‐MB‐361 breast cancer cell line resulted in significant estrogen‐independent tumor growth in ovariectomized, athymic nude mice in comparison to MDA‐MB‐361/wt cells. MDA‐MB‐361/vIII breast cancer cells maintained estrogen‐induced tumor growth, but were tamoxifen‐resistant in the presence of estrogen, while MDA‐MB‐361/wt cells had a significant reduction in tumor growth in the presence of estrogen and tamoxifen. Tamoxifen alone did not have a significant effect on EGFRvIII‐mediated estrogen‐independent tumor growth. Constitutive signaling from the EGFRvIII receptor resulted in an increased activation of both the Akt and MAPK pathways. Compared to estrogen‐dependent, tamoxifen‐sensitive MCF‐7/vIII breast cancer cells, which had unchanged levels of ERα, but an increase in progesterone receptor (PgR) in comparison to MCF‐7/wt cells, MDA‐MB‐361/vIII cells had a reduction in ERα expression as well as a more pronounced reduction in PgR compared with MDA‐MB‐361/wt cells. EGFRvIII expression was also significantly associated with an absence of PgR protein in invasive human breast cancer specimens. Alterations of proapoptotic proteins and antiapoptotic proteins were observed in EGFRvIII transfectants. In conclusion, constitutive signaling through EGFRvIII and its downstream effector proteins crosstalks with the ERα pathway, resulting in loss of PgR expression and alterations in the apoptotic pathway, which may result in the estrogen‐independent, tamoxifen‐resistant phenotype conferred to EGFRvIII‐expressing breast cancer cells. © 2009 UICC
SUPPORTING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND PRIMARY CARE IN RURAL SETTINGS THROUGH ADEQUATE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

In time health promotion has known considerable improvements. Of these improvements, the concept of integrating key actors and activities is seen as a pre-requisite of getting appropriate results in practice. The purpose of our paper is to describe health promotion activities in rural Transylvania, Romania, as well as to offer a perspective for the integration of currently running activities. In a first phase, family physicians in rural areas from 12 counties were interviewed about health promotion activities and their involvement. 40.09% of the doctors were involved in these activities and only 9% were the initiators. In a second phase, key stakeholders were interviewed, in order to discover the factors which influence health promotion activities. Based on the findings of the two phases, an integrated health promotion conceptual model was developed.
Neither Mosquito Saliva nor Immunity to Saliva Has a Detectable Effect on the Infectivity of Plasmodium Sporozoites Injected into Mice

ABSTRACT Malaria infection is initiated when a female Anopheles mosquito probing for blood injects saliva, together with sporozoites, into the skin of its mammalian host. Prior studies had suggested that saliva may enhance sporozoite infectivity. Using rodent malaria models (Plasmodium berghei and P. yoelii), we were unable to show that saliva had any detectable effect on sporozoite infectivity. This is encouraging for plans to immunize humans with washed, attenuated P. falciparum sporozoites because many individuals develop cutaneous, hypersensitivity reactions to mosquito saliva after repeated exposure. If washed sporozoites have no appreciable loss of infectivity, they likely do not have decreased immunogenicity; thus, vaccinees are unlikely to develop cutaneous reactions against mosquito saliva during attempted immunization with such sporozoites. Earlier studies also suggested that repeated prior exposure to mosquito saliva reduces infectivity of sporozoites injected by mosquitoes into sensitized hosts. However, our own studies show that prior exposure of mice to saliva had no detectable effect on numbers of sporozoites delivered by infected mosquitoes, the rate of disappearance of these sporozoites from the skin or infectivity of the sporozoites. Under natural conditions, sporozoites are delivered both to individuals who may exhibit cutaneous hypersensitivity to mosquito bite and to others who may have not yet developed such reactivity. It was tempting to hypothesize that differences in responsiveness to mosquito bite by different individuals might modulate the infectivity of sporozoites delivered into a milieu of changes induced by cutaneous hypersensitivity. Our results with rodent malaria models, however, were unable to support such a hypothesis.
Fibrin adhesive derived from snake venom in periodontal surgery.

BACKGROUND A new fibrin adhesive made of buffalo plasma-derived fibrinogen and a thrombin-like enzyme obtained from snake venom was evaluated in this case series with regard to its applicability in periodontal surgery. Free gingival grafts that were sutured (control group) were compared to others immobilized through the use of the adhesive (experimental group). METHODS The grafts were carried out in contralateral mandibular bicuspids of 15 patients so that each subject received one treatment of each type. The analysis included measurements of probing and vertical dimension of the grafts and photographic follow-up for 90 days. The patients answered a questionnaire concerning postoperative signs and symptoms. RESULTS The decrease in the vertical dimension of the grafts was significant during the first 30 days and more dramatic for the control group. Probing depth and attachment level presented statistically significant decreases for both groups. The grafts of the experimental group presented better appearance during the first 14 postoperative days. Pain was observed more often in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the present study, it is suggested that the alternative fibrin adhesive tested may represent an alternative to sutures in periodontal surgery. Nevertheless, randomized clinical trials should be performed to evaluate the clinical advantages and disadvantages of the material.
GHANA'S FERTILIZER SUBSIDY POLICY: EARLY FIELD LESSONS FROM FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION

This paper presents early field lessons on Ghana’s Fertilizer Subsidy Program from two farming communities in the Central Region. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approach was used to assess the availability, access, and use of subsidized fertilizer by small-holder farmers in the two communities. The findings show that there is considerable scope for improvement in the distribution of coupons and fertilizers to ensure higher effectiveness of fertilizer and to render farmers’ participation in the program more sustainable. Price and nonprice factors combine to constrain access to subsidized fertilizer. Finally, few farmers have actually benefited from the subsidy program. The respondents, though were generally dissatisfied, conceded that the program is essential and needs to be continued. The paper signals the need for adjustments, which could have macro-scale implications for the sustainable management of the subsidy program.
Perceptual cues for sentence intonation in Greek

This is a study of intonational cues for the perception of statements and polar questions in Greek. A two-part experiment was conducted with synthetic stimuli with manipulated intonation targets in stress groups, from statement to question and vice versa. According to the results, the critical perceptual cue is the boundary tone, which led listeners to identify stimuli as the reverse sentence type (81-100%). However, the perception of intonational contrasts may be based on holistic contours.
Natural path planning using wavelet noise in static environment

In a constrained virtual environment, motion of a character has to be controlled with precision to avoid collisions. For modeling motion of a character representing some real‐life object, it is important to generate paths that look natural. A number of path planning algorithms have been introduced to solve real‐time path queries in an environment. However, in all such algorithms, a fixed path is returned always for the same start and goal positions in the environment. Recently, Perlin noise has been used to add variations to a path so that it appears more natural. However, because of pure random nature of Perlin noise function, often unnatural path occurs. In this paper, we present a new approach to natural path planning by adding wavelet noise to a path generated using subdivision‐based Corridor Map Method. Because wavelet noise is almost perfectly band limited and provides good details with minimal aliasing effects, the resulting path becomes smoother and more natural. Moreover, by appropriately choosing the levels of down/up sampling in the wavelet noise generation algorithm, frequency of wavelet noise can be adjusted. This serves as an effective tool in bringing variations in path as per the requirement. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ON INTEGRATION AND INTEGER SUBLATTICES

A lattice rule is a quadrature rule over an s-dimensional hypercube, using N abscissas located on an integration lattice. In this paper we study sublattices and superlattices of integration lattices and of integer lattices. We exploit the properties of generator matrices of a lattice to provide an easy and elegant description of the relation between a lattice and a sublattice of given order. We also obtain necessary and sufficient criteria for existence of sublattices and information about the number of these.
From co‐operation to competition: market transformation among elite Napa Valley wine producers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that cooperative behavior by key actors is often crucial for collective organizational learning to occur and new markets to become established. Such cooperation is gradually replaced by competition as network interactions become formalized following the codification of knowledge and the growth of a collective identity.Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed ethnographic studies from a broad sample, this paper uses key informants who played a role in creating and sustaining a viable market for a high status good.Findings – The sharing of tacit knowledge complements technical skills for key industry actors and facilitates collective organizational learning in ways that expedite the emergence of a high status sector. Once knowledge is codified as the sector gains legitimacy, there is less need for informal structured interactions as vital conduits of knowledge sharing.Originality/value – This paper shows how knowledge sharing via cooperative relationship u.
Bond strength of prosthetic composite to primed and silicoated cast titanium

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that the bond strength of a polymer-glass composite to cast commercially pure titanium (CPTi) can be improved by treating the metal surface with adhesive metal primers or with heat-processed silicoating. Materials and Methods: Cast commercially pure titanium disks were prepared and the cast surfaces were air-abraded with 250 μm alumina. There was one control group and four test groups having forty specimens. A second group of forty specimens was similarly prepared, and subjected to a thermal cycling regimen. Three metal adhesive primers (Cesead II Opaque Primer, Metal Primer II, and Solidex) or silicoating (Siloc system) were applied to treated titanium surfaces. Two layers of polymer glass composite (Artglass) opaque and 1-mm thick increments each of dentin and enamel composite components were applied and separately lightpolymerized following manufacturer’s directions. All specimens were stored in 37oC water for 24 hours. Half of the specimens were thermal cycled in water (4 and 60oC) for 20,000 cycles. Shear bond strength for both groups was measured using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5mm/minute. Results (n=8) were statistically analyzed using ANOVA/Duncan’s test (α=0.05). Results: Specimens treated with the Cesead II Opaque Primer showed significantly higher (p<0.05) shear bond strength both with and without to thermal cycling with no significant decrease in values. The other metal primers and silicoating exhibited lower shear bond strengths with and without thermal cycling. Conclusion: The Cesead II Opaque Primer improved the bond strength and durability of Artglass to cast pure titanium metal discs. (Int Chin J Dent 2005; 5: 12-16.)
Understanding the Alliance Data

A considerable body of research utilizes large alliance databases (e.g., SDC, MERIT-CATI, CORE, RECAP, and BIOSCAN) to study inter-organizational relationships. Understanding the strengths and limitations of these databases is crucial for informing database selection and research design. I conduct an analysis of five prominent alliance databases, examining their consistency of coverage and completeness, and assessing whether different databases yield the same patterns in sectoral composition, temporal trends, and geographic patterns in alliance activity. I also replicate three previously-published alliance studies to assess the impact of data limitations on research outcomes. The results suggest that the databases only report a fraction of formally announced alliances, which could have detrimental consequences for some types of research. However, the databases exhibit strong symmetries in patterns of sectoral composition, alliance activity over time, and geographic participation. Furthermore, the replications of previous studies yielded results that were highly similar to those obtained in the original studies. This study thus provides some reassurance that even though the databases only capture a sample of alliance activity, they may yield reliable results for many -- if not all -- research purposes. This information should help researchers make better-informed decisions about their choice of database and research design.
Hedge Fund Tail Risk: An Investigation in Stressed Markets, Extended Version with Appendix

This paper develops several risk measures that captures the tail risk of single hedge fund strategies and the tail risk contribution of these hedge fund strategies to the overall portfolio tail risk, conditional on the level of market distress. We show that, during the recent global financial crisis, all the different hedge fund strategies are contributing to the tail risk of the portfolio of hedge funds, mostly because of the hedge fund strategies' exposure to liquidity and credit risk.
A Conjoint-Hazard Model of the Timing of Buyers' Upgrading to Improved Versions of High Technology Products

This paper presents a method to forecast the sales path of an improved version of a high technology product defined in terms of its price path and multiattribute product specification. The approach is potentially useful to managers to answer what if questions on the effects of alternative price paths and product specifications of the upgrade on when and how many of their customers will upgrade. The proposed approach integrates an individual-level conjoint utility model with a hazard function specification. An illustrative application to the personal digital assistant (PDA) category confirms the predictive validity and potential usefulness of the proposed approach. Among the empirical findings are that higher upgrade costs and expectation of faster product improvement tend to delay buyers' upgrading decisions.