Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Networks in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprise Innovation and Firm Performance

The objective of this paper is to understand the contribution of networks to innovation and firm performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Based on longitudinal data from 1,435 SMEs, we show that strong, heterogeneous ties improve innovation in SMEs. However, the connections between network ties and firm performance are more complex than previously thought, as the positive association is mediated by innovation. Consequently, SMEs should only concentrate on cultivating and maintaining networks if they lead directly to improvements in innovation.
The critical maintenance issues of the ISO 9000 system: Hong Kong manufacturing industries’ perspective

ISO 9000 is now a widespread quality management practice in Hong Kong manufacturing industries. There is a pressing need to investigate the critical success factors that can help those ISO 9000 registered companies to plan for the continuous maintenance and improvement of their quality systems. With this in mind, the authors have recently conducted a study to identify the critical issues of ISO 9000 maintenance in the Hong Kong electronics manufacturing industry. This paper presents the critical maintenance issues identified during the course of this study, which could facilitate the manufacturers in maintaining their ISO 9000 quality systems. The findings will be of use to the Hong Kong electronics manufacturing industry and will provide a good reference to other industries and other countries as well.
Comparison of fluid absorption by bovine and ovine descending colon in vitro.

Although bovine and ovine descending colon absorbed solute and sodium at approximately the same rate in vitro, water absorption by bovine colon was faster (15.0 +/- 2.0 microliters.h-1.cm-2, n = 8) than by ovine colon (8.6 +/- 1.3 microliters.h-1.cm-2, n = 9; P less than 0.01). Consequently, the observed osmolality of cattle absorbate was lower (364 +/- 13 mosmol/kg, n = 8) than with sheep (807 +/- 135 mosmol/kg, n = 9; P less than 0.01). Paracellular permselectivity was examined to elucidate this difference; the permeability of bovine descending colon to [3H]polyethylene glycol 400 and 4000 was higher than in sheep (P less than 0.001). A paracellular solvent drag was observed in bovine but not in ovine colon, and the electrical resistance of bovine colon was lower (16.0 +/- 1.4 omega.cm2) than ovine colon (28.0 +/- 2.4 omega.cm2; P less than 0.001). Pore radii of 2.5 nm for ovine and 5 nm for bovine colonic paracellular route were estimated from these data. It is concluded that an increased hydraulic conductance of the "active" route for solute absorption combined with raised solute reflux via the wider paracellular pathway may account for the failure of cattle to form a hypertonic absorbate and, consequently, hard feces.
Volatility Components, Affine Restrictions, and Nonnormal Innovations

Here we assess the return fitting and option valuation performance of generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models. We compare component versus GARCH(1, 1) models, affine versus nonaffine GARCH models, and conditionally normal versus nonnormal GED models. We find that nonaffine models dominate affine models in terms of both fitting returns and option valuation. For the affine models, we find strong evidence in favor of the component structure for both returns and options; for the nonaffine models, the evidence is less convincing in option valuation. The evidence in favor of the nonnormal GED models is strong when fitting daily returns, but not when valuing options.
Social mobility and inequality in urban China: understanding the role of intergenerational transmission of education

China’s rapid economic growth since the late 1980s has been accompanied by great economic and social transformations, which have resulted in a sharp increase in income inequality. This article contributes to the literature of social mobility in China by examining the impact of parental education on the education of their children. Using the 1990 and 2000 Chinese Population Censuses, we employ nonparametric estimation strategies to provide a systematic investigation of intergenerational transmission of education in urban China. We find evidence of increasing parents–children educational correlations. Our results raise concerns regarding economic inequality in urban China as high intergenerational persistence of education is expected to be a barrier to equal opportunities in children’s education attainments and their future labour market outcomes.
Blood formation in the pregnant mouse.

Pregnancy in mice was accompanied by increased erythropoiesis which was most marked in the spleen and was reflected peripherally by increased percentages of circulating erythrocytes. During the last four or five days of pregnancy, there was an equally significant drop in erythropoiesis to normal or below normal values and this occurred despite a falling hematocrit. It is suggested that the changing oxygen requirement of the fetuses may be the primary determinant of these erythropoietic changes.
Patterns in high-frequency FX data: discovery of 12 empirical scaling laws

We have discovered 12 independent new empirical scaling laws in foreign exchange data series that hold for close to three orders of magnitude and across 13 currency exchange rates. Our statistical analysis crucially depends on an event-based approach that measures the relationship between different types of events. The scaling laws give an accurate estimation of the length of the price-curve coastline, which turns out to be surprisingly long. The new laws substantially extend the catalogue of stylized facts and sharply constrain the space of possible theoretical explanations of the market mechanisms.
The contribution of BDNF and 5-HTT polymorphisms and early life stress to the heterogeneity of major depressive disorder: A preliminary study

Objective: Two reported genetic polymorphisms related to the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) and reuptake by the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) appear to contribute to depression in combination with stressful life events. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of early life stress (ELS), BDNF (Val versus Met alleles) and 5-HTT polymorphisms (L versus S alleles) to melancholic (n = 65) and non-melancholic depression (n = 59). Methods: A mediation approach ((G × G) × E mediation model) was employed to confirm the indirect effects of ELS on the relationship between 5-HTTPLR × BDNF polymorphism combinations and depression subtype. A series of binary logistic regressions were then conducted to determine whether genotype, ELS, and their interaction were able to predict depression subtype. Results: Key findings indicated that BDNF and 5-HTT polymorphisms in combination with ELS contributed to the development of non-melancholic depression. An interaction between BDNF and ELS increased the risk of non-melancholia by 3.327, whereas the interaction between 5-HTT and ELS increased risk by 2.406. Conclusion: The results support a role for genetic factors in the development of non-melancholia. The lack of findings in melancholia indicates that other mechanisms may underlie the subtype. Alternatively, null findings may reflect a Type II error associated with a small sample size. Future studies should consider further examination of differential gene–environment interactions for melancholia versus non-melancholia.
Risk of cancers of the oesophagus and stomach by histology or subsite in patients hospitalised for pernicious anaemia

Background: Although pernicious anaemia is an established risk factor for stomach cancer, data by anatomical subsite are not available. Moreover, a previous suggestion of a link to increased risk of oesophageal cancer needs further exploration. Methods: We followed 21 265 patients hospitalised for pernicious anaemia in Sweden from 1965 to 1999 for an average of 7.1 years. Standardised incidence ratio (SIR) adjusted for sex, age, and calendar year was used to estimate relative risk, using the Swedish nationwide cancer incidence rates as reference. Results: Significant excess risks for squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus, and stomach cancer distal to the cardia, were observed in pernicious anaemia patients (SIR 3.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.4–4.4); SIR 2.4 (95% CI 2.1–2.7), respectively). The excess risks increased with increasing follow up duration. Among distal stomach cancers, the most conspicuous excess risk was for carcinoid tumours (SIR 26.4 (95% CI 14.8–43.5)). Compared with the general population, no significant increased risk was observed for adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus (SIR 1.7 (95% CI 0.7–3.4)) or gastric cardia (SIR 1.2 (95%CI 0.6–2.0)). Conclusions: Achlorhydria following type A atrophic gastritis is associated with an elevated risk of adenocarcinoma of the non-cardia stomach, and surprisingly, with a risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In contrast, no significant association, either positive or negative, was found with oesophageal or cardia adeoncarcinoma. The mechanism for the observed increased risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma warrants further study.
Organizational Slack and Response to Environmental Shifts: The Impact of Resource Allocation Patterns

This study examines whether slack resources have differential effects on the extent of a firm’s response to environmental shifts. Using a sample of 30 airlines during the transitional period of industry deregulation, we found that the relationship between slack resources and the extent of a firm’s environmental response is contingent on the firm’s pattern of resource allocations. Specifically, our results show that as firms allocate more resources toward activities which enhance external market effectiveness, increases in slack increase the extent of their environmental response. Conversely, as firms allocate more resources to activities that enhance internal efficiency, increases in slack decrease the extent of their environmental response. The implications of these findings are discussed. In particular, we examine these findings relative to the ongoing debate concerning the role slack plays in organizational adaptation processes.
Innovation and Family Ownership: Empirical Evidence from India

Manuscript Type. Empirical. Research Question/Issue. This study examines the direct effect of family ownership on innovation in emerging markets by using data from Indian family‐controlled publicly listed firms as its sample. In particular, we study (1) the direct effects of family ownership on innovation and (2) the influences of business group affiliation on these family firms. Research Findings/Insights. Using an unbalanced panel of 395 Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed Indian firms during the years 2001 and 2008, we found that the impact of family ownership on innovation productivity is positive (after controlling for possible endogeneity). We further emphasized the business group affiliation of family firms and distinguished between the innovation activities of group‐affiliated and stand‐alone family firms. We found that affiliating with top 50 business groups increases the innovation activities of these family firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications. Theoretically, we complement agency theory by incorporating both the institutional perspective and the external resourcing perspective to provide a more robust framework for examining the impact of family ownership on innovation in emerging markets. Methodologically, we adopted a more rigorous econometrics method by providing a panel analysis that used a system GMM estimator and addressed the endogeneity issue thoroughly, which represented a significant improvement over the shortcomings of the methodologies found in the existing literature. Practitioner/Policy Implications. Our findings suggest that the Indian government should provide support for affiliating family firms with business groups while improving policies on information disclosures; it should also establish a proper corporate governance mechanism for private and public family business. The findings further suggest that a corporate governance code should encourage family firms to have an independent professional CEO.
Neural Correlates of Direct Access Trading in a Real Stock Market: An fMRI Investigation

Background: While financial decision making has been barely explored, no study has previously investigated the neural correlates of individual decisions made by professional traders involved in real stock market negotiations, using their own financial resources. Aim: We sought to detect how different brain areas are modulated by factors like age, expertise, psychological profile (speculative risk seeking or aversion) and, eventually, size and type (Buy/Sell) of stock negotiations, made through Direct Access Trading (DAT) platforms. Subjects and methods: Twenty male traders underwent fMRI while negotiating in the Italian stock market using their own preferred trading platform. Results: At least 20 decision events were collected during each fMRI session. Risk averse traders performed a lower number of financial transactions with respect to risk seekers, with a lower average economic value, but with a higher rate of filled proposals. Activations were observed in cortical and subcortical areas traditionally involved in decision processes, including the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC, dlPFC), the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and dorsal striatum. Regression analysis indicated an important role of age in modulating activation of left NAcc, while traders' expertise was negatively related to activation of vlPFC. High value transactions were associated with a stronger activation of the right PPC when subjects' buy rather than sell. The success of the trading activity, based on a large number of filled transactions, was related with higher activation of vlPFC and dlPFC. Independent of chronological and professional age, traders differed in their attitude to DAT, with distinct brain activity profiles being detectable during fMRI sessions. Those subjects who described themselves as very self-confident, showed a lower or absent activation of both the caudate nucleus and the dlPFC, while more reflexive traders showed greater activation of areas involved in strategic decision making. Discussion: The neural correlates in DAT are similar to those observed in other decision making contexts. Trading is handled as a well-learned automatic behavior by expert traders; for those who mostly rely on heuristics, cognitive effort decreases, and transaction speed increases, but decision efficiency lowers following a poor involvement of the dlPFC.
Up in Smoke

Structural human ecology, ecological modernization theory, and international political economy perspectives are engaged to assess the extent to which coal consumption is influenced by various demographic factors, socioeconomic characteristics, and international relationships. Results of panel analyses for a sample of 66 countries from 1990 to 2005 indicate that both total population size and economic development increase levels of coal consumption. Additional findings suggest that export-oriented manufacturing increases coal consumption in developing nations but not in developed nations. The authors conclude by reflecting on the theoretical implications of the study and the policy relevance of the results for dealing with the human causes and consequences of climate change.
The Effect of Extrinsic Product Attributes of Pineapple Juice on Consumer Intention to Purchase

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which consumer information concerning several attributes of the pineapple juice packaging, including the manufacturing process, influenced the consumer intention to purchase. It is suggested that high-pressure technology retains nutrients as vitamins and keeps sensory attributes closer to those of fresh foods. These advantages meet the increasing consumer demand for healthy products and a more differentiated food assortment. However, the benefits provided by these products are not always communicated to consumers. Although information about the technology (high-pressure) had been positively considered by consumers when fruit juice consumption was taken into account, fewer studies have focused on this aspect. The effect of 5 attributes of the package (information on manufacturing process, product definition, production information, price, and brand name) on the pineapple juice consumer intention to purchase was investigated by 96 fruit juice consumers. Information about technology (high-pressure) positively contributed to the consumer pineapple juice intention to purchase and showed to be essential when it is applied on pineapple juice production, being a useful approach when adequately communicated to consumers.
Switching Costs and Sectoral Adjustments in General Equilibrium with Uninsured Risk

Abstract Consider a two-sector economy subject to recurring technological shocks. These affect earnings in the two sectors differently, creating incentives for workers to switch occupation. Switching costs are sunk. Individuals are risk-averse and cannot diversify their income risk. We characterize the rational expectations equilibrium of the economy and illustrate the extent to which uncertainty and switching costs increase labor immobility. The resulting equilibrium is not even second-best optimal. Even a government that cannot transfer income to achieve insurance can improve matters by speeding up the reallocation of labor across sectors, because that reduces relative price variability. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers : D52, D62, J62.
Discerning welfare impacts of public provision of recreation areas.

This study presents a framework for investigating responses to the supply of public recreation opportunities when supply affects both probability of use and frequency of use days. These components are used to estimate the marginal social net benefits of an exogenous increase in the supply of public recreation opportunities. The study investigates distributional patterns of visiting behavior and benefit estimates for alternative supply strategies, i.e., reduced distance or increased acreage. The results indicate that the probability of participation and the number of use days respond differently to alternative supply strategies and that response varies by income group.
Experience with New Tools and Infrastructures of Research: An Exploratory Study of Distance From, and Attitudes Toward, e‐Research

Abstract e‐Research initiatives have been launched around the world, but have they captured the imagination of researchers across the disciplines? This paper reports on a web‐based survey designed to gauge awareness of and support for e‐Research initiatives. Early adoption and interest in e‐Research practices represent a wide range of methodological traditions, but those most interested in e‐Research tend to be among a cohort of more recent graduates of doctoral programmes. However, greater certainty and support is driven largely by proximity to e‐Research. This finding reinforces the value of efforts to engage more social scientists and other researchers in e‐Research, such as through demonstrations, training or other ways of providing hands‐on involvement. Doctoral and early career training might be the most fruitful arenas for engagement.
Effect of ninjin'yoeito, a Kampo (traditional Japanese) medicine, on cognitive impairment and depression in patients with Alzheimer's disease: 2 years of observation

Only a few approved drugs are capable of alleviating the cognitive and behavioural symptoms of people living with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In recent years, however, the number of studies examining the clinical effects of herbal medicines on cognitive function in patients with AD has increased considerably. This study evaluated the long‐term effects of a traditional Japanese medicine (Kampo medicine) known as ninjin'yoeito (NYT) on cognitive impairment and mood status in patients with AD over a 2‐year period.
Can Nanotechnology Improve the Sustainability of Biobased Products?

Recent developments in nanotechnology, especially in the area of nanoclay composites, are improving the technical performance of biobased polymers and moving them toward technical and economic competitiveness with petroleum‐based polymers and conventional composites. We assess whether these developments also improve the environmental sustainability of biopolymers, by using a life cycle approach. We estimate energy use and emissions from the nanoclay production process and compare these with prior life cycle data for biopolymers as well as other fibers, and we find that nanoclay production results in lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions than production of many common biopolymers and glass fibers. Nanoclay composites hence can improve the life cycle environmental performance of several common biopolymers. However, for some biopolymers the relative performance depends on the functional unit.
A research note on accounting in Brazil in the context of political, economic and social transformations, 1860-1964

From 1860 to 1964, but particularly after 1930, Brazilian society changed from an agrarian to an industrial society and from an emphasis on the export sector to becoming focused primarily on the domestic market. During this period, there were significant changes in accounting that were largely imposed by the State. This note explores the main political, economic and social factors that influenced the development of accounting in Brazil during this period. In a legalist country such as Brazil the development of accounting cannot be effectively studied without considering how accounting affects, and is affected by, the political and social context. The note ends with a call for further accounting history studies about Brazil based on archives and primary sources.
Do industry specialists and business risk auditors enhance audit reporting accuracy

A number of prior studies have examined audit reporting quality using size (Big 8/6/5/4) as a proxy for quality (i.e. Lennox, 1999b; Francis and Krishnan, 1999; Weber and Willenborg, 2003). In this paper we move beyond the traditional definition of a high quality auditor, and investigate whether enhanced industry knowledge or an increased focus on business risk auditing methodologies improve audit reporting accuracy. In addition, we examine whether industry specialists and business risk auditors have a comparative advantage in judging the adequacy of mitigating management actions implemented by financially distressed companies. Using a sample of US companies from manufacturing industries (SIC 20-39) that went bankrupt between 1998-2001, we do not find evidence supporting that specialist auditors are more likely to issue a going concern opinion for companies that subsequently go bankrupt. However, our evidence does indicate that specialists are not fooled by operating initiatives (whereas non-specialists are). Interestingly and counter to our expectations, we find that audit firms using a business risk methodology are less likely to issue a going– concern opinion for a firm that subsequently goes bankrupt. Further, our evidence also suggests that business risk auditors may be ‘fooled’ by short term operating efforts to reduce financial distress. Finally, we also find very strong evidence that auditors, irrespective of their type, are ‘fooled’ into not issuing a going concern opinion for clients that subsequently go bankrupt when the client is planning on raising cash in the short term.