Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Note on Stakeholder Theory and Risk: Implications for Corporate Cash Holdings and Dividend Policy

According to Zingales (1999), corporate governance is defined as the complex set of constraints that shape the ex-post bargaining over the quasi-rents generated by a fim. This paper argues that corporate cash holdings and dividend policy can be used as soft constraints in this regard in order to mitigate the holdup situation of corporate stakeholders and to enhance incentives for firm-specific investments in the face of high total firm risk. Hence stakehloder theory contributes to answering the question why firms choose conservative financial policies.
Risk Factors of Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Solid Organ Recipients in the Era of the Common Use of Posttransplantation Prophylaxis

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients becomes rare in the immediate posttransplantation period thanks to generalized prophylaxis. We aimed to identify the predictive factors for PCP in the era of universal prophylaxis and to propose a strategy for preventing PCP beyond the first year after transplantation. In a retrospective case–control study, 33 SOT cases with PCP diagnosed between 2004 and 2010 were matched with two controls each to identify risk factors for PCP by uni‐ and multivariate analysis. All the patients benefited from 6 months of posttransplantation trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis. Most PCP in SOT patients occurred during the second year posttransplantation (33%). By univariate analysis, age, nonuse of tacrolimus, total and CD4 lymphocyte counts, gamma‐globulin concentration and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection appeared to be PCP risk factors. In the final multivariate analysis, age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3–10.4), CMV infection (OR: 5.2, 95% CI: 1.8–14.7) and total lymphocyte count (OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 1.4–10.7) were found to be independently associated with PCP. The second year posttransplantation appeared to be the new period of highest risk of PCP. Age, CMV viremia and lymphocytes were the most pertinent predictive criteria to evaluate the risk of PCP in clinical practice.
How Do SMEs Build Internal Audit Capabilities? A Grounded Theory Approach

While recent studies have shown that effective internal audit has a positive impact on a larger firm’s operational performance and corporate governance, it is unclear as to how and to what extent SMEs would benefit from internal audit function and the building of internal audit capabilities. Based on a case study, this article addresses the under-researched issue of internal audit and internal audit capability building (IACB) in SMEs. Using the grounded theory approach we identified the key themes of independence, communications, and staff, resources and training and used the themes to analyze the major issues of internal audit and IACB in SMEs. This case study concludes that the independence of internal auditors has not been recognized by SMEs and SMEs are facing the difficulty to recruit and maintain qualified and experienced internal auditors. Broken communications between internal auditors and other stakeholders have hampered the function of internal audit. There are many obstacles in internal audit practical training, including a lack of qualified trainers, training materials and motivations of trainees. We conclude that the role of cognitive capital is the most important for IACB among SMEs in the construction sector of China.
Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Perceived Ease of Use of Web‐based Learning Technologies in a Developing Country

Perceived ease of use has been shown to be an important factor in studies of information technology acceptance, with Internet and World Wide Web adoption being no exception. Many previous studies have looked at the perceived ease of use of technologies in a working or commercial environment in developed countries. This study therefore aimed to extend knowledge by examining perceived ease of use of web‐based technologies in a learning environment, rather than a working one, and in a developing country as opposed to a developed country. Through a survey of 78 first year South African University students with little prior experience of Internet technologies, it was found that the individual characteristics of self‐efficacy and computer anxiety significantly influenced perceived ease of use, as did the web site characteristics, ease of finding and ease of understanding. It was furthermore confirmed that in a developing country context, perceived usefulness might not predict adoption, thus amplifying the role of perceived ease of use as the main predictor of both usage and perceived usefulness.
Comparative studies of insulin vs glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists in patients initiating injectable therapy

Although oral glucose-lowering agents are recommended as initial pharmacological therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes, the steady decline in β-cell function results in progressive hyperglycaemia, which requires a stepwise escalation of treatment. Current treatment algorithms promote a patient-centred approach that takes into consideration the pharmacological properties of drugs, including glucoselowering action, effects on body weight, tolerability and long-term safety. When oral glucose-lowering medications are no longer able to control hyperglycaemia, injectable therapy has to be considered. Two options exist: initiation of a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) or of insulin. GLP-1RAs, in addition to lowering glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, also reduce body weight by decreasing appetite and caloric intake. As a result of their glucose-dependent action on endogenous insulin and glucagon secretion, the risk of hypoglycaemia is minimal. Currently, six GLP-1RAs are available and have distinct modes of action. Notably, short-acting GLP-1RAs (exenatide twice daily and lixisenatide once daily) and long-acting GLP-1RAs (liraglutide once daily, albiglutide once weekly, exenatide once weekly and dulaglutide once weekly) differ in relation to dosing, efficacy in reducing fasting plasma glucose, postprandial glucose and HbA1c, gastric emptying rate and tolerability.
Agency Hazards and Alliance Portfolios

Prior research over several decades has catalogued many positive motives underlying firms' decisions to engage in joint ventures and other forms of alliances. In this empirical analysis, we investigate whether agency problems brought about by the separation of ownership and control also stimulate the development of firms' joint venture portfolios. By focusing on joint ventures, as opposed to diversification in general or acquisitions, we address the recent debate on agency theory's domain. Results from a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms' alliance portfolios offer supporting evidence, and comparable findings are obtained for international and domestic joint ventures. Agency hazards are also found to bring about extensions of firms' nonequity alliance portfolios in both the international and domestic settings.
Services Innovation: Successful versus Unsuccessful Firms

There is some acceptance of the idea that services and products are so intertwined that the process for development is the same, but there has been no rigorous empirical evidence to support that contention. Uses data collected in in‐depth interviews with 80 senior level managers in 16 different firms, 25 group discussion sessions with 388 executives in 241 additional firms, and from a mail survey of 217 senior managers in firms from 11 differing service categories. In all three phases, elements of the service innovation process were examined. Examines the general similarity to new product development and concentrates on the major factors differentiating successful from unsuccessful service innovation. Concludes that there is some similarity between product and service innovation processes, but that significant differences exist, with the service arena demonstrating more of a lack of new service strategic planning, reliance on competitive imitation for new concepts, and less presence of innovation champion.
Have We Progressed Marketing Knowledge? A Meta-Meta-Analysis of Effect Sizes in Marketing Research

This study measures the value and progress of knowledge produced in marketing research by using meta-analytic effect sizes as a measure of scientific knowledge. The author combines the results of 176 meta-analyses that include data from more than 7,500 primary studies published between 1918 and 2012. The 1,841 meta-analytic effect sizes show that a considerable body of marketing knowledge has been developed, as expressed by a meta-meta-analytic correlation of . 24. This medium-sized effect is as strong or stronger than effects that have been found in compilations of meta-analyses in other, more basic fields of inquiry (e.g., psychology), which shows that marketing is a successful academic discipline. The effect sizes vary across subject areas, with pricing showing the strongest effects, followed by consumer behavior; methods and new product development show the weakest effects. This finding reveals different degrees of knowledge production and varying benchmarks to assess the contribution of future research outcomes in these subject areas. Marketing knowledge follows a discontinuous model of progress: knowledge has increased over time, but at a decreasing rate; the marketing field, which is currently characterized by fragmentation and specialization, has reached a stage of maturity. The findings provide implications for further research regarding how to measure, evaluate, and progress knowledge in marketing.
Ownership Structure and Corporate Voluntary Disclosure: Evidence from Bahrain

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between ownership structure variables and the level of voluntary information disclosures of companies listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. The ownership structure variables included in the multiple regression model, are blockholder ownership, managerial ownership, and government ownership. An analysis of annual reporting practices of Bahraini listed firms, shows that there is a significant negative association between blockholder ownership and voluntary disclosures. However, managerial ownership and governmental ownership, are not associated with voluntary disclosures. The results of the regression analyses show, that size and Leverage of firms are significantly and positively associated with the level of voluntary information disclosures. Profitability of a firm is not significantly associated with voluntary disclosures.
Analyst Coverage Networks and Corporate Financial Policies

We use the setting of analyst coverage networks to shed light on the nature of peer effects in financial policies. First, we use the “friends-of-friends” approach and exploit the fact that analyst coverage networks partially overlap to identify endogenous peer effects, in which firms respond directly to the capital structure choices of their peers, separately from contextual effects, in which they respond to their peers’ characteristics. We further show evidence that analysts facilitate these peer effects through their role as informational intermediaries. Analyst network peer effects are distinct from industry peer effects and are more pronounced among peers connected by analysts that are more experienced and from more influential brokerage houses. Finally, the analyst peer effects become weaker after exogenous reductions in common coverage as a consequence of brokerage closures. This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance. Funding: F. Marcet acknowledges funding from ANID/CONICYT Proyecto FONDECYT Iniciacion [Grant 11221187]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023. 4891 .
Consumer shopping value, satisfaction, and loyalty for retail apparel brands

Purpose – To examine the effect of utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication in a retail branded context.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of young adult consumers (N=276) was surveyed using a self‐administered questionnaire. Statistical techniques (confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling) were used to evaluate the data.Findings – Statistical models indicate support for significant, positive relationships between utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication.Research limitations/implications – Limitations of this study include the use of a college student sample and confinement to the specialty apparel retail branded purchasing context. The findings are useful because links between the delivery of shopping benefits (e.g. hedonic and utilitarian) and important outcome variables (e.g. customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication) .
Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography Findings Prior to Hemodialysis Vascular access Creation: A Prospective Analysis

Purpose To determine prospectively the clinical value of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) for assessment of the arterial inflow and venous outflow prior to vascular access (VA) creation. Methods Seventy-three patients underwent duplex ultrasonography (DUS) and CE-MRA prior to VA creation for detection of stenoses and occlusions. Two observers read the CE-MRA images for determination of inter-observer agreement. A VA was considered functional if it could be used for successful two-needle hemodialysis therapy within 2 months after creation. Results CE-MRA detected 6 stenosed, 8 occluded arterial vessel segments and 12 stenosed and 41 occluded venous vessel segments in 70 patients. Inter-observer agreement for detection of upper extremity arterial and venous stenoses and occlusions with CE-MRA was substantial to almost perfect (kappa values 0.76–0.96). CE-MRA detected lesions, not detected by DUS, that were associated with VA early failure and non-maturation in 33% of patients (7/21). Accessory veins detected preoperatively were the cause of VA non-maturation in a substantial group of patients (47%: 7/15). Conclusion CE-MRA enables accurate detection of upper extremity arterial and venous stenosis and occlusions prior to VA creation. Preoperative CE-MRA identified arterial and venous stenoses, not detected by DUS that were associated with VA early failure and non-maturation. However, the use of gadolinium containing contrast media is currently contraindicated due the reported incidence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.
A Novel Game-Theoretic Cross-Layer Design for OFDMA Broadband Wireless Networks

This paper proposes a novel game-theoretic cross-layer design for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) wireless networks, which operates optimal subcarrier, power and rate allocation. Based on the Nash bargaining solution (NBS) and coalitions, the proposed scheme not only maximizes the system's effective data rate but also supports proportional fairness among the users by considering the heterogeneity of their requirements, as well as the rate outage due to imperfect channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitter (CSIT). The simulation results confirm that the proposed scheme achieves an optimum tradeoff between effective data rate and proportional fairness, while it guarantees the quality of service (QoS) requirements, and outperforms the existing solutions in terms of power consumption, resilience to CSIT errors and stability.
Quality Contingent Contracts: Evidence from Tanzania's Coffee Market

The literature on product quality in markets where product attributes are not readily observable indicates that information asymmetries and incentive problems may lead to the under-provision of quality. This paper contributes to this literature by estimating the effects of village-level contractual arrangements on producer incomes and on quality enhancing production practices. Three contract types are studied: spot contracts, contingent contracts with product grading and contingent contracts without product grading. To do this, the study uses original data from a survey of 450 coffee producers in Tanzania's coffee market that take advantage of contractual variation in the Kilimanjaro region. The results indicate that coffee contracts that include village-based product grading have a large positive effect on producer incomes, and that the grading effect is associated with production practices that enhance quality. The results also indicate that cooperative membership has no significant effect on producer incomes.
Employees' Behavior towar ds IS Secur ity Policy Compliance

The literature agrees that the major threat to IS security is constituted by careless employees who do not comply with organizations’ IS security policies and procedures. To address this concern , different approaches for ensuring employees’ IS security policy compliance have been proposed. Prior research on IS security compliance has criticized these extant IS security awareness approaches as lacking theoretically and empirically grounded principles to ensure that employees comply with IS security policies. To fill this gap, this study proposes a theoretical model that contains the factors that explain employees’ IS security policy compliance. Data (N= 245) from a Finnish company provides empirical support for the model. The results suggest tha t information quality has a significant effect on actual IS security policy compliance. Employees’ a ttitude, normative beliefs and habits ha ve significant effect on intention to comply with IS security policy. Threat appraisa l a n d f acilitating conditions have significant impact on attitude towards complying, while coping appraisal does not have a significant effect on employees’ attitude towards complying. Sanctions have insignificant effect on intention to comply with IS security policy a nd rewards do not have a significant effect on actual compliance with IS security policy.
Investor Influence on Firms’ Environmental, Social and Governance Performance

This paper demonstrates that strategic equity holdings by employees and family or by corporations discourage investment in environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities as measured by ASSET4 performance scores. Conversely, debt or government equity finance is positively associated with ESG scores. The results are based on a large, recent and international sample and are generally consistent across conventional pooled cross-sectional and time-series regression models and propensity score matching experimental techniques. However the regression results for investment institutions are inconsistent with those from propensity score matching. The paper adds to our understanding of investor influence over firm management in general, over governance and environmental and social performance in particular and the way in which institutional arrangements might stimulate ESG investment.
Subcutaneous Administration of Alemtuzumab in Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation

Alemtuzumab (MabCampath, Campath-1H) is a potent lymphocyte-depleting monoclonal antibody increasingly used at induction in solid organ transplantation. Previously, it had been given by intravenous infusion; such administration is associated with a first-dose cytokine release syndrome characterized by fever and hypotension. Subcutaneous administration of alemtuzumab avoids this first-dose reaction while achieving a similar concentration to intravenous administration. The avoidance of infusion-associated hypotension is particularly important in pancreas transplantation where venous thrombosis is a major problem. We therefore treated 21 recipients of combined pancreas and kidney transplants with two 30-mg doses of alemtuzumab administered subcutaneously on days 0 and 1. No patient suffered a first-dose reaction. Lymphocyte depletion after subcutaneous alemtuzumab was profound and comparable to that seen in a group of renal transplant recipients who had received intravenous alemtuzumab. Subcutaneous alemtuzumab was associated with similar rates of acute rejection (14% at 1 year), patient survival (100%), and pancreas and kidney graft survival (95% and 100%, respectively) to those observed in centers using intravenous alemtuzumab in simultaneous pancreas kidney transplantation. There was no excess incidence of adverse events. We therefore recommend this route of administration to all transplant centers using alemtuzumab.
Adaptive Control for Autonomous Rotorcraft

In this paper, the L1 adaptive control theory is used to design a high bandwidth inner loop controller to provide attitude and velocity stabilization of an autonomous small-scale rotorcraft in the presence of wind disturbances. The nonlinear model of the vehicle is expressed as a linear time-varying system for a predefined region of operation, for which an L1 adaptive controller is designed. The L1 adaptive controller ensures that an uncertain linear time-varying system has uniformly bounded transient response for system’s input and output signals, in addition to stable tracking. The performance bounds of L1 adaptive controller can be systematically improved by increasing the adaptation rate without hurting the robustness of the system. The performance achieved with the L1 controller is compared with that obtained via a linear state feedback controller for demanding reference signals in the presence of wind disturbances. Simulation results show that the performance of the L1 surpasses that of the linear controller illustrating the advantages of fast adaptation.
Summarization of Evaluative Text : The effect of corpus controversiality on extractive and abstractive summarization

In automatic summarization, extractive summarization is the strategy of concatenating extracts taken from a corpus into a summary, while abstractive summarization involves paraphrasing the corpus using novel sentences. In this paper, we define a novel measure of corpus controversiality, and report the results of a user study comparing extractive and abstractive summarization at different levels of controversiality. While the abstractive summarizer performs better overall, the results suggest that margin by which abstraction outperforms extraction may be greater when controversiality is high, though the difference was not found in this study to be statistically significant.
Exploring the implications of m-commerce for markets and marketing

Business pundits have enthusiastically prognosticated about a seamless, mobile world where commerce occurs on an anywhere, anytime basis. This type of commerce has been referred to as mobile commerce or, more simply, m-commerce. However, there have been relatively few attempts to systematically explore the opportunities and challenges posed by m-commerce. This article investigates the implications of m-commerce for markets and marketing by means of a formal conceptualization of m-commerce, a space-time matrix that delineates the impact of mobile technologies, and a taxonomy of m-commerce applications.