Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of CSR Application in the Hotel Industry of the Colombian Caribbean

This study identifies the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) application in the hotel industry of the Colombian Caribbean. A structured CSR questionnaire was applied to a sample of 224 hotels and multivariate statistical analysis was carried out with the support of the DYANE software. The findings suggest that the degree of CSR application is influenced by the size, age, category, type of contract, financial performance, and level of investment in innovation of the establishments; as well as by the sex, age, level of education, and degree of the directors’ autonomy in CSR-related decision-making and their motivations and perceived obstacles. This study on CSR is one of the first that has been applied in the hotel industry of the Colombian Caribbean and the results have important theoretical and practical implications to academia and the hospitality industry. Businessmen have valuable information to improve the levels of CSR in their companies and therefore contribute to a more responsible and sustainable tourism development in the Colombian Caribbean. Future research should include other variables like the type of corporate governance and the risk appetite of the decision-making body of the hotel and the social responsibility of all the stakeholders implicated in the destination.
Board characteristics and earnings management in Sri Lanka

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between designated corporate governance attributes and the degree of earnings management in selected quoted companies in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach In total, 70 listed companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) were selected based on the highest market capitalisation for the period covering from 2015 to 2017 and representing beverage, food and tobacco, diversified, hotel and travel, manufacturing, oil palms and health care sectors, which accounted for 59.9 per cent of the total market capitalisation of CSE. Findings This study found a positive relationship between CEO-Chair duality and earnings management. Practical implications The insights may also provide investors, economic analysts and regulators with early caution indicators of potential problems in a corporation regarding corporate governance failures and aid stakeholders in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the board and corporate governance structure and earnings management methods. Originality/value This study extends the extant research on board characteristics and real earnings management by adopting prominent research design and modernised data. This study offers evidence on how selected audit and board committee’s characteristics influence real earnings management practices.
THE IMPACT OF EASTERN EUROPEAN CULTURE ON THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Business and economic decisions of individuals are influenced by cultural values. The current study investigates the impact of Eastern European culture on international trade. Well known Hofstede (1980) cultural dimensions are measured with unique proxies and their impact on the international trade (imports and exports) of Eastern European Countries (EEC) is analysed. Standalone and panel (fixed effect) regression models have been applied to the 20 years’ data (1996-2015) of three representative countries (Poland, Lithuania, and Romania). Overall power distance is decreasing while uncertainty avoidance is increasing in the Eastern European countries over the time. The results show that power distance has a significant negative relationship with both imports and exports while individualism has a significant positive relationship with the imports and exports of the EEC. Uncertainty avoidance and masculinity vs femininity dimensions have no significant impact on the international trade of the region. Findings of the study may help the policy makers to increase the international trade of these countries by focusing on the influence of particular cultural dimensions.
Are World Leaders Loss Averse?

We focus on the preferences of an extremely salient group of highly-experienced individuals who are entrusted with making decisions that affect the lives of millions of their citizens, heads of government. We test for the presence of a fundamental behavioral bias, loss aversion, in the way heads of government choose decision rules for international organizations. If loss aversion disappears with experience and high-stakes it should not exhibited in this context. Loss averse leaders choose decision rules that oversupply negative (blocking) power at the expense of positive power (to initiate affirmative action), causing welfare losses through harmful policy persistence and reform deadlocks. We find evidence of significant loss aversion (λ = 4:4) in the Qualified Majority rule in the Treaty of Lisbon, when understood as a Nash bargaining outcome. World leaders may be more loss averse than the populous they represent.
The mediating role of supply chain collaboration on the relationship between information technology and innovation

PurposeThe high level of competition in the globalized business environment forces companies to innovate to remain competitive. Previous literature often cites information technology (IT) and supply chain collaboration as direct contributors to product innovation and IT as a direct enabler of supply chain collaboration. This suggests that IT could have an indirect effect on product innovation through supply chain collaboration, although this relationship has not been addressed yet. This paper aims to analyze empirically the direct impacts of IT and supply chain collaboration on incremental and radical product innovation and the indirect effect of IT on both types of product innovation through supply chain collaboration by using data collected from a sample of 200 manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was used to check the research hypotheses with a sample of 200 manufacturing companies.FindingsThe results show supply chain collaboration has a positive effect on technological innovation, showing that the collaboration with external agents foster both incremental and radical innovations. Furthermore, results show that IT directly enhances both types of product innovation (incremental and radical) indirectly through supply chain collaboration.Research limitations/implicationsThis article supports the pursuit of open innovation that suggests the need to acquire external knowledge to be able to develop innovation projects. The use of tools that facilitate this transmission of knowledge becomes indispensable in environments in which companies must be involved in supply chains in which different external agents intervene and in which collaboration can promote the creation of synergies and superior competitive advantages.Practical implicationsInnovation requires more and more the use of knowledge management practices that capture external information to be used in the creation of new products. In this case, collaboration within a supply chain facilitates incremental and radical innovations. However, to strengthen this transfer of information and the adoption of behaviors that stimulate innovation, the company must use ITs.Originality/valueThis paper focus on the indirect effect of IT on product innovation through the creation of the collaborations with external agents. In spite of the importance of this relation, it has been poorly studied by previous literature. The paper’s greatest interest lies in the fact that ITs not only facilitate the transmission of knowledge but also facilitate other types of behavior among supply chain agents that invite collaboration and generate innovations.
Building Networks to Harness Innovation Synergies: Towards an Open Systems Approach to Sustainable Development

Open innovation has become a popular approach, especially since 2003, as people began purposively managing, evolving and harnessing knowledge flows across organizational boundaries but through increasing connections with systemic knowledge nodes relevant to the innovation process. The creation and appropriation of such knowledge has evolved rapidly with digitalization and the proliferation of broadband networks. Individuals, firms and organizations now connect and coordinate to support innovations openly across innovation systems. This paper proposes an open systems model with institutional underpinnings to not only quicken knowledge flows and expand the networks to a wider range of socioeconomic agents, but also for their inclusive participation in shaping the processes of achieving sustainable development through environmental greening and egalitarian balancing of society. In doing so, using examples, the paper focuses on developments since Schumpeter’s ground-breaking exposition of innovation to explain how individuals, firms, farms and organizations can participate actively in open innovation networks to connect productively with the critical knowledge nodes in society.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE ON WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME: SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Background: W omen with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience metabolic disorders and hyperandrogenism. The acupuncture is an alternative medicinal treatment and complimentary for the women with PCOS. The aim of this research was to identify acupuncture effectiveness for metabolism problem and hyperandrogenism for the women with PCOS. Method s : This was a systematic review using several published literature obtained from direct electronic data of science, PubMed, and other sites through the PRISMA method using the Boolean operator's system (AND). The inclusion criteria consisted of the studies with Randomized controlled trial (RCT) published in 2009 to 2019, women with PCOS aged 18 to 45 years old as the subjects, the intervention using all of the kind of acupuncture that was compared to placebo, physical training, sham, and medicines. Meanwhile, exclusion criteria were studies with systematic review and meta-analysis, focusing on intervention, medicines, and physical training by using experimental animals. The measurement value of HOMA-I R , LH, FSH, ratio LH/FSH, TT, FT , SHBG, and DHEA-S. Result s : The search resulted in 509 studies, of which a total of 6 studies were included in this systematic review. The acupuncture has effects on metabolism problem and hyperandrogenism for the women with PCOS, such as the decrease of HOMA-IR (3 studies) and LH tense (2 studies), LH/FSH ratio reduction (3 studies), as well as, the decline of TT tense (4 studies) and FT tense (4 studies), but the increase of SHBG tense (3 studies), and the decrease of DHEA-S (2 studies). However, the tense of LH had no significant change in all of the studies. Conclusion s : The acupuncture can be effective in solving the metabolism problem and hyperandrogenism of women with PCOS.
Marx's critique of political economy in economic geography

Introduction In this short article, I propose a series of reflections on how Marx’s project, and in particular, his critique of political economy, has profoundly shaped and inspired my research on the relationship between global financial flows and policy-making in the developing world, on the uneven geographies of financialization in Brazil and South Africa, and more broadly on the articulation of state-power and moneypower across the world capitalist economy. Based upon those reflections, I want to make two arguments about how Marx’s project and method can further inform geographical research. Firstly, the critique of political economy, understood as the critique of (fetishized) bourgeois social relations, and of the historically specific forms that they take (Bonefeld 2001), has much to contribute to Marxist geography, and economic geography more broadly. Indeed, by dialectically rooting the study of things like money, finance, the state, value, etc. in the realities of everyday human life, lived experience and practical activity, Marx’s critique of political economy is uniquely positioned to reveal the ‘social core of economic relations’ (Pitts, forthcoming: x). In my research, I aim to render abstract socio-spatial forms such as financialization, money-capital flows, and state policy amenable to analysis and critique by shedding light on their human content, their class character, and the social struggles that constitute them. Such an emphasis on struggle and critique, in my view, is fundamental to retain the emancipatory potential of Marx’s project. Secondly, I argue that the concept of fetishism, which plays a pivotal role in Marx’s critique of political economy, is somehow under-exploited in economic geography. I suggest that this fundamental concept has far wider relevance than to the analysis of the commodity alone, and I second David Harvey’s injunction that ‘we should deploy the Marxian concept of fetishism with its full force’ (Harvey 1990: 423). Drawing upon my research on finance in emerging markets, I also contend that it provides ground for productive engagement between geographical political economy and other strands of critical economic geography. I conclude by highlighting the need for further spatializing the critique of political economy.
Sustainable blends of LDPE/NR and sugarcane bagasse ashes with PE-g-MA thermomechanical relationships

ABSTRACT The polymer blends obtained with residues that before were called wastes has been growing as a viable solution, allowing improvements in the mechanical properties and as sustainable alternative. This work reports the effects of blends of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and natural rubber (NR), with sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) as filler, with and without polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA) how coupling agent. The dynamic mechanical behavior and a stress-strain analysis were studied. The materials were further evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and morphological observations. The results showed that incorporation of the PE-g-MA reduced the strain and improved the stress and the Young module of the mixtures. Moreover, the presence of SCBA increased the hardness while maintaining the tensile strength and the elongation behavior of the polymer. The results demonstrate the potential use of SCBA in the elastomer and thermoplastic mixture, free of vulcanization agents.
Physicochemical and mechanical properties of natural cellulosic fiber from Coccinia Indica and its epoxy composites

: This paper reports on the physicochemical, and mechanical characterization of Coccinia Indica (CI) fiber. The Coccinia Indica fiber (CIF) reinforced epoxy composite is fabricated using a compression molding process. The results of the chemical analysis of CIF showed that the fiber contained more cellu lose and skimpy lignin, ash, and wax content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the fiber possessed a multicellular structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that CIF shows a crystallinity index of 30%. The thermogravi metric analysis (TGA) indicated that the major degradation of fibers occurred in the temperature range of 204.2 °C to 376.3 °C. The various mechanical test results showed that the tensile, flexural and impact strength increased with increase in fiber length and weight percentage. The maximum properties were found at 30 mm fiber length and 35% of fiber loading. The SEM fractography result showed that the pre dominant mechanism for mechanical failure was due to fiber pull out, matrix fracture and fiber fracture.
Toward A Theory on the Reproduction of Social Innovations in Subsistence Marketplaces

Social innovations and their diffusion are critical in bridging the multiplicity of deprivations experienced by those in subsistence contexts. Yet they often do not diffuse as expected. To better understand this prevalent problem, this article develops a theory of diffusion that explains the reproduction (duplication) of social innovations in subsistence contexts. The theory utilizes a bottom-up perspective that considers what attributes of innovations and capacities of actors matter to reproduction, particularly for subsistence user-producers. Adopting an inductive, case-based approach, the authors draw on examples of social innovations in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on the authors’ research and extant literature, this article builds a typology that captures different modes of reproduction. The typology de-lineates three archetypes of reproduced social innovations: mimetic, facilitated, and complex, and notes how frugal innovations can emerge from these archetypes. These archetypes are based on the interactions of: (1) a product’s resource and knowledge complexities, and (2) the knowledge capabilities or resources of various actors, including subsistence user-producers and bridging agents. The typology thus illuminates the conditions under which subsistence user-producers might independently reproduce a social innovation (mimetic innovations), when they need assistance from bridging agents (facilitated innovations), and when the mix of resources and knowledge are beyond their capacity (complex innovations). Moreover, by exploring reproduction experiences of subsistence users, this article recognizes the implications of low literary, close social networks, and physical limitations. By examining who controls the knowledge and resources imperative to reproduction, the authors go beyond a focus on the social benefits of innovations to consider how intellectual property and profits matter to different actors. This article pulls together these various insights and identifies key implications that social innovators and intermediaries should consider when working to reproduce social innovations in subsistence contexts and with subsistence user-producers.
The Self-Employment Option: an empirical investigation in rigid labor markets

This paper analyzes the determinants of becoming self-employed in labor markets characterized by high unemployment and reduced worker turnover, often referred to as rigid labor markets. We use a large panel of workers' histories for the last three decades from Spanish Social Security records to characterize the dynamics of the transitions into self-employment, as well as the heterogeneity of the newly self-employed. The Spanish case is of particular interest given the high unemployment levels and its two-tier structure, which features many of the current challenges brought up by the gig economy in many other countries. We document the age, cohort, and time dynamics of transitions into self-employment by different statuses of origin. We show that, in contrast to current evidence, the decision to become self-employed is pro-cyclical, regardless of the original job status. The age dynamics, however, are very different if coming from unemployment or paid-employment. We then exploit the rich data and the specifics of job regulations in Spain to understand heterogeneity across sectors and labor market attachment histories. Regarding earnings, workers who spent a predominant share of their careers before age 40 in self-employment, when going back to paid-employment earn less than fixed-term workers. We also find evidence of negative selection into self-employment, regarding business duration, when entering from unemployment as opposed to a salaried job. We discuss how these facts call for a revision of self-employment promotion policies in place.
Socio-affective interactions between a companion robot and elderly in a Smart Home context: prosody as the main vector of the "socio-affective glue"

The aim of this preliminary study of feasibility is to give a glance at interactions in a Smart Home prototype between the elderly and a companion robot that is having some socio-affective language primitives as the only vector of communication. Through a Wizard of Oz platform (EmOz), a robot is introduced as an intermediary between the technological environment and some elderly who have to give vocal commands to the robot to control the Smart Home. The robot vocal productions increases progressively by adding prosodic levels: (1) no speech, (2) pure prosodic mouth noises supposed to be the “glue’s” tools, (3) lexicons with supposed “glue” prosody and (4) subject’s commands imitations with supposed “glue” prosody. The elderly subjects’ speech behaviors confirm the hypothesis that the socio-affective “glue” effect increase towards the prosodic levels, especially for socio-isolated people.
Sleep neurophysiology in childhood onset schizophrenia

Altered sleep neurophysiology has consistently been reported in adult patients with schizophrenia. Converging evidence suggests that childhood onset schizophrenia (COS), a rare but severe form of schizophrenia, is continuous with adult onset schizophrenia. The aim of the current study was to characterize sleep neurophysiology in COS. An overnight sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 17 children and adolescents with COS (16 years ± 6.6) and 17 age and gender‐matched controls. Non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep EEG power and coherence for the frequency bands delta (1.6–4.8 Hz), theta (5–8.4 Hz), alpha (8.6–11 Hz), beta 1 (16.4–20.2 Hz) and beta 2 (20.4–24.2 Hz) were compared between COS patients and controls. COS patients exhibited significant and widespread deficits in beta power during NREM and REM sleep. With regard to coherence, we found increases in COS patients across brain regions, frequency bands and sleep states. This study demonstrates the utility of the sleep EEG for studying vulnerable populations and its potential to aid diagnosis.
Histological effect of high versus low dose isotretinoin and possible protective role of Tiron on skin of adult male albino rat

Background: Isotretinoin is one of the most effective drugs in acne treatment. It is retinoic acid derivative. Systemic administration of isotretinoin may induce many adverse effects. Tiron has antioxidant properties and could ameliorate skin damage and cell apoptosis. Aim of the work: To evaluate the adverse effect of high versus low dose isotretinoin on the skin of adult albino rats and the probable protective effect of tiron. Material and Method: Sixty adult male albino rats were divided into five groups: control group I (DMSO and saline), tiron treated group II (300 mg/kg orally), isotretinoin treated group III (6 mg/kg /day IP), isotretinoin treated group IV (3 mg/kg /day IP), and protective group V which treated with isotretinoin and tiron. Rats of the last group were subdivided into 2 equal subgroups (V a & V b) which received isotretinoin at a dose of 6mg and 3mg /kg/day respectively with tiron. At the end of the studied period, rats were then sacrificed and the samples were taken for histological, histochemical, immunohistochemical and morphometric studies.Results: Animals treated with isotretinoin at a dose of 6mg/kg/day showed thinning of all layers of epidermis. Epidermal cells were degenerated, exfoliated with marked reduction in cellular proliferation and associated with ill-defined basement membrane. Sebaceous glands showed a marked reduction in surface area and some cells appeared degenerated and dermis revealed loss of its normal architecture and increased densely packed collagen fibers seen by Mallory trichrome stain. These degenerative changes were less apparent in administration of isotretinoin at a lower dose of 3mg/kg/day.Concomitant administration of tiron and isotretinoin induced an observable improvement protection against these changes compared to control, especially in low dose. Conclusion: The pronounced skin damage induced by isotretinoin can be ameliorated by joined therapy of tiron and isotretinoin.