Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Family Ownership and Management on Firm Performance: Evidence from Public Firms in Turkey

Using a panel of 210 publicly listed Turkish firms from 2007 to 2010, this study examines the influence of family involvement on firm accounting and market performance in an emerging country context. The findings reveal that while moderate levels of family ownership and active family management are positively associated with profitability, family ownership and having a family chairman are negatively related to firm market value. These contradictory results demonstrate that the lack of well-developed legal and regulatory institutions and efficient external corporate control mechanism in emerging countries constitute an impediment to the translation of higher accounting profitability into higher market value. In addition, this study reveals that the use of control-enhancing mechanisms, which is negatively associated with accounting performance, decreases market value if family members serve as CEO or chairman.
MIMO capacity in space and time domain for various urban environments

This work proposes the MIMO channel capacity that explicitly depends on the spatial correlation characteristics of the urban environment. The spatial correlation among the channels is determined by the parameters of the urban environment introduced via the statistical model. The proposed MIMO channel capacity provides an analytical framework for investigation the influence of urban propagation conditions on the achievable MIMO capacity. The dependence of the MIMO channel capacity on various parameters of the urban propagation conditions is evaluated in simulated urban scenario. Simulations show that in practical urban scenarios, the MIMO channel capacity is location specific and can be accurately predicted by the proposed model.
How Efficient is the Nigerian Stock Market? Further Evidence

The weak-form Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) proposes that share prices fully reflect historical prices and earnings information. This implies that returns on shares follow a random walk and are unpredictable. There exists a strong measure of consensus supported by tremendous amount of research evidence among financial economists on the validity of the weak and semi strong form of the EMH with respect to developed capital markets. However; existing evidence on developing countries markets remains scanty. Therefore there is a need for triangulation in research by providing evidence from emerging markets like Nigeria. The study extends evidence on the efficiency of stock markets in emerging markets using daily data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The data used in the study were obtained mostly from the daily official price list of 50 companies quoted on the NSE for the study period 1992 to 1993. Serial correlation tests and sign tests were carried out and results based upon correlation coefficients across all lags for each company showed that in the vast majority of cases they were consistent with the inde pendence approach. The results of the runs test indicated that the prices series of the majority of the companies were not random. Results that are inconsistent with the randomness hypothesis were observed mainly in the runs test, but this is not enough to conclude that the market is inefficient.
Growth, Maturation, and Exercise During Youth.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of age on short-term performance indicators applying multilevel regression modeling, and whether changes induced by age were affected by maturation. The study applied a mixed longitudinal approach with 8 measurement points over a period of 4 years. Anthropometry, predicted adult stature, countermovement jump, 15-m sprint, and agility test from 38 under-11 young soccer players were considered. Early maturing players were 3% taller compared with late maturers. A substantial effect of age was present in all performance indicators (p < .05). Parameters showed improvements in performance, even when accounting for interindividual variation in somatic maturity. Vertical jump tended to be stable in early maturers during the first year, presenting an exponential increase thereafter (16%, p < .05). In addition, early maturing boys had lower vertical jump scores but a substantial higher rate of development with age (3% per year). Performance tends to plateau during the first 3 years following the improvements in agility (9.1%, p < .05). In the running tests, early maturers had better performances (19%, p < .05), while a higher rate of improvement of 1% was observed for the late maturers. Young soccer players should be expected to have substantial improvements in short-term performance, influenced by independent variation between players in maturity status.
Flying Off Course: Airline Economics and Marketing

Introduction 1. Characteristics and Trends in Airline Operations 2. Traditional Bilateralism: A Highly Regulated Industry 3. Liberalisation: Open Markets and Open Skies 4. The Structure of Airline Costs 5. Determinants of Airline Costs 6. The Low-Cost No-Frills Model 7. The Economics of Passenger Charters: The Other Low-Cost Model 8. Airline Marketing: The Role of Passenger Demand 9. Forecasting Demand 10. Product Planning 11. Pricing Policies and Fare Structures 12. The Economics of Air Freight 13. Future Challenges. Appendix A: Freedoms of the Air. Appendix B: Glossary of Common Air Transport Terms
How Many Trees Does it Take to Make a Forest?

In order to study the relative perceptual availability of global and local features in very sparse patterns, subjects were asked to make ‘same’/‘different’ judgments on pairs of geometrical figures and the times needed to detect global and local differences were compared. With triangular patterns a global precedence was found which could be attributed to size differences. With rectangular patterns global precedence was larger, not accounted for by size differences, and indifferent both to the number of elements and to their spacing. Thus it was demonstrated that global precedence may hold for patterns with as few as four elements. Patterns with smooth edges could be compared much more quickly than patterns with serrated eges. It is proposed that configurational properties of some of the patterns interfered with the encoding of their global structures or with comparing them. It is argued that the results support a principle of global addressability which postulates that visual schemata are mainly addressed through their global constituents.
Voriconazole: A New Triazole Antifungal

OBJECTIVE: To review the currently available information on the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, adverse effects, drug interactions, and dosage guidelines of voriconazole. Comparative data for voriconazole and other azole antifungal agents are described where available. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search restricted to English-language articles (1966 to September 1999) was conducted, and an extensive review of journals and meeting abstracts was performed. MeSH headings included itraconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole, UK-109,496, and amphotericin B. DATA EXTRACTION: The data on pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, and drug interactions were obtained from open-label and controlled studies and case reports. Controlled studies and case reports were evaluated to demonstrate the efficacy of voriconazole in treatment of various fungal infections. DATA SYNTHESIS: Voriconazole is a derivative of fluconazole that demonstrates enhanced in vitro activity against existent and emerging fungal pathogens. Limited data have revealed a favorable pharmacokinetic and safety profile for the agent. Moreover, select clinical trials and case studies of voriconazole suggest good in vivo efficacy against several fungal pathogens including Candida, Aspergillus, and Scedosporium. CONCLUSIONS: Voriconazole has shown promise in the treatment of superficial and systemic mycoses. While several unresolved issues remain, voriconazole may be a viable therapeutic alternative for fluconazole-resistant mucocutaneous candidiasis and in cases of mild to moderate systemic mycoses requiring chronic treatment or that are refractory to currently available agents.
Effect of Heat Inactivation of HIV on Specific Serum Proteins and Tumour Markers

The effect on the concentrations of specific serum proteins and tumour markers, of heat-treating samples at 56°C for 30 min to inactivate HIV, was investigated. Statistically significant decreases, that may affect clinical decisions, were observed for α-1-antitrypsin, β-2-microglobulin, IgE, fibrinogen, C***1-esterase inhibitor and CA125. Statistical, but not clinically significant, changes were observed for α-1-acid glycoprotein, C3, haptoglobin, IgA, IgG, IgM and transferrin. A significant decrease in the α-1 band was observed on protein electrophoresis.
Financial Crisis and the Supply of Corporate Credit

Analyzing syndicated loan and public debt originations by publicly traded U.S. firms between 2004 and 2011, we document a sharp migration from bank borrowing to either no borrowing or public debt issuance in the crisis years. We find evidence for a bank-lending channel; the migration from bank borrowing was more prominent and subsequent investment was lower for firms that had relationships with the more severely distressed lead banks during the crisis. The ability of many publicly traded firms to promptly disintermediate and issue their own debt provided critical but imperfect debt substitutability. Sticky interest rates and a surge in loan commitment drawdowns suggest that bank credit rationing was prevalent during the crisis as banks hoarded liquidity to reduce their risk of insolvency. Many firms originated public debt at interest rates far higher than syndicated loan rates.
The Treatment of Epileptic Children with Carbamazepine Follow‐up Studies of Clinical Course and EEG*

1 Seventy‐four children aged between 1 and 15 yr were treated for periods of 2 7 yr with carbamazepine. Forty‐six patients were suffering from grand mal epilepsy (combined in some cases with other types of seizure), 26 from focal including psychomotor seizures, and 2 from other types of seizure. Forty‐nine patients were treated exclusively with carbamazepine and 25 with carbamazepine in combination with other anti‐con vulsant drugs. The average daily dose of carbamazepine that led to freedom from seizures was 20 mg/kg body weight in patients weighing 10–20 kg, and 11 mg/kg in patients weighing 50–60 kg. 2 Complete freedom from seizures was achieved in (the percent range at the 95% level of confidence is given in parentheses): 26 of 30 patients with grand mal epilepsy (69–96%); 25 of 26 patients with focal seizures (80–100%); 11 of 13 patients with a combination of the two types of seizures (55–98%).
Corporate Governance Institutions as Signalling and Commitment Devices

A model is presented, where firms issuing equity differ in the ability of their controlling shareholders to extract private benefits: thus a lemon problem, leading to cross-subsidization across issuers, is added to the moral hazard issue. A governance institution is introduced, enabling large shareholders to commit to the general interest of shareholders. The following main results are obtained. I) Such an institution is employed either as a signalling device or as a commitment tool. The relationship between governance structure (e.g. board independence) and private benefits is non-monotonic. II) The adoption of the institution is negatively related to ownership concentration, consistently with the empirical evidence that board independence is decreasing in CEO ownership. III) It is better to let the application of such governance mechanisms emerge as a market outcome, rather than be imposed by the regulation.
Reduction of Ischemic Brain Damage by Nitrous Oxide and Xenon

Neuronal death after ischemia-induced brain damage depends largely upon the activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) excitatory glutamate receptor that is a target for many putative neuroprotective agents. Whereas the NMDA receptors mediate ischemic brain damage, blocking them is deleterious in humans. Here, the authors investigated whether nitrous oxide or xenon, which are gaseous anesthetics with a remarkably safe clinical profile that have been recently demonstrated as effective inhibitors of the NMDA receptor, may reduce the following: (1) ischemia-induced brain damage in vivo, when given after occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO), a condition needed to make these potentially neuroprotective agents therapeutically valuable; or (2) NMDA-induced Ca2+ influx in cortical cell cultures, a major critical event involved in excitotoxic neuronal death. The authors have shown that both nitrous oxide at 75 vol% and xenon at 50 vol% reduce ischemic neuronal death in the cortex by 70% and further decrease NMDA-induced Ca2+ influx by 30%. In addition, xenon at 50%, but not nitrous oxide at 75 vol%, further decreases ischemic brain damage in the striatum (a subcortical structure that is known to be resistant to neuroprotective interventions). However, at a higher concentration (75 vol%), xenon exhibits potentially neurotoxic effects. The mechanisms of the neuroprotective and potentially neurotoxic effects of nitrous oxide and xenon, as well as the possible therapeutic implications in humans, are discussed.
Internationalising small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) a learning approach

This thesis investigates the learning processes of internationalising small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on a framework of absorptive capacity the research explores and examines: i. types and sources of new knowledge acquired by firms, ii. assimilation of new knowledge within firms, iii. exploitation of new capabilities gained and iv. outcomes of the new knowledge and learning. This research adopts a qualitative approach based on 12 longitudinal case studies of internationalising firms which were participating in the Scottish Enterprise Global Companies Development Programme. Multiple semi-structured interviews with the chief executive officers were carried out over a three year period and access was gained to Scottish Enterprise records and consultancy reports on the firms. This research provides new insights into the nature of knowledge used by internationalising firms and has clarified distinctions between different types of knowledge. Findings suggest that three types of knowledge – market, internationalisation and product/technological – were acquired depending on decisions facing firms at the time. Internationalisation knowledge was the most frequent new knowledge needed. This was knowledge which is specific to the internationalisation process or generic, which is applicable to overseas and domestic operations. Specific internationalisation knowledge is often developed by combining market and product knowledge. New insights are given into how firms acquire new knowledge from external, internal, experiential and objective sources of knowledge. To increase adsorptive capacity it was important for firms to create internal procedures and systems to convert tacit and individual knowledge to explicit and shared knowledge. The impact of new knowledge and learning on firms’ capabilities, decision making, competitive advantage and performance, and the constraints faced by firms are explored.
Measuring and Explaining Management Practices in Italy

We use an innovative survey tool to collect management practice data from more than 900 medium sized manufacturing firms across Europe and the US. Our measures of managerial practices are strongly associated with several measures of firm level performance. Management practices display significant crosscountry and within-country differences, with US firms on average better managed than European firms. Italian firms show a significant managerial gap vis-a-vis the US, particularly among Italian companies that are owned and run by families. We document a positive association between product market competition and the overall level of skills within the firm. Product market competition and family-owned, family-run firms account for 60% of the American managerial advantage over Italians.
Five Limitations of Destination Brand Image Questionnaires

This Department is devoted to research reports, notes and other significant research events. Two copies of write-ups, not exceeding 3,000 words, may be mailed to the Section Editor, Professor David A. Fennell, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1; e-mail: david.fennell@brocku.ca. In all cases, one copy of the report should be mailed to the Chief Editor, TRR.
Firm Owners and Workers: An Analysis of Immigrants and Ethnic Concentration

Title of dissertation: FIRM OWNERS AND WORKERS: AN ANALYSIS OF IMMIGRANTS AND ETHNIC CONCENTRATION Monica Garcia-Perez, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation directed by: Professor John Haltiwanger Department of Economics This dissertation consists of three chapters examining the important role of firm and coworker characteristics, as well as the use of social networks, in labor markets. The first paper investigates the effect of firm owners and coworkers on hiring patterns and wages. Immigrant-owned firms are more likely to hire immigrant workers. This prevalence is especially strong for Hispanic and Asian workers. We also find that the probability that a new hire is a Hispanic is higher for immigrant firms. On wage differentials, the results illustrate that much of the difference between the log annual wages of immigrants and natives can be explained by immigrants’ propensity to work in non-native owned firms, which pay the lowest average wages. Interestingly, though, native workers holding a job in immigrant firms are paid less than immigrant workers. The last section examines the potential mechanisms for these findings. It explores the importance of job referral and use of networks for migrants in labor markets. We consider the theoretical implications of social ties between owners and workers in this context. Firms decide whether to fill their vacancies by posting their offers or by using their current workers’ connections. Next, we explore the patterns of immigrant concentration relative to native workers at the establishment level in a sample of metropolitan areas. Immigrants are much more likely to have immigrant coworkers than are natives, and are particularly likely to work with others from the same country of origin, even within local markets. The concentration of immigrants is higher for recent immigrants and interestingly for older immigrants. We find large differences associated with establishment size that cannot be explained solely by statistical aggregation. Exploring the mechanisms that underlie these patterns, we find that proxies for the role of social networks, as well as the importance of language skills in the production process, are important correlates of immigrant concentration in the workplace. FIRM OWNERS AND WORKERS: AN ANALYSIS OF IMMIGRANTS AND ETHNIC CONCENTRATION
Using a Mobile App to Teach Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities to Identify Potential Food Allergens

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using augmented reality applications to identify potential food allergens. Seven individuals with intellectual disabilities participated. Participants were shown how to use a mobile device equipped with the Red Laser application to identify potential food allergens. Results indicated a functional relation. All participants readily identified possible food allergens using augmented reality and maintained the skill six weeks later. Conclusions are discussed in the context of using augmented reality applications to increase independent living skills for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
TAXES, MARKET VALUATION AND CORPORATE FINANCIAL POLICY

I N A well-known series of papers Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller^ have outlined a general framework for the analysis of the effects of capital structure and dividend policies on the valuation of the corporation under uncertainty. What disagreement remains about their conclusions stems mainly from different beliefs about the effects of various market imperfections on their analysis.Modigliani and Miller themselves have dealt comprehensively with one such imperfection, namely the tax system as it affects corporations directly. ^ However, while they have directed attention to the effects of the tax system as it relates to the taxation of corporate income, their papers are characterized by an ailmost total neglec; of the complementary aspect of the system, which is the taxation of individuals. It is the purpose of this paper to extend their analysis to incorporate the effects of those features of the personal tax structure which are relevant for the valuation of the corporation.
Impairment of renal function after islet transplant alone or islet‐after‐kidney transplantation using a sirolimus/tacrolimus‐based immunosuppressive regimen

The immunosuppressive (IS) regimen based on sirolimus/low‐dose tacrolimus is considered a major determinant of success of the Edmonton protocol. This regimen is generally considered safe or even protective for the kidney. Herein, we analyzed the impact of the sirolimus/low‐dose tacrolimus combination on kidney function. The medical charts of islet transplant recipients with at least 6 months follow up were reviewed. There were five islet‐after‐kidney and five islet transplantation alone patients. Serum creatinin, albuminuria, metabolic control markers and graft function were analyzed. Impairment of kidney function was observed in six of 10 patients. Neither metabolic markers nor IS drugs levels were significantly associated with the decrease of kidney function. Although a specific etiology was not identified, some subsets of patients presented a higher risk for decline of kidney function. Low creatinin clearance, albuminuria and long‐established kidney graft were associated with poorer outcome.