Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION UTILIZATION ON CORPORATE DECISION-MAKING AND EXPORT PERFORMANCE

OF THESIS THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION UTILIZATION ON CORPORATE DECISION-MAKING AND EXPORT PERFORMANCE This study investigates if companies that actively use export information have higher export growth rates or greater satisfaction with export performance measures than non-users. Organizational communication structures relating to information flow to decision makers is investigated to provide further insight into the role of export information. The study is based upon the knowledge utilization theory which states company/user characteristics are as important to information utilization as the characteristics of the specific piece of information. Bivariate analysis does not indicate a direct relationship between information use and reported higher export growth rates over the past four years. However, there are indications of divergence in how information users and non-users view and utilize information. One critical finding is that information users have a statistically significant relationship toward symbolic utilization of export information. Additional differences were observed in third-party information use versus monitoring world news to evaluate export operations. The study investigates company characteristics against the three components of knowledge utilization (instrumental, conceptual and symbolic use) and the five components of information use (competitive advantage, information acquisition/need, influence of information on decisionmaking, organizational learning and organizational knowledge/information processing). Trond Breien Peersen
Farmers' participation in agricultural development: The case of Fars province, Iran

Farmers' participation in agricultural planning is regarded as an important tool for successful sustainable agricultural development. This study examines the issue of farmers' participation in the context of agricultural development. Data for this article were obtained through focus group discussion (FGD) from rural farmers in 9 villages in Fars Province, Iran. The findings showed that FGD discussion was more emphasis on involving farmers in implementing programs than on providing for their participation in planning and evaluating the processes or outcomes of agricultural programs. It is expected that the findings of this study could be utilized by the agriculture developers for reassessments of agricultural industry programs in rural communities.
Incomplete Memories: The Natural Suppression of Tissue-Resident Memory CD8 T Cells in the Lung

The yearly, cyclic impact of viruses like influenza on human health and the economy is due to the high rates of mutation of traditional antibody targets, which negate any preexisting humoral immunity. However, the seasonality of influenza infections can equally be attributed to an absent or defective memory CD8 T cell response since the epitopes recognized by these cells are derived from essential virus proteins that mutate infrequently. Experiments in mouse models show that protection from heterologous influenza infection is temporally limited and conferred by a population of tissue-resident memory (TRM) cells residing in the lung and lung airways. TRM are elicited by a diverse set of pathogens penetrating mucosal barriers and broadly identified by extravascular staining and expression of the activation and adhesion molecules CD69 and CD103. Interestingly, lung TRM fail to express these molecules, which could limit tissue retention, resulting in airway expulsion or death with concomitant loss of heterologous protection. Here, we make the case that respiratory infections uniquely evoke a form of natural immunosuppression whereby specific cytokines and cell–cell interactions negatively impact memory cell programming and differentiation. Respiratory memory is not only short-lived but most of the memory cells in the lung parenchyma may not be bona fide TRM. Given the quantity of microbes humans inhale over a lifetime, limiting cellular residence could be a mechanism employed by the respiratory tract to preserve organismal vitality. Therefore, successful efforts to improve respiratory immunity must carefully and selectively breach these inherent tissue barriers.
Social Protection Programmes, Agricultural Production and Youth Employment Nexus in Nigeria: A Qualitative Discus from LSMS-ISA

This study examined how effective implantation of social protection programmes in the agricultural sector will induce youth participation, thereby creating employment for the youths and reduce the incidence of households’ poverty in Nigeria. The study engaged a qualitative discuss methodology from the Living Standard Measurement Study-Integrated Households Panel Survey on agriculture for two farming seasons (post-planting and post-harvest seasons). Results showed that, out of the three main activities (agricultural, non-farm enterprise and wage employment) engaged by the Nigerian households, for the post-planting interview, agriculture remains the most engaged activity, this is because; about 38.5% of the rural households engaged in agriculture; 17.9% engaged in nonfarm enterprise, while 7.8% engaged in wage employment. It was also noted that; more of the women engaged in a household-nonfarm activities (25%) than men; however, fewer youths engaged in both agriculture (21.8%) in the post-planting visit. The farmers revealed that, one of the reasons for less youth participation in the agricultural activities is due to the low attractiveness of the sector to the youths. Therefore, the study recommended that the agricultural activities should be made attractive through the implementation of social protection programmes to induce youth participation as this will boost rural opportunities and reduce the rural-urban migration and its attendant challenges.
Bilateral occlusions in the cervical portion of the internal carotid arteries in a child.

An 8-year-old boy with a history of recurrent tonsillitis and cervical lymphadenopathy developed acute hemiplegia. Cerebral angiography revealed bilateral occlusions of the cervical portion of the internal carotid arteries. Cerebral arterial occlusion in childhood has been attributed to many causes, e.g., trauma and infections of the neck. In the present case, though not clearly proved, inflammatory processes may have been related to the occlusion.
Long‐Term Antimicrobial Effect of Silicon Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs), as a novel one-dimensional semiconducting nanomaterial, are attracting increasing interest in recent years. The synthesis of SiNWs with in situ grown silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) (SiNWs@AgNPs) is reported and the highly effective and long-term antibacterial activity of this novel nanostructure is demonstrated.
Ego Identity Status, Identity Style, and Personal Expressiveness

This study represents an investigation of relationships among three sets of identity constructs, including the ego identity statuses, the identity styles, and personal expressiveness. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire was used to assess identity status as conceptualized by J. E. Marcia. The Identity Style Inventory was used to assess identity style as conceptualized by M. D. Berzonsky. The Personally Expressive Activities Questionnaire was used to measure feelings of personal expressiveness as described by A. S. Waterman. Data were collected from two samples of students at two universities. The measures were considered in pairs to examine the convergence among the constructs. Results revealed that these three measures, and perhaps the underlying constructs, are convergent. Associations between measures are discussed in relation to previous research and theory.
Comparative Study of Duplex‐Guided Foam Sclerotherapy and Duplex‐Guided Liquid Sclerotherapy for the Treatment of Superficial Venous Insufficiency

PURPOSE To compare the preliminary results of hemodynamic changes between duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy and duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy. METHODS Seventy Seven limbs in 77 patients with isolated greater saphenous vein incompetence were treated with duplex-guided sclerotherapy. Thirty Seven limbs were treated with duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy and the remaining 40 limbs were treated with duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy. Pretreatment exam was performed using a color duplex scanner and air plethysmography. The sclerosing foam was produced by Tessari's method using 1% and 3% polidocanol. The varicose vein was injected with 2 mL of 1% polidocanol or 1% polidocanol foam, and then 1 mL of 3% polidocanol or 3% polidocanol foam was injected into the greater saphenous vein under duplex guidance. Venous obstruction and recanalization were screened by serial posttreatment duplex examination, and posttreatment air plethysmography analysis was performed 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the sclerotherapy. RESULTS Duplex scanning demonstrated complete occlusion in the greater saphenous vein for duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy in 25 limbs (67.6%), which was a significantly higher proportion than for the duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy (7 limbs, 17.5%, p < 0.0001). Recurrent varicose veins were found in 3 patient (8.1%) in the duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy group and 10 (25%) in the duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy group at 1-year (p = 0.048). In duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy, venous filling index values remained normal during the subsequent follow-up examinations, whereas in duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy, venous filling index began to increase, and there was a significant difference at 6 months between duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy and the duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy (p < 0.0005). At 9 months, there was a significant difference in the residual venous fraction between the two groups, and the residual venous fraction value continued to improve in duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy (p = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS Duplex-guided foam sclerotherapy could have greater promise compared to duplex-guided liquid sclerotherapy in the treatment of superficial venous insufficiency.
ASSESSING PERCEIVED RISK OF CONSUMERS IN INTERNET AIRLINE RESERVATIONS SERVICES

This study examines the dynamics of perceived risk throughout the various stages of the consumer buying process in order to investigate the premise that the use of Internet airline reservation systems is perceived to be riskier than traditional airline reservation systems. A survey of 159 respondents reveals that perceived risk for both traditional and Internet airline reservation services follows a systematic pattern throughout the consumer buying process. Perceived risk for both traditional and Internet airline reservation systems falls during need recognition and information search but recovers and rapidly increases between the alternatives evaluation and purchase stages. When viewed as a dynamic process, perceived risk for Internet airline reservation services shows more radical changes in risk levels than the traditional service. This study also finds that perceived risk appears to play a prominent role during the actual purchase of a service regardless of shopping method. Implications for risk mitigation strategies are briefly discussed.
Performance Changes Following Training in Junior Rugby League Players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the time course of adaptations to training in young (i.e., <15 years) and older (i.e., <18 years) junior rugby league players. Fourteen young (14.1 ± 0.2 years) and 21 older (16.9 ± 0.3 years) junior rugby league players participated in a 10-week preseason strength, conditioning, and skills program that included 3 sessions each week. Subjects performed measurements of standard anthropometry (i.e., height, body mass, and sum of 7 skinfolds), muscular power (i.e., vertical jump), speed (i.e., 10-m, 20-m, and 40-m sprint), agility (505 test), and estimated maximal aerobic power (i.e., multistage fitness test) before and after training. In addition, players underwent a smaller battery of fitness tests every 3 weeks to assess the time course of adaptation to the prescribed training stimulus. During the triweekly testing sessions, players completed assessments of upper-body (i.e., 60-second push-up, sit-up, and chin-up test) and lower-body (i.e., multiple-effort vertical jump test) muscular endurance. Improvements in maximal aerobic power and muscular endurance were observed in both the young and the older junior players following training. The improvements in speed, muscular power, maximal aerobic power, and upper-body muscular endurance were greatest in the young junior players, while improvements in lower-body muscular endurance were greatest in the older junior players. These findings demonstrate that young (i.e., <15 years) and older (i.e., <18 years) junior rugby league players adapt differently to a given training stimulus and that training programs should be modified to accommodate differences in maturational and training age. In addition, the results of this study provide conditioning coaches with realistic performance improvements following a 10-week preseason strength and conditioning program in junior rugby league players.
What can an Open-Economy DSGE Model Tell Us About Hong Kong’s Housing Market?

This paper develops an open-economy DSGE model with a housing-market sector and a borrowing constraint. Contrary to standard conventions, domestic households are allowed to invest in foreign housing and vice versa. Using Bayesian methods, the model is applied to data for Hong Kong. The results show that Hong Kong’s housing market is quite open to foreign investment, and perhaps more significantly, that variations in the loan-to-value ratio and housing preference shocks largely explain business cycle volatility.
Impact factors for innovative work behavior in the public sector : the case of the Dutch Fire Department

Through conducting a case study within a public organization, this study provides several new insights into the process of innovative work behavior (IWB) in the public sector. It describes what the most important impact factors for public employee IWB are, what the nature of their influence is and how they exert it. Also, it determines how these impact factors differ from those influencing IWB in the private sector and what the implications of these insights for public managers in search for firm innovativeness are. The results underline the crucial role of social-political factors, the direct supervisor, work-group interactions, organizational structure, certain organizational practices and individual characteristics during the process of public employee IWB. Depending on their nature, each of these factors are capable of stimulating as well as restraining individual IWB processes of public employees. Academic value is offered by the development of a comprehensive framework describing impact factors for public employee IWB constituting propositions for future research as well as the specification of differences between the process of stimulating employee IWB within private and public organizations. Practical value is delivered by the provision of recommendations towards public managers regarding how to stimulate IWB within the public sector as well as how to prevent that IWB is restrained within public organizations.
Preliminary Evaluation of a New Technique of Minimally Invasive Surfactant Therapy

ed from Schmidt B, Anderson P, Doyle L, Dewey D, Grunau RE, Asztalos EV, et al. Survival Without Disability to Age 5 Years After Neonatal Caffeine Therapy for Apnea of Prematurity. JAMA 2012;307:275-82.
Empirical Investigation of Government Green Procurement (GGP) Practices in Malaysia

Malaysian Government procurement plays an important role as a catalyst to economic development. However, as a rapidly developing countries, due consideration must be given to environmental conservation during the development process to avoid environmental degradation. For this reason, Malaysian government can use its immense purchasing power of 24-33 percent of GDP to minimize environmental impacts by implementing government green procurement (GGP) which is seen as a powerful tool to protect the environment. In the context of Malaysia, GGP is refers to the procurement of supplies, services and works by the public sectorr that takes into account environmental criteria to conserve and minimize the impact on the environment, accelerate the national economy and promote sustainable development. GGP is relatively a new concept in Malaysia and there is no such policy, regulation and legal framework with regards to GGP at this point of time. This study is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the practice of GGP in Malaysia. This study is crucial to identify opportunities and barriers in implementing GGP in Malaysia and the findings will be expected to assist the Malaysian government to formulate strategies and adopt an appropriate approach to effectively implement the GGP.
Brand loyalty in the Australian wine industry

Consumers are increasingly exposed to a wider range of wine brands as the industry is becoming vastly competitive. Using data from Australian wine consumers, the authors empirically test a model of antecedents of wine brand loyalty. The findings of this study show that wine knowledge and wine experience influence wine brand loyalty indirectly through wine brand trust and wine brand satisfaction. In addition, it is demonstrated that consumer satisfaction with a wine brand is the strongest driver of wine brand loyalty.
Does the Board Size Really Matter? An Empirical Investigation on the Indian Banking Sector

The present study is a maiden attempt in accessing the relationship between board size and performance of banks in context of India. The study also aimed at analyzing the effect of other corporate governance factors on the performance. While many factors have been identified as the Corporate Governance components, only three of them were included for the study. Further the firm performance variables were taken as controlling variables. Indeed studies have proved that the firm value is also based on these performing factors. The operationalisation of the two ratios Market-to-Book ratio and Tobin's Q ratio in the present study might trigger its validity. The absence of effect of board size on performance of bank in the Indian context as revealed in the present study is a challenge for the researchers in this area.
MR Evaluation of Clinically Suspected Adnexal Masses

Objective Our goal was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and accuracy of pelvic MRI in the prospective evaluation of women with a clinically suspected pelvic mass. Materials and Methods One-hundred three patients with clinically suspected pelvic masses were prospectively evaluated by pelvic MRI. Masses were analyzed for size, location, morphological characteristics, and signal behavior. Masses were classified as benign, malignant, or indeterminate and in every case an attempt was made to generate a specific diagnosis according to previously reported characteristic MR appearances. Surgical follow-up was obtained within 3 months of MRI examination for all patients, excepting 11 patients with typically appearing leiomyomas. Results One hundred twenty pelvic masses were confirmed. Magnetic resonance was 100% sensitive and 99% specific in prospectively diagnosing dermoids, 96% sensitive and 100% specific in diagnosing subserosal leiomyomas, and 92% sensitive and 91% specific in diagnosing endometriomas. Conclusion When physical examination or ultrasound examination is inconclusive, pelvic MRI can aid in the evaluation of women with a suspected pelvic mass. By identifying these common benign gynecologic conditions, unnecessary surgery can be avoided.
Gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease is associated with up‐regulation of desmosomal components in oesophageal mucosa

Wex T, Mönkemüller K, Stahr A, Kuester D, Fry L C, Völkel S, Kandulski A, Roessner A & Malfertheiner P (2012) Histopathology 60, 405–415 Gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease is associated with up‐regulation of desmosomal components in oesophageal mucosa
Loss and Noise Analysis of Transformer ComprisingGrooved Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel

For the reduction of transformer noise and efficient use of energy, we developed a domain-refined highly grain-oriented silicon steel with a linearly grooved surface by an electrolytic etching method. The steel showed very low iron loss even after a high-temperature annealing process, such as stress relief annealing, while magnetic flux density at 800 A/m, which is one of the very fundamental evaluation criteria for grain-oriented silicon steel, was lower than that without grooves. In light of our previous study, steels with a low flux density are disadvantageous for lowering transformer noise, but there have been no reports on the detailed noise property of this grooved grain-oriented silicon steel. In this paper, we investigated transformer noise as well as the transformer loss for the first time by fabricating three model transformers, each of which comprised one of the following grain-oriented electrical steels: grooved grain-oriented silicon steel having flux density of 1.90 T at 800 A/m, non-grooved grain-oriented silicon steel having flux density of 1.93 T at 800 A/m, and non-grooved grain-oriented silicon steel having flux density of 1.90 T at 800 A/m. As a result, transformer loss exhibited a tendency similar to the loss of a single sheet, and the grooved grain-oriented silicon steel showed the lowest loss. As for noise, even with the lower flux density, the grooved grain-oriented silicon steel showed a very low noise level equivalent to that of the non-grooved grain-oriented silicon steel with the high flux density, while the non-grooved grain-oriented silicon steel with the low flux density showed the largest noise level. From the results of magnetostriction measurements and dynamic domain observation by a newly developed method, it was found that the grooves had little influence on the generation of magnetic domains, which increased magnetostriction and transformer noise. Thus, we confirmed that low noise and low loss properties of the transformer were both realized by the application of the grooved silicon steel.
Understanding Frequent Switching Patterns A Crucial Element in Managing Customer Relationships

Given the growing competition in the global market, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to retain their existing customers, that is, to preempt frequent switching. A fruitful way of gaining knowledge about customers’ switching behavior is to examine the role of various factors in their switching processes. This qualitative study, based on data from telecom operators, offers new insights by identifying and defining the role of prejudice in customers’ rationale for leaving one telecom operator in favor of another. The research also identifies whether the customers are actively or passively engaged in the switching process, which seems to be important in terms of linking prejudice to frequent switching. The findings have important implications for the successful management of customer relationships because they point to instability in customer populations.