Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liberating interdisciplinarity from myth. An exploration of the discursive construction of identities in information studies

Recent research in information studies suggests that the tradition of seeing the discipline as weak is still alive and kicking. This is a problem because the discourse of the weak discipline creates conceptual confusion in relation to interdisciplinarity. Considering the growth of the iSchools and what is assumed to be a major institutional redrawing of boundaries, there is a pressing need to conceptualize interdisciplinary practices and boundary work. This paper explores the “weak” discipline through a discourse analytical lens and identifies a myth. Perceiving the discipline as weak is part of a myth, fueled by the ideal of a unitary discipline; the ideal discipline has strong boundaries, and as long as the discourse continues to focus on a need for boundaries, the only available discourse is one that articulates the discipline as weak. Thus, the myth is a vicious circle that can be broken if weakness is no longer ascribed to the discipline by tradition. The paper offers an explanation of the workings of the myth so that its particular way of interpreting the world does not mislead us when theorizing interdisciplinarity. This is a conceptual paper, and the examples serve as an empirical backdrop to the conceptual argument.
Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts in Latin America: Overview and Assessment

The unemployment protection systems that exist in most Latin American economies are generally considered inadequate in terms of providing insurance to workers and are prone to generate stratified labor markets. Recently, research effort and policy interest has turned to Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts (UISAs) as an alternative to traditional systems of unemployment insurance. UISAs are schemes of individual mandatory savings that smooth income over an individual's life cycle time rather than pooling unemployment risk over the total working population at a point in time. Although this form of unemployment insurance diminishes the moral hazard problems associated with traditional insurance methods, it presents problems of its own. First, it is questionable that these systems provide adequate protection against unemployment risk. Additionally, their effects on the promotion of informal labor markets and their administrative costs are yet to be determined. Finally, the effectiveness as a form of unemployment insurance depends critically upon the performance and credibility of the financial institutions managing the funds. This paper examines the experience of Latin American countries that use UISAs, with the hope of highlighting the problems of the system and identifying areas for future theoretical and empirical work. In conclusion, the overall effect of UISAs depends on a vast array of specific country characteristics and program parameters. The way the system is implemented, existing labor regulation, the extent of the informal economy and the scope for collusive behavior greatly influence the success of these programs. This calls for a more extensive research effort in the area.
“Stress” in business relationships: a study on corporate bank services

Purpose – The paper aims to discuss the interaction processes and short‐term behaviours and motives in long‐term relationships between banks and their corporate clients.Design/methodology/approach – The discussion is based on findings from four Portuguese case studies. Interviews made to major actors on both sides of each relationship were transcribed and analysed to investigate the buyer‐seller interaction process, and the interplay between the actors involved.Findings – The paper contributes to knowledge concerning the nature of business banking relationships, provides insights about instability and stress therein, and suggests some factors that can generate or intensify that instability. Short‐term irregularities and stress are found to arise in the context of relationships' longer‐term continuity and stability.Research limitations/implications – The irregularities found were endogenous to the relationships and originated from one of the actors or from the transaction. No exogenous factors were analyse.
Organizational Learning as a Determinant of Firm Innovation Capability

Stemming from the growing interest in the learning process in the organizational context, the present article is aimed primarily at investigating the relationship between organizational Learning and Innovation. A theoretical model describing the hypothetical relationships between organizational learning and innovation was developed and tested using the structural equation modeling technique. Data was collected from a sample of 420 firms listed in the national directory of ICT organizations. From these, 170 usable questionnaires were completed and returned. Results of the study indicate a positive influence of organizational learning on innovation. From the findings, the study also discusses several practical implications for practitioners.
Management, strategic management theories and thelinkage with organizational competitive advantage from theresource-based View

The main objective of this paper is to review the evolution of management theory, overview of strategic management theory and its linkage with the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm’s competitive advantage. A review of the relevant literature was conducted and a connection between management theory, strategic management theory and competitive advantage from the RBV of the firm was identified. It was found that the RBV of the firm’s competitive advantage is one of the main strategic management theories applicable to explain organizational performance, and it is also a part of the larger management theory family which has evolved to suit the managerial needs of the organizations and also the business environments organizations are operating in. Examining organizational competitive advantage from the RBV allows the organization to gauge the magnitude of importance placed upon its internal firm resources and capabilities in particular towards attaining a competitive advantage level, thus providing further support and extension to the RBV.
EMC issues in cars with electric drives

From the EMC point of view, the integration of electric drive systems into today's cars represents a substantial challenge. The electric drive system is a new component consisting of a high-voltage power source, a frequency converter, an electric motor and shielded or unshielded high-power cables. Treating this new electric drive system or its components as a conventional automotive component in terms of EMI test procedures and emission limits would lead to substantial incompatibility problems. In this paper, the EMC issues related to the integration of an electric drive system into a conventional passenger car are investigated. The components of the drive system have been analyzed being either noise sources or part of the coupling path within the new electrical system of the car. The obtained results can also be used to determine the acceptable noise levels on a high voltage bus of an electric drive system.
Export information providers: are they meeting the needs of SMEs?

This study provides empirical evidence concerning the perceived usefulness of sources of export information together with types of data required by Asian and indigenous (white)‐owned small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Findings are primarily based on a large‐scale sample of UK firms and multivariate analysis is employed to establish that statistical differences exist between the groups of firms. Also reported are selected findings from a series of in‐depth interviews.
Perception of the Authenticity of Atayal Woven Handicrafts in Wulai, Taiwan

ABSTRACT Indigenous cultures have become increasingly important tourism attractions and the production and sale of handicrafts have become one way in which indigenous peoples and tourists of different types interact. This is the situation in Wulai Township in Taipei County, Taiwan, where indigenous culture has become one among a variety of tourism attractions. The main objectives of this study are three-fold: (1) to explore the perceived authenticity of Atayal woven handicrafts among tourists who visit Wulai; (2) to examine whether or not significant differences exist among tourists to Wulai in their perceptions of the authenticity of Atayal woven handicrafts; and (3) to compare the differences in such perceptions between those on package tours and self-arranged visitors. Analyses of a survey of domestic tourists revealed that significant differences in perceptions exist in association with age, education, and place of residence. Package tour visitors responded more positively than self-arranged tourists concerning the authenticity of Atayal woven handicrafts. Means of enhancing the balance between commodification and authenticity of ethnic culture are suggested.
Lab-on-a-chip particles manipulation for point-of-care diagnostic systems utilizing dielectrophoresis

Particle manipulation has attracted the attention of many researchers around the globe for various biomedical applications. Although several methods have been utilized to sort particles on lab-on-a-chip platforms, dielectrophoresis (DEP) possess exclusive advantages over other methods. In this paper, we investigated microarray dot electrodes to manipulate microparticles. The geometry of the dot electrode enjoys unique benefits compared to other geometries, including enclosed areas of analysis and strong electric field with axisymmetrical distribution. DEP experiments were conducted to manipulate 1 μm polystyrene particles using the developed DEP system. Results showed that the response of the microparticle populations can be controlled by merely adjusting the applied frequency to induce either positive or negative DEP effects. In negative DEP case, microparticles were gathered at the dot center, while microparticles were collected at the dot edge in the case of positive DEP. Such microarray dot platforms can be utilized to develop economical point-of-care (POC) diagnostic systems by analyzing the transmitted light variations inside the dot regions.
What Makes Them Play? Hedonic vs. Symbolic Aspects of Girls' Intention to Adopt Gender-Specific Hedonic Information Systems

Children’s hedonic use of computers positively influences their computer self-efficacy. According to recent empirical work, boys are substantially more likely to play computer games than girls, which contributes to enhanced computer confidence and expertise. In order to attract more girls, the video game industry has increasingly developed gender-specific hedonic information systems (HIS), so-called “pink games”. However, such HIS often cater exclusively to girls’ most stereotypical interests, thereby reifying socially problematic gender stereotypes. Prior research argues that the marking of gender as a salient category through stereotypical marketing acts as a form of further marginalization of females in the information technology field. Through a conceptual research framework, we provide indications that symbolic perceptions can indeed outweigh the intended hedonic perceptions in contexts where a specific and self-defining identity, such as gender, is highlighted and potentially perceived as stigmatizing or identity threat. Implications and suggestions to empirically validate our framework are discussed.
Tinbergen Institute The Tinbergen Institute is the institute for economic research of the Erasmus Universiteit

After having been ignored for a long time by economists, happiness is becoming an object of serious research in 21st century economics. In Section 2 we sketch the present status of happiness economics. In Section 3 we consider the practical applicability of happiness economics, retaining the assumption of ordinal individual utilities. In Section 4 we introduce a cardinal utility concept, which seems to us the natural consequence of the happiness economics methodology. In Section 5 we sketch how this approach can lead to a normative approach to policy problems that is admissible from a positivist point of view. Section 6 concludes. (JEL codes: B21, B41, D63, I31, I38)
Motivations for Sustainability Engagement among Small Tourism Enterprises

This qualitative research was carried out in Ireland during the summer of 2010. It investigated how to support small and medium tourism enterprises (STEs) in engaging in more sustainability practices. The research qualitatively explored the uptake of sustainability practices among STEs in Ireland, where the research sample and case studies are located; moreover, it aims to explore the effectiveness of sustainability learning tools on the uptake of sustainability practices among STEs, especially in the marketing area. It emerged that internal factors to the enterprise – like goal orientation, locus of control and self-efficacy – are more linked to higher level of sustainability engagement, than external factors to the company; also management skills and sustainability learning are mediating factors influencing higher levels of sustainability engagement. The findings confirmed the importance of networking and ongoing education, as well as highlighting the lack of actions so far taken by governments and agencies to stimulate small companies to incorporate sustainability into their operational practices. While it is evident that the tourism sector is primarily made up of small actors, the actions undertaken to support the growth of sustainable tourism have been limited to promoting information only related to the environmental area and highlighting the cost-saving factor. Sustainability learning for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially forms of learning which guarantee reflection and action through learning by doing, are very effective forms of learning; it’s also easier to maintain a higher motivation to learning in the long term through implementing network learning, as well as offering some form of mentoring. The overall research uncovered the necessity for policy makers and planners to focus on activities and policies which promote the growth of human factors, the most crucial in motivating companies to further engage in sustainability; it is when managers personally engage in sustainability as a valuable tool, that they will engage in ongoing sustainability learning: when that happens, the company will engage in sustainability practises in the long term.
An Empirical Study on the Complexity of Entrepreneurial Projects and the Reputation and Scale of Alliance of Venture Capital Investments

Under the circumstance of uncertainty,alliance of venture capital investments has become a very important strate-gic choice for venture capital institutions to gain competitive advantages,the scale of syndication has an important effect on theperformance of entrepreneurial enterprises. The study examines the impacts of complexity of entrepreneurial project and reputa-tion of venture capital institutions on the scale of alliance of venture capital investments. The paper puts forward appropriate re-search hypotheses based on resources-based theory and uncertainty theory,carries out data processing and analysis on VC fi-nancing events during the year of 2000 to 2012 by using domestic CVsource venture capital database,and verifies these threehypotheses by applying the multivariate regression analysis. The empirical results show that:the higher the complexity of entre-preneurial projects,the greater the scale of alliance of venture capital investments;the higher the reputation of venture invest-ment institutions,the greater the size of syndication of venture capital investments. Furthermore,the paper finds that the repu-tation of institutions plays a positive moderating role in the positive correlation between the complexity of the project and thesize of venture capital alliance. These conclusions make up the deficiency of alliance formation theory,and provide a new con-text for alliance formation theory.
Does Short Selling Mitigate Optimism in Financial Analyst Forecast? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

Using a randomized experiment (Regulation SHO), in which the SEC exempted from short-selling price tests one-third of the Russell 3000 Index firms, we examine the impact of short selling on analyst forecast bias for these pilot firms. We find that short selling reduces analyst earnings forecast optimism. We also show that this effect increases with analyst forecast horizon and is concentrated among firms with greater institutional ownership and more earnings management. In addition, we show that the remaining two-thirds of the Russell 3000 firms also experience a reduction in analyst forecast optimism upon the permanent removal of price tests. Finally, we examine the underlying mechanisms and find that short sellers’ information intermediary role is a possible channel through which analyst forecast optimism is reduced. Our paper provides new evidence on the effect of investors on analyst behaviors.
Exploring the Importance of Rewards as a Talent Management Tool for Generation Y Employees

The attraction and retention of talented Generation Y employees are becoming central management challenges as these workers’ careers appear to be short-lived in many organisations. The main objective of this research was to determine the reward and remuneration preferences of prospective Generation Y employees (N=209). The results showed that Generation Y employees prefer base salary, work-life balance and career development as the most important reward and remuneration practices. Savings and perks appeared to be the least important practice. Emphasis was also placed on a good working relationship with managers. Recommendations are made. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n27p1100
Receptive fields of optic nerve fibres in the spider monkey

Abstract : Receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells were studied in the light-adapted spider monkey. All fields mapped with white light had a concentric arrangement sililar to that of the cat retinal ganglion cells, with a sharply demarcated 'on' centre surrounded by an antagonistic 'off' periphery, or the reverse. The smallest receptive field centres were found near the fovea, and the size of centres tended to increase with increasing distance from the fovea. The smallest centre had a diameter of 4 minutes of arc (corresponding to about 20 microns on the retina) and was located 4 degrees from the fovea; the largest centre had a diameter of 2 degrees. Three ganglion cells out of about 100 responded in a specific way to coloured stimuli. In these cells light of short wave-length produced an 'on' response and light of long wave-length evoked inhibition followed by an 'off' response. Transition between the two types of response occurred at about 500 millimicrons, light of this wave-length evoked only feebel 'off' responses. Very weak responses were obtained to white light, presumably owing to the antagonism between light of short and long wavelengths. (Author)
Cooperation and Continuity in Strategic Business Relationships

ABSTRACT Kay (1995) maintains that one of the most important objectives of a commercial relationship is cooperation. As long-term partnerships and strategic alliances between firms become increasingly important, more detailed knowledge regarding achieving interorganizational cooperation is needed. We ask two questions in this research; first, what are conceptual dimensions of cooperation and second, how does cooperation affect other behaviors in long-term business relationships? We suggest, based on extant literature, that global cooperation is comprised of four dimensions (information sharing, organizational flexibility, joint working, and harmony between firms). We propose that global cooperation affects relationship continuity indirectly through the accumulation of strategic benefits and trust. This model is field-tested with data from a national sample (n = 163) of industrial suppliers. The main results: (1) three of the four dimensions are predictive of global cooperation, and (2) global cooperation indirectly affects relationship continuity, particularly through trust.
Offline relationships, distance, and the Internet: the geography of crowdfunding

The internet facilitates instant and inexpensive communication across large distances. Perhaps the most striking feature of online 'crowdfunding' is the broad geographic dispersion of investors in small, early-stage projects. This contrasts with existing theories that predict entrepreneurs and investors will be co-located due to distance-sensitive costs. The authors examine a crowdfunding setting that connects artist-entrepreneurs with investors over the internet for financing musical projects. The average distance between artists and investors is about 5,000 km, suggesting a reduced role for spatial proximity. Still, distance does play a role. Within a single round of financing, local investors invest relatively early, and they appear less responsive to decisions by other investors. We show this geography effect is driven by investors who likely have a personal connection with the artist-entrepreneur (“family and friends”). Although the online platform seems to eliminate most distance-related economic frictions such as monitoring progress, providing input, and gathering information, it does not eliminate social-related frictions.
Crosstalk between the Unfolded Protein Response and Pathways That Regulate Pathogenic Development in Ustilago maydis[C][W]

Biotrophic development of fungal plant pathogens requires an intricate control mechanism that triggers morphogenetic transitions and proliferation in planta. In the corn smut fungus, the interactions between key regulators of the unfolded protein response and of the transcriptional network that regulates the pathogenic program define a developmental checkpoint critical for plant infection. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a conserved eukaryotic signaling pathway regulating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis during ER stress, which results, for example, from an increased demand for protein secretion. Here, we characterize the homologs of the central UPR regulatory proteins Hac1 (for Homologous to ATF/CREB1) and Inositol Requiring Enzyme1 in the plant pathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis and demonstrate that the UPR is tightly interlinked with the b mating-type-dependent signaling pathway that regulates pathogenic development. Exact timing of UPR is required for virulence, since premature activation interferes with the b-dependent switch from budding to filamentous growth. In addition, we found crosstalk between UPR and the b target Clampless1 (Clp1), which is essential for cell cycle release and proliferation in planta. The unusual C-terminal extension of the U. maydis Hac1 homolog, Cib1 (for Clp1 interacting bZIP1), mediates direct interaction with Clp1. The interaction between Clp1 and Cib1 promotes stabilization of Clp1, resulting in enhanced ER stress tolerance that prevents deleterious UPR hyperactivation. Thus, the interaction between Cib1 and Clp1 constitutes a checkpoint to time developmental progression and increased secretion of effector proteins at the onset of biotrophic development. Crosstalk between UPR and the b mating-type regulated developmental program adapts ER homeostasis to the changing demands during biotrophy.
Management of Potential Laboratory Exposure to Avian Influenza (H5N1) Virus Implications for Pandemic Planning

From the Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas (all authors). Address reprint requests to Matthew C. Robinson, Austin Infectious Diseases Consultants, PA 1301 W 38th St, #403, Austin TX 78705 (robinsonmc@mac.com) Presented in part: 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America; April 5-8, 2008; Orlando, Florida (poster 5). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2009; 30:502-504 © 2009 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved. 0899-823X/2009/3005-0023$ 15.00. DOI: 10.1086/597230