Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the importance of service performance and customer satisfaction in third-party logistics selection

Purpose Developing strategic relationships with third-party logistics (3PL) providers has long been one of the key challenges in automotive supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach for evaluation and indexing 3PL providers using the Kano model. Design/methodology/approach The statistical population used in this research comprises managers from the Iranian automotive industry. The Kano evaluation approach is used to analyze the data collected and to classify the criteria used in selection of the preferred 3PL providers. Findings The results suggest that the proposed framework, based on the Kano classification, can be a powerful tool for the automotive industry in evaluating 3PL providers. Moreover, the analyses indicate that 3PL providers need to improve their service offering in aspects that are to be found in the Kano model’s requirements, namely, must-be, one-dimensional and attractive. Originality/value This study contributes to the supply chain management literature by being the first to classify selection indices of 3PL providers in the automotive industry using the Kano model.
Epizootiology of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus in upstate New York, USA. II. Population dynamics and vector potential of adult Culiseta melanura (Diptera: Culicidae) in relation to distance from breeding site.

The behavior of Culiseta melanura was studied at sites in, near and away from an inland endemic focus of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEEV) between 1976 and 1979 using light-CO2 traps and resting shelters. During 3 seasons, nonblooded females, blooded/gravid females and males increased and decreased synchronously at the swamp center, the swamp perimeter and at a village 2 km away from the swamp. Both sexes were more abundant at the swamp center during May and June but more abundant at the perimeter thereafter. Males were much fewer at the village and, although there were more females in and near the swamp, a significantly greater proportion of females at the village was parous and/or blooded/gravid. Light-CO2 traps caught fewer nonblooded females in the swamp than did shelters, but more than shelters at the village. Only shelters were effective in collecting blooded/gravid females and males. Population density, parity and dispersion patterns were correlated to rainfall patterns during July-to-September periods. Parity data indicated that Cs. melanura remains in the swamp when populations are low or during adverse weather conditions but, during periods of high populations or warm, wet weather, older females, and presumably older males, spread at least as far as the village. Of 2009 blooded females tested, 99.7% had fed on birds, 83% of the total on passerines. Nonavian feedings occurred simultaneously with high Cs. melanura populations and irrespective of distance from the breeding swamp. During the EEEV transmission seasons Cs. melanura populations at the perimeter had the greatest vector potential (as herein defined), but as late-season populations increased, vector potential was relatively greater more distant from the swamp. The vector potential for this inland area of New York strengthens the hypothesis advanced for coastal foci that Cs. melanura , though an unlikely epidemic vector, serves as the enzootic vector of EEEV and is responsible for carrying the virus from the swamp to domestic and peridomestic birds.
Ambidextrous IT Governance: The Art of Balancing Exploration and Exploitation in IT Governance

Through a case study at a global technology company, we investigate how organizations can adapt their IT governance approach to the information system at hand. This is done by considering the degree of information system integration and whether the system is related to supporting operational efficiency (exploitation) or innovation (exploration). Based on the findings of the case study, we introduce the concept of ambidextrous IT governance to describe how IT governance can be adapted to fit the dual needs of both exploration and exploitation through the use of IS.
Assessing quality in qualitative research

This is the first in a series of three articles In the past decade, qualitative methods have become more commonplace in areas such as health services research and health technology assessment, and there has been a corresponding rise in the reporting of qualitative research studies in medical and related journals.1 Interest in these methods and their wider exposure in health research has led to necessary scrutiny of qualitative research. Researchers from other traditions are increasingly concerned to understand qualitative methods and, most importantly, to examine the claims researchers make about the findings obtained from these methods. The status of all forms of research depends on the quality of the methods used. In qualitative research, concern about assessing quality has manifested itself recently in the proliferation of guidelines for doing and judging qualitative work.2–5 Users and funders of research have had an important role in developing these guidelines as they become increasingly familiar with qualitative methods, but require some means of assessing their quality and of distinguishing “good” and “poor” quality research. However, the issue of “quality” in qualitative research is part of a much larger and contested debate about the nature of the knowledge produced by qualitative research, whether its quality can legitimately be judged, and, if so, how. This paper cannot do full justice to this wider epistemological debate. Rather it outlines two views of how qualitative methods might be judged and argues that qualitative research can be assessed according to two broad criteria: validity and relevance. #### Summary points Qualitative methods are now widely used and increasingly accepted in health research, but quality in qualitative research is a mystery to many health services researchers There is considerable debate over the nature of the knowledge produced by such methods and how such research should be judged Antirealists argue …
Magnetic resonance imaging. Basic principles.

This multiauthored (mainly from Southern California) book is â€œintended for the practitioner of cardiovascular nu clear medicineâ€•. It is a comprehensive, if succinct, guide to the practical application of nuclear medicine to cardiac diag nosis. The various chapters, typically written by those easily recognizable as experts, cover in detail the usual topics includ ing gated cardiac scintigraphyand myocardialperfusionim aging. Clearly important or controversial topics are broken down into greater detail including discussions of both right and left chamber evaluation, and both @ planar and single photon emission computed tomography thallium imaging. Included are discussions of radiopharmaceuticals, instrumen tation, peripheral perfusion imaging, and positron emission tomography imaging. I foundthe bookboth interestingand useful.The individual chapters, which seem fairly evenly written, are reviews of â€œstate of the artâ€•imaging with extensive references to the literature. Each is not long but provides adequate information so that a relatively quick reading will â€œbring one up to speedâ€•. The discussions of â€œShort-Lived Generator Produced Radio pharmaceuticalsâ€• and â€œPediatricCardiovascular Nuclear Medicineâ€• are nice additions. Some chapters provided clinical imaging protocols for specific examinations that are useful either to a beginner or to one who would like a comparison to existing methods. The book is not without fault, however,as the reproduction ofsome illustrationsespeciallyin the chapterson leftventricle scintigraphy, planar thallium, and pyrophosphate imaging are not well done and seem indistinct. This book would seem especiallyuseful to those initially learning about the field such as radiology or nuclear medicine residents and as a resource in both departmental and hospital libraries especially as a quick reference. Although interesting, it probably is not really intended for those active in cardio vascular nuclear medicine and who are â€œup on the literatureâ€•.
Visual guidance of locomotion.

THE USUAL CONCEPTION OF VISUAL GUIDANCE OF LOCOMOTION IS THAT IT INVOLVES THE PROBLEM OF KNOWING WHERE ONE IS HEADING. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT THIS POINT CORRESPONDS TO THE CENTER OF THE RADIAL VISUAL EXPANSION OF THE SURFACE BEING APPROACHED; AND A NUMBER OF WAYS IN WHICH THE EXPANSION PATTERN MIGHT BE UTILIZED IN DETECTING THIS POINT HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED. THIS CONCEPTION OF THE PROBLEM IS REJECTED AND IT IS ARGUED THAT GUIDANCE SITUATIONS REQUIRING ACCURACY INVOLVE LOCOMOTION TOWARD A SPECIFIC TARGET. THE PERCEPTUAL INFORMATION FOR THIS GUIDANCE IS PROVIDED BY THE MOVEMENT OF THIS TARGET, THE PRESENCE AND NATURE OF ANY DRIFT SIGNALING THE PRESENCE OF A HEADING ERROR, AND THE NATURE OF THE CORRECTION REQUIRED. THE RESULTS FROM A NIGHT-DRIVING SIMULATOR CURRENTLY BEING USED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES FIT THE DRIFT-CANCELLATION HYPOTHESIS AS THE POSITION OF THE TAILLIGHTS WAS STABILIZED AND DRIFT CANCELLED. /AUTHOR/
Age of systemic lupus erythematosus onset and risk for asthma.

In their nationwide population study, Dr. Shen and coworkers report there was a significantly higher incidence of asthma in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) than in the general population. Of interest is that in their study, asthma risk associated with SLE was gradually decreased in older participants (1). To our knowledge, childhood-onset SLE is characterized by a high degree of morbidity compared with adult-onset SLE (2). Pediatric patients are at higher risk of developing lupus renal disease, malar rashes, pericarditis, and hematologic alterations (3). In addition, they usually have a greater use of prednisone and additional immunosuppressive therapies to attenuate SLE activity (2). In contrast, patients with adult-onset SLE have a higher risk of developing pulmonary disease and may be associated with another autoimmune disease (4). In a longitudinal study by Hersh and colleagues, 43.3% of participants with adult-onset SLE had pulmonary involvement during a 13.4-year follow-up compared with 23.6% of participants with childhood-onset SLE during 16.5 years of follow-up (4). The relative risk of pulmonary involvement between adult-onset SLE and childhood-onset SLE could be roughly estimated to be 2.26. In the present study, the relative risk for incident asthma between those who were certificated with SLE at greater than 20 years of age and those younger than 20 years was estimated to be 2.64, which is close to the risk seen in the study by Hersh and colleagues. Therefore, the occurrence of asthma could be caused by lupus pulmonary involvement, including interstitial pneumonitis or pleuritis in people with adult-onset SLE, although some other risk factors for asthma, such as cigarette smoking, may coexist with SLE. In contrast to children, adults may suffer asthma-like bronchial spasms from smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cardiogenic origins such as heart failure. According to the 2012 National Center for Health Statistics surveys and the Vital Statistics System, in the United States, the prevalence of asthma was 9.3% for children and 8.0% for adults (5). However, the incidence of asthma in adults was much higher than in children in the control group in the present study, implying that some comorbid diseases in adults were misclassified to asthma. In addition, prednisolone or immune-suppressive agents maintained for patients with SLE might affect the occurrence of asthma, and thus attenuate the association as well. In conclusion, adult-onset SLE is associated with a higher risk for lupus-related pulmonary involvement, possibly including asthma, than childhood-onset SLE. In the present study, the incidence rate ratio for asthma decreased with aging may be caused by inappropriate diagnosis of asthma in adults of the control group and not adjusted for some potential confounders such as immune-suppressive agents. n
Mandatory Fair Value Accounting and Information Asymmetry: Evidence from the European Real Estate Industry

We examine the effects of mandating the provision of fair value information for long-lived tangible assets on firms' information asymmetry. Specifically, we investigate whether European real estate firms' compulsory adoption of International Accounting Standard 40 (IAS 40; Investment Property), which mandated the provision of investment property fair values in 2005, resulted in reduced information asymmetry across market participants. Using as a control group firms that voluntarily provided these fair values prior to the mandatory adoption of IAS 40, we find that mandatory adoption firms exhibit a larger decline in information asymmetry, as reflected in lower bid--ask spreads. However, we also find that mandatory adoption firms continue to have higher information asymmetry than voluntary adoption firms, which appears partially attributable to the lower reliability of fair values reported by the mandatory adoption firms. Together, this evidence adds to the debate on fair value accounting by demonstrating that common adoption of fair value, even for long-lived tangible assets, under a mandatory reporting regime can reduce, but not necessarily eliminate, information asymmetry differences across firms. This paper was accepted by Stefan Reichelstein, accounting.
InformationAsymmetry and Stock Market Participation: Evidence from the Uganda Stock Exchange

This study sought to examine the association between information asymmetry and perceived stock market participation by medium firms. A sectional survey and correlational analysis approach were employed based on a sample of 118 business tax-payers with annual chargeable incomes above Shs. 50m [USD 17,241] located within Kampala City, the heart of commercial activities in the country. Findings indicate that there is a positive and significant association between information asymmetry and perceived stock market participation by medium firms. Specifically, findings reveal that what matters is information quality. Nonetheless, information quantity counts to a lesser extent. Paucity of African literature made it difficult to corroborate the current study findings. Nonetheless, this study contributes to the dearth of evidence on stock market participation literature in Africa by investigating for the first time, the association between information asymmetry and perceived stock market participation by medium firms in Uganda. There is need for more research in the same area in developing countries to test the robustness of the model. To the practitioners and policy makers, this study suggests that the Ugandan Capital Market Authority should make information about its operations more available so as to make it highly familiar to the general public. This will go a long way in making the stock market an alternative financing option, especially in this era of rising costs of capital provided by other financial intermediaries. Keywords : Information asymmetry, Information quality, Information quantity, Stock market participation
Using classification for role-based access control management

Access control is based on the specification of rights to resources. Role-based access control (RBAC) has emerged as one of the most robust security models which significantly simplifies administrative overheads. Despite all the compelling benefits that RBAC offers, it still lacks the ability to handle dynamic environment aspect and handling any unforeseen situations. Manual intervention becomes necessary when a user who is not previously defined in the system requests an access. For a system administrator, it becomes challenging to decide whether a submitted request should be honoured or not and how a new user can be added to the existing system in a secure manner. These issues have significantly increased the demand for new access control solutions that provide flexible, yet secure access. In this paper, we present an approach to facilitate automatic enforcement of access control policies when a new user is added to an existing access control system. Our approach is based on classification method. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach we performed extensive experiments on both real and synthetic datasets. We compare the performance of our approach to another well-known approach that was proposed earlier to handle a similar problem. Experimental results show that our approach performs very well. Moreover, we have found that our approach is relatively easier to implement.
Particle-In-Cell Monte Carlo Collision Model on GPU—Application to a Low-Temperature Magnetized Plasma

The particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm for the simulation of charged-particle kinetics in plasmas is a very resource consuming method, and high-performance parallel computing is required for practical problems. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are powerful low-cost parallel systems that can be used for intensive computations. We have developed a PIC Monte Carlo collision (MCC) model of a low temperature magnetized plasma using GPUs. We describe how each part of the PIC MCC model is implemented on the GPU and show how particles are dynamically managed. The computational cost of the PIC MCC model on the GPU is compared with a standard PIC MCC model running on a single central processing unit (CPU). We show that speedup can reach from 10 to 20 times compared with a sequential code running on a CPU, depending on the number of cells and particles considered. The results are illustrated with the example of plasma transport across a magnetic filter similar to that of a negative-ion source for the neutral beam injector of fusion devices.
"Lootboxes" in digital games - A gamble with consumers in need of regulation? An evaluation based on learnings from Japan

This paper looks at the recent discussion on "Lootboxes" by regulators in several countries referring to the case of Japan in the light of business model revolutions. A game-of-chance mechanic which can be found in more and more in digital games to acquire virtual items and to help monetize these games. These Lootboxes have created several negative reactions and calls for regulation because if their gambling like elements. Japan had similar mechanics in games for a long time called "Gacha" and could serve as an interesting insight into its regulation. Firstly as introduction, this paper explains what Lootboxes are in comparison to "Gacha" in Japan and investigates whether they would qualify as gambling using a gambling taxonomy. Lootboxes and Gacha can be seen as very similar and comparable and both would not qualify as gambling in traditional way as long as it could not be converted into real world currency. Secondly, it reviews recent regulatory actions in Western and Asian countries and their reasonings to regulate or not to regulate "Lootbox" mechanism in games. Regulators approaches to "Lootbox" differ from country to country, from very strict to tolerant, often depending on their understanding and perception of Lootbox mechanis. Thirdly, this paper introduces a player's perception on Lootbox elements and business models. According to a third-party survey, players have a certain preferences and expectation on how to pay for a game or in-game items in accordance with the business model of the game. Several empirical cases showed that an inconsistency or lack of transparency between game players and game companies on how to pay for games could be a trigger for complaints by players, not whether it gambling or not, Finally, this paper summarizes findings from empirical studies and points out the necessity of further studies on "game of chance" elements in games. In the case of so called free-to-play games, the lack of winning probability could be a key issue while for full price games the issue lies more in a lack of transparency of the business model. The former suggests the importance to increase the transparency of "probability" to give players more chances to calculate their chance of winning before they paying for game of chance elements. The latter implies that business models of the game industry have been transforming and games as well as their monetization strategies could be expanded and modified interactively and ceaselessly creating issues on the players side. Both user side and developer side behavior needs to be studies more. But the focus should not only be on gambling and addictive problems -which are important- but also on the issue of business model transformation and the interaction between players and developers in a networked environment.
Using an ePortfolio to Assess the Outcomes of a First-Year Seminar: Student Narrative and Authentic Assessment

ePortfolios have been looked to as a tool for the direct assessment of student learning. Because the evidence used for assessment is actual student work, ePortfolios provide a view of learning that is not available through traditional methodologies such as student surveys and exams. This research examined 47 student ePortfolios completed as part of a first-year seminar course. Learning outcomes were assessed using both a rubric and identification of authentic evidence in the form of words and phrases to support rubric scores. Findings indicated that the ePortfolio is a rich source of evidence from which to assess learning and the authentic evidence was closely aligned with rubric scores. Rubric scores indicated the level of learning that occurred while student narrative provided insight into the level of student thinking and depth of thought around particular topics including understanding of self and exploration of majors and careers. When coupled together, an analytic rubric and examination of student narrative as authentic evidence provided a robust methodology for assessing student learning. As institutions across the United States seek to find ways to increase graduation and deepen learning, educational strategies including intrusive advising and mentoring, engaging classroom pedagogies, and highimpact practices are increasingly being implemented on campuses and in classrooms. Many campuses have focused on first-year students in an effort to build foundations for critical thinking, engagement on campus, and commitment to college completion. Others have used ePortfolios as a tool for assisting students in deepening and documenting learning in a course, academic program, or across the college experience. Regardless of the strategies implemented, most institutions have measured the success of initiatives using quantitative data such as grade point average, retention rates, and graduation numbers. This paper presents research completed to explore the outcomes of two educational strategies, first-year seminars and ePortfolios, in a way that goes beyond traditional quantitative measures of success. Using student narrative in an ePortfolio as authentic evidence of student learning, researchers sought to determine the level of achievement for five learning outcomes associated with a first-year seminar course.