Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurial competencies in successfully innovative SMEs

This study examines what kinds of specific entrepreneurial competencies enable SMEs to successfully implement innovations. The conceptual research approach is supported by empirical data in a multiple case study. A framework of entrepreneurial competencies in the 2000s is created, based on how they are defined in the recent literature, and the framework is reflected with qualitative interview data from 13 innovative Finnish SMEs in the forest industry. The study indicates that in SMEs that were able to successfully exploit and execute innovations, the entrepreneurial competencies include special extrovert competencies (e.g., open-mindedness), competencies related to preparation, and pro-activeness in business operations, which all seem to have a significant influence on successfully implementing innovations. Additionally, the study concluded that there are no notable differences between different innovation types and found entrepreneurial competencies in innovative SMEs.
Financial sector development and economic growth in the Southern African Development Community region

Orientation: The relationship between financial sector development and economic growth has been the subject of intense debate for some time. The debate has received substantial attention in both empirical and theoretical literature and remains inconclusive. Research purpose: This study examines the relationship between financial sector development and economic growth in Southern African Development Community (SADC) contributing to the ongoing debate. The study uses the SADC as the laboratory case. Motivation for the study: The protocol on finance and investment seems to foster harmonisation of the financial and investment policies in order to make them consistent with the objectives of SADC. Competent implementation of financial policies suggests that each country in the region should be able to bring sustainable economic growth and development. Southern African Development Community’s protocol for finance and investment spells out objectives and actions that are meant to improve financial development. Research approach/design and method: The study used the Fixed Effects panel data approach and seemingly unrelated regression estimators (SURE) methods covering the period 1990 to 2014. Financial development was measured using money supply with control variables such as inflation, interest rates and country openness. Other growth related variables that were used include population growth rate and gross fixed capital formation. Main findings: Results from the fixed-effects model showed that inflation; gross fixed capital formation; and openness of a country significantly influenced economic growth. The fixed effects result confirmed a positive association between financial sector development and economic growth in SADC region. The SURE results show that there is heterogeneity across the SADC countries. Practical/managerial implication: The study shows that SADC countries should improve the financial sector landscape to enhance economic growth. The results imply that among the SADC convergence criteria, emphasis should be placed on stabilising the financial sector landscape. Contribution/value-add: The study has contributed to the debate on the relationship between financial sector developments especially more in the context of Southern African Economic Community which is working towards achieving a convergence macroeconomic framework.
Mitigating risk for floodplain agriculture in Amazonia: a role for index-based flood insurance

ABSTRACT The fertile floodplain of the Amazon river offers considerable potential for agriculture, yet it is a risk-filled environment with heightened vulnerability due to climate change. The annual flood pulse deposits nutrient-rich sediment on the floodplain enabling increased agricultural productivity during the low water season. However, crops growing on the floodplain are at high risk of loss due to flood dynamics. Drawing on data from household surveys (n = 83), focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, this study assesses potential flood risk mitigation tools for floodplain rice farmers along the Amazon river near Iquitos, Peru. Farmers’ risk mitigation preferences are explored through willingness to pay (WTP) methods for flood-tolerant rice varieties, river information services, and index-based flood insurance. Results indicate that measured ambiguity aversion is a key driver in the decision to mitigate flood risk. The study suggests that the environmental risk context may be appropriate for an index-based flood insurance product, and farmers and local institutions see the promise of flood insurance. With climate change scenarios predicting greater variability in the flood regime, mitigating flood risk is paramount to reducing the vulnerabilities and unlocking opportunities for floodplain farmers in Amazonia.
Ascorbic Acid and Alpha Tocopherol Antioxidant Status of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients seen in Lagos.

SUMMARY This study was carried out with the aim of assessing the plasma status of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol in Nigerian type 2 diabetes mellitus patients It was a cross sectional study, made up of 70 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 40 healthy controls. The plasma levels of vitamins C and E were measured, so also were the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C). Results showed significantly lower plasma levels of vitamin C and vitamin E in the patients, compared with the controls. The correlation studies between vitamins C and E on the one hand, versus (FPG) and HbA1c on the other hand were not contributory.The conclusion from this study, is that, there is a reduction in plasma levels of anti-oxidant vitamins C and E in type 2 DM but this does not have any particular relationship with the levels of FPG or HbA1C. KEYWORDS type 2 Dm, ascorbic Acid, alpha tocopherol antioxidant status.
The Riskiness of Credit Allocation and Financial Stability

We explore empirically how the time-varying allocation of credit across firms with heterogeneous credit quality matters for financial stability outcomes. Using firm-level data for 55 countries over 1991-2016, we show that the riskiness of credit allocation, captured by Greenwood and Hanson (2013)’s ISS indicator, helps predict downside risks to GDP growth and systemic banking crises, two to three years ahead. Our analysis indicates that the riskiness of credit allocation is both a measure of corporate vulnerability and of investor sentiment. Economic forecasters wrongly predict a positive association between the riskiness of credit allocation and future growth, suggesting a flawed expectations process.
Les trajectoires d’apprentissage des clients lors de la première utilisation d’un produit

Un certain nombre de recherches en marketing s’intéressent aux coûts d’apprentissage de l’utilisation des produits qui sont liés à l’acquisition de connaissances déclaratives et procédurales dans ce contexte. En revanche, peu d’attention est accordée au processus d’apprentissage lui-même et à la manière dont les clients apprennent concrètement à utiliser les nouveaux produits. Cette recherche explore la dynamique de l’expérience d’apprentissage du client et son hétérogénéité, dans le cas de la première utilisation d’un produit, en s’appuyant sur le cercle d’apprentissage expérientiel de Kolb (1984). Sur la base d’une étude qualitative par observations filmées et entretiens, quatre trajectoires d’apprentissage du client sont identifiées, enrichissant ainsi ce modèle. Des recommandations sont formulées afin d’améliorer les stratégies des entreprises en matière de formation et d’assistance à l’usage, en fonction des trajectoires d’apprentissage des clients.
Parental action and neoliberal education reform: Crafting a research agenda

ABSTRACT Neoliberal reforms of public education have promoted a role for parents as individual consumers trying to maximize gains for their own children by choosing from a marketplace of schools. A diverse range of scholarship has explored how parents react to this imposed role, challenging neoliberal conceptions of parental choice by revealing the many factors that shape the enrollment decisions parents make and highlighting the ways that existing inequalities are reproduced through systems of market-driven and unregulated “choice. ” A separate emerging literature has examined an alternative role for parents under neoliberal regimes—as collective democratic participants in pursuit of more equitable conceptions of public education and largely in opposition to neoliberal education policies. In this paper, we review the academic literature examining these two visions of parental action under neoliberalism, identify limitations in the literature on collective parental action in opposition to neoliberal reforms, and outline a set of research questions for scholars to address to help enhance our understanding of this important domain.
Does Probability Weighting Drive Lottery Preferences?

Abstract We propose a test of the theory of skewness preferences. The probability weighting feature that is the basis of their theory relies on investors overweighting the probability of extreme, positive returns. The resulting investor preferences for positive skewness in return distributions will lead to excess demand, contemporaneous price premiums, and negative expected returns. We use the well-documented 52-week high bias as a method to truncate investors’ weighted probability of expected right-tail events. We find evidence supporting the theoretical framework of Barberis and Huang as the negative return premiums associated with positive skewness is driven almost entirely by stocks that are farther away from the their 52-week high. No negative premiums related to skewness are detected when stock prices are close to the 52-week high.
The effort of partnership: Capacity development and moral capital in partnership for mutual gains

The article discusses the enactment of a strategic partnership undertaken by a large, multi-site company and several trade unions. The enterprise aimed to institute highly engaged practices of employee and management voice to create a collaborative culture throughout the organization. The study finds that five years since the inception of the project of institutional change, considerable challenges to its embedding and effectiveness remain. It also finds that particular characteristics of the partnership propose resource generation for addressing those challenges and progressing collaborative relations to mutual benefit. Substantive actor effort and organizational learning generate capacity for new relationships. That includes activation of moral capital including toleration, patience, mutual respect, reciprocity and trust.
Integration of DeLone and McLean and self-determination theory in internet banking continuance intention context

Purpose The proliferation of information technology has changed the banking system globally. Internet technology has not only allowed banks to offer products and services but also improved their ability to retain customers. This study aims to examine internet banking user’s continuance intention by integrating two well-known theories DeLone and McLean information system success model (D&M) and self-determination theory (SDT). Design/methodology/approach The research model was tested using survey data from 398 customers of commercial banks. The respondents were internet banking users. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results revealed that internet banking user continuance intention is jointly determined by information quality (INFQ), service quality, satisfaction, introjected regulation, external regulation, intrinsic regulation and identified regulation. The integrated model explained 75.4 per cent variation in customer’s continuance intention to use internet banking. The results suggested that intrinsic regulation and identified regulation were the most important human motivation factors that drive customer’s intention toward continue use of internet banking. Practical implications The findings imply that managers seeking user satisfaction should focus on INFQ and service quality to enhance user continuance intention. Policymakers should focus on intrinsic and identified regulation of internet banking users. Some of the ways banks can do this is to develop enjoyable internet banking website with kind of reward system, activities that have the charm of novelty, challenge or aesthetic significance will help to improve user’s intention to continue use of internet banking. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by integrating D&M and SDT in continuance intention and different from several traditional studies that had investigated the initial acceptance of internet banking users.
Latin American leaders on Twitter. Old uses for new media during political crises

Introduction. Twitter has evolved into an important medium for political communication. However, research on Twitter has focused almost exclusively on its use in electoral campaigns. Objectives. This article analyses the use that the main Latin American political leaders make of Twitter as a communication channel. Method. Content analysis was applied to 688 tweets posted by ten political leaders in two different time periods, one of them characterised by the attention paid by the media to a political scandal. The content analysis focused on identifying the different types of messages posted and the direction of their discourse. Results and conclusions. Based on this analysis, we concluded that there is still no common strategy to use Twitter in times of crisis among the Latin American political leaders in the government and the opposition.
What Factors Determine Dividend Smoothing by US and EU Banks?

Using a relatively large sample of European and US banks for the period 1998&#8211;2016, we investigate the determinants of bank dividend smoothing based on agency, asymmetric information and risk&#8208;shifting theories. We show that dividend payout ratio smoothing practices were implemented on both continents before and after the crisis of 2007 and were more strongly pronounced for EU banks. Our findings mostly support agency&#8208;based explanations of bank dividend behavior as evidenced by higher payout ratio smoothing for banks with higher (initial) dividend payouts, lower ownership concentration, public banks, and banks with lower growth opportunities and weaker investor protection. Evidence in favor of asymmetric information explanations is stronger for EU countries, where smaller (more opaque) banks appear to smooth more. In both continents, banks that rely more heavily on equity issuances are found to smooth dividend payout ratios more, suggesting that banks aim at improving access to equity markets. We also provide evidence in support of risk&#8208;shifting, as evidenced by the persistence of dividend payout ratio smoothing in the crisis years and higher dividend smoothing for banks under greater regulatory pressure. Additional analysis using a time series partial adjustment model for dividend levels provides evidence supporting the prevalence of dividend smoothing and the suggested theoretical explanations.
Re-examining the opportunity pull and necessity push debate: contexts and abilities

ABSTRACT This study explores how different groups of workers, according to their ability level, respond to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors as local labour market conditions change. Arguments based on the opportunity cost of a transition to entrepreneurship serve to link individual-level motivations, which relate to ‘pull’ or ‘push’ factors, with contextual variations, which capture the scenarios in which individuals evaluate their occupational choice. Micro-level panel data on career histories reveal that overall entries into self-employment tend to be pro-cyclical, though the relationship is moderated by individual ability levels. The negative effect of the local unemployment level is attenuated and even reverses for the least able workers; self-employment entry probability instead is highest among the ablest workers across most stages of the business cycle. The results also reveal that large urban settings provide refuge for low ability individuals, who are less likely to resort to self-employment during economic downturns.
General surgical complications following cardiac surgery.

: During the five-year period ending July 1981, 3,200 patients underwent cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass at the Medical College of Virginia. Twenty-five patients (0.8%) experienced general surgical complications. Gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common complication encountered. The overall mortality of 24% compares favorably with other reported series. General surgical complications following cardiac surgery are serious and may be caused by aggravation of pre-existing disease, hypoperfusion, stress, or a combination of all three. Although intensive nonoperative therapy may be effective, early reoperation is recommended when nonoperative measures fail.
Determination of an Optimal Threshold for Public Expenditure in Côte d'Ivoire

The objective of this article is to determine an optimal size of public expenditure in Côte d'Ivoire. We used annual secondary data covering the period 1970-2016. The quadratic model used is based on Vedder and Gallaway (1998). This model expresses a non-linear relationship between the volume of public spending and real gross domestic product (real GDP). We have found an optimal threshold for public expenditure of 34.50% of GDP in Côte d'Ivoire. A threshold above which public expenditure becomes detrimental to the health of the economy (Dar and Amirkhalkhali, 2002). If we consider the last five years, we can conclude that the Ivorian Government has reached its optimal level of public spending. This is justified by the positive GDP growth rate of 8.68% on average recorded by the Ivorian State (DGCPT, 2017). However, the achievements of socio-economic infrastructure by individual governments could only be fully appreciated if they could reduce social inequalities. Yet, the poverty line (46.3%) remains high in Côte d'Ivoire (ENV, 2015).
Consumer satisfaction and quality management in the hospitality industry in South-East Europe

This paper examines consumers’ satisfaction and experience as a key segment of the managing of quality system of services in the hospitality industry. The research was conducted in five spas in South-East Europe, in a part of the Balkans, a region that includes Zapadnomoravska spa zone (The Republic of Serbia), from 1 August until the end of September, 2008. Measuring the quality of services was based on the SERVQUAL model. For obtained data analysis, statistical methods of t-test of independent samples and analysis of variance ANOVA were used, comparing the mean values of the results and certain statistical significances of their differences. Key words: Management, service quality, SERVQUAL, spa hotels.
The Long-term Rate and Interest Rate Volatility in Monetary Policy Transmission

The federal funds rate became uninformative about the stance of monetary policy from December 2008 to November 2015. During the same period, unconventional monetary policy actions, like large-scale asset purchases, show the Federal Reserve’s intention to depress longer-term interest rates. This paper considers a long-term real interest rate as an alternative monetary policy indicator in a structural VAR framework. Based on an event study of FOMC announcements, I advance a novel measure of long-term interest rate volatility with important implication for monetary policy identification. I find that monetary policy shocks identified with this volatility measure drive significant swings in credit market sentiments and real output. In contrast, monetary policy shocks identified by otherwise standard unexpected policy rate changes lead to muted responses of financial frictions and production. Our results support the validity of the risk-taking channel and suggest an indispensable role of financial markets in monetary policy transmission.
What Drives Inventory Accumulation? News on Rates of Return and Marginal Costs

We study the effects of news shocks on inventory accumulation in a structural VAR framework. We establish that inventories react strongly and positively to news about future increases in total factor productivity. Theory suggests that the transmission channel of news shocks to inventories works through movements in marginal costs, through movements in sales, or through interest rates. We provide evidence that changes in external and internal rates of return are central to the transmission for such news shocks. We do not find evidence of a strong substitution effect that shifts production from the present into the future.
ASYMMETRIC OIL PRICE PASS-THROUGH TO DISAGGREGATE CONSUMER PRICES IN EMERGING MARKET: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

This study investigates the inflationary asymmetric effects of oil prices at disaggregate consumer prices for Indonesia using Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (NARDL). The bound tests for cointegration affirm the existence of a long-run relationship between oil prices and the aggregate consumer price (CPI) and its all sub-components. With the exception of the education price index, our results suggest the asymmetric effect of oil price on all sub-components of CPI. The degree of oil price pass-through is an incomplete degree but varied among sub-components of CPI and is attributed to energy-related goods and services. The highest degree of oil price pass-through is foodstuffs price index, followed by the transportation price index. We also find the positive degree of oil price pass-through to disaggregate consumer price is higher than the negative degree of oil price oil pass-through to disaggregate consumer price.
Embedding Sustainability Competences into Engineering Education. The Case of Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering Degree Programs at Spanish Universities

The incorporation of sustainability in universities finds the greatest barriers in the field of teaching. The curricula do not usually cover all dimensions of sustainability as most of the experiences are isolated and they do not reach all students. Within a larger study, an exploratory investigation has been carried out on how sustainability competences are being integrated into the programs of both Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering degrees of 25 Spanish universities. The main findings suggest that existing courses in the domain of the humanities and engineering projects, as well as the final degree project, are very appropriate areas for developing a holistic and reflective approach. Likewise, there is a lack of environmental issues in Informatics Engineering, and ethical issues do not usually appear in Industrial Engineering courses. In general, there is no systematic and strategic integration along the degree programs. However, inspiring practices have been identified to propose lines of action and a curriculum model to embed sustainability into engineering education coherently and effectively. In addition, some reflections on drivers, opportunities, and challenges to achieve it are presented.