Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Legitimating Characteristics and Firm Emergence

Most of the organizational theories take the existence of organizations for granted. Thus, attempts to understand success and failure at the nascent firm stage have often been conducted without an underlying theory to explain why some nascent firms succeed in becoming new firms while others do not. This study proposes that institutional theory offers an explanatory framework to explain firm emergence. Specifically, we argue that nascent firm becomes new firm thanks to resource endowments. The reliance on legitimating characteristics will grant a nascent firm an access to critical resources necessary for its emergence. We explore these ideas empirically and find support for our basic arguments.
Assessing the variability of inflation

Although there has been much argument over the impact of variable inflation rates upon economic performance, there has been surprisingly little attempt to define the term "variability of inflation" carefully or to test proposed hypotheses connecting variability and the level of inflation. Precise definitions are given in the paper and a model is constructed showing that the level/variability hypothesis may be formulated in terms of the presence of heteroscedasticity in a regression model. This theoretical model is used to criticize existing studies, while an empirical study with Australian data illustrates the application of the approach.
Optimization of Signal Design for Poly-Polarization Multiplexing in Satellite Communications

A poly-polarization multiplexing (PPM) scheme, that simultaneously utilizes two orthogonal polarization signals to create virtual additional planes, has been studied to enhance the spectrum efficiency for fixed satellite communication in the Ku band (12, 14 GHz). In this paper, to further increase the spectrum efficiency, we propose an enhanced PPM (E-PPM) scheme. By formulating the generalized linear mapping for two orthogonal polarization planes, the proposed scheme derives the optimal E-PPM signal set that has the largest minimum Euclidean distance. As a fundamental study, this paper focuses on an AWGN channel, and we show the achievable performance of the proposed scheme. In the computer simulations assuming no depolarization effects, we show that the E-PPM scheme reduces the required Eb/N0 by 1.80 dB and 0.70 dB at BER =10-7 compared with the conventional orthogonal polarization multiplexing (OPM) and PPM scheme, respectively.
Organizational Challenges and Strategic Responses of Retail TNCs in Post-WTO-Entry China

abstract In the context of a market characterized by the enduring legacy of socialism through governmental ownership of retail businesses, the continued presence of domestic retailers, and increasing levels of competition, this article examines the organizational challenges faced by, and the strategic responses adopted by, a group of leading food and general merchandise retail transnational corporations (TNCs) in developing networks of stores in the post-WTO-entry Chinese market. On the basis of extensive interview-based fieldwork conducted in China from 2006 to 2008, the article details the attempts of these retail TNCs to embed their operations in Chinese logistics and supply networks, real estate markets, and consumer cultures—three dimensions that are fundamental to the achievement of market competitiveness by the retail TNCs. The article illustrates how this process of territorial embeddedness presents major challenges for the retail TNCs and how their strategic responses vary substantially, indicating different routes to the achievement of organizational legitimacy in China. The article concludes by offering an analysis of the various strategic responses of the retail TNCs and by suggesting some future research propositions on the globalization of the retail industry.
The knowledge multiplier

The paper develops a formal model of external knowledge and identifies the role of knowledge multipliers. Social interactions and knowledge multipliers play a crucial role in the determination of the rate of technological change. The analytical identification of the knowledge multiplier expression constitutes a key step in the appreciation of the crucial role of knowledge interactions. First, social considerations endogenously change the knowledge production function of each firm. The knowledge multiplier is the specific mechanism by means of which external knowledge contributes to enhance the innovative capacity of each firm. The production function of knowledge shows that the knowledge multiplier is larger, the stronger the cumulative positive effects of external knowledge on the generation of new knowledge. Second, social considerations explain the long-run dynamics of innovation. Social reinforcement and the knowledge multiplier determine the rise or fall of the rate of accumulation of technological knowledge.
Polarization-dependent gain due to signal-signal Raman interaction in low-PMD fiber

We study polarization-dependent gain (PDG) due to signal-signal Raman interaction (SSRI). We find that SSRI-induced PDG can be significant when the fiber polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) is low. If the PMD from the discrete optical components is also small, the accumulated PDG grows almost linearly with the number of the span.
Enhancing risk measurement capabilities

Examines the rapid advances in risk measurement capabilities of financial institutions with the Basle Accord standards firmly in mind. Gives firm guidelines from the Basle Committee and recommendations and examples. States many financial institutions have developed methods for relating risk to capital, similar to the framework outlined in the recommendations. Looks at applications of economic capital and explores how these can be used to improve management decision making. Sums up that the need for financial institutions to design and implement what is required is pressing indeed.
Market perception of firm strategy

Purpose - Research has shown that firms successfully pursuing either a cost leadership or a differentiation strategy are better able to gain competitive advantages over other firms and accordingly achieve superior performance. Thus, if firms actually do realize superior performance based on their strategic orientation, capital markets should recognize this and place a positive value on such strategy-focused firms. The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate how capital markets perceive and reward the strategies pursued by firms. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses Tobin's Q as a measure of market perception. By regressing Tobin's Q against relevant control variables and proxies for differentiation and cost leadership strategies, the paper evaluates the relationship between market perception and firm strategy. Furthermore, the paper also conducts abnormal returns analyses (both portfolio and regression analysis) to determine whether the market accurately prices the different strategies, given the complexity in both the nature and the implementation of such strategies. Findings - The analysis shows that markets place a positive value on firms successfully pursuing either a cost leadership or a differentiation strategy; moreover markets place a higher value on firms pursuing a differentiation strategy compared to a cost leadership strategy. The abnormal returns analyses show that the market is not able to fully price the superior performance generated by pursuing differentiation strategy resulting in abnormal returns from portfolios formed based on higher levels of differentiation. Research limitations/implications - By providing detailed information to the market about the strategies they follow, firms will enable markets to value their strategies accurately, thus reducing their cost of capital. Fundamental investors looking to earn abnormal returns can use firm strategy in their portfolio selection. A variety of characteristics are conceived to influence a firm's strategic positioning and market perception of such characteristics. This evaluation is limited to a macro level assessment of the implications of the overall strategy pursued by a firm. Future research, in the form of detailed field studies, could be directed at evaluating the market perceptions and other implications of multi-dimensional, lower level, operational strategies on a firm-by-firm basis. Originality/value - To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to show how financial markets value firm strategy. The paper also provides evidence to the complexity of a differentiation strategy, and how such complexity can lead to market mis-pricing.
Essays in International Macroeconomics

What are the factors behind differences in cyclical behavior of portfolio flows across countries? How important are growth rate productivity shocks, as opposed to level productivity shocks, in understanding those differences? Do the productivity changes in the nontradable goods sector matter for external positions of countries? Newly advanced solution techniques facilitate the simultaneous examination of general equilibrium dynamics and international portfolio flows. This dissertation presents a review of these techniques and uses them to answer above questions. Chapter 1 presents a literature review of the recent research in international macroeconomics and finance. The review focuses on the work that uses new solution techniques to incorporate portfolio choice problems into international macroeconomics models. Major subjects reviewed are divided into three main categories: (a) international risk sharing and portfolio diversification, (b) international portfolio flows, and (c)
The effect of service quality and satisfaction on destination attractiveness of sub-Saharan African countries: the case of Ghana

This paper examines the functional forms of service quality (SQ) and satisfaction in relation to destination attractiveness. It focuses on the varying influence of destination characteristics, customer economics, and demographic variables to explore how SQ might be used to improve value positioning and, therefore, potential attractiveness of Ghana as a destination choice for tourists. Using methods triangulation data collection protocol, the paper finds causal links between SQ and selected composites of destination attractiveness (destination attributes, support services, facilities, and people-related factors) in the degree to which they influence customer satisfaction and return-visit intentions. The paper contributes refreshing insights useful for segmentation marketing, tour planning, and product/service development. The implications are far-reaching when considered alongside the fact that Ghana is relatively a new entrant into the organised tourism marketing arena and has the consequent imperative to scale-up structural and human capabilities to compete effectively with the more established global competitors.
Staying on in Full-Time Education: Reasons for Higher Participation Rates among Ethnic Minority Males and Females

Individuals from ethnic minorities have a greater tendency to stay on in full-time education beyond the compulsory age. There are, however, wide variations between groups, and the paper explores the role for human capital considerations, such as earnings and increased employability, in this choice. Economic considerations and socioeconomic background are found to be important but there is evidence for a separate ethnicity effect influencing choice. The method used is to fit a joint leaving and employment equation for males and females aged 18-24 using combined micro data from the British Labour Force Survey and the Sample of Anonymized Records from the 1991 Census. Copyright 1999 by The London School of Economics and Political Science
Valuation Model Use and the Price Target Performance of Sell-Side Equity Analysts

This study investigates the influence of inferred valuation model use on the investment performance of sell-side equity analysts’ published price target opinions. There is limited and inconclusive evidence on how analysts’ price targets are determined and on their value for investment decisions. Using a broad sample of 45,693 price targets provided to First Call by sell-side analysts during 1997 through 2003, we first show that price targets have investment value because they predict future stock returns. Next, we develop and implement an innovative large-sample procedure for inferring valuation model use from the observed correlation between analysts’ price targets and two researcher-constructed stock valuation estimates that differ in simplicity and rigor. Reliance on a less rigorous valuation model may diminish the investment advantage associated with an analyst’s more accurate earnings forecasts but it may also mitigate the disadvantage of less accurate forecasts. We test whether the apparent use of a more rigorous valuation technique yields higher quality price targets as measured by realized investment returns over a 12-month horizon, controlling for possible differences in earnings forecast accuracy. The central message from our data is that price targets exhibit superior investment performance when analysts appear to be using a fundamental residual income (RIM) stock valuation technique rather than a simple price-earnings-growth (PEG) valuation heuristic. This investment advantage is reduced when analysts’ earnings forecasts are inaccurate. Our results underscore the importance of valuation model choice to analyst’s stock investment evaluation process.
Association of aminothiols with the clinical outcome in hemodialysis patients: comparison of chromatography and immunoassay for homocysteine determination

Abstract Background: Controversial results on hyperhomocysteinemia and cardiovascular risk in hemodialysis (HD) could be due in part to the methodology used for homocysteine (Hcy) determination. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the influence of the method used for Hcy determination (chromatography or immunoassay) with regard to the association of Hcy with cardiovascular mortality rate in HD patients in a 3-year prospective study. Methods: A total of 162 patients undergoing HD were included in a cohort study. Baseline Hcy levels were measured by HPLC and fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). Cysteine and cysteinylglycine were determined simultaneously with Hcy measurement by HPLC. Results: Hcy levels obtained with both methods were highly correlated (r2=0.927, p<0.0001). An increased relative risk (RR) for cardiovascular mortality (n=31) was found between the highest against lowest tertile of Hcy for both HPLC (RR 2.74, 95% CI 1.07–7.02; p<0.05) and FPIA (RR 2.76, 95% CI 0.99–7.70; p=0.05). Interestingly, increased cysteine (≥452 μmol/L) and cysteinylglycine (≥36.6μmol/L) levels were associated with a decreased RR of non-cardiovascular death (n=26) (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.09–0.79; p=0.02) for cysteine and (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.09–0.90; p=0.03) for cysteinylglycine when compared to the first tertile. Conclusions: This study demonstrated an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in HD patients with Hcy values in the third tertile, independent of the method used. HPLC offers the advantage of simultaneous determination of other aminothiols that appear to be associated with non-cardiovascular mortality. Clin Chem Lab Med 2006;44:949–54.
Public debt and financial crises in the twentieth century

The costs of wars have been the main driver of public debt in the Western World during the modern era. The late twentieth century stands out as a period that saw a pronounced increase of government debt to GDP ratios in peacetime. This paper assesses the role that financial crises have played in shaping the public debt trajectory in the twentieth century. Focusing on the experiences of 14 industrial economies, I show that financial crises have long and lasting effects on public finances. I provide evidence that the costs of financial crises have increased strongly in the second half of the twentieth century and that the costs of financial crises grow with the size of the financial sector. In many countries, the rising costs incurred from stabilizing the economy after financial crises were an important cause of the peacetime surge of public debt ratios in the late twentieth century. In today's highly financialized economies, financial crises have become a key risk for public finances.
Can public goods experiments inform policy? Interpreting results in the presence of confused subjects

INTRODUCTION Public policy is frequently used to induce individuals to contribute to public goods when it is in their private interests to avoid such contributions. To explore how individuals behave in various public goods decision settings and to gain insights into how institutions might be better designed to encourage the provision of public goods, economists employ laboratory experiments. The cornerstone of experimental investigations on the private provision of public goods is the Voluntary Contributions Mechanism (VCM). Understanding behavior in experimental implementations of the Voluntary Contributions Mechanism game is critical for the work of economists with institutional and policy-oriented interests.
A Local Statistical Fuzzy Active Contour Model for Change Detection

In this letter, a statistical active contour model exploiting the local information is proposed for classifying changed and unchanged regions in the difference image. It incorporates the local information and fuzzy logic for the purpose of enhancing the changed information and of reducing the effect of speckle noise. The fuzzy length term and the fuzzy penalty term are added into the fuzzy energy function. In particular, in order to avoid deriving the complex fuzzy membership updating function, we solve the Euler-Lagrange equation to minimize the fuzzy energy function instead of calculating the fuzzy energy alterations directly. The experimental results on three synthetic aperture radar images confirm the performance of the proposed model over some existing methods.
Involvement of mouse mammary tumor virus in spontaneous and hormone-induced mammary tumors in low-mammary-tumor mouse strains

The involvement of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV) in spontaneous and hormone-induced mammary tumors in low-mammary-tumor mouse strains was studied by comparing the amounts of MTV RNA and MTV DNA sequences in mammary tumors and other tissues of mice with an without hormonal treatments. The following results were obtained. (i) Mammary tumors which appeared in C3H mice as a result of an infection with MTV contained more MTV DNA compared with noninfected organs; these mammary tumors also contained more MTV RNA than was present in lactating mammary gland cells. (ii) Hormonal stimulation by administration of excessive amounts of prolactin via hypophyseal isografts in C3Hf and O20 mice resulted in an increased expression of MTV RNA in the mammary glands. This elevated level of MTV RNA expression was, however, not maintained in the hormone-induced mammary tumors. (iii) Spontaneous mammary tumors in BALB/c mice contained similar levels of MTV DNA and MTV RNA sequences as were found in other cells of these animals.
Modulation of cell attachment and collagen production of anterior cruciate ligament cells via submicron grooves/ridges structures with different cell affinity

This study aimed to investigate the effects of submicron‐grooved topography and surface cell affinity on the attachment, proliferation and collagen synthesis of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) cells. Two grooved polystyrene (PS) surfaces (equal groove/ridge width of 800 nm) with a groove depth of 100 or 700 nm were fabricated and modified by oxygen plasma treatment, dopamine deposition and conjugation of RGD‐containing peptides to enhance cell affinity. The elongation and alignment of ACL cells was enhanced by grooved structures with increasing groove depths regardless of surface chemistry. On the other hand, cell spreading and proliferation mainly depended on surface chemistry, in accordance with surface cell affinity: O2 plasma < dopamine deposition < RGD conjugation. The synthesis of type I collagen was the highest by the ACL cells cultured on the 700 nm grooved surface conjugated with RGD peptides, indicating that both surface grooved topography and chemistry play a role in modulating collagen production of ACL cells. Furthermore, the type I collagen deposited on the 700 nm PS surface was aligned with grooves/ridges. Our results indicated that both ligand presentation and cell alignment are important in the physiological activities of ACL fibroblasts. Such information is critical for design of biomaterials for ACL tissue engineering. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 327–337. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A CASH‐FLOW CONCEPT OF PROFIT

THE TRADITIONAL THEORY of the firm is based on the assumption that the firm acts in the stockholders' interests and that the stockholders are interested in profit, so that the objective of the firm is to maximize profit. There have been many theoretical discussions of the concept of profit but there is no consensus of opinion as to the precise definition of this theoretical construct. ' Nevertheless the theory of the firm has been based on the assumption of profit maximization, and profit has been thought of (loosely) as the difference between the revenue received from the product sold and the payments made to the productive factors which together produced that product. This concept of profit has been difficult to apply to investment decisions, and wealth maximization and cash-flow concepts have been developed in connection with this problem. This paper presents a cash-flow concept of profit which is associated with the cash-flow theory of stock value. This concept of profit has three desirable properties which make it more useful than the traditional concept. (1) It can be used in decisionmaking within the firm since profit maximization is in the stockholders' interest. (2) The profit of the firm coincides with the stockholders' income in each time-period. (3) Past profit can be measured from market values so that it is an objective measure of performance. Net cash flows are defined in Section II as the cash flows between the firm and its stockholders. The value of the stock is then the present value of the future net cash flows. In Section III cash-flow profit is defined as the increase in the stock value plus the net cash flow of the period. If the expectations for the period are observed and those for the future are unchanged, a normal profit is made on the initial stock value (investment). If expectations change, pure profits arise. The cash-flow concept is then compared to the traditional concept. Section IV is concerned with the handling of depreciation, a concept which is not required in cash-flow analysis. It is shown that depreciation expenses understate capital costs unless implicit interest is charged on the book value of net worth. It follows in Section V that the traditional