Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Diagnosis of MIS Implementation Failure: Promising Results and Unanswered Questions

Much of the research on MIS implementation which has been conducted in the past decade has focused on identifying and measuring the organizational characteristics which appear to be particularly conducive to either success or failure of system development efforts. While such research is useful in providing insight about the implementation problem, it provides little guidance for the management of ongoing implementation efforts. The study described in this paper attempts to address the implementation management question by exploring the use of MIS users' pre-implementation expectations about a system as indicators of the likely success of that system. System development efforts can be viewed as multi-stage processes. During the first of the stages, Definition, most of the key decisions about the system as the user will see it are made, e.g., system goals, scope, overall approach. The Definition stage, however, typically accounts for no more than 25% of the resources required for system development. Thus, the decisions which will have the greatest effect on the users' acceptance or rejection of a system are made prior to the bulk of spending on the project, and an assessment of the project's probability of success or failure should be possible at that time. The results of a number of implementation studies suggest that implementation failure is more likely when users hold unrealistic expectations about a system. Research in other areas, especially product evaluation and job satisfaction, also shows a connection between realism of expectations and outcomes (e.g., satisfaction). Thus, user expectations held at the end of the Definition stage might serve as early warning indicators of MIS implementation outcomes. If these expectations prove to be reliable indicators of subsequent success or failure, it would enable system developers to diagnose likely problems and to take corrective action at an early project stage. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of user expectations as predictors of project success or failure. The results strongly suggest that users who hold realistic expectations prior to implementation are more satisfied with the system and use it more than users whose pre-implementation expectations are unrealistic. While the results are encouraging, further research is necessary in a number of areas---e.g., better definition of key expectations, simpler tools for measuring expectations, proper timing of expectations measurement---before reliable instruments for measuring expectations in ongoing projects will be available. The paper outlines, however, some steps which can be taken now to help assure that potential system users develop realistic expectations.
The Over-Training of Apprentices by Employers in Advanced Manufacturing: A Theoretical and Policy Analysis

This paper reports the results of a study of the ‘over-training’ of apprentices by large manufacturers in the UK. The term ‘over-training’ was traditionally used to refer to the way in which nationalised industries trained more apprentices than they needed, with the ‘surplus’ being released at the end of their training to find another employer. In contrast, the evidence reported in this paper indicates that over-training now typically involves large employers helping to train apprentices who are employed and paid by other firms. The project examines: the extent and nature of over-training; the reasons why employers become involved in over-training; and policy implications. The evidence suggests that over-training can increase the number of high-quality apprenticeships. Large employers need to be made more aware of over-training. Government can help to promote over-training via its ‘Catapult Centres’.
Symmetric probabilistic values for identifying informative sensors

In this paper, we show how the notion of symmetric probabilistic values from cooperative game theory can be used in a sensor network to identify the sensors that are relatively more informative than others. We note that parameter estimation in a sensor network can be modeled as a cooperative game, where a metric of estimation accuracy assigns a value to each subset of sensors. Symmetric probabilistic values are then known to be indicators of the relative power of players in cooperative games. Motivated by this, we define a power index for sensors based symmetric probabilistic values. While generally any metric of estimation accuracy can be used for computing power indices, it is noted that by choosing the determinant of the Fisher information matrix, the computational complexity associated with power indices gracefully increases with the number of sensors. The formulas are explicitly provided for computing the Banzhaf value and the Shapley value, two well-known symmetric probabilistic values. A target whose parameter is being estimated by the sensor network can use power indices to identify and act against the informative sensors. As an important application in this regard, the power indices of sensors are computed in bearings-only and range-only target localization.
Improvement of Device Reliability by Introducing a BEOL-Compatible TiN Barrier Layer in CBRAM

Negative-SET behavior, induced by nano-filament overgrowth phenomenon, takes major responsibility to the reset failure phenomenon in conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM). The unexpected negative-SET behavior in CBRAM devices can result in serious reliability issues and has been an obstacle on the way to mass production. In this letter, we have proposed a back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible TiN barrier layer to improve the device reliability in CBRAM devices by eliminating the nano-filament overgrowth phenomenon and negative-SET behavior. Thus, a higher reset voltage can be applied to the TiN barrier layer devices to achieve more complete reset process and obtain better resistive switching performance. The results show that the Cu/HfO2/TiN/Ru device with one transistor structure has excellent comprehensive memory properties, including high reliability, fast switching speed, high resistance state uniformity, high endurance, long retention, and multi-level storage ability.
Fully Integrated Digital Average Current-Mode Control Voltage Regulator Module IC

This paper introduces a fully integrated 12-to-1.xV voltage regulator module IC. A fully synthesizable digital two-loop controller has been realized through hardware description language tools. Several new IP blocks have been developed and described in detail: a window delay-line-based analog to digital converter (DL-ADC), two independent PI compensators with shared hardware for calculations, high-resolution digital pulsewidth modulation (PWM), and a programmable dead-time module. To fully exploit the benefits of digital electronics, reduce power consumption, and save area, all units of the digital controller have been designed through asynchronous architecture, eliminating the need of high-speed clock. High-performance synchronized, fixed frequency, PWM operation is enabled by a digital programmable time-base generator and system governor, which has been developed as well. In addition, to extend the capabilities of the window DL-ADC to support the full range of the load with minimal hardware penalty, adaptive reference of the current compensation is introduced. The mixed-signal IC has been fabricated on a 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$ 5-V CMOS process. It incorporates the digital controller and periphery as well as a synchronous buck power stage, including a drive circuitry that enables operation up to several megahertz from a 12-V input. The digital core has been realized by an automated synthesis process and place-and-route tools, resulting in an effective silicon area of 0.16 mm2. Experimental results of the fabricated IC operating in closed loop are provided, demonstrating the performance and benefits of the new controller for meeting the requirements of tight output voltage regulation over wide load range.
Incidence of Alzheimer disease in a biracial urban community: relation to apolipoprotein E allele status.

CONTEXT Few studies compare Alzheimer disease (AD) incidence among black and white subjects. OBJECTIVE To estimate incidence and the effect of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele in these races. DESIGN Population-based study of disease incidence using a random, stratified sample. SETTING A geographically defined community of 3 adjacent neighborhoods in Chicago, Ill. PARTICIPANTS A total of 6158 persons (78.7% overall; 80.5% of the black subjects and 74.6% of the white subjects) participated; 4.1 years later, persons initially free of AD were sampled for clinical evaluation for disease incidence (overall 842 persons [74.8%] participated; 67.6% of the black subjects and 81.9% of the white subjects). INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Incident, clinically diagnosed AD. RESULTS The effect of the APOE epsilon4 allele on the risk of AD differed strongly for black and white subjects. Among white subjects, the presence of the APOE epsilon4 allele was associated with a 2.73-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40-5.32) increase in risk while among black subjects there was no increase in risk (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.39-2.68). Black race was associated with a nonsignificantly increased risk of AD with an odds ratio of 1.84 (95% CI, 0.73-4.66) if APOE and its interaction with race are considered, and an odds ratio of 1.28 (95% CI, 0.54-2.98) if they are not. The incidence of AD was 1.45% (95% CI, 0.89%-2.01%) per year among persons 65 to 74 years old, 4.73% (95% CI, 3.83%-5.64%) among those 75 to 84 years old, and 9.11% (95% CI, 7.36%-10.9%) among those 85 years and older. CONCLUSION Apolipoprotein E epsilon4 led to increased risk of AD among white subjects but not black subjects.
An Empirical Application for a Labor Market Model

The main objective of this study is to highlight some characteristics of the United States’ labor market and to test the validity of a model describing labor market interconnections. The equations are part of a model which has been proven to be valid for the Romanian economy. We considered it worthwhile to test the validity of these labor-market relationships on the economy of The United States of America. The reader should be advised that this study’s purpose is not, by any means, to conduct or influence policy, but merely an examination of the current economic environment, which will be continued with a more detailed approach in the future.
Inhibitory neurotransmission, plasticity and aging in the mammalian central auditory system

SUMMARY Aging and acoustic trauma may result in partial peripheral deafferentation in the central auditory pathway of the mammalian brain. In accord with homeostatic plasticity, loss of sensory input results in a change in pre- and postsynaptic GABAergic and glycinergic inhibitory neurotransmission. As seen in development, age-related changes may be activity dependent. Age-related presynaptic changes in the cochlear nucleus include reduced glycine levels, while in the auditory midbrain and cortex, GABA synthesis and release are altered. Presumably, in response to age-related decreases in presynaptic release of inhibitory neurotransmitters, there are age-related postsynaptic subunit changes in the composition of the glycine (GlyR) and GABAA (GABAAR) receptors. Age-related changes in the subunit makeup of inhibitory pentameric receptor constructs result in altered pharmacological and physiological responses consistent with a net down-regulation of functional inhibition. Age-related functional changes associated with glycine neurotransmission in dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) include altered intensity and temporal coding by DCN projection neurons. Loss of synaptic inhibition in the superior olivary complex (SOC) and the inferior colliculus (IC) likely affect the ability of aged animals to localize sounds in their natural environment. Age-related postsynaptic GABAAR changes in IC and primary auditory cortex (A1) involve changes in the subunit makeup of GABAARs. In turn, these changes cause age-related changes in the pharmacology and response properties of neurons in IC and A1 circuits, which collectively may affect temporal processing and response reliability. Findings of age-related inhibitory changes within mammalian auditory circuits are similar to age and deafferentation plasticity changes observed in other sensory systems. Although few studies have examined sensory aging in the wild, these age-related changes would likely compromise an animal's ability to avoid predation or to be a successful predator in their natural environment.
A study of perceptual VoIP quality evaluation with thai users and codec selection using voice quality - Bandwidth tradeoff analysis

Perceptual VoIP quality is an issue for VoIP applications/services because VoIP applications require real-time support. Not only network factors (e.g. packet loss, packet delay and jitter) but also codec selection that affects VoIP quality. Therefore, this study has been conducted, focusing on the perceptual VoIP quality and codec selection. This paper presents a study of the perception of native Thai subjects to the popular codecs, G.711, G.722, G.723. 1 and G.729 using ACR listening opinion tests and conversation opinion tests. It has been found that native Thai users ranked VoIP quality from G.723. 1 at 5.3 kbps as the worst, and no statistically significant difference from G.729 (8 kbps), G.711 (64 kbps) and G.722 (64 kbps). Then, the paper proposes voice quality - bandwidth tradeoff analysis approach for codec selection, based on perceptual VoIP quality and bandwidth consumption of voice-payload of codecs. It has been found from this approach that G.729 at 8 kbps is the best choice for VoIP codec selection for Thai users in Thailand, compared to the other codecs.
Financial Calculus: An Introduction to Derivative Pricing

The parable of the bookmaker 1. Introduction 2. Discrete processes 3. Continuous processes 4. Pricing market securities 5. Interest rates 6. Bigger models Appendix 1. Further reading Appendix 2. Notation Appendix 3. Answers to exercises Appendix 4. Glossary of technical terms Index.
Global offshoring – knowledge journeys of three SMEs

This paper analyses three small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the textile industry involved in manufacturing, design sales and procurement offshoring. Adopting the knowledge-based theory of the firm and the theory of knowledge integration leads to identification of 'direction' and 'organisational routines', which are important for the integration of knowledge between entities dispersed in time and space. The companies were followed over a period of four years, with annual interviews that show that, to differing degrees, offshoring of manufacturing becomes a journey for the companies involved to take back outsourced activities when it proves difficult to create the appropriate managerial direction and organisational routines. Travelling experts, virtual interaction through IT, and training of employees abroad are three central elements encountered. Changes in the globalised upstream setups challenge the companies' manufacturing and innovative capabilities, since innovation, knowledge and activities prove less transferable and robust, leading to a need for re-integration in the restructured upstream sourcing setups.
Price Transmissions During Financialization and Turmoil: New Evidence from North American and European Agricultural Futures

Empirical studies on price transmissions between North American and European agricultural futures neglect the period of financialization in the US commodity market, the increase of futures trading in Europe and the recent price turmoils. We fill this gap by analyzing the price dynamics of canola, wheat and corn futures between 2000 and 2013. Our empirical results show that US and European prices have become strongly intertwined in recent years and that the US market leads in terms of price transmissions. The latter results are especially apparent between 2007 and 2013, the period where prices and financialization in the US reached their peak.
Forecasting Long-Term Interest Rates with a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model of the Euro Area: The Role of the Feedback

This paper studies the forecasting performance of the general equilibrium model of bond yields of Marzo, SA¶derstrA¶m and Zagaglia (2008), where long-term interest rates are an integral part of the monetary transmission mechanism. The model is estimated with Bayesian methods on Euro area data. I compare the out-of-sample predictive performance of the model against a variety of competing specifications, including that of De Graeve, Emiris and Wouters (2009). Forecast accuracy is evaluated through both univariate and multivariate measures. I also control the statistical significance of the forecast differences using the tests of Diebold and Mariano (1995), Hansen (2005) and White (1980). I show that taking into account the impact of the term structure of interest rates on the macroeconomy generates superior out-of-sample forecasts for both real variables, such as output, and inflation, and for bond yields.
Sharing and Reusing Data and Analytic Methods with LearnSphere

Bayesian Knowledge Tracing [1], Performance Factors Analysis [6], MOOC activity analysis [3], and others) or that have been uploaded to LearnSphere as a custom workflow, and (3) sharing their own analysis workflows with the community of researchers. Without any prior programming experience, researchers can use LearnSphere’s drag-and-drop interface to compare, across alternative analysis methods and across many different datasets, model fit metrics like AIC, BIC, and cross validation as well as parameter estimates themselves.
HProve: A Hypervisor Level Provenance System to Reconstruct Attack Story Caused by Kernel Malware

Provenance of system subjects (e.g., processes) and objects (e.g., ﬁles) are very useful for many forensics tasks. In our analysis and comparison of existing Linux provenance tracing systems, we found that most systems assume the Linux kernel to be in the trust base, making these systems vulnerable to kernel level malware. To address this problem, we present HProve , a hypervisor level provenance tracing system to reconstruct kernel malware attack story. It monitors the execution of kernel functions and sensitive objects, and correlates the system subjects and objects to form the causality dependencies for the attacks. We evaluated our prototype on 12 real world kernel malware samples, and the results show that it can correctly identify the provenance behaviors of the kernel malware with a minor performance overhead.
On service security analysis for event log of IoT system based on data Petri net

The Internet of Things (IoT) has bridged our physical world to the cyber world which allows us to achieve our desired lifestyle. However, service security is an essential part to ensure that the designed service is not compromised. In this paper, we proposed a security analysis for IoT services. We focus on the context of detecting malicious operation from an event log of the designed IoT services. We utilized Petri nets with data to model IoT service which is logically correct. Then, we check the trace from an event log by tracking the captured process and data. Finally, we illustrated the approach with a smart home service and showed the effectiveness of our approach.
The Homeobox Gene MEIS1 Is Methylated in BRAF p.V600E Mutated Colon Tumors

Development of colorectal cancer (CRC) can occur both via gene mutations in tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, as well as via epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation. Site-specific methylation in CRC regulates expression of tumor-associated genes. Right-sided colon tumors more frequently have BRAF p.V600E mutations and have higher methylation grades when compared to left-sided malignancies. The aim of this study was to identify DNA methylation changes associated with BRAF p.V600E mutation status. We performed methylation profiling of colon tumor DNA, isolated from frozen sections enriched for epithelial cells by macro-dissection, and from paired healthy tissue. Single gene analyses comparing BRAF p.V600E with BRAF wild type revealed MEIS1 as the most significant differentially methylated gene (log2 fold change: 0.89, false discovery rate-adjusted P-value 2.8*10-9). This finding was validated by methylation-specific PCR that was concordant with the microarray data. Additionally, validation in an independent cohort (n=228) showed a significant association between BRAF p.V600E and MEIS1 methylation (OR: 13.0, 95% CI: 5.2 - 33.0, P<0.0001). MEIS1 methylation was associated with decreased MEIS1 gene expression in both patient samples and CRC cell lines. The same was true for gene expression of a truncated form of MEIS1, MEIS1 D27, which misses exon 8 and has a proposed tumor suppression function. To trace the origin of MEIS1 promoter methylation, 14 colorectal tumors were flow-sorted. Four out of eight BRAF p.V600E tumor epithelial fractions (50%) showed MEIS1 promoter methylation, as well as three out of eight BRAF p.V600E stromal fractions (38%). Only one out of six BRAF wild type showed MEIS1 promoter methylation in both the epithelial tumor and stromal fractions (17%). In conclusion, BRAF p.V600E colon tumors showed significant MEIS1 promoter methylation, which was associated with decreased MEIS1 gene expression.
How do Farmers Allocate Land for Coffee Trees? Implications for On-Farm Conservation and Seed Technology Adoption in Ethiopia

The role of genetic resources as building blocks for sustainable agriculture is threatened due, among other things, to perverse diversity outcomes of policy-driven development interventions. To undertake mitigating measures and promote prudent use of seed technologies, farmers' land allocation decisions have to be understood. This paper explains the land share allocated to local coffee varieties using logit transformation regression. Based on the empirical results, the paper concludes that decision-makers will have to consider the relevant factors and deal with the trade-offs to prioritize and undertake on-farm conservation and variety adoption interventions for sustainable agriculture. Constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers of the journal are highly appreciated.
Economic Policy Uncertainty and Small Business Expansion

Is uncertainty causing small business owners to behave in ways that are hindering the recovery? That question is at the center of an intense public debate. Though reasonable arguments have been presented on both sides, there is not much empirical evidence to draw on. To contribute some to the discussion, we investigated the statistical association between data on small business plans to hire and make capital expenditures and a measure of policy uncertainty. Our analysis suggests that uncertainty is adversely affecting small business owners’ expansion plans.
Does the market reward for going green

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the application of green standards on the companies’ financial returns. It aims at answering the following question: does the market reward or penalize the players that carry out responsible management policies toward environment? Design/methodology/approach – Using US data from 2009 to mid-2014 and employing two financial models, that is Capital Asset Pricing Model and Fama-French three-factor model, the authors first estimate the extra remuneration provided to investors. Then, the authors link this extra return to a green-based factor. The green-factor data are taken from Newsweek Green Rankings, which annually publishes an environmental ranking of the 500 biggest publicly traded companies in the USA. Findings – The analysis demonstrates that there exists no linear relationship between the adoption of green standards and financial returns, i.e. the “green-behavior” does not affect the remuneration required by investors. These results c.