Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Timing is money: managing the floor in sales interaction at street-market stalls

AbstractThis article considers ‘pricing’, that is, offers and requests for the price of sales items, as a communicative practice deployed by vendors and customers during sales interaction on street markets. It examines the organisation of sales interaction by pursuing the question of how and when market participants, vendors and customers alike, embed offers and requests for price information within their interaction. The analysis suggests that pricing is deployed as a technique to manage the ‘floor’ and the interaction at the stall. For example, offers for items are being tailored to customers’ display of interest and commitment to particular items, and requests for price information are deployed in ways that challenge anticipated offers, that is, offers that are about to be made by a vendor. The data, field observation and video-recording have been gathered at market stalls in London and Berlin.
Co‐operation or coercion? Supplier networks and relationships in the UK food industry

As a result of several high profile food scares in recent years, the practices of key players in the UK food industry have been called into question on ethical grounds. These practices include a range of operational activities including those concerned with supply chain management which form the focus of this study. This paper utilises an interpretive methodology to examine the buyer‐supplier relationships in the food industry from the perspectives of manufacturing managers and food regulators. The paper utilises the transcripted data from 20 interviews with senior officials from the UK’s food regulation services and from marketing and quality managers working in the food processing and production industry. The study demonstrates the application of interpretive analysis and interview technique to establish the issues concerning the food industry network in the UK today. This is set against Craig Smith’s model of ethical stance and decision making which serves as the backdrop to explicating the respondents’ perspectives on the food industry of the UK. Reveals coercive practices at work in the supply chain and details how this manifests in the lives of regulators and manufacturing managers and in the operations of the companies they work with.
Cultural politics and masculinities: Multiple‐partners in historical perspective in KwaZulu‐Natal

Drawing from ethnographic, archival and secondary research, this article examines multiple‐sexual partners in historical perspective in KwaZulu‐Natal, a South Africa province where one in three people are thought to be HIV positive. Research on masculinities, multiple‐partners, and AIDS has been predominantly directed towards the present day. This article stresses the importance of unraveling the antecedents of contemporary masculinities particularly the gendered cultural politics through which they have been produced. Arguing against dominant conceptions of African masculinity as being innate or static, it charts the rise and fall of the isoka, the Zulu man with multiple‐sexual partners, over the last century. Showing how the isoka developed through changing conditions occasioned by capitalism, migrant labor and Christianity, it contends that an important turning point took place from the 1970s when high unemployment threatened previous expressions of manliness, notably marriage, setting up an independent household and becoming umnumzana (a household head). The high value placed on men seeking multiple‐partners increasingly filled the void left by men's inability to become men through previous means. Turning to the contemporary period, the article argues that, shaken by the huge AIDS deaths, men are betraying increasing doubts about the isoka masculinity.
Enterprise Transformation Through Mobile ICT: a Framework and Case Study in Healthcare

This study examines the transformative value and impact of mobile information and communication technology (ICT) in enterprises. Based on a comprehensive field study of mobile ICT adoption, implementation, and use in enterprises across multiple industries, a multi-stage framework for mobile ICT-enabled transformation was developed. The study revealed that mobile ICT enterprise value consists of increased convenience, higher levels of efficiency, new core competences, and creation of competitive advantage. The organizational impact is realized in existing and newly created data and processes, business models and strategies, and entire markets and industries. Four distinct stages of transformation are identified and described, namely mobilization, enhancement, reshapement, and redefinition. The framework is applied in the context of healthcare. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of enterprise transformation and IT-enabled change and provides important guidelines for management of emerging technologies.
Microbial community analysis in biotrickling filters treating isopropanol air emissions

The evolution of the microbial community was analysed over one year in two biotrickling filters operating under intermitTENT feeding conditions and treating isopropanol emissions, a pollutant typically found in the flexography sector. Each reactor was packed with one media: plastic cross-flow-structured material or polypropylene rings. The communities were monitored by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the 16S rRNA region. After inoculation with activated sludge, the biotrickling filters were operated using inlet loads (ILs) from 20 to 65 g C m−3 h−1 and empty-bed residence times (EBRTs) from 14 to 160 s. Removal efficiencies higher than 80% were obtained with ILs up to 35 g C m−3 h−1 working at EBRTs as low as 24 s. There was an increase in the total percentage of the target domains of up to around 80% at the end of the experiment. Specifically, the Gammaproteobacteria domain group, which includes the well-known volatile organic compound (VOC)-degrading species such as Pseudomonas putida, showed a noticeable rise in the two biotrickling filters of 26% and 27%, respectively. DGGE pattern band analysis revealed a stable band of Pseudomonas putida in all the samples monitored, even in the lower diversity communities. In addition, at similar operational conditions, the biotrickling filter with a greater relative abundance of Pseudomonas sp. (19.2% vs. 8%) showed higher removal efficiency (90% vs. 79%). Results indicate the importance of undertaking a further in-depth study of the involved species in the biofiltration process and their specific function.
A logarithmic burst-noise channel performance analysis and simulation

A new type of channel in order to analyze burst noise is introduced. As opposed to the well known Gilbert-Elliott Markov and Polya contagion channels previously analyzed in the literature, burst run one's lengths based on the logarithmic distribution are introduced. The main property of this new model is that the conditional probability of having an erroneous bit given a previous run one's length does not tend to one, but to a constant, as opposed to the Polya contagion. Run one's length obtained from the model are comparable but slightly different from that obtained by Gilbert. Despite physical channels suitable to be modeled with this proposal were not found yet, several burst-noise physical mechanisms requiring new statistical models have been recently discovered. One main goal is to draw attention to this issue and inspire new approaches.
Establishment and characterization of a human melanoma cell line (MV3) which is highly metastatic in nude mice

To select human melanoma cells that are highly tumorigenic and metastatic in nude mice we have implanted fragments of a fresh human melanoma metastasis subcutaneously (s.c.) into a nude mouse. After 3 passages in nude mice, part of the xenograft was cultured and a new melanoma cell line, MV3, was established. After intravenous (i.v) inoculation of 2 × 104 MV3 cells, 95% of the nude mice (n = 20) developed lung colonies within 6 weeks. S.c. inoculation of 2 × 104 MV3 cells resulted in 95% tumor take, while 90% of the mice (n = 20) showed spontaneous metastases in the lungs within 7 weeks. Histological and immunohistological features of the original tumor of the patient were largely retained in the tumors of the mice and in the cell line in vitro. As shown by Aldan blue staining, MV3 cells contain large quantities of gly‐cosaminoglycans (GAGs) and/or proteoglycanes (PGs), both in vivo and in vitro. The cells showed a marked expression of transferrin receptor, ICAM‐I, EGF‐receptor, and VLA‐2 inte‐grin. As only few human melanoma cell lines are available that frequently show metastasis in nude mice, the highly metastatic MV3 cell line represents a useful tool for studying the expression and regulation of molecules on human melanoma cells involved in the process of metastasis.
Recurrent, persistent, or late, new-onset hematologic abnormalities in Crotaline snakebite

Background. Hematologic effects from rattlesnake envenomation exhibit a phenomenon of recurrent, persistent or late, new onset (late) abnormalities in some Fab antivenom‐treated patients 4 or more days post‐envenomation. Indicators that reliably identify or exclude those patients at risk of late hematologic effects have not been developed. Methods. This was a retrospective, observational case series of rattlesnake bite records at two US poison centers. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for D‐dimer, fibrinogen, platelets, platelet count trend, INR and PTT associated with late hematologic abnormalities, were determined. Results. Three hundred seventy six cases were reviewed. Sixty cases met inclusion criteria. Overall, 17 of 60 patients (28%) had a hematologic abnormality as a result of envenomation. Eleven of 60 patients (65% of those with a hematologic abnormality; 18% overall) developed late hematologic abnormalities 4 or more days post‐envenomation. Four patients had late, new onset hypofibrinogenemia and/or thrombocytopenia. All were associated with early D‐dimer elevation and/or platelet rise in response to FabAV treatment, respectively. Normal hematologic parameters in the first 48 h post‐envenomation and the lack of a greater than 20% rise in platelets within 4 h post‐antivenom administration had a 100% NPV for late hematologic effects. Conclusions. Patients with early onset hypofibrinogenemia, a positive D‐dimer, thrombocytopenia, or a 20% increase in platelet count within 4 h post‐treatment had a significant likelihood of late hematologic effects. Patients in whom fibrinogen, D‐dimer, INR, PTT, and platelet counts remained normal throughout the first 48 h post‐envenomation, and who did not exhibit a >20% increase in platelet count within 4 h post‐antivenom administration, did not develop late hematologic effects.
An Environmentally Friendly Approach for the Fabrication of Conductive Superhydrophobic Coatings with Sandwich-Like Structures

A large amount of research has been devoted to developing novel superhydrophobic coatings. However, it is still a great challenge to pursuean environmentally friendly method that leads to superhydrophobic coatings. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time, an environmentally friendly method for the preparation of conductive superhydrophobic coatings with sandwich-like structures by using aminoethylaminopropyl polydimethylsiloxane modified waterborne polyurethane (SiWPU) and N-octadecylamine functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes. These environmentally friendly coatings with the sheet resistance of 1.1 ± 0.1 kΩ/sq exhibit a high apparent contact angle of 158.1° ± 2° and a low sliding angle below 1°. The influence of the surface texture before and after heat treatment on the wetting properties is discussed. In addition, the coatings can be electrically heated by 3~113 °C with a voltage of 12~72 V, and thus, can be used for deicing. Furthermore, the resulting coatings demonstrate good performance of wear resistance and ultraviolet resistance, which will have broad application potential in harsh environments.
Survey and Analysis of Delay-Locked Loops Used in DRAM Interfaces

In this paper, delay-locked loops (DLLs) used in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) are analyzed. DLLs can be categorized into digital- or analog-based topologies. This analysis starts with an explanation of technology trends regarding DLL for DRAM in the early 1990s and describes important DLL specifications and design approaches necessary for DLL use in DRAM: lock time, lock range, lock cycles, tDQSCK (DQS rising edge output access time from the rising edge of CK), and wake-up time from power down modes. DLLs have been widely used since 2000 to satisfy high operating speed requirements inherent in DRAMs. Finally, referring to studies published from 2000 to 2011, trends regarding power consumption, jitter, relationship between power and jitter, lock range, lock cycles, and wake-up time from power down are analyzed.
Do European Acquisitions in China Outperform?

We examine bidder returns for European acquisitions in China. In particular we study whether the bidder returns in the Chinese emerging economy are larger than those in the United States. For both target countries no significant cumulative abnormal bidder returns are found and we do not find significant differences between acquisitions in China and in the USA, except for a significant lower standard deviation of bidder returns in China. Regression analysis confirms that acquisitions in China do not outperform those in the USA. Univariate tests indicate that acquisitions in China perform worse if the target is a private company or when the acquirer comes from the European continent, but this result is not confirmed with regression analysis. These results suggest that Chinese targets are normal targets in the world of cross-border acquisitions. The only relative benefit of acquisitions in China is that it is significantly less likely to result in fierce negative reactions of investors.
Quantum Mechanics of Photons

We present a short review of the concept of photon wave function and the photon wave equation which represents the Schrödinger equation for the photon. Photon wave function puts the photon on the same footing as particles with mass and presents the first quantization formulation for electromagnetic fields. Because the photon has zero rest mass and it always moves with speed of light, the quantum mechanical formulation is somewhat different from other particles. We present how the concept of photon wave function is developed from the works of Bialynicki-Birula and Sipe and the recent applications of this concept.
Thermoelectrics of Interacting Nanosystems - Exploiting Superselection Instead of Time-Reversal Symmetry

Thermoelectric transport is traditionally analyzed using relations imposed by time-reversal symmetry, ranging from Onsager’s results to fluctuation relations in counting statistics. In this paper, we show that a recently discovered duality relation for fermionic systems—deriving from the fundamental fermion-parity superselection principle of quantum many-particle systems—provides new insights into thermoelectric transport. Using a master equation, we analyze the stationary charge and heat currents through a weakly coupled, but strongly interacting single-level quantum dot subject to electrical and thermal bias. In linear transport, the fermion-parity duality shows that features of thermoelectric response coefficients are actually dominated by the average and fluctuations of the charge in a dual quantum dot system, governed by attractive instead of repulsive electron-electron interaction. In the nonlinear regime, the duality furthermore relates most transport coefficients to much better understood equilibrium quantities. Finally, we naturally identify the fermion-parity as the part of the Coulomb interaction relevant for both the linear and nonlinear Fourier heat. Altogether, our findings hence reveal that next to time-reversal, the duality imposes equally important symmetry restrictions on thermoelectric transport. As such, it is also expected to simplify computations and clarify the physical understanding for more complex systems than the simplest relevant interacting nanostructure model studied here.
A Split 2-0 MASH with Dual Digital Error Correction

A dual-path 2-0 cascaded (MASH) ADC was implemented with fast digital correction of both DAC errors and MASH mismatch errors. The split structure allows fast convergence and improved accuracy for the correction. Using a 20 MHz clock, the prototype chip achieved an 84 dB dynamic range in a 1.25 MHz signal band, when fabricated in CMOS 0.18 mum process.
Recovery of DNA from soils and sediments

Experiments were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of two different methodological approaches for recovering DNA from soil and sediment bacterial communities: cell extraction followed by lysis and DNA recovery (cell extraction method) versus direct cell lysis and alkaline extraction to recover DNA (direct lysis method). Efficiency of DNA recovery by each method was determined by spectrophotometric absorbance and using a tritiated thymidine tracer. With both procedures, the use of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone was important for the removal of humic compounds to improve the purity of the recovered DNA; without extensive purification, various restriction enzymes failed to cut added target DNA. Milligram quantities of high-purity DNA were recovered from 100-g samples of both soils and sediments by the direct lysis method, which was a greater than 1-order-of-magnitude-higher yield than by the cell extraction method. The ratio of labeled thymidine to total DNA, however, was higher in the DNA recovered by the cell extraction method. than by the direct lysis method, suggesting that the DNA recovered by the cell extraction method came primarily from active bacterial cells, whereas that recovered by the direct lysis method may have contained DNA from other sources.
Online Infidelity: Aspects of Dyadic Satisfaction, Self-Disclosure, and Narcissism

This study examined the hypothesis that the desire for an online infidelity act is formed on the basis of both personality-related factors and relationship-related factors, similarly to “real life” infidelity. Two hundred participants who maintain a relationship in “real life” were recruited through web advertisements, and filled in online questionnaires regarding their dyadic satisfaction (DAS-7), self-disclosure (JSDQ), narcissism (NPI), and their Internet relationship expectations (IRI). Results indicated that the predictors of Internet relationship expectations are the experience of having an Internet relationship, higher tendencies of manipulation and exhibitionism, lower self-disclosure and lower dyadic cohesion. However, dyadic and sexual satisfaction do not predict higher expectations of an Internet relationship, in contrast to real life relationships. These findings demonstrate the difference between online and “real life” infidelity and emphasize the need for further research on the link between personality dynamics and online infidelity. Additional theoretical and clinical implications deriving from the results are discussed.
The Relationship between Legal Status, Location, and Business Tax Preference: The Case of Kansas

The literature on business responses to state taxes traditionally holds businesses respond to tax differences through plant relocation and expansion planning. This literature is silent on the tradeoffs that businesses would make to a state’s tax policy, if they could adjust the taxes to suit their own preferences and legal status. This research addresses the question of what tradeoffs businesses would make in tax policy by utilizing the budgetary tradeoff methodology developed in the political science and political economy literature. As predicted by theory, firms responded to a survey by the Kansas Department of Commerce that they would minimize the taxes that they have to pay but differences exist among different types of businesses, particularly out of state businesses. Kansas is an interesting case given the state’s first-of-its-kind removal of taxes on pass through corporations. This case shows that the tax tradeoff theory is useful for analyzing the characteristics of firms’ tradeoff choices.
Effects of Entrepreneurship Simulation Game Seminars on Entrepreneurs’ and Students’ Learning

Abstract We suggest entrepreneurship simulation seminars as a viable method to teach complex business interrelationships to entrepreneurs as well as students of all disciplines. In this context, we investigate the learning effects that the simulation game seminar can bring about by analyzing a data set of 2,161 participants obtained from 108 simulation game seminars collected in Germany. In doing this, we not only look at the knowledge content common in entrepreneurship education, but also test for specific leazning effects that should be achieved especially by simulation games as a constrnctivist teaching method. Data analysis shows that the simulation seminar generates high learning effects and that these aze considered to be professionally useful by the pazticipants, especially by the entrepreneurs. We therefore recommend this innovative teaching method for further dissemination in entrepreneurship education.
Beyond 'Revenue Per Head'?: Human Capital Metrics, Firm Performance and the Teaching of HRM in Business Schools

The teaching of HRM has long faced reluctance among business school learners. In spite of the growing importance of people issues in business contexts, the lack of adequate measures and links between HRM and the finance arena largely prevents the subject from gaining salience in managers' mindsets. The purpose of this study was to run a comparative analysis of the relationship between quantitative indicators of HRM practices and three different financial indicators: revenue per employee, HC ROI and EBITDA. To that purpose, we have used a database containing actual measures of HRM practices and outcomes for a sample of 144 companies. Using multiple regression analysis, we found that different models of relationships between HRM and firm performance indicators emerged, even when controlling for company size and business sector. In the light of the findings, implications for approaching the teaching of people-related subjects in business schools are discussed.
The return of the bullwhip

In this paper we present a two-echelon inventory system consisting of a warehouse that does not hold stock, and multiple retailers. The demand at the retailers is stationary and demand per period is normally distributed. The retailers forecast demand using single exponential smoothing, leading to dynamic demand forecasts. Thus the retailers use dynamic inventory control policies aimed at achieving a target service level. The dynamic policies are based on covering the forecasted demand over the lead time plus some safety time. The safety time is the control parameter to be determined, such that the target service level is met. This model allows us to study the impact of demand information distortion due to forecasting on the safety stock requirements of the retailers. We derive explicit expressions for the control policies and the safety time parameters. We introduce a new amplification factor ? that measures the relative increase in safety time requirements under demand information distortion due to the exponential smoothing with parameter ? We derive quantitative and qualitative insights into the impact of the model parameters on the safety time amplification factor ? We show that under demand distortion it may be favorable to reduce the review frequency.