Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Social Innovation vary with the Organisational Form? Exploring the Diversity of Fair Trade Social Enterprises in Europe

A common view in the literature on social entrepreneurship and social enterprise is to highlight the fact that social innovation crosses the organizational forms. But does that social innovation should be considered regardless of the organizational form? Fair Trade (FT) offers a quite interesting example of both a social innovation and a field in which diverse organizational forms coexist. My research questions are twofold: (1) what are the different types of organizational forms that underlie social innovation in the FT sector? ; (2) do these different forms bring different types of social innovation? The methodology consists of interviews with the leaders of 57 Fair Trade Social Enterprises (FTSEs) in four European regions: Belgium, France (Rhone-Alpes), United Kingdom (England) and Italy (Rome). The findings show that the legal forms and governance models– the two elements of the organizational form considered here–can be combined into five categories of organizational forms: individual, manager-owned business, volunteer-based, multi-stakeholder cooperative and group. These categories seem to be linked, at least to a certain extent, to the age of the FTSE and to its goals. Certain forms seem to signal a particular type of social innovation. Volunteer-based FTSEs use education and advocacy as the main channel to pursue social change at the global level, and see the partnerships with the producers in the South as a vehicle to support the former goal. Individual and business-form FTSEs focus on offering benefits to the producers through a profitable commercial activity. And multi-stakeholder cooperatives and groups generally seek to combine both types of social innovation. However, nuances exist and lead to considering the organisational form as vehicles that may serve various purposes according to the context and the entrepreneurs’ profiles. I suggest three theoretical frameworks to interpret the diversity of organizational forms and its link with the logics of social innovation. Neo-institutional economics allow to see organizational diversity as the result of the production of different types of goods within the “FT bundle”. New institutionalism in organizational analysis emphasizes organizational diversity as the result of either weak (or non-existent) or multiple institutional logics. And institutional entrepreneurship highlights the ability of FTSEs to shape the environment in a way that legitimizes their own way of conceiving social innovation. I conclude that these three frameworks offer complementary explanations to organizational diversity and that the latter is an asset rather than an obstacle for carrying social innovation in multiple and complementary ways.
The impact of telecommuting on the supervisory performance appraisal process

THE IMPACT OF TELECOMMUTING ON THE SUPERVISORY PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS Margaret A. Klayton, Ph.D. School of Business--Virginia Commonwealth University, 1994 Major Director: Darrel R. Brown, Ph.D. The problem studied was whether supervisors evaluated telecommuters differently than their on-site co-workers and, if they did, was this difference explainable by the models on performance ratings by Landy and Farr (1980, 1983, 1989)? For this study, telecommuting referred to employees who are full-time employees, but work off-site using electronic communication devices and telecommuted at least one day per week. Twenty organizations nation-wide were surveyed. Hypotheses stated that there was no difference in supervisory performance appraisal criteria, supervisory performance ratings whether the supervisor selected employees to telecommute or the supervisor telecommuted or not, and the frequency between formal performance appraisals for telecommuters and non-telecommuters. Performance appraisal criteria and other questions concerning the evaluation process were analyzed. The data supported the first hypothesis of no difference in viii performance appraisal criteria used to evaluate telecommuters and non-telecommuters. The second hypothesis was not supported by the data. The three groups disagreed that telecommuters were generally better performers than their on-site co-workers. Supervisors and telecommuters disagreed on their perceptions of telecommuters as rated as better employees. It was assumed in the third hypothesis that supervisors who themselves telecommuted would not rate telecommuters as better employees than their co-workers. Due to the small sample size, the results were inconclusive. In the fourth hypothesis, it was assumed that supervisors who had the final say about who would be eligible to telecommute would not perceive telecommuters as better employees. Based on the analysis, the hypothesis could not be supported or refuted due to the small sample size. Finally, the fifth hypothesis relied on measuring the number of months between formal reviews to determine if telecommuters were evaluated more frequently than their onsi te co-workers. The analysis verified that there was no difference between the two groups. Because no prior research has been conducted about differences in evaluating telecommuting and nontelecommuting employees, there is no data available for comparison purposes to discover any trends or changes.
Efficient Mining of Closed Flock Patterns from Large Trajectory Data

In this paper, we study the closed pattern mining problem for a class of spatio-temporal patterns, called closed (k, r)-flock patterns in trajectory databases. A (k, r)-flock pattern (Gudmundsson and van Kreveld, 2006) represents a set of moving objects traveling close each other within radius r during time period of length k. Based on the notion of the envelope for a flock pattern, we introduce the class of closed flock patterns, which is a maximally dense pattern obtained by adding new objects as long as the shape does not change. Then, as a main result, we present a polynomial delay and space mining algorithm that finds all closed (k, r)-flock patterns with specified radius and more than one entities appearing in an input trajectory database. This algorithm is designed based on depth-first search over the tree-shaped search space for all closed flock patterns appearing in an input database. We also show theoretical analysis of some properties including compactness of closed flock patterns.
Cell-based therapies for the acute respiratory distress syndrome

Purpose of reviewAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a multifaceted lung disease with no current effective therapy. Many clinical trials using conventional pharmacologic therapies have failed, suggesting the need to examine alternative approaches. Thus, attention has focused on the therapeutic potential of cell-based therapies for ARDS, with promising results demonstrated in relevant preclinical disease models. We review data concerning the therapeutic promise of cell-based therapies for ARDS. Recent findingsRecent experimental studies provide further evidence for the potential of cell-based therapies in ARDS. A number of cell types, particularly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells, endothelial progenitor cells, and embryonic stem cells have been demonstrated to reduce mortality and modulate the inflammatory and remodeling processes in relevant preclinical ARDS models. Multiple insights have emerged in regard to the mechanisms by which cell therapies – particularly MSCs – exert their effects, with evidence supporting direct cell-mediated and paracrine-mediated mechanisms of action. Diverse paracrine mechanisms exist, including the release of cytokines, growth factors (such as keratinocyte growth factor), and antimicrobial peptides, and transfer of cellular contents such as peptides, nucleic acids, and mitochondria via either microvesicular or direct cell–cell contact-mediated transfer. SummaryCell-based therapies offer considerable promise for the treatment of ARDS. While MSC-based therapies are being rapidly advanced toward clinical testing, clear therapeutic potential exists for other cell types for ARDS. A greater understanding of current knowledge gaps should further enhance the therapeutic potential of cell-based therapies for ARDS.
Effects of increasing dietary concentrations of fish oil on lamb performance, ruminal fermentation, and leptin gene expression in perirenal fat

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of four levels of fish oil on lamb performance, carcass yield, ruminal fermentation, and leptin gene expression in perirenal fat. Thirty-two lambs (24.10±2.15 kg, Katahdin × Pelibuey) were used in a completely randomized experimental design. The lambs were assigned to one of four dietary treatments (n = 8 lambs/treatment), expressed as g/kg DM basis: 0 fish oil and 300 corn; 10 fish oil and 250 corn; 20 fish oil [. ]
Infestation rate with polyplax spinulosa (burmeister, 1839) among certain laboratory albino rats (rattus norvegicus) in relation to different washing agents in two Erbil city universities

Backgrounds and objectives: The ectoparasite Polyplax spinulosa (Class: Isecta; SubOrder: Anoplura; Familiy: Polyplacidae) was found to act as a biological vector of some pathogenic virus, bacteria and protozoa. The main objective of the present study was to identify the P. spinulosa parasitizing laboratory rats in two different animal houses (Science College-Salahaddin University and Medicine College-Hawler Medical University) and the effect of washing with different detergent agents on the mean intensity and numbers of the Polyplax spinulosa. Methods: In a study from the beginning of February to July 2010, thirty (30) adult Albino rats (15 rats from each Science and Medicine Colleges) randomly were collected from two selected animal houses of two universities in Erbil City. The fur was gently examined and scraped off using a fine brush; hair particles and ectoparasites that dropped off were transferred to a petridish, and examined using magnifying lenses and dissecting microscope before and after washing with two different agents. The ectoparasites collected in small vials were fixed in 70% ethanol. Results: The overall prevalence with the P. spinulosa was 80%, the higher rate of infestation (100%) and mean intensity (13.33) was among rats of Science College, while the lower rate (60%) and mean intensity (4) was among rats of Medicine College. The present study showed that Cis-Cypermethrin has greater role than Cyprimidine in declining the rate of infestation with this ectoparasite. Conclusion: The overall prevalence with the P. Spinulosa was 80%, The higher rate of infestation was among rats of Science College. Cis-Cypermethrin has a role in declining the rate of infestation with this ectoparasite. Key word: Polyplax spinulosa, laboratory rats, washing agents, Erbil.
Boundaryless Organizations and Boundaryless Careers: A New Market for High-Skilled Temporary Work

A typology of four different groups of temporary workers (transitional, traditional, career, boundaryless) is derived from economic, strategic, and human resource theories. Based on a survey of 276 temporary workers, we find support for distinguishing between high-skilled boundaryless temporaries and the three other types using multinomial logistic analysis.
Open Source Incorporated

How does open source development work and how can profit-oriented firms harness this new way of production? These are the two main questions we investigate in this report. Reviewing the academic literature, we give a comprehensive survey of the state of the art in economic research on open source software. We first look at the motives of individual contributors and the organizational structures that emerge in open source projects. These are particularly interesting since open source software is a complex public good: non-rivalrous and, to a certain degree, non-excludable. Under normal circumstances, economic theory leads us to believe that free-riding and problems in coordination are prime obstacles in the collective provision of open source software. In the second part of this report, we consider the different business models based on open source software and, lastly, we look at the reasons for corporate contributions. Contrary to the private provision of open source software, its general corporate provision cannot be explained with altruism or group membership. Because ultimately, firms contribute in open source projects for a reason: to make a profit.
Institutional Design and Liquidity at Stock Exchanges Around the World

The paper investigates the trading mechanism and other structural features of 51 stock exchanges and analyzes the impact of these institutional characteristics on liquidity measures such as closing bid-ask spreads, volatility and trading turnover. Exchange-design features such as narrower tick sizes, designated market makers, consolidated limit order books, hybrid trading mechanisms, automated trade execution, consolidated order-flow, and better shareholder rights are associated with lower spreads. These features also influence volatility and trading turnover, which in turn further affect spreads. Overall liquidity is highest on hybrid trading mechanisms compared to pure limit order books or quote-based dealer system because the former have two sources of liquidity. These results have important implications for investors' trading strategy, firms' listing strategy, and exchanges' organizational strategy.
Identification of Distinguishing Motifs

Motif identification for DNA sequences has many important applications in biological studies, including diagnostic probe design, locating binding sites and regulatory signals, and potential drug target identification. There are two versionsâ€”the Single Group and Two Groups. Here, the occurrences of the motif in the given sequences have errors. Currently, most of existing programs can only handle the case of single group. However, most of the programs do not allow indels (insertions and deletions) in the occurrences of the motif. In this paper, the authors propose a randomized algorithm for the one group problem that can handle indels in the occurrences of the motif. Finally, an algorithm for the two groupsâ€™ problem is given along with extensive simulations evaluating algorithms.
Earnings Management and Corporate Governance in Nigeria

Earnings management has received considerable attention in recent times. This is due to its linkage with the reliability of published accounting reports. Indication from the academic literature has shown that the practice of earnings management is quite extensive among publicly traded firms. In response to the demand for greater proportion of independent directors on corporate boards and the need for financial sophistication of audit committee members, this study examines the role of the board of directors and audit committee in preventing earnings management in Nigeria. Using a questionnaire survey, the study finds that board dominated by outside directors brings a greater breadth of experience to the firm and are in a better position to monitor and control managers, thereby reducing earnings management. It was also observed that audit committee whose members possess certain level of financial competencies would reduce the likelihood of earnings management. The study recommends that board composition should include greater proportion of independent outside directors with corporate experience. Audit committee members should be encouraged to possess a certain level of financial competencies in order to decrease the likelihood of earnings management. Keyword: Earnings management, audit committee, board composition, corporate governance, Nigeria
Typing of Histoplasma capsulatumIsolates Based on Nucleotide Sequence Variation in the Internal Transcribed Spacer Regions of rRNA Genes

ABSTRACT The nucleotide sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes of 24 isolates of Histoplasma capsulatum were examined. The results indicate that the sequences of ITS regions in different isolates are not identical. Sequence variations were found at 20 positions in the 496 bp that were sequenced. Ten different sequence patterns, designated types A through H, were observed when the sequences from the 24 isolates were aligned. Twelve isolates from Indianapolis were classified into four different types. Two isolates from New York belonged to type G. Three isolates from different cities were type F. The remaining six isolates were of different types.
Role of H2-calponin in Regulating Macrophage Motility and Phagocytosis*

The actin cytoskeleton plays a major role in cell motility that is essential for the function of phagocytes. Calponin is an actin-associated regulatory protein. Here we report the finding of significant levels of the h2 isoform of calponin in peripheral blood cells of myeloid lineage. To study the functional significance, h2-calponin gene (Cnn2) interrupted mice were constructed. Germ line transmission of the Cnn2-flox-neo allele was obtained in chimeras from two independent clones of targeted embryonic stem cells. The insertion of the neoR cassette into intron 2 of the Cnn2 gene resulted in a significant knockdown of h2-calponin expression. Removing the frt-flanked neoR cassette by FLP1 recombinase rescued the knockdown effect. Cre recombinase-induced deletion of the loxP-flanked exon 2 eliminated the expression of h2-calponin protein. H2-calponin-free mice showed reduced numbers of peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes. H2-calponin-free macrophages demonstrated a higher rate of proliferation and faster migration than that of h2-calponin-positive cells, consistent with a faster diapedesis of peripheral monocytes and neutrophils. H2-calponin-free macrophages showed reduced spreading in adhesion culture together with decreased tropomyosin in the actin cytoskeleton. The lack of h2-calponin also significantly increased macrophage phagocytotic activity, suggesting a novel mechanism to regulate phagocyte functions.
Nickel uptake and intracellular localization in Cupriavidus pauculus KPS 201, native to ultramafic ecosystem

The nickel-resistant bacterium, Cupriavidus pauculus KPS 201 was isolated from the rhizosphere of Rinorea bengalensis (Wall.) O. K. endemic to metal-percolated ultramafic ecosystem of Andaman, India. This study investigates nature of Ni resistance, growth associated uptake and localization of Ni in cellular compartments of KPS 201. Growth kinetics of C. pauculus KPS 201 exhibited a typical inducible Ni resistance in Ni-supplemented (1.0-10.0 mM) Tris-minimal medium. The Ni-induced cells showed a high degree of Ni resistance and accumulated a maximum of 29.3 µM Ni/g protein after 48 h of growth in 5 mM Ni. The accumulated Ni was preferentially retained (90.6%) in the periplasm and was associated with the expression of two periplasmic proteins (74 and 66 kDa) under Ni-induced condition. Inducible nickel resistance in C. pauculus KPS 201 may possibly be due to extracytoplasmic binding and accumulation coupled with expression of specific periplasmic proteins. These findings will provide an insight in understanding metal-microbe interaction in geogenous environments and their exploitation in bioremediation of heavy metal pollutants.
Endoplasmic reticulum nuclease. Purification and specificity.

An endonuclease, which was originally identified for its RNA polymerase inhibitory activity, was isolated from rat liver endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme yields on gel chromatography four active fractions of different molecular weights (Mr 5.3 X 10(4), 9 X 10(4), 1.55 X 10(5) and Sephacryl S-200 fraction at V0). Each fraction contains polypeptide chains which give a single band on sodium dodecylsulphate electrophoresis (Mr 5.4 X 10(4). This indicates that the enzyme is an oligomeric protein and each of its subunits exhibits the same or very similar molecular weights. Deoxyribonucleoside and ribonucleoside triphosphates can bind to the endoplasmic reticulum nuclease. Binding is enhanced in the presence of divalent cations particularly Mg2+. The enzyme exhibits mainly RNase activity but can also degrade denatured DNA and DNA . RNA hybrids which contain breaks in one of the two strands. Poly(A) and mainly poly(U) are most susceptible to its nucleolytic activity whereas poly(C) is completely resistant.
SMN Transcript Stability: Could Modulation of Messenger RNA Degradation Provide a Novel Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy?

Proximal spinal muscular atrophy is caused by deletion or mutation of the survival motor neuron 1 gene, SMN1. Rentention of a nearly identical copy gene, SMN2, enables survival but is unable to fully compensate for the loss of SMN1. The SMN1 and SMN2 genes differ by a single nucleotide that results in alternative splicing of SMN2 exon 7 due to the disruption of a binding site for an essential splicing factor. This alternatively spliced form encodes a partially functional truncated protein. Because SMN2 is present in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, it is an ideal therapeutic target. Some of the current approaches to increase SMN protein levels are aimed at increasing the transcription from SMN2 or at preventing exon 7 skipping. One area that has yet to be investigated is the stability of messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) transcripts produced from SMN2. We postulated that transcripts derived from SMN2 may be less stable because alternative splicing, recruitment of RNA-binding proteins, and alteration of stop codons have been associated with changes in rates of messenger RNA decay; these features are all characteristic of SMN2. Accordingly, transcript degradation was examined within primary fibroblast cells that exclusively contained SMN1 or SMN2 by treating cultures with a transcriptional inhibitor to observe messenger RNA stability. The results indicate that SMN transcript instability does not play a role in the disease mechanism, suggesting that therapeutic modulation of messenger RNA degradation would not target a molecular defect in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, although it could provide general benefits by increasing total pools of SMN2 transcripts.
Outsourcing and Offshoring: Pushing the European Model Over the Hill, Rather than Off the Cliff!

Offshoring and offshore outsourcing is increasingly affecting the EU-15, both in the manufacturing and services sectors. While no official statistics exist for the scope of the phenomenon, industry experts and press surveys point to a relatively limited extent of perhaps up to 2 percent of the workforce as affected. Offshoring and offshore outsourcing, similar to other trade, creates both domestic winners and losers. The EU-15 countries have the potential to become net beneficiaries from offshoring and offshore outsourcing, if they go ahead and implement the EU Lisbon Agenda with respect to labor market reforms and worker-skill upgrading. Furthermore, EU governments should take steps to promote the mobility of the workforce by increasingly linking social benefits to the willingness to move for work, thereby combating their archipelago of high unemployment enclaves, and to reform EU regional aid by shifting it from infrastructure spending to human capital investment.
Focused Crawling System based on Improved LSI

In this research work we have developed a semi-deterministic algorithm and a scoring system that takes advantage of the Latent Semantic indexing scoring system for crawling web pages that belong to particular domain or is specific to the topic . The proposed algorithm calculates a preference factor in addition to the LSI score to determine which web page needs to preferred for crawling by the multi threaded crawler application, by doing this we were able to produce a retrieval system that has high recall and precision values as it builds a queue which is specific to a particular domain/topic which would not have been possible in Breath first and only LSI based information retrieval systems.