Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Qualitative Approach to Evidence–Based Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Considerations and an Example Involving Business Clusters

Most research in evidence–based entrepreneurship builds on quantitative designs, which is unfortunate because qualitative studies provide a unique contribution to the domain of entrepreneurship. They look at distinctive phenomena in their specific time period and context in one way or another, and can help generate and test new theories. We, therefore, suggest using a systematic synthesis of case studies to aggregate the findings of qualitative research. Moreover, as a first step, we developed an example to demonstrate how this approach can advance evidence–based entrepreneurship. Specifically, we synthesized 13 cases to examine how business clusters increase the performance of firms within clusters.
In-Work Benefits in the United States: The Earned Income Tax Credit

The earned income tax credit (EITC) is or soon will be the largest cash or nearcash benefit provided to low-income households in the United States. ' The EITC is a credit on the federal income tax available to working poor families with children. In I994 the credit equals 26-3 % of earned income (wages, salaries, self-employment income, and farm income) for taxpayers with one child, up to an earned income of $7,750; hence, the maximum benefit is $2,038 for families with one child. Because benefits increase with earned income (up to a certain point), the EITC seems to encourage work and therefore is a popular antipoverty programme. Taxpayers with one child and incomes above $7,750 but below $i i,ooo receive the maximum benefit. Taxpayers with one child whose incomes exceed $I I,ooo are in the phase-out range of the credit: their $2,038 credit is reduced by I5 98 cents for every dollar of income earned over and above $I I,ooo. Taxpayers with two or more children are entitled to a slightly larger credit ($2,528, or 30o0 %0 of $8,425), which is phased out at a I 7p68 0 rate. A small credit of at most $306 was available to childless taxpayers betnween the ages of 25 and 64 for the first time in I 994. Unlike most credits and deductions in the federal individual income tax system, the EITC is refundable that is, if the amount of the credit exceeds what the taxpayer owes, he or she receives a payment from the US Treasury for the difference. The EITC was adopted in I975 and was originally promoted as a way to relieve the burden of the social security payroll tax on low-wage working parents.2 The original EITC equaled IO 0 of earnings up to a maximum credit of $400 for taxpayers with children, and was phased out at a rate of IO cents per dollar of earnings (or adjusted gross income, whichever was higher) for incomes between $4,ooo and $8,ooo. The EITC has been increased many times since I975, though the largest changes occurred in I990 and I993. In i996 when the I993 legislative changes are fully phased in, the credit rate will be 40 0 of earnings for families with two or more children and 34 0 for families
Information integration in maintenance services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical set of elements to analyze information integration in supply chains. Through a practical example to highlight the importance, it aims to describe the practices and identify some development areas of information integration in service supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents six theoretical elements contributing the level of information integration in a supply chain. These elements are then used to analyze a case supply chain that includes a steel manufacturer (the focal company), engineering offices providing maintenance‐related planning services and mechanical maintenance service providers. Empirical research data gathered through structured interviews, workshops, company visits and company documents are used.Findings – The paper develops a conceptual framework and criteria for analyzing the level of supply chain information integration. It describes which information, in which form, how and when is shared in the case s.
From technology imitation to market dominance: the case of iPod

Purpose – This study aims to examine validity of the first mover advantage theory (FMA) in the context of digital audio player (DAP) market. It explores two research questions: do first‐movers improve their resources and capabilities and thus establish industry leadership? Do firms' initial resources affect the timing of entry? Design/methodology/approach – To overcome the methodological problems of earlier research, the study employs historical analysis of archival sources, capturing the longitudinal nature of the market evolution and competitive dynamics within the industry.Findings – The results show that pioneering entry is significantly inferior to later entry strategy. While the pioneers failed, Apple Computer, a follower, gained dominance. Firm's resources influence timing of entry. The pioneers are small firms while large firms prefer to enter later.Research limitations/implications – This study analyzed the evolution of a single radical innovation from its inception through growth stage and result.
Computational intelligence approaches for malignant melanoma detection and diagnosis

Malignant melanoma is reported to be the deadliest of skin cancers. Therefore, early diagnosis is crucial for reducing of melanoma-related deaths. Medical Informatics uses the computer technology such as Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) for melanoma diagnostic. This paper presents computational intelligence approaches namely, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The dermoscopy images are taken from Dermatology Information System (DermIS) and DermQuest, image enhancement is achieved by various pre-processing approaches. The extracted features are based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), and Principle Component Analysis (PCA) is used to take the eigenvalue as features. These features become the input to the various classification approaches such as: ANN and ANFIS to classify the lesions as malignant or benign. The results show the rate of accuracy for ANFIS is 95.18%, while ANN gives higher rate of accuracy about 98.8%. Moreover; the results obtained are compared with other approaches. The comparative results indicated that the proposed feature extraction and classification approaches are more accurate than other approaches in this field of melanoma diagnosis.
Ten years on: Safety of short synacthen tests in assessing adrenocorticotropin deficiency in clinical practice.

Since 1988, when a retrospective study of patients attending this unit was published, we have advocated the use of the short synacthen test (SST) as the primary screening investigation to detect ACTH deficiency. However, others have published comparisons of SST and insulin tolerance tests that suggest a significant false negative rate with SST, leading to concern that some patients who pass the SST are in danger from the clinical consequences of ACTH deficiency. To address this, we audited biochemical results and clinical outcome in 63 patients who did not have ACTH deficiency detected (i.e. who passed the test) by SST after pituitary surgery. Twelve of the 63 patients who passed a SST after pituitary surgery became ACTH-deficient later as diagnosed by SST: 4 within the first year, 2 of whom had received postoperative radiotherapy (3 had symptoms of tiredness and 1 was admitted to the hospital with a viral infection); 8 in yr 3-5, 7 of whom had received postoperative radiotherapy (all had either no symptoms or symptoms of tiredness alone). Thus, the predictive value of the SST in excluding ACTH deficiency is approximately 97% (2 of 63 patients who initially passed the SST were found to be ACTH-deficient within 12 months without having received postoperative radiotherapy). Only 1 patient was ill enough to require hospital admission. Setting the risk of false negatives with SST against the morbidity and manpower implications associated with insulin tolerance tests, SST remains the primary screening test for ACTH deficiency in our practice. However, a high index of clinical suspicion to detect false negative results must be maintained.
Wet Smear Compared With Gram Stain Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis in Asymptomatic Pregnant Women

Objective To compare wet smear and Gram stain diagnoses of bacterial vaginosis among asymptomatic pregnant women. Methods Between November 1, 1996 and December 31, 1997, asymptomatic women who initiated prenatal care in our obstetric clinics were invited to participate. Exclusion criteria included antimicrobial use within 2 weeks, cervical cerclage, vaginal bleeding, placenta previa, spermicide use, douching, or intercourse within 8 hours. Clinical diagnosis that required two of three positive criteria for bacterial vaginosis (vaginal pH, whiff test, and clue cells on wet smear) was compared with Gram stain diagnosis (Bacterial vaginosis score 7–10 by Nugent criteria). Results Population characteristics (n = 69) included an average (± standard deviation [SD]) maternal age of 27.3 ± 6.6 years, 26 nulliparas (38%), 28 black women (41%), 23 white women (38%), 15 Hispanic women (22%), and three Asian women (4%). The mean (±SD) gestational age at entry was 15.6 ± 7.6 weeks. Twenty-seven percent (18 of 67) of the study population was diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis by definitive Gram stain. Two slides were lost or were of poor quality and not included. Using Gram stain diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis as the standard, clinical diagnosis had sensitivity of 56% (95% confidence interval [CI] 32%, 78%), a specificity of 96% (95% CI 90%, 100%), a positive predictive value of 83%, and a negative predictive value of 85%. Conclusion In asymptomatic pregnant women, bacterial vaginosis can be diagnosed reliably by Gram stain.
Lung fluid balance in lambs before and after premature birth.

The purpose of this study was to see if lung vascular protein permeability is greater in preterm lambs with respiratory distress than it is in lambs without lung disease. We measured pulmonary vascular pressures, lung lymph flow, and concentrations of protein in lymph and plasma of 10 chronically catheterized preterm lambs (gestation 133 +/- 1 d) for 2-4 h before and for 4-8 h after delivery by cesarean section. All lambs were treated with mechanical ventilation after birth and received a constant intravenous infusion of glucose-saline solution at an hourly rate of 10 ml/kg. Respiratory failure developed in six lambs, in which there was a sustained threefold postnatal increase in lung lymph flow and lymph protein flow, with an even greater increase in pleural liquid drainage. Concentrations of protein in lymph and pleural liquid were almost identical, averaging approximately 75% of the plasma protein concentration. In the four preterm lambs without lung disease, lymph flow and lymph protein flow were either near or below fetal values by 6-8 h after birth, and there was little or no pleural liquid drainage. Extravascular lung water averaged 7.3 +/- . 8 g/g dry lung in lambs with respiratory failure compared to 4.8 +/- . 5 g/g dry lung in lambs without lung disease. Thus, pulmonary edema with abnormal leakage of protein-rich liquid from the lung microcirculation into the interstitium is an important pathological feature of the respiratory disease that often occurs after premature birth.
A comparative evaluation of ELISAs for D‐dimer and related fibrin(ogen) degradation products

This study was designed to (i) characterize two new monoclonal antibodies that react with neoepitopes on fibrin(ogen) fragments D-dimer and D1 and (ii) compare the specificity of these antibodies with that of two commercially available 'D-dimer' ELISAs [Dimertest EIA (American Oiagnostica, Inc.) and Asserachrom D-Di (Diagnostics Stago)] and also with an ELISA for fibrinolytic fragments containing the E domain complexed with a D (or D-dimer) moiety [Fibrinostika FbDP (Organon Teknika)]. All assays were in a capture (sandwich) ELISA format. Fibrin(ogen) degradation products were isolated in high yield by a novel method involving hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The results disclosed considerable differences in sensitivity and specificity for purified fibrinolytic fragments among all five ELISAs. Although the diagnostic utility of monitoring plasma fibrinolytic fragments is not questioned, our results provide a rational basis for understanding why mAb-based ELISAs for these analytes are not well correlated. If, as our data suggest, the D-dimer ELISAs are not actually measuring the same analytes, then interpretation of studies that determine D-dimer concentrations with different methods will be problematic and standardization of D-dimer measurements across assays will be impossible.
Impacts of an Early Stage Education Intervention on Students'Learning Achievement: Evidence from the Philippines

This paper examines the impact of a large supply-side education intervention in the Philippines, the Third Elementary Education Project, on students' national achievement test scores. It finds that the program significantly increased student test scores at grades 4 to 6. The estimation indicates that two-year exposure to the program increases test scores by about 4.5 to 5 score points. Interestingly, the mathematics score is more responsive to the education reform than are other subjects. The analysis also finds that textbooks, instructional training of teachers, and new classroom construction particularly contributed to these outcomes. The empirical results imply that early-stage investment improves student performance at later stages in the elementary school cycle, which suggests that social returns to such an investment are greater than what the current study demonstrates.
Revisiting the "hot hand" hypothesis in the NBA betting market using actual sportsbook betting percentages on favorites and underdogs.

The “hot hand” hypothesis was first investigated in sports betting markets by Camerer (1989) and Brown and Sauer (1993), who examined if professional basketball teams truly could become “hot”, implying a change in their actual skill level, and if the betting market believes teams become “hot” and over bet the teams on winning streaks. Both assumed that book makers operated a balanced book. Recent evidence suggests that book makers do not set point spreads to balance betting on either side of games. Book makers may price as a forecast or shade point spreads to exploit known biases. The “hot hand” could exist, but closing point spreads may not reflect this bias due to an unbalanced book. Using a 6 season sample of NBA betting market data, we show wagering against the “hot hand” does not win more than implied by efficiency. However, OLS and two-stage least squares regression models show that bettors believe in the hot hand, as teams on streaks attract a significantly higher number of bets. This illustrates that the public believes in the hot hand, reflecting an actual behavioral bias. This bias exists even though the closing price serves as an optimal and unbiased forecast of outcomes.
The Path of Liberalization and Economic Growth

Empirical research has shown that both more economic freedom and a higher stability of policy variables are supportive for economic growth. Thus, the path of policy liberalization may have a considerable influence on a nation's growth performance. Using the Fraser-index of economic freedom, this article shows empirically that policy volatility proves to be growth depressing, even if the state liberalizes the economy in the long-run. Growth is significantly higher if liberalization occurs on a smoother path. Copyright 2002 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG
A transcriptional co‐repressor regulatory circuit controlling the heat‐shock response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The co‐ordinated regulation of heat shock proteins is critically important for the stress response of M. tuberculosis, failure of which results in enhanced immune recognition of the tubercle bacilli with reduced survival during chronic infections. In this study, we show that PhoP regulates the transcription of α‐crystallin 2 (acr2), expression of which increases more than any other gene of M. tuberculosis during heat‐shock or following macrophage infection. We also show that regulation of acr2 by PhoP is attributable to direct regulator‐promoter interactions at specific sites proximal to a sequence motif comprising the target site of another virulence factor, HspR. While both these regulators, on their own, are capable of influencing acr2 expression, remarkably our results show that the two virulence regulators PhoP and HspR interact with each other to influence their in vivo recruitment at the acr2 regulatory region, and in turn, contribute to stress‐specific regulation of acr2 expression. We propose a model to suggest how protein–protein interactions between PhoP and HspR influence the regulation of α‐crystallin 2, an essential pathogenic determinant of M. tuberculosis.
The Pre-crisis Exchange Rate Management and External Balance in Selected East Asian Countries

in Selected East Asian Countries Hiroyuki TAGUCHI Abstract Exchange rate management is one of the central issues of macroeconomic policies. Since the postwar period, there has been a long-term debate over the merits of fixed versus floating exchange rates. The debate, which is typically framed in terms of the trade-off between credibility and flexibility, has gone through several swings of the pendulum. Recently, the debate on exchange rate regimes has become focused on whether or not the intermediate regimes such as target zones, crawling and basket pegs are vanishing, in other words, whether or not exchange rate regimes are moving to a corner solution with the “hard peg” or the “free float”. So far, no clear consensus has been reached. The 1997-98 Asian crises have refocused attention on exchange rate management of East Asian countries. Most views expressed criticize the pre-crisis US dollar-pegged-rate regime as one of the causes of the crisis. It is said that this regime induced short-term external overborrowing and caused the appreciation of real exchange rates with the loss of competitiveness. The question also arises as to whether, after the crisis, the East Asian countries are simply returning to the pre-crisis US dollar standard, or whether they have learned a lesson from the crisis and are finding another path to follow. This article focuses on the exchange rate management of the selected East Asian countries, evaluates the pre-crisis dollar peg system from the viewpoint of such external balances as capital flow and trade, and examines the post-crisis exchange rate management. The main findings are as follows: 1) the dollar peg system had induced massive capital inflows through significantly large super risk premium against the US; 2) the dollar peg system had deteriorated trade balances through significantly large appreciation of real effective exchange rate; 3) as an alternative exchange rate management, the inflation-slid management, rather than the basket pegging, had been more preferable than the simple dollar peg system from the viewpoints of stabilizing both capital inflow and trade balance; 4) in the post-crisis exchange rate management, some East Asian countries have come to care more about the factor of the inflation slide in addition to the US dollar linkage. We speculate that they may have learned the lessons that the Asian crisis was partly caused by the simple US dollar peg regime accompanied by massive capital inflows and worsening trade balance. The strategic implication of the findings is the importance of inflation slide in the exchange rate management in the emerging East Asian economies.
Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among young women and men in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Purpose: There is little research on prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among youth in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores factors associated with depressive symptomatology in South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of interviews with 1 415 women and 1 368 men aged 15–26 was undertaken. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Depression Scale (CESD Scale) was used to establish depressive symptomatology. Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 20.5% in women and 13.5% in men. For women, depressive symptoms were associated with increased childhood adversity (aOR 1.34 95% CI 1.116, 1.55); drug use (aOR 1.98 CI 1.17, 3.35); experience of intimate partner violence (aOR 2.21 CI 1.16, 3.00); sexual violence before the age of 18 years (aOR 1.45 CI 1.02, 2.02) and lower perceptions of community cohesion (aOR 1.23 CI 1.07, 1.40). For men, depressive symptoms were associated with a mother's death (aOR 2.24 CI 1.25, 4.00); childhood adversity (aOR 1.61 CI 1.38, 1.88); alcohol abuse (aOR 1.63 CI 1.13, 2.35), sexual coercion by a woman (aOR 2.36 CI 1.47, 3.80) and relationship conflict (aOR 1.07 CI 1.01, 1.12). Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were more highly prevalent in women than in men. Depressed mood was associated with childhood adversity, sexual violence and substance misuse in both women and men. This study further suggests gender differences in that for women, depressive symptoms were associated with intimate partner violence and lower perceptions of community cohesion, while for men the associations were with a mother's death and relationship conflict.
Restructuring vocational schools as social innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the implementation of educational reform processes by applying the concept of social innovation. The paper proposes a model of social innovation and test its applicability in the context of Estonian vocational education reform using two case studies of the school re-organization as an example. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach has been applied in the empirical study. Different data collection methods have been used including semi-structured interviews with the various change actors, observations and analysis of written documents. Findings – The integrated model of social innovation proved to be a fruitful analytical tool. By focusing on five central aspects – the trigger of change, central change agents, social mechanisms facilitating the adoption of change, implications and social gains – it was possible to explain two school re-organization processes and the reasons behind their success or complications. Practical implications – T.