Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of quantitative and qualitative criteria in the measurement of performance in small firms

Concern has been expressed, over the years, about the financial management strategies adopted by small firms, but very little is known about these practices. Business performance measures are an important element of these financial management strategies. The paper discusses the findings from research carried out in the UK examining the quantitative and qualitative criteria in the measurement of performance in small firms. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 20 owner‐managers from both manufacturing and service sectors. Orthodox theory assumes that the objective of the firm is to maximise profits, and it follows that the performance measures advocated are largely based upon this theory. However, research has shown that small firms pursue a range of goals. It was, therefore, not surprising to find that owner‐managers of small firms used a variety of measures and indicators to assess business performance. Profit measures were found to be less important than conventional views suggest. In particular, cash flow indicators were considered to be critical. Other performance measures adopted by owner‐managers include the quality of inputs and outputs and intangible indicators.
An interoperable delivery framework for scalable media resources

In this article an interoperable framework for the delivery of scalable media resources (e.g., in the standardized scalable video coding format) is presented. The framework provides support for video on demand as well as multicast streaming, and performs efficient, generic, and interoperable adaptation of streamed content based on MPEG- 21 Digital Item Adaptation. The server as well as the clients of the streaming framework implement the MPEG Extensible Middleware and utilize the MPEG Query Format for querying the available media resources. The framework has been fully integrated into the VLC media player. The architecture for both VoD and multicast is presented in detail. Finally, a comparison in terms of performance of the generic MPEG-21 metadata-based adaptation approach to an SVC-specific adaptation approach is provided.
From Central Research to Local Practice: Identifying and Addressing Repeat Victimization

This article describes the action taken by a central government research group to ensure the implementation of recommendations for both policy and practice, which arose from a major programme of research on the prevention of crime. The research, which demonstrated that significant reductions in a range of offences could be achieved by focusing on the protection of first-time victims, is used as an example of what needs to be done to ensure implementation. The article outlines the research findings and describes what the staff of the research group did to increase the likely uptake of these findings by policy-makers and practitioners.
Disturbed Th1 and Th2 balance in patients with Graves' disease.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Graves' disease (GD) is a common autoimmune disorder that is primarily driven by malfunction of T lymphocytes, which influences the production of antibodies reacting with cellular and tissue components of the thyroid gland. The aim of this study was to determine the level of mRNA expression for the genes encoding T-bet and GATA3, as the master regulators of the T helper (Th)1 and Th2 differentiation, respectively together with Th1 (IFN-γ) and Th2(IL-4) cytokine mRNA expression. Relative quantification of T-bet, GATA3, IFN-γ and IL-4 transcripts in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) was conducted by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were also determined by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In comparison with the normal group, T-bet and IFN-γ mRNA expression levels were significantly up-regulated in the GD patients, while GATA3 and IL-4 mRNA expression levels were downregulated. In addition, a marked decrease in plasma IL-4 levels was observed in the GD group. IFN-γ levels were also higher in patients in comparison to the controls. Furthermore, a clear correlation between increased IFN-γ mRNA expression and IFN-γ (P<0.05) was revealed. These results indicate that a Th1/Th2 imbalance exists in GD, and it may be implicated in the pathogenesis of disease.
Diamond array of diamond elements

The radiation characteristics of a diamond array (DA) of diamond elements are calculated using the method of moments. It is found that the maximum gain for the DA is higher than that for a conventional grid array antenna (GAA). It is also found that the frequency bandwidth of the gain for the DA is slightly narrower than that for the conventional GAA.
The political economy of Mauritania: imperialism and class struggle

This article explores the way that colonial exploitation conditioned the political, social and economic life of the Mauritanian rural and urban communities. It shows how a neo‐colonial state was formed for the specific purpose not only of continuing colonial plunder under a new institutional arrangement but of intensifying the exploitation of Mauritanian workers for the benefit of multinational corporations, with far‐reaching and even tragic socio‐economic consequences for the majority of the Mauritanian people.
Interference mitigation in WSN by means of directional antennas and duty cycle control

Network spanning algorithms, such as ZigBee-native and Stojmenovic, constitute a crucial element in the wireless sensor network design, by determining its potential for reliability and fault-tolerance. The interconnections between nodes have a great impact on the radio interference level present in such a network and may create a serious electromagnetic compatibility issue in some cases. It can be proved that the total interference incurred by a statistical node can be diminished in two ways: either by using directional antennas or by setting an upper limit on the duty cycle of each network node. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Novel Method for Characterizing Filtering Antennas

Ultra-wideband systems show promise in high-data-rate radio communications. However, these systems interfere with other communication protocols, such as WLAN. To solve this problem, current work proposes the insertion of thin half-wavelength slots in the antenna's structure, thus creating filtering antennas. Many criteria were used to characterize the filtering of these antennas, such as the measurement of the VSWR, the return loss, and the maximum gain of the antenna as a function of frequency. In this paper, we show by studying the three-dimensional gain pattern of these antennas that their filtering is not just dependent on the frequency, but that it also depends on the radiation direction, due to the radiation of the slots. We then propose efficiency measurement as the best way to quantify the filtering of these omnidirectional antennas, independently of the radiation direction. Two filtering antennas were characterized using a modified wideband Wheeler-cap efficiency-measurement method.
New business models for creating shared value

Purpose - For a long time, managing the relationship between business and society has been one of the main topics of academic and business literature. Porter and Kramer have proposed a new interpretation of this relationship based on the mutual dependence that exists between corporations and society. Trying to put into practice the shared value principle, for-profit companies engaging in strategic CSR have chosen to implement new hybrid business models. These models include the social business model and the inclusive business model. The purpose of the paper is to understand which characteristics distinguish social and inclusive business models and what kind of benefits and risks (for companies and for communities) are connected to each model. Design/methodology/approach - In order to identify the features of the inclusive business and social business models and the benefits and risks associated with these models, ten case studies were analyzed. Analysis of the business models was based on a theoretical framework developed through the analysis of the literature. Findings - The findings of the research suggest two main conclusions. First, social and inclusive business models are similar in partner networks, use of knowledge and value chain, in the development of innovative distribution models (except for the cases in which the market considered is not in an emerging country) and in terms of social benefit. Second, the social and inclusive business models are different in terms of value proposition, governance systems, profits management model, social risks and economic profit equation. Research limitations/implications - The first limitation is that the case study analysis is based on documentary materials; for further investigation it might be useful to develop in-depth interviews with key figures involved in the implementation of business models. Even though this descriptive study has allowed a first important step in taking a comparative analysis between the two business models, further research should strive to extend the analysis to all the hybrid business models that are being developed with the aim of creating shared value. Practical implications - The final propositions allow entrepreneurs and managers to better understand the characteristics of business models. Moreover, the theoretical framework is a conceptual instrument that is useful in analyzing and evaluating alternative ways to develop new business models – based on the “creating shared value” principle – in developing markets. Originality/value - The paper focuses on comparing the characteristics of the social versus inclusive business models. Studies that compare business models in the social venturing space are limited. Moreover, the study addresses the similarity and differences between the two business models rather than focusing on the two models separately as the previous researches have done.
Broadcast gossip algorithms: Design and analysis for consensus

Motivated by applications to wireless sensor, peer-to-peer, and ad hoc networks, we have recently proposed a broadcasting-based gossiping protocol to compute the (possibly weighted) average of the initial measurements of the nodes at every node in the network. The class of broadcast gossip algorithms achieve consensus almost surely at a value that is in the neighborhood of the initial node measurements¿ average. In this paper, we further study the broadcast gossip algorithms: we derive and analyze the optimal mixing parameter of the algorithm when approached from worst-case convergence rate, present theoretical results on limiting mean square error performance of the algorithm, and find the convergence rate order of the proposed protocol.
Impact of pharmacists' intervention on identification and management of drug-drug interactions in an intensive care setting.

INTRODUCTION The primary and secondary objectives of this study were to identify and assess the risks associated with the occurrence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and to determine the value of pharmacists' interventions in the management of clinically significant DDIs, respectively. METHODS A prospective, case-control study was carried out on patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and involved a review of patients' medication chart daily by the pharmacist and the clinical parameters. All identified DDIs were carefully analysed in order to provide recommendations on the management of clinically significant DDIs. RESULTS The majority of DDIs were categorised as Type-C severity level (n = 305, 75.9%). 'Substitution' was recommended in 34 cases of clinically significant DDIs, 'dosage adjustment' in 17 (4.2%) and 'stop or avoid' in 13 (3.2%). The number of drugs prescribed (p = 0.001, rS = 0.539) and length of ICU stay (p = 0.001, rS = 0.364) were significantly associated and positively correlated with the occurrence of DDIs. Patients with DDIs had a longer length of ICU stay than those without DDIs (9.5 days vs. 2.4 days, p = 0.001). No significant difference was found between patients aged below 50 years and those above 50 years (odds ratio 0.488, 95% confidence interval 0.166-1.434) in terms of the risk of DDIs. CONCLUSION A large number of DDIs were identified in this study, but only a small number were clinically significant. Pharmacists' participation in daily ward rounds could play an important role in the detection and management of clinically significant DDIs.
Origin of Epicardial ST‐T Wave Potentials in the Intact Dog

Ventricular repolarization was analyzed by measuring epicardial potential distributions in intact dogs with single or multiple ectopic foci. During the S-T segment there was a maximum at each ectopic focus and a minimum at the terminal sile(s) of excitation. During the latter half of the T ware the distributions became more complex, and two maxima evolved from the initial one at each ectopic site. The measured epicardial potentials were simulated by means of a model of ST-T wave events that is suitable for study of single and multiple ectopic beats with fusion, a model we call the "SI model. " lntracellular potentials around the ventricles during repolarization were calculated from measured excitation sequences and known action potential shapes. The extracellular potentials around the ventricles were computed from the intracellular ones by a simplified ventricular geometry. The satisfactory agreement between the theoretical and measured extracellular potential distributions shows that the complex changes which occur throughout the ST-T wate are predicted well on the basis of changes, in the intracellular potential distributions. In contrast to the well known lability of the T wave from beat to beat, the results show that for any single beat the events of repolarization proceed in an entirely repeatable and deterministic fashion. The results present a way to directly represent cardiac extracellular events during the ST-T wave, a method analogous to the use of isochrones during QRS, and they imply that in the future it will be possible to achieve a more precise quantitative understanding of the events of the ST-T wave than thus far has been possible for QRS.
The Value Line Enigma Extended - An Examination Of the Performance Of Option Recommendations

The authors extend the research on the Value Line enigma by examining the performance of call recommendations in Value Line Options. D. Galai's hedge decomposition procedure identifies the components of the calls' returns. Abnormal call returns were most pronounced immediately following the purchase, which is consistent with studies of Value Line's stock rankings. The largest and most significant abnormal performance was by calls assigned the highest rank written on stocks judged by Value Line to be correctly priced. Abnormal call return performance by joint call and stock ranks was consistent with hypothesis that Value Line identifies underpriced call options. Copyright 1993 by University of Chicago Press.
Which Feature is Unusable? Detecting Usability and User Experience Issues from User Reviews

Usability and user experience (UUX) strongly affect software quality and success. User reviews allow software users to report UUX issues. However, this information can be difficult to access due to the varying quality of the reviews, its large numbers and unstructured nature. In this work we propose an approach to automatically detect the UUX strengths and issues of software features according to user reviews. We use a collocation algorithm for extracting the features, lexical sentiment analysis for uncovering users' satisfaction about a particular feature and machine learning for detecting the specific UUX issues affecting the software application. Additionally, we present two visualizations of the results. An initial evaluation of the approach against human judgement obtained mixed results.
Reference Prices and Nominal Rigidities

We assess the importance of nominal rigidities using a new weekly scanner data set from a major U.S. retailer, that contains information on prices, quantities, and costs for over 1,000 stores. We find that nominal rigidities are important but do not take the form of sticky prices. Instead, nominal rigidities take the form of inertia in reference prices and costs, defined as the most common prices and costs within a given quarter. Weekly prices and costs fluctuate around reference values which tend to remain constant over extended periods of time. Reference prices are particularly inertial and have an average duration of roughly one year. So, nominal rigidities are present in our data, even though weekly prices change very frequently, roughly once every two weeks. We argue that the retailer chooses the frequency with which it resets references prices so as to keep the realized markups within plus/minus twenty percent of the desired markup over reference cost.
Commercial experiences from a customer perspective elaborated, defined and distinguished

Purpose – A new type of business offering is currently gaining much attention, a type which in some aspects appears to be distinct from goods and services. These offerings are usually denoted as commercial experiences and are claimed to provide higher customer value than other types of offerings as they, for example, engage customers in an inherently memorable way. The understanding of what constitutes commercial experiences is however still scant. The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at the commercial experience concept from a customer perspective. The paper aims specifically at elaborating and defining commercial experiences as well as distinguishing them from goods and services.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on literature studies.Findings – The authors identify memorable as the fundamental distinctive characteristic for commercial experiences. Memorable events are then shown to be strongly emotional events. Finally the two‐factor structure of affect is used to show that .
A FACTOR ANALYSIS APPROACH TO DETERMINING THE RELATIVE ENDOGENIETY OF TRADE CREDIT

THOUGH IN RECENT YEARS several studies of trade credit have appeared in the literature, such as those of Bates [1], Brechling and Lipsey [2], Junk [10], Laffer [12], Meltzer [14], and Nadiri [15], emphasis has been at the highest level of aggregation. This study is addressed to the nature of trade credit for a single industry-Lumber and Wood Products. The Lumber and Wood Products Industry, excluding furniture (S.I.C. Major Group 24), was selected as the empirical medium for this investigation for two reasons. First, it is one of the twenty largest U.S. industries. Second, it approaches pure competition in the output markets, if not in the input 'markets. ' For this latter reason, complicating conditions arising from other market structures characteristic of most major industries could legitimately be ignored in a quest for essential characteristics of trade credit. The specific question addressed is "To what extent are observed changes in trade credit variables-accounts receivable, accounts payable, and net trade credit-endogenous phenomena within the industry system or exogenously determined by outside economic relationships? " The importance of determining the relative endogeniety of trade credit is suggested in the following passage:
Research on the Applications of Information and Internet Technology in the Ideological and Political Education of College Students

In this paper, we conduct research on the applications of information and Internet technology in the education of ideological and political for college students. Traditional ideological and moral education are controllable, because it is face-to-face communication between teachers and students, authenticity, also targeted, teachers can hate according to need several neck content, improve teaching quality, enhance teaching efficiency and teaching effect. University students' ideological and political education workers is the university student thought political education work network and the main behavior of the concrete operator, its quality directly associated with the effect of ideological and political education work under the network condition. We firmly believe that the information and Internet technology based methodology will be effective.
Globalisation, shareholder value, restructuring: the (non)‐transformation of Siemens

Many observers agree that the German stakeholder system of corporate governance is under pressure to transform itself. Convergence theorists argue that its main features are inconsistent with the requirements of globalised financial and product markets. Therefore, it is predicted that German companies must change their behaviour significantly towards patterns prevalent in Anglo-Saxon corporate governance if they want to stay competitive. Above all, this means a shareholder value orientation in business policy. These claims are not undisputed. Theories of divergence, especially the ‘varieties of capitalism’ approach, argue that different institutional frameworks lead to different responses to globalisation, to distinct adjustment paths of firms and to a reinforcement of their strategies and structures. This article takes a different approach in tackling these claims. Whereas convergence theory focuses on changes in the international economy and the ‘varieties of capitalism’ approach examines the incentive structures of national institutions, we focus here on the firm-level and the firm as an actor in its own right. In order to explore how globalisation affects firm behaviour and corporate governance, introducing the firm as a level of analysis seems a promising research strategy, which is largely neglected in the political economy literature. Moreover, it can be expected that changes in corporate practices precede legal reform. The case study deals with the adjustment path of Siemens. Besides being a ‘flagship firm’ whose behaviour is likely to affect the behaviour of other firms more generally through demonstration effects, Siemens offers an ideal setting for studying the effects of globalisation on German firms for four reasons. First, it is one of the few German companies with dispersed ownership. Over 90 per cent of Siemens’ stock is dispersed and institutional investors own 45 per cent of Siemens’ capital stock. Thus it is exposed to an unusually high degree to capital market pressures compared to most German companies which have a controlling shareholder. Second, Siemens has a very broad business portfolio which financial markets tend to punish with the conglomerate discount. Furthermore, due to its broad portfolio it has lagged behind its competitors in terms of