Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maximum power point tracking of a wind generator using a SEPIC converter with LMI control

The energy conversion technologies of small wind power systems are being currently studied and new topologies have been developed to improve the performance of converters associated with variable speed wind turbines. Most maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms are based on turbine torque and velocity signal feedback as well as detailed knowledge of turbine model parameters. This paper proposes the implementation of a wind energy conversion system whose power extraction algorithm does not use mechanical sensors, wind measurement or predefined values that define the turbine operating point. The algorithm is the Perturbation and Observation (P&O) method, which is applied at a Single Ended Primary Inductance Converter. The choice of the SEPIC is justified due to input current characteristics and high-power processing capacity. The step-up / step-down topology is essential for retain the output voltage at specified values. A state-feedback closed-loop control with integral action using LMIs is implemented on the converting operation within a specified region. The simulation results show the performance of the presented technique.
"(Re)covering" the Spectacular Domestic: Culinary Cultures, the Feminine Mundane, and Brand Nigella

This paper unpacks the iconicity of brand Nigella. In doing so, we show that the cultural logic of the economic space occupied by this brand springs from signifiying networks of interpenetrating positions generated within discourses, not only of food, family, and cuisine, but of sex, gender, and sexuality. We argue that the core appeal of brand Nigella has as much to do with the recipes it makes available for "thinking" feminine identities, as it does the information it provides as a culinary instruction manual about the preparation of food.
Pan-tropical monitoring of deforestation

This paper reviews the technical capabilities for monitoring deforestation from a pan-tropical perspective in response to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, which is studying the technical issues surrounding the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries. The successful implementation of such policies requires effective forest monitoring systems that are reproducible, provide consistent results, meet standards for mapping accuracy, and can be implemented from national to pan-tropical levels. Remotely sensed data, supported by ground observations, are crucial to such efforts. Recent developments in global to regional monitoring of forests can contribute to reducing the uncertainties in estimates of emissions from deforestation. Monitoring systems at national levels in developing countries can also benefit from pan-tropical and regional observations, mainly by identifying hot spots of change and prioritizing areas for monitoring at finer spatial scales. A pan-tropical perspective is also required to ensure consistency between different national monitoring systems. Data sources already exist to determine baseline periods in the 1990s as historical reference points. Key requirements for implementing such monitoring programs, both at pan-tropical and at national scales, are international commitment of resources to increase capacity, coordination of observations to ensure pan-tropical coverage, access to free or low-cost data, and standardized, consensus protocols for data interpretation and analysis.
The Agricultural Sector in the Macroeconomic Environment: An Empirical Approach for EU

This paper attempts to examine the relationship between the agricultural sector and the macroeconomic environment with a special mention in the way of prices formation in the agricultural sector. In the empirical analysis of this study a multivariate cointegration technique is applied in conjunction with Granger causality tests. The results of this analysis provide indications for the existence of significant causal relationships between the variables that characterize the macroeconomic environment and the indicators of the agricultural sector.
A Longitudinal Investigation of Auditor Error Projection Decisions

We investigate auditor error projection decisions based on a sample of audit sampling applications collected from the inventory and accounts receivable workpapers from three large firms for audits during 1994 and 1999. We find an overall decline in the rate of error projection, consistent with the argument that audit quality declined during the period. Error projection rates declined for both Big 5 firms in the sample, but increased for the non‐Big 5 regional firm. The results also suggest significant individual firm changes in the treatment of nonprojected errors. The use of immateriality as a justification to not project errors increased significantly for one of the firms in our sample and decreased significantly for another firm. The use of containment procedures to resolve large audit differences increased significantly for one firm in our sample. Individual firm differences in error projection and use of immateriality and containment procedures appear to be sensitive to the review process and individ.
A Global Forum for Accountancy Debates1

Abstract This paper reports on the annual meeting in 2007 of the United Nations Intergovernmental Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (UN-ISAR). The main item was a continuing discussion of the application of IFRS in a number of countries where further case studies had been done. The meeting also debated the IASB exposure draft on SMEs and compared that with the UN work in this field. A second main theme was guidance on corporate responsibility indicators in annual reports and a review of the implementation status of corporate governance disclosures. The UN group had also hosted a one-day conference on accounting in the extractive industries.
Coupling tourism development and agricultural processes in a dynamic environment

The role of agriculture in the Israeli economy has been declining, and a combination of essential trends has resulted in the emergence of tourism as alternative sources of economic growth in rural areas. These changes have created a new situation, in which tourism-related developments in the rural areas of Israel have become part of the activities of many farm owners. Thus, the Israeli rural environment is a single, tightly coupled system and should be analysed as such. The growth of rural tourism in the Israeli agricultural sector raises several questions, addressing whether rural tourism and farming are synergetic, and the effects of tight coupling between tourism development and agricultural processes. This article presents a simulation model of the coupling effects in which tourism development and agricultural processes are tightly coupled. Our model examined large numbers of different scenarios and the possible outcomes of a decision the farm owner takes in a routine situation of uncertainty. A typical Israeli farm owner embarks on tourism development activities mainly because of stress. Our model shows that adding tourism activities does not increase profit dramatically, but it does increase the variance of profit, which means greater exposure to risks.
Entry Deterrence and Entry Inducement in an Industry with Complementary Products

This paper discusses the possibility of signal jamming between multiple informed incumbents with conflicting interests and examines the implication of the possibility in the limit pricing literature. I find fully separating equilibria where the incumbent competing against the entrant does not use limit pricing in an optimal response to “inductive pricing” by another incumbent desiring entry i.e., charging a lower price than the static equilibrium price to induce entry. Thus, contrary to Milgrom and Roborts, the consequences of asymmetric information for welfare are ambiguous even in fully separating equilibria. [L11]
A new high-potency glycine-precipitated antihemophilic factor (AHF) concentrate. Treatment of classical hemophilia and hemophilia with inhibitors.

A new, high-potency, glycine-precipitated antihemophilic factor (AHF, factor VIII) concentrate, from 100 to 400 times purified, can be administered to patients in solutions 100 times more concentrated than plasma. The product appears to be stable and causes no immediate untoward side reactions. The plasma AHF levels of patients with classical hemophilia can be normalized with small volumes of the glycine-precipitated material given by syringe. Surgery can be performed safely under cover of this fraction. Two patients with classical hemophilia complicated by a circulating inhibitor to AHF were treated with large amounts of the high-potency fraction; partial to complete neutralization of the inhibitor occurred with clinical improvement.
Regional and sectoral dynamics of the Dutch staffing labor cycle

This study analyzes the dynamic characteristics of staffing employment across different business sectors and across different geographical regions in The Netherlands. We analyze a micro data set of the market leader of the Dutch staffing employment market, i.e. Randstad. We apply the dynamic factor model to extract common information out of a large data set and to isolate business cycle frequencies with the aim of forecasting staffing and total employment. We identify regions and sectors whose cyclical developments lead the staffing labor cycle at the country level. The dynamic factor model exploits these leading characteristics at the disaggregate level to forecast the country aggregate. Finally, both dynamic and static factors turn out to be predictive summary statistics of the micro data set when employed to forecast total employment at the country level.
The Bright Side of MAUP: De…fining New Measures of Industrial Agglomeration

We present two new methodologies which exploit the 'bright side' of the Modi…able Areal Unit Problem. The …first one produces an estimate of industrial agglomeration which signi…cantly improves on existing indices; the second one provides a ranking of industries according to their responsiveness to labour market determinants of agglomeration. An empirical application based on US data shows that those industries which are highly dependent on labour market in choosing their location are a mix of low and high skill sectors. Furthermore, we …nd that labour market determinants explain around one quarter of the variation of spatial agglomeration across industries.
Stock Returns and the Miller-Modigliani Valuation Formula: Revisiting the Fama-French Analysis

Fama and French (2006) use the dividend-discount model to develop the role of expected profitability, expected investment, and the book-to-market ratio as predictors of stock returns. One reported empirical result is anomalous. The valuation model establishes that the comparative static relation between expected returns and expected investment is negative, yet it appears to be positive and insignificant. We show that the posited valuation relations apply at the firm level, and not at the per share level at which they were tested. Once the variables are measured at the firm level, all the Fama French predictions are validated.
Research Note: Estimation of the Non-Market Value of Sports Events: A Case Study of the Civic Pride Generated by the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000

This study uses Contingent Valuation Method surveys to estimate the non-market value of local residents' civic pride generated by the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 (2009SAM1000). Using a dataset of 1,800 public intercept surveys, the paper shows that the average individual willingness to pay for the civic pride generated by the 2009SAM1000 was 24.2 yuan, and the total value of local residents' civic pride generated by the event was 110.80 million yuan. The results also indicate that several factors influenced civic pride and willingness to pay for the match, including gender, educational qualifications (EQ), annual household income (AHI), and the aggregative indicator of the product of AHI and EQ.
Exit and Upgrading in Response to Entry: The Case of Gasoline Retailing

Abstract Spatial competition models have established the importance of localized competition in determining competitive outcomes. However, few empirical studies attempt to determine to what extent actual local market conditions affect strategic decisions. This paper uses data provided by the acquisition of the Vancouver area Super‐Save chain of retail gasoline stations by ARCO to study the role of geographic space in competition, and the spatial response of the major competitors in the market to entry. The possibility of both accommodating and aggressive capacity responses by the major incumbent firms to entry are considered. While the empirical results show that proximity to ARCO increased the probability that a station shuts down, proximity to ARCO can explain only a limited amount of shutdown after ARCO’s entry. There is no evidence that incumbent firms used station locations and capacity changes to respond aggressively to ARCO’s entry with a spatial predation strategy.
The Pricing of Asian Options under Stochastic Interest Rates

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of stochastic interest rates on the pricing of Asian options. It is shown that a stochastic, in contrast to a deterministic, development of the term structure of interest rates has a significant influence. The price of the underlying asset, e.g. a stock or oil, and the prices of bonds are assumed to follow correlated two-dimensional Ito processes. The averages considered in the Asian options are calculated on a discrete time grid, e.g. all closing prices on Wednesdays during the lifetime of the contract. The value of an Asian option will be obtained through the application of Monte Carlo simulation, and for this purpose the stochastic processes for the basic assets need not be severely restricted. However, to make comparison with published results originating from models with deterministic interest rates, we will stay within the setting of a Gaussian framework.
The Indian informal sector: The impact of globalization and reform

Globalization and economic reforms typically affect the formal sector, the informal sector existing outside regulation. Yet, numerous links between them mean the informal sector is variously affected. Traditionally, the model used to explain the impact of these forces was labour market segmentation and migration: workers laid off in the formal sector increase informal labour supply, leading to wage decline and increased poverty. The author examines whether this pattern applies in India following economic reforms in the 1990s, and finds a more appropriate model, driven by expansion both in labour supply and in demand, through outsourcing, skill transfers and new enterprises.
Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm in Infancy in Aneurysms–Osteoarthritis Syndrome Due to a Novel SMAD3 Mutation: Further Delineation of the Phenotype

Recently, mutations in the SMAD3 gene were found to cause a new autosomal dominant aneurysm condition similar to Loeys–Dietz syndrome (LDS), mostly with osteoarthritis, called aneurysms–osteoarthritis syndrome (AOS). Our 3‐year‐old propositus underwent correction of an inguinal hernia at 3 months and substitution of the ascending aorta for pathologic dilation at 12 months of age. Family history reveals aortic dilation in his mother at 30 years, death due to aortic dissection of an 18‐year‐old maternal aunt, surgical replacement of the ascending aorta because of aneurysm in a maternal uncle at 19 years, postpartum death of the maternal grandmother at 24 years and surgical intervention because of thoracic aortic aneurysm in a brother of the propositus' grandmother at 54 years. The affected individuals present with several other signs of connective tissue disease, but the two adult patients evaluated revealed no radiologic evidence of osteoarthritis. Molecular testing of the TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 genes, involved in LDS, resulted negative, but analysis of SMAD3 disclosed the novel heterozygous loss‐of‐function mutation c. 1170_1179del (p.Ser391AlafsX7) in exon 9 in all affected family members, confirming the diagnosis of AOS. SMAD3 mutations should be considered in patients of all ages with LDS‐like phenotypes and negative TGFBR1/2 molecular tests, especially in the presence of aortic root or ascending aortic aneurysms, even though signs of early onset osteoarthritis are absent. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
On the Economic Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility

The macro-level debate on the economic impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is still unsettled. This article explores micro-level evidence by examining what Fortune Global 250 firms themselves report about their economic impact. Such reporting embodies corporate attempts to account for their economic implications, in addition to the environmental and social aspects of their activities that have traditionally received more attention in the context of corporate responsibility. Firms' reports turn out to provide a rich illustration of the mechanisms through which MNEs (can) affect economic development (including sheer size, technology transfer, and backward linkages) and of how such impacts are being operationalized and measured. The authors test which MNEs are most likely to disclose information on the various mechanisms and find that it is influenced by region, sector, and size but not by profitability. Implications of this exploratory study for research and practice are discussed.
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) December 2003 Email and Knowledge Management

In this paper, we investigate the advantages of email for knowledge management (KM) by undertaking a feature analysis of the email tool Eudora, and a discourse analysis of messages and conversations in an email archive. We believe the advantages of email for KM have contributed to the appropriation of email for everyday knowledge work. We provide a table of the characteristics of KM in email, an analysis of knowledge development and creation in email, and an understanding of the considerable advantages of email for knowledge work. Our results may prove useful to companies in suggesting objectives, features and managerial interventions for other KM tools and endeavours. The research findings also provide support for the recognition of email in formal organisational KM strategy.
PUBLIC UTILITIES IN EGALITARIAN LDC's: THE ROLE OF BRIBERY IN ACHIEVING PARETO EFFICIENCY

SUMMARY This article points out that the egalitarian ideals adopted by many Less Developed Countries (LDC's) often lead to an inefficient allocation of resources because productive and unproductive agents are given equal access to public facilities. Productive agents then find it worthwhile to bribe their way into obtaining differential access to such public facilities —e.g., the telephone system. As long as bureaucrats look upon such bribes as windfall gains, the efficiency of the economic system can be improved. In practice, however, LDC bureaucracies often come to look upon such incomes as a systematic part of their remuneration and this leads them to pursue bribes rather than carry out their appointed duties; as a result, the system as a whole becomes increasingly inefficient.
‘Delivering’ education; maintaining inequality. The case of children with disabilities in Afghanistan

Education for children with disabilities in Afghanistan, particularly disabled girls, continues to lag behind despite laudable efforts of the Ministry of Education to promote universal access for all. The opportunity for education constitutes not just a means of achieving learning outcomes but also a space for social interaction, individual development and psychosocial support, which are paramount in Conflict-Affected Fragile States (CAFS). However, many persisting barriers still need to be overcome in Afghanistan to allow education for all and change negative attitudes towards education of children with disabilities. In this paper we argue that viewing education as a basic commodity, which is the widespread practice in CAFS, is not conducive to expanding human freedoms and capabilities. More specifically, through analyses of a national survey, we demonstrate that despite considerable resources, increasing access to education in Afghanistan has maintained processes of marginalisation of the already excluded.
Environmental initiatives: towards triple‐bottom line reporting

The objective of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual reports of firms listed by market capitalisation on the Australian Stock Exchange. The periods examined were those immediately prior and subsequent to the release of the Exposure Draft Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics (CERES) Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) issued in March 1999. Using content analysis to focus on the environmental aspects, the study compared 425 annual reports over a two‐year period and 60 environmental reports, in order to explore reporting practices in the periods surrounding this intervention. The results suggest a trend to triple‐bottom reporting, and a significant change in the quality and quantity of environmental information, albeit in specific categories.
Regularized reconstruction in quantitative SPECT using CT side information from hybrid imaging

A penalized-likelihood (PL) SPECT reconstruction method using a modified regularizer that accounts for anatomical boundary side information was implemented to achieve accurate estimates of both the total target activity and the activity distribution within targets. In both simulations and experimental I-131 phantom studies, reconstructions from (1) penalized likelihood employing CT-side information-based regularization (PL-CT), (2) penalized likelihood with edge preserving regularization (no CT) and (3) penalized likelihood with conventional spatially invariant quadratic regularization (no CT) were compared with (4) ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM), which is the iterative algorithm conventionally used in clinics for quantitative SPECT. Evaluations included phantom studies with perfect and imperfect side information and studies with uniform and non-uniform activity distributions in the target. For targets with uniform activity, the PL-CT images and profiles were closest to the ‘truth’, avoided the edge offshoots evident with OSEM and minimized the blurring across boundaries evident with regularization without CT information. Apart from visual comparison, reconstruction accuracy was evaluated using the bias and standard deviation (STD) of the total target activity estimate and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the activity distribution within the target. PL-CT reconstruction reduced both bias and RMSE compared with regularization without side information. When compared with unregularized OSEM, PL-CT reduced RMSE and STD while bias was comparable. For targets with non-uniform activity, these improvements with PL-CT were observed only when the change in activity was matched by a change in the anatomical image and the corresponding inner boundary was also used to control the regularization. In summary, the present work demonstrates the potential of using CT side information to obtain improved estimates of the activity distribution in targets without sacrificing the accuracy of total target activity estimation. The method is best suited for data acquired on hybrid systems where SPECT-CT misregistration is minimized. To demonstrate clinical application, the PL reconstruction with CT-based regularization was applied to data from a patient who underwent SPECT/CT imaging for tumor dosimetry following I-131 radioimmunotherapy.