Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are Customer Information Systems Worth It?: Results from B2B Services

The Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm suggests that assets, and their effective management, should be associated with achieving and maintaining competitive advantage. As the RBV has developed, it has moved toward the idea that difficult-to-imitate learning processes may be the only true source of competitive advantage to the firm. This paper empirically examines the relationship between a business unit's strategy, its ability to manage customer information, an intangible asset associated with firm learning, and achieving competitive advantage. Learning about customers takes place through having relevant dialogues with them, which is also known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). As relationships develop, information about the customer is gathered in the firm's Customer Information Systems (CIS), the content of , and processes and assets associated with, gathering and moving customer information throughout the firm. CIS management capabilities as used here are based on learning organization theory and measured by the ability to get, store, move and use information throughout the business unit. This study of 209 business services firms finds that generic positioning (Low-Cost and Differentiation) and marketing strategies (Personalization and Customization) are related to Customer Information Systems development. CIS development in turn is associated with higher levels of Customer-Based Performance, which in turn is associated with increased Business Growth. However, strategy selection (and particularly Differentiation) has a greater impact on Customer-Based Performance than CIS management abilities. Whereas a good strategy makes up for deficiencies in CIS, a strong CIS alone without a clear strategy may only in a more limited case lead to a performance advantage. Managers are cautioned that the collection of masses of data without a clear strategic intent for their use may not be the wisest (or most profitable) course of action. Customization and Personalization themselves are not directly associated with performance. By far the greatest contributor to Customer-Based Performance is strategy selection. The greater long-term benefits of the knowledge gained from the CIS may be in the ability to assist in measuring Customer-Based Performance, rather than in the ability to immediately contribute to performance. These results suggest that Customization and Personalization may not be required for every firm's marketing strategy.
Limits on black hole formation from cosmic string loops

In theories with cosmic strings, a small fraction of string loops may collapse to form black holes. In this paper, various constraints on such models involving black holes are considered. Hawking radiation from black holes, gamma and cosmic ray flux limits and constraints from the possible formation of stable black hole remnants are reanalyzed. The constraints which emerge from these considerations are remarkably close to those derived from the normalization of the cosmic string model to the cosmic microwave background anisotropies. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Does the fit of competitive priorities between Manufacturing and marketing functions matter?A proposal

ABSTRACT In this paper, I propose a study to investigate the relationship between an organization’s performance and the fit of competitive priorities of manufacturing and marketing functions. There are two propositions in this study. First, organizations that exhibit a higher degree of fit of competitive priorities between their marketing and manufacturing functions will have a higher customer satisfaction compared to those that exhibit a lower degree of fit of competitive priorities between their marketing and manufacturing functions. Second, organizations that have higher customer satisfaction will have better financial performance compared to those that have lower customer satisfaction. I suggest manufacturing companies to be used as the sampling frame. Respondents are those who hold the top most position in manufacturing, marketing and finance departments. A simple regression can be used to analyze the data. I believe the proposed study will provide empirical support to show the importance of manufacturing and marketing functions subscribing to the same set of competitive priorities.
Effect of Cholestyramine on Gastrointestinal Transit in Patients with Idiopathic Bile Acid Diarrhea: A Prospective, Open-Label Study

Background. Patients with idiopathic bile acid diarrhea (IBAD) have accelerated transit in the small bowel and in the colon. This study evaluated the effect of cholestyramine, a bile acid binder, on transit in the small bowel and in the colon. Methods. Thirteen subjects with IBAD (4 male, 9 female; aged 23-67 years) were included. Gastrointestinal transit was investigated in all subjects before and during treatment with cholestyramine. Results. Stool frequency was reduced ( P< . 05), and stool consistency was harder ( P< . 01) during treatment. A tendency to prolonged small bowel transit time was shown (P = .05). Transit in the transverse colon was prolonged by treatment ( P< . 02). Conclusions. A bile acid binder is an effective treatment in IBAD, probably by reducing transit in both the small bowel and in the colon. The results also indicate that the small bowel as well as the colon has a pathophysiological role in IBAD.
HOW DO DOMESTIC UNGULATES SELECT NUTRITIOUS DIETS ON RANGELANDS ?

Animal learning has been shown to play a major role in the development of diet selection by domestic ungulates. Dr. Frederick Provenza and his associates at Utah State University have conducted a series of experiments over the past 15 years to learn how physiological and behavioral mechanisms govern diet selection. In this paper, we synthesize several key diet selection concepts presented in 4 recent articles (i.e., Provenza et al. 1992; Provenza 1995, 1996, 1997). PALATABILITY AND PREFERENCE
Financial Performance Measures of Business Group Companies: A Study of Indian Non-Metallic Mineral Products Industries

This paper focuses on the financial performance measures of business group companies of Indian non-metallic mineral products industries. The study uses financial data of 57 business group companies of Indian nonmetallic mineral products industries (cement, glass, gems & jewelery, refractories, ceramic tiles, abrasives and granite) over a time period of 10 years (1999-2008) and examines the firm’s financial performance using performance measures – Operating Profit (OPPRO) and Return On Net Worth (RONW). The Size (SIZE), Leverage (LEV), Working Capital Ratio (WCR) and Age (AGE) of the firm are included as determinants of firm performance. Non-metallic mineral product category consists of important industries of the manufacturing sector (which contributes almost 15% to the GDP) and 3-4% to the GDP. This study tries to see the performance of business group firms in different business cycles.
Diisopropanolnitrosamine (DIPN) induced rat thyroid lesions. III. An immunohistochemical study on their functional aspects.

The functional aspects of DIPN induced rat thyroid lesions classified as in our previous studies were analyzed by immunohistochemical detection of Tg, T4, and T3 in serial or semi-serial paraffin sections. The type 1 lesions, i.e., foci of cellular alteration of individual follicles, showed the same pattern of immunostaining as seen in the surrounding hyperplastic follicles and in normal controls. On the other hand, the type 3 lesions, i.e., carcinomas, were mostly negative for T4 and T3 with only partial staining for Tg. The type 2 lesions, i.e. proliferative nodules, which might include a state of nodular hyperplasia as well as benign neoplastic nodules, demonstrated intermediate stainability between the type 1 and type 3 lesions. These results suggest that the histological structures of focal lesions of the thyroid gland may be closely related to their functional activities. Also, the importance of follicular structure formation in thyroid hormone synthesis was demonstrated in each type of focal lesion.
Conservation surgery for epidermoid carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx

The determinant survivals for supraglottic subtotal laryngectomy and neck dissection in T1, T2, T3 and T4 are 83 percent, 79 percent, 70 percent and 67 percent respectively with an overall success rate for primary surgery of 79 percent. The salvage rate is 47 percent for an overall success rate of 82 percent.
On the Fixed-Point Implementation of Fractional-Delay Filters Based on the Farrow Structure

In this paper, the fixed-point implementation of adjustable fractional-delay filters using the Farrow structure is considered. Based on the observation that the sub-filters approximate differentiators, closed-form expressions for the L2-norm scaling values at the outputs of each sub-filter as well as at the inputs of each delay multiplier are derived. The scaling values can then be used to derive suitable word lengths by also considering the round-off noise analysis and optimization. Different approaches are proposed to derive suitable word lengths including one based on integer linear programming, which always gives an optimal allocation. Finally, a new approach for multiplierless implementation of the sub-filters in the Farrow structure is suggested. This is shown to reduce register complexity and, for most word lengths, require less number of adders and subtracters when compared to existing approaches.
Improving Web Site's Accessibility

We consider the problem of improving the performance of web access by proposing a reconstruction of the internal link structure of a web site in order to match the quality of the pages (measured in terms of their link importance in the web space) with the popularity of the pages (measured in terms of their importance recognized by web users). We provide a set of simple algorithms in order to increase the access rate of popular pages by using local reorganization of the web site’s pages.
APPLIED TOPICS IN FINANCIAL AGENTS' BEHAVIOR

We present an experimental study of financial contagion due to cross-market rebalancing. Subjects trade three assets with an automaton representing a fringe of noise traders. The three assets' fundamental values are independent of each other. The subjects’ payoff depends on the asset values, the prices at which they buy or sell and, moreover, on their portfolio composition. Theory predicts that when the first asset is hit by a negative shock, for portfolio rebalancing, subjects should buy in the second market and sell in the third, thus transmitting the shock from the first market to the third. The aggregate behavior that we observe in the laboratory is extremely close to that predicted by theory. Although in the experiment there is heterogeneity among subjects' behavior, the prices in the three markets are remarkably similar to those theoretically predicted. ∗ Cipriani: Department of Economics, George Washington University (email: marco.cipriani@gwu.edu); Gardenal: Department of Business, University of Venice Ca' Foscari (e-mail: ggardenal@unive.it); Guarino: Department of Economics and ELSE, University College London (e-mail: aguarino@ucl.ac.uk). We thank Brian Wallace, who wrote the experimental program, and Tom Rutter, who helped to run the experiment. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the ESRC (World Economy and Finance program) and of the ERC. We are responsible for any error.
The Effect of Labor Mobility Restrictions on Human Capital Accumulation in China

In this paper, I study the impact of the Hukou labor mobility restrictions on human capital investment in China. Rural people have stronger incentive to pursue higher education, treating it as means to obtain urban identity and escape from underdeveloped areas. The 1998 Hukou policy reform granted urban Hukou to a specific group automaticly. Using a Regression Discontinuity strategy to fully exploit this policy change, I find the human capital decreased sharply, as measured by high school enrollment and dropout rates, when the mobility restriction is removed. This finding indicates considerable indirect returns to education stemming from the Hukou system in the presence of education-based selective migration, over and above the usual direct pecuniary returns. These results reveal the important role of the Hukou system on encouraging educational investment in China. JEL Classification: J24, J61, O15.
Firms' Financial Benefits and Costs of Internationalization Today

In this paper, we collect and contrast theoretical arguments on the benefits and costs of internationalization and develop a comprehensive and structured overview of different theoretical concepts. We also critically evaluate these concepts in terms of their practical importance: this refers to both the relevance for multinational firms (MNEs) today, and to the specificity or applicability to what we term benefits and costs from a financial accounting perspective. We find a slight overweight of positive financial effects of internationalization, which – however – is less clear as might practically have been assumed. Without directly incorporating contextual or management aspects, we are unable to draw theoretical inference on a strong positive or negative development of financial positions. This paper therefore provides a conceptualization of different cost and revenue developments – nothing more, but also nothing less.
Reumacon (CPH82) showed similar x‐ray progression and clinical effects as methotrexate in a two year comparative study on patients with early rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives. To study x‐ray development and clinical effects, tolerability and safety after 2 years treatment of RA patients with Reumacon (CPH82) or methotrexate (MTX). Patients and methods. This study is a 74 week open continuation of a 24 week double blind comparison of 100 patients with early RA (disease duration less than 2 years) treated either with Reumacon or MTX. Results. The mean Larsen scores and the mean number of erosions increased significantly from baseline to 24 weeks and from 24 weeks to endpoint in both groups with no significant difference between them. Both groups had improved significantly in all clinical variables after 24 weeks and this improvement was sustained after two years. Conclusions. Radiological progression in patients treated with CPH82 was similar to that in patients treated with MTX. The clinical effect of the two drugs was sustained over the two year trial in both treatment groups.
Evolutionary Feature Selection for Text Documents using the SVM

—Text categorization is the problem of classifying text documents into a set of predefined classes. After a preprocessing step, the documents are typically represented as large sparse vectors. When training classifiers on large collections of documents, both the time and memory restrictions can be quite prohibitive. This justifies the application of feature selection methods to reduce the dimensionality of the document-representation vector. In this paper, we present three feature selection methods: Information Gain, Support Vector Machine feature selection called (SVM_FS) and Genetic Algorithm with SVM (called GA_SVM). We show that the best results were obtained with GA_SVM method for a relatively small dimension of the feature vector.
Scenario patterns based on case grammar approach

The scenario-based approach is a promising technique not only to elicit requirements from stakeholders but also to achieve user-participatory development. Techniques to construct scenarios of high quality with less effort are necessary. In addition, since during the development of a system its requirements are frequently changed by customers and/or users, the techniques to manage changes to the scenarios and to handle the change propagations in the scenarios are also crucial. This paper proposes a solution to the above issues based on reusable pattern techniques and a case grammar of natural-language processing techniques. We abstract case frames as reusable primitive parts to write sentences in a scenario and patterns to combine the case frames so that we can get consistent scenario episodes.
Regulation versus competition : an assessment of regulation’s impacts on title insurance premiums

This study uses a multilevel model of change to assess the effects of five distinguished regulation styles in title insurance on insurance premiums. This study finds that the states promulgating title insurance premiums have higher charges than the states allowing free competition in the title insurance market. The other regulation styles do not have significantly different impacts on title insurance premiums from free competition. In addition, market characteristics such as home sales, housing price, and property value can also influence title insurance premiums. This study explains the title insurance premium variation among states. The research outcomes can also provide insights into the ongoing regulatory reform in title insurance, in particular in the states using the promulgation regulation style.
High rejection UNII 5.2GHz wideband bulk acoustic wave filters using undoped single crystal AlN-on-SiC resonators

5.24GHz bulk acoustic wave filters, utilizing undoped single crystal aluminum nitride, are reported. The filters had an absolute 4dB bandwidth of 151 MHz, a minimum insertion loss of 2.82 dB and rejection >38 dB. Resonators show k<sup>2</sup><inf>eff</inf> of 6.32%, Q<inf>rnax</inf> of 1523, and FOM of 96.
The Relationship between Motivations and Actions in Corporate Social Responsibility: An exploratory study.

This paper examines the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) motivations and actions in twenty-five selected teaching cases. We develop a literature-based research framework used to classify the research findings of our study and enable a direct and easier identification of the resulting patterns emerging from our sample. A cross-case analysis enables us to point out evidence on the behavioral practices adopted by firms and on the causal link between CSR motivations and CSR actions, identifying four main emerging patterns in the behavior of firms investing in corporate social responsibility. Then we reconsider these patterns in light of the distinction between family and non-family enterprises.
0 Socio-economic status and body composition outcomes in urban South African children

Objective To determine which aspects of socio-economic status (SES) measured at birth and 9/10 years are associated with body composition at ages 9/10 years. Design Mixed longitudinal cohort Setting Johannesburg-Soweto South Africa Participants A sub-sample of the Birth to Twenty (Bt20) cohort (n=281) with data on birthweight, height, weight, fat and lean tissue (whole body DXA), and birth and 9/10 years SES measures. Main Outcome Measures Linear regression was used to estimate the influence of birth and ages 9/10 years SES measures on three outcomes; fat mass index (FMI) (Fat Mass (Kg)/height(m)), lean mass index (LMI) (lean mass (Kg)/height(m)), and BMI at ages 9/10 years controlling for sex, age, birthweight and pubertal status. Results Compared to the lowest SES tertile, being in the highest birth SES tertile was associated with increased LMI at 9/10 years (β = 0.43, SE = 0.21 for White and Black children and β = 0.50, SE = 0.23 for Black children only), whereas children in the high SES tertile at 9/10 years had increased FMI (β = 0.46, SE = 0.22 for White and Black children and β = 0.65, SE = 0.23 for Black children only). SES at birth and 9/10 years accounted for 8 and 6% of the variance in FMI and BMI respectively (Black children). Conclusions These findings underline the importance of examining SES across childhood ages when assessing nutrition inequalities. Results emphasise the need to consider lean and fat mass as well as BMI when studying SES andbody composition in children.
Three Dimensional Elements for Sustainable e-Business Modelling

e-business modelling is a prevalent term now days as it converts technology into economic value. The sustainability of the business is another global contemporary issue. Although e-business modelling and sustainability are the two major global trends now but still there is no common understanding about the elements that need to be used for a sustainable e-business model. Surprisingly, none of the e-business modelling approaches even consider sustainability as a major element. In this paper, therefore, after extensive literature review on e-business modelling and sustainability of the business we carefully identify and determine the required elements for a sustainable e-business model. The elements are three dimensional and selected from customer value area, business value area, and process value area so that the modelling elements safeguard the interests of all stakeholders (customer, business, society, and environment) while maintaining the sustainability.
Evaluation of Disseminated Candidiasis on an Experimental Animal Model: A Fourier Transform Infrared Study

Invasive candidiasis, defined as candidemia and disseminated candidiasis, is the most common fungal infection in hospitalized patients. In the current study, we used Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy as a rapid, non-perturbing technique to investigate the effects of disseminated candidiasis on mouse liver tissues at the molecular level. The results revealed that the infection caused compositional changes in the tissues by decreasing the lipid content and the ratio of the saturated lipids to unsaturated lipids. An increase in the lipid/protein ratio was also observed. In addition, investigation of the olefinic band at 3014 cm−1 showed that lipid peroxidation took place in the infected samples. These results indicate that FT-IR spectroscopy is a promising technique for the evaluation and diagnosis of disseminated candidiasis.
Customer Lifetime Value The Path to Profitability

This survey talks about Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) as a metric that would help managers make informed business decisions. While there have been prior articles that take an extensive and in-depth look at Customer Equity (CE)(Villanueva and Hanssens, 2007), this survey reviews the CLV metric in particular. The definition and approaches to compute CLV and the concept of customer equity are discussed in detail. Specifically, this survey provides methods for measuring CLV, the strategies for developing customer-centric strategies, the implementation of CLV strategies in a B2B and B2C setting, and the challenges faced by an organization in implementing a CLV-based framework. This survey details the importance of CLV as a metric in a marketer’s toolkit and how it is relevant to managing customers. ∗V. Kumar (VK) is the inaugural holder of the Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair in Marketing, and the Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management. The author thanks Bharath Rajan and Saurabh Bhargava for assistance in the preparation of this manuscript, and Joseph Pancras and J. Andrew Petersen for their valuable feedback. The author owes additional thanks to Renu for copyediting this manuscript. Full text available at: http://dx.doi. org/10.1561/1700000004