Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test operation-driven approach on building regression testing environment

Proposes a new software testing and regression testing process which includes the development of test cases and test data, and the multiple execution of such test cases. ne process is practical enough for the current emerging business application development whose schedules are typically extremely short. In our process, most of the steps for testing are reversed. That is, a test engineer starts from a test operation, which is followed by test data retrieval, test case retrieval and matrix checklist creation by combining the test cases. In this way, we can significantly reduce the cost of preparing the automatic execution of test cases for regression testing. In addition, this technique enables the test engineer to develop test cases incrementally. The functionality of the tool to support this process is also presented. A preliminary case study of this technique on an actual software development project in our company showed improvements in the preparation of the test execution as well as the execution of regression testing.
Collaborative Dynamics between Firms and Consumers: an Empirical Review from an Integrated Management Perspective

Combining bibliographic and content analysis, the study quantitatively analyses the scientific production on consumer involvement in marketing and innovation processes, a complex challenge for managers. Recently, the attention given to collaborative approaches has grown exponentially and this area of research has been given new impetus especially by the opportunities that virtual environments offer, and which allow firms to transform new interaction modalities into added value. However, there is a lack of literature reviews which rely on recent data. The topic, from an empirical and longitudinal point of view, appears to be under-explored. Covering the period from 1976 to December 2013, findings show broad trends in the reviewed studies and, extrapolating key concepts, highlight the main dimensions that have to be taken into account to explore the subject. The present review shows that a variety of focal points are used and interdisciplinary influences are expected to continue. Suggestions for future research have also been put forward.
The impact of servant leadership on organisational commitment among the highly talented: the role of challenging work conditions and psychological empowerment

In this research, the authors tested a model in which the challenging work conditions of employees at work and empowerment mediated the influence of servant leadership on organisational commitment. The main aim was to provide additional insight into the relevance of leadership for talent management. In a sample of 174 highly talented employees, challenging work conditions and empowerment mediated the relationship of servant leadership to organisational commitment. The results indicated that the conceptual model tested with a structured equation modelling had an excellent fit. Servant leadership was positively related to challenging work conditions. Following challenging work conditions were related to three out of four psychological empowerment dimensions. Striking is that the empowerment dimension of servant leadership explained additional variance in the meaning aspect of psychological empowerment and that meaning was the most important dimension in relation to organisational commitment.
A Contextual Query Expansion Based Multi-document Summarizer for Smart Learning

Smart learning environments have recently emerged as education solutions that integrate digital devices, digital learning content, and software for more effective and interactive learning settings. However, problems of information overload and duplicate restrict students' interactivity with the smart learning environment and limit its development. An approach in contextual query expansion based multi-document summarization is proposed in this paper to provide a solution to alleviate these problems in information. In our approach, a multi-document summarization system is built upon a topical n-grams model with a query expansion algorithm to capture the contextual information conveyed by word order and abstract topics in documents for enhancing sentence ranking in text summarization. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can significantly improve the summarization performance and eventually benefit students in the smart learning environment.
Taxpayers' Prepayment Positions and Tax Return Preparation Fees Discussion of "Taxpayers' Prepayment Positions and Tax Return Preparation Fees"

Individuals who have their tax returns professionally prepared often overpay estimated income taxes, effectively giving the government an interest-free loan. To understand why tax professionals may place their clients in positive prepayment positions, we draw on mental accounting theory. Mental accounting theory suggests that by placing taxpayers in positive prepayment positions, tax professionals induce a favorable mental representation of tax return preparation fees, perhaps allowing them to collect larger fractions of billable time and costs incurred on taxpayers' behalves. Thus, we hypothesize that tax return preparation fees are higher for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions than for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions. Regression results using tax return data for 68,736 taxpayers provide strong support for this hypothesis. To more fully understand the general nature of the relationship between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees, we adapt the prospect theory value function to the tax domain and formulate three additional hypotheses. Consistent with theory, regression results indicate that the relation between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees is (1) positive, (2) stronger for taxpayers who receive refunds that are less than fees than it is for taxpayers who receive refunds that are greater than fees, and (3) stronger for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions than for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions.
Managerial Incentives and Environmental Compliance

Abstract This paper uses a principal-agent model to analyze the role of monetary incentives to implement corporate environmental policy. The model assumes that the agent has to split a limited amount of effort between two tasks: profit enhancement and environmental risk reduction. We find that when the agent′s effort constraint is not binding, wages should increase with performance in each task. Moreover, the sharpness of the optimal monetary incentives for a given task should depend positively on the principal′s eagerness to influence performance on this task, and on the accuracy of the monitoring technology. When the agent′s effort constraint is binding, however, the necessity for the principal to provide insurance to the agent may make it inefficient to link managerial effort expended on environmental risk reduction to the corporate compensation system.
Aniterative approach to Bayes risk decoding and system combination

We describe a novel approach to Bayes risk (BR) decoding for speech recognition, in which we attempt to find the hypothesis that minimizes an estimate of the BR with regard to the minimum word error (MWE) metric. To achieve this, we propose improved forward and backward algorithms on the lattices and the whole procedure is optimized recursively. The remarkable characteristics of the proposed approach are that the optimization procedure is expectation-maximization (EM) like and the formation of the updated result is similar to that obtained with the confusion network (CN) decoding method. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method leads to an error reduction for both lattice rescoring and lattice-based system combinations, compared with CN decoding, confusion network combination (CNC), and ROVER methods.
Bringing 3D ICs to Aerospace: Needs for Design Tools and Methodologies

Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs), starting with memory cubes, have entered the mainstream recently. The benefits many predicted in the past are indeed delivered, including higher memory bandwidth, smaller form factor, and lower energy. However, 3D ICs have yet to find their deployment in aerospace applications. In this paper we first present key design tools and methodologies for high performance, low power, and reliable 3D ICs that mainly target terrestrial applications. Next, we discuss research needs to extend their capabilities to ensure reliable operations under the harsh space environments. We first present a design methodology that performs fine-grained partitioning of functional modules in 3D ICs for power reduction. Next, we discuss our multi-physics reliability analysis tool that identifies thermal and mechanical reliability trouble spots in the given 3D IC layouts. Our tools will help aerospace electronics designers to improve the reliability of these 3D IC components while not degrading their energy benefits.
OX40 Costimulatory Signals Potentiate the Memory Commitment of Effector CD8+ T Cells1

A T cell costimulatory molecule, OX40, contributes to T cell expansion, survival, and cytokine production. Although several roles for OX40 in CD8+ T cell responses to tumors and viral infection have been shown, the precise function of these signals in the generation of memory CD8+ T cells remains to be elucidated. To address this, we examined the generation and maintenance of memory CD8+ T cells during infection with Listeria monocytogenes in the presence and absence of OX40 signaling. We used the expression of killer cell lectin-like receptor G1 (KLRG1), a recently reported marker, to distinguish between short-lived effector and memory precursor effector T cells (MPECs). Although OX40 was dispensable for the generation of effector T cells in general, the lack of OX40 signals significantly reduced the number and proportion of KLRG1low MPECs, and, subsequently, markedly impaired the generation of memory CD8+ T cells. Moreover, memory T cells that were generated in the absence of OX40 signals in a host animal did not show self-renewal in a second host, suggesting that OX40 is important for the maintenance of memory T cells. Additional experiments making use of an inhibitory mAb against the OX40 ligand demonstrated that OX40 signals are essential during priming, not only for the survival of KLRG1low MPECs, but also for their self-renewing ability, both of which contribute to the homeostasis of memory CD8+ T cells.
The Global Maritime Partnership and Somali Piracy

Since 2005, increasingly numerous and bold attacks by Somali maritime gangs operating in the Horn of Africa have extracted millions of dollars in ransom payments from international shipping companies, governments and insurance companies to release seafarers and hijacked vessels and cargo. There has been no effective governmental control on the Somalia borders for nearly two decades. The present ruling Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the Puntland is battling piracy, but lacks the authority or power to bring a halt to the attacks. In 2008, 42 vessels were seized by pirates operating off the coast of Somalia. Globally, 889 mariners were held hostage by pirates (815 in Somalia) as part of ransom demands. Last year, globally, 11 mariners were murdered by pirates and another 21 are missing and presumed dead. During the same period, off the Horn of Africa, four mariners were killed and 14 are missing and presumed dead. In 2009, the relentless pace of piracy attacks against merchant shipping actually increased, casting into doubt the ability of nations to secure freedom of the seas. During the first five months of 2009, there were 114 attempted attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden that resulted in 29 hijackings and the kidnappings of 478 sailors. The boldness and international scope of the maritime piracy campaign recalls the “golden age” of Caribbean piracy in the eighteenth century and is unprecedented in the contemporary era. This article briefly describes the threat of maritime piracy in the Horn of Africa and, in particular, in the Gulf of Aden. The challenge of maritime piracy arises at a time of political instability in the region of East Africa and economic turmoil throughout the world. An unprecedented array of warships from the world’s navies have deployed to the region to collaboratively battle the common threat. Next, we turn towards a discussion of the greatest force multiplier in the fight against maritime piracy in the Horn of Africa – new co-operative maritime strategies and associated authorities that serve as the basis for deeper maritime security partnerships. Defense & Security Analysis Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 223–234, September 2009
Valuing the local impacts of a large scale wind power establishment in northern Sweden: public and private preferences toward economic, environmental and sociocultural values

This paper estimates public and private preferences towards economic, environmental and sociocultural values associated with a planned large-scale onshore wind-power development in northern Sweden, and analyses the most important determinants of the individual's Willingness to Pay (WTP) for reducing the negative impact associated with the establishment. Sociocultural effects were deemed the most important in the private sample, whereas new job opportunities are valued most highly in the public sample. We further find that ascription to moral and social norms together with individuals’ perceptions related to general and institutional trust constitutes significant determinants of WTP.
Cancer vaccines: What do we need to measure in clinical trials?

Cancer immunotherapy has seen a tremendous number of failures and only few recent regulatory successes. This review is dedicated to evaluate remaining challenges in capturing clinical response with cancer vaccines. Definition of disease progression in context of clinical rather image-specific criteria and interpretation of efficacy in relation to delayed effect of cancer vaccines should be taken into account in the design of future of immunotherapy trials.
Two Industrial Cohorts: Baseline Characteristics and Factors Associated With Obesity

Objective: To describe demographic and health characteristics, and factors associated with obesity among production workers. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed baseline data from two occupational cohorts. Regression modeling was used to assess associations between worker characteristics and obesity. Results: A total of 1974 subjects were included in these analyses. The mean body mass index was 29.5 kg/m2 (SD = 6.5). Having smoked in the past and currently smoking decreased the odds of being obese in the WISTAH Distal Upper Extremity cohort, whereas those feeling depressed had increased odds of being obese. Being a Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian and married increased the odds of obesity in the BackWorks Low Back Pain cohort. Conclusions: Factors associated with obesity differed substantially between the two cohorts. Recognizing factors associated with obesity in specific work settings may provide opportunities for optimizing preventive workplace interventions.
Effect of zolpidem on human Cytochrome P450 activity, and on transport mediated by P‐glycoprotein

The influence of high concentrations of zolpidem (100 μM, corresponding to approximately 200 times maximum therapeutic concentrations) on the activity of six human Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes was evaluated in a model system using human liver microsomes. Zolpidem produced negligible or weak inhibition of human CYP1A2, 2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, and 3A. Transport of rhodamine 123, presumed to be mediated mainly by the energy‐dependent efflux transport protein P‐glycoprotein, was studied in a cell culture system using a human intestinal cell line. High concentrations of zolpidem (100 μM), exceeding the usual therapeutic range by more than 100‐fold, produced only modest impairment of rhodamine 123 transport. The findings indicate that zolpidem is very unlikely to cause clinical drug interactions attributable to impairment of CYP activity or P‐gp mediated transport. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Household labour supply in Britain and Denmark: some interpretations using a model of Pareto Optimal behaviour

This paper analyses the labour supply behaviour of households in Denmark and Britain. It employs models in which the preferences of individuals within the household are explicitly represented. The households are then assumed to decide on their labour supply in a Pareto Optimal fashion. Describing the structure of the household decision in this way allows preliminary results to be obtained on the internal weighting of utilities within the household.
Corporate Governance, Risk Management, and the Financial Crisis: An Information Processing View

Using an information processing perspective we identify two reasons why boards failed to manage risk well 1) board members did not get relevant information about risks incurred by management because they lacked control over information supply; 2) board members were not able to process such risk-related information and lacked incentives or power to influence managerial decision making. Based on insights from cybernetics and decision making theory, we suggest increasing the information processing and decision making capabilities on the board level, by including multiple stakeholders on multiple boards based on a division of labor and a division of power; this alternative structure we label network governance.This paper is one of the few papers making actual recommendations based on systemic insight. Practitioners that agree with the analysis will be able to draw conclusions for their proper governance structure, especially when their businesses operate in increasingly complex environments. Regulators could equally learn from those recommendations and include basic insights generated in their regulatory frameworks.
Municipal commonage and implications for land reform: A profile of commonage users in Philippolis, Free State, South Africa

Abstract This paper reports on a survey of municipal commonage users, which was undertaken in Philippolis in the southern Free State, in May 2005. The survey showed that a significant number of commonage users are committed to their farming enterprises, as shown by five proxy indicators: Their readiness to plough their income into their farming enterprises; their sale of livestock; their desire for more land, and their willingness to pay rental to secure such land; their desire to farm on their own; and their desire to own their own land. The paper reflects on the significance of commonage in the context of the South African government's land reform policy, and argues that commonage can transcend survivalist or subsistence production, and can be used as a “stepping stone” for emergent farmers to access their own land parcels. Finally, the paper argues that, if commonage is to become a key part in a “step-up” strategy of land reform, then appropriately sized land parcels should be made available for commonage users, to enable them to “exit” from commonage use and invest in smallholdings or small farms.
Work and the accommodation of chronic illness: A re-examination of the health-labour supply relationship

This study uses a data set of over 14000 households from the state of New Jersey in the USA to estimate the impact of specific chronic health conditions on the probability of employment and finds wide variation of employment impacts across chronic conditions. Additionally, the elasticity of the employment response is generally greater for women and lower-skilled workers. Most notable is the role of comorbidity. Individuals with multiple conditions have markedly lower probability of employment, and chronic illness explains virtually all of the large gap in employment probability for those who have multiple conditions. This is shown using a summary index of disease status that correlates closely with employment rates across age groups. In the aggregate, chronic disease striking in adulthood explains about 10% of the total non-employment in the New Jersey among those aged 35–74. Finally, cross-sectional evidence gives little support for health as a primary determinant of the aggregate age-employment profile, though controlling for the age-specific severity of conditions may alter this finding.
AN INDIRECT TEST FOR DIVIDEND RELEVANCE

This paper provides an indirect test of dividend relevance conducted in periods that straddle the tax law changes effected by the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Using the abnormal ex‐dividend day return to proxy for the tax penalty of dividends, I find a negative relation between changes in this tax penalty and changes in dividends paid. This result is consistent with corporations' equating, at the margin, the costs of dividend payout to its benefits. Hence, this is indirect evidence of dividend relevance.
Seasons and Longevity: Mortality Trajectories among the Oldest Old

Mortality in general, and especially amongst the oldest old, is known to be partially shaped by seasons: winter is classically characterized by excess mortality. We therefore put forward the use of season-related life tables to study the mortality trajectories of the oldest old. This approach can be used to explore the plasticity of longevity, by opposing winter and summer trajectories. Furthermore, summerrelated life tables summarize the best conditions of mortality, i.e., the lowest values and the least fluctuating pattern. Results are presented for Switzerland, where season-related life tables have been computed until age 110. Introduction The traditional research question when studying human mortality is to determine whether mortality is increasing with age, with which trajectory and at which rate, as well as to which limits. In this paper we examine this question according to season of death: winter or summer. The main hypothesis is that the mortality trajectory, as well as its changes over time, is more obvious in summer, where fluctuations are limited to a minimum. Following the most recent work on the mortality trajectories (Thatcher et al, 1998; Vaupel et al, 1998; Thatcher, 1999), we use a logistic approach to fit the central death rates (mx series) and the probability of deaths (qx series). This work will allow us to further explore the plasticity of longevity to environmental conditions. A second research question, less usual, is to study the distribution of life durations around the central value. Scholars such as Lexis (1878), Greenwood and Irwin (1939), Philips (1954), Benjamin (1959) and Kannisto (2001) already examined this question in the past. This part of the work will allow us to examine whether the individual life durations are more or less concentrated around a central value according to the seasons of death. The usual hypothesis is that deaths are more concentrated when the life expectancy is higher (i.e. when the mortality is lower). Therefore, one can expect individual life durations to be more concentrated under the summer conditions. Following the most recent work by Kannisto (2001) and Cheung et al (2005, submitted and in progress), we use a normal approach to fit the individual life durations (dx series) around and above the modal age at death. Demographers and actuaries used to fit the death rates when fitting a life table. However, we claim in our approach to human longevity that the life table series to be fitted depend on the research question (Cheung et al, in progress). It is not the same thing to fit the death rates or the ages at death (dx). Whatever the statistical models used, the dx series associated with a fitted qx series cannot replace a directly fitted dx series. Similarly, whatever the models used, the qx series associated with a fitted dx series cannot replace a directly fitted mx and qx series. Such a fit aims to clarify a series of observations by eliminating the fluctuations