Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cultural Industries Revisited

In my early "Processing Fads and Fashions: An Organization-Set Analysis of Cultural Industry Systems" (1972), the middle "throughput" phase, or most organizational aspect of cultural industries, was emphasized. In this depoliticized exploration of what Adorno (1991) had earlier characterized as the industrialization of high culture, and Powdermaker (1950) as Hollywood's "dream factory," I emphasized the key roles of gatekeeper and distributor organizations as critical in connecting the artist/creators to audience/consumers of mass, or "popular" culture (as it had more acceptingly come to be called). Altogether, this network of organizations--from creators (artists, musicians, actors, writers) and brokers (agents), through the cultural product's producers (publishers, studios), distributors (wholesalers, theaters), and media outlets--collectively constitutecultural industries. This article on industries producing "cultural products"--defined as " 'nonmaterial' goods directed at a public of consumers, for whom they generally serve an esthetic or expressive, rather than a clearly utilitarian function" (Hirsch 1972 p. 641)--appeared at the same time that organizational sociology's focus on what became known as the "production of culture" took off, and continued to flourish into the 1990s (Peterson 1994, Crane 1992). How has the study of cultural industries changed over the last generation? A simple answer is that the subject--the key role of distribution and the importance of organizational middlemen in the making and sale of popular culture--remains analytically the same. From actors, musicians, and writers; through studios, labels and publishers, to videocassettes, movie theaters, record stores, and booksellers (in stores or via the Internet)--cultural products flow. How this sequence is organized and traversed remains a fascinating forest of power plays and techniques, employed by role-occupants in the same positions as have existed since the advent of mass media. While this substantive field has changed little analytically, what we also see is a wondrous expansion in the disciplinary approaches being taken to examine the multitude of topics available for examination under the broad rubric and framing of the term, "cultural industries. " Because I was a graduate student at the time (my roommate dared me to submit the "Processing." paper to theAmerican Journal of Sociology), it is a great pleasure to find the concept has retained its value for other researchers since that time.In this article, I will (1) reexamine and discuss the original framing of the termcultural industries; (2) briefly review some of the more recent complementary perspectives which expand the possible arenas for studying this topic; and (3) append a short note on how the more recent inclusion ofnonprofit cultural products (e.g., symphonies, museums) in this framework poses interesting analytical questions and opportunities.
Relational resources and competences for radical product innovation

Peter Drucker in 1954 said that there are two distinguishing features of the business: marketing and innovation. In the very first edition of the Journal of Marketing Management, Keith Blois examined the influence of customers and competitors in the new product development process, concluding that the widely referenced process models were insufficient for capturing external inputs central to the progress from the generation of ideas to eventual market launch and growth. In the intervening period numerous authors have published research on "product innovation" with the alternative conceptualisations process centre stage. Much of this research, however, is rooted in theories intrinsically concerned with incremental product development and most of that relating to physical consumer goods. More recently, some product innovation research has turned to the specific issue of radical innovation, concluding again that the traditional "stage" models are a necessary but insufficient conceptual framework for analysis. At the same time, the conceptual foundations of marketing have been strengthened by the discussion of the role of interaction, markets and networks. This paper is located where these trends in marketing and innovation research intersect by examining the marketing competences required for radical product innovation.
Heritable activity: a prion that propagates by covalent autoactivation.

Known prions (infectious proteins) are self-propagating amyloids or conformationally altered proteins, but in theory an enzyme necessary for its own activation could also be a prion (or a gene composed of protein). We show that yeast protease B is such a prion, called [beta]. [beta] is infectious, reversibly curable, and its de novo generation is induced by overexpression of the pro-protease. Present in normal cells but masked by the functionally redundant protease A, [beta] is advantageous during starvation and necessary for sporulation. We propose that other enzymes whose active, modified, form is necessary for their maturation might also be prions.
Model reduction of discrete time hybrid systems: A structural approach based on observability

This paper addresses model reduction for discrete time hybrid systems that are described by a Mixed Logical Dynamical (MLD) model. The goal is to simplify the MLD model while preserving its input/output behavior. This is useful when considering a reachability property that depends on the output and should be enforced by appropriately setting the input. The proposed procedure for model reduction rests on the analysis of the structure of the MLD system and on its observability properties. It is also applicable to PieceWise Affine (PWA) systems that can be equivalently represented as MLD systems. In the case of PWA systems, mode merging can be adopted to further simplify the model.
Leveraging nonnegative matrix factorization in processing the temporal modulation spectrum for speech enhancement

This paper proposes to employ the technique of nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to enhance the temporal modulation components of speech signals for reducing the noisy effect. As for any arbitrary acoustic frequency, the NMF-wise bases for the temporal modulations of both the clean speech and noise are first extracted and then applied to the decomposition of the temporal modulation of the noise-corrupted speech signal. In this way the noise-free speech component can be highlighted and the updated speech signal possesses higher quality than the original counterpart. Moreover, the temporal modulations of the neighboring acoustic frequencies can be processed together to boost the computation efficiency without deteriorating the enhancement. The evaluation experiments conducted on a subset of the Aurora-2 connected digit database reveal that the proposed method significantly improves the Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) scores of the signals.
Ribozyme mediated destruction of influenza A virus in vitro and in vivo

Short catalytic RNAs with inherent, specific endoribonuclease activity, called ribozymes, have recently been shown to exist in nature. According to the structural models artificial ribozymes have been designed that can potentially hydrolyse any chosen target RNA sequence in trans at a specific site. We have constructed and characterized in vitro hammerhead and hairpin ribozymes designed to cleave viral RNA segment 5 of influenza A virus. Both ribozymes were functional under optimal in vitro conditions, but quantitative measurements indicate that the hammerhead ribozyme is considerably more efficient at this target site than the hairpin ribozyme. Mg2+ dependent hammerhead ribozyme‐mediated cleavage reactions were enhanced at higher temperature and in presence of spermidine, but catalytic activities were retained also in cellular extract S‐100 or nuclear extracts at physiological temperatures.
Individual Investors and Option Trading: Attention Grabbing Versus Long-Term Strategies

This paper analyzes trading records of online retail bank investors to examine whether attention-type events dominate return feedback strategies in explaining individual investors’ stock option trading decisions. We show that although individual investors are net buyers of common stock on abnormally high volume days, they follow contrarian investment strategies after extreme prior day stock price performance. Moreover, we find that individual investors especially exploit stock options to follow contrarian investment strategies in that they initiate over twice as many bullish-type (nearly half as many bearish-type) option contracts after extremely poor (good) prior-day returns. Further, we observe variance in contrarian behavior across investor types: extremely optimistic investors pursue contrarian investment strategies more (less) pronounced around highly negative (positive) prior day returns. Finally, we show that the same extreme optimists especially overweigh short-term compared to long-term return feedback information in making individual stock option trading decisions. Combined, this study provides novel insights in the dynamics of individual investors’ option trading decisions and in the distinctive roles of cognitive biases underlying this process.
MMP-25 Metalloprotease Regulates Innate Immune Response through NF-κB Signaling

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) regulate innate immunity acting over proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and other immune-related proteins. MMP-25 (membrane-type 6-MMP) is a membrane-bound enzyme predominantly expressed in leukocytes whose biological function has remained largely unknown. We have generated Mmp25-deficient mice to elucidate the in vivo function of this protease. These mutant mice are viable and fertile and do not show any spontaneous phenotype. However, Mmp25-null mice exhibit a defective innate immune response characterized by low sensitivity to bacterial LPS, hypergammaglobulinemia, and reduced secretion of proinflammatory molecules. Moreover, these immune defects can be tracked to a defective NF-κB activation observed in Mmp25-deficient leukocytes. Globally, our findings provide new mechanistic insights into innate immunity through the activity of MMP-25, suggesting that this proteinase could be a potential therapeutic target for immune-related diseases.
Interaction of citrate‐coated silver nanoparticles with earthworm coelomic fluid and related cytotoxicity in Eisenia andrei

Understanding the interaction of nanoparticles with biological fluid is important for predicting the behavior and toxicity of nanoparticles in living systems. The earthworm Eisenia andrei was exposed to citrate‐coated silver nanoparticles (cAgNPs), and the interaction of cAgNPs with earthworm coelomic fluid (ECF), the cytotoxicity of cAgNPs in earthworm coelomocytes was assessed. The neutral red retention assay showed a reduction in lysosomal stability after exposure. The toxicity of silver ions dissolved from cAgNPs in the soil medium was not significant. The aggregation and dissolution of cAgNPs increased in ECF, which contains various electrolytes that alter the properties of nanoparticles, and their subsequent toxicity. Microscopic and dissolution studies demonstrated that the aggregation of cAgNPs rapidly increased, and readily dissolved in ECF. The bioavailability of cAgNPs to earthworms induced lysosomal cytotoxicity. This is the first report to test the interaction and lysosomal cytotoxicity of nanoparticles in earthworm biofluids. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Goodwill Impairment: A Comparative Country Analysis

In response to proposed convergence of accounting standards, we investigate whether non-U.S. firms (which list their shares on U.S. secondary markets and report under U.S. standards) are more likely to interpret and apply the accounting rules in a different manner than their U.S. counterparts. Specifically, this paper evaluates a mediation effect that non-U.S. firms will take greater goodwill impairment charges under SFAS 142 than U.S. firms. Extending earlier international accounting research (e.g., d'Arcy 2006), the study illustrates the difference between de jure harmonization (harmonized rules) and de facto harmonization (harmonized practices) and examines the impact of legal, accounting, and cultural values upon the accounting for goodwill. The findings indicate that both firm-level and country-level characteristics affect the goodwill impairment decision.
Software volumetric evaluation of doubling times for differentiating benign versus malignant pulmonary nodules.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to evaluate the reliability of software-calculated doubling times for discerning malignant versus benign nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS CT lung analysis volumetric software was used to retrospectively calculate the doubling times of 63 solid noncalcified nodules by comparing nodule volumes on baseline and follow-up CT scans obtained a median of 3.7 months apart. A final diagnosis based on validated criteria was available for all 63 nodules. All CT examinations were performed with 1.25-mm-thick slices on a four-detector unit. Taking 500 days as the upper value for malignancies, we evaluated whether the software-calculated doubling times could be used to distinguish malignant from benign solid nodules. We also examined whether the relative volume variation of benign nodules correlated with initial nodule size, interscan interval, or differences in contrast administration or exposure parameters between baseline and follow-up CT. RESULTS There were 52 benign and 11 malignant nodules. Benign nodules had a median doubling time of 947 days and a mean relative volume variation of -4.4% (range, -50% to 38%). Malignant nodules had a median doubling time of 117 days and a mean relative volume variation of 102% (22-462%). The sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values of the volumetric software for diagnosing malignancy were 91% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-1.00), 90% (95% CI, 0.79-0.97), 98% (95% CI, 0.89-1.00), and 67% (95% CI, 0.38-0.88), respectively. No correlation was found between the relative volume variation of benign nodules and their initial size, the interscan interval, or differences in contrast administration or exposure parameters between the two CT examinations. CONCLUSION Software-calculated pulmonary nodule doubling times of more than 500 days have a 98% negative predictive value for the diagnosis of solid malignant pulmonary nodules. This method may be useful for diagnosing malignant pulmonary nodules on follow-up CT.
Political marketing and stakeholder engagement

Political marketing theory has developed and evolved in conjunction with advancements in political science and commercial marketing. Commercial marketing has been increasingly interested in developing marketing mechanisms which allows it to satisfy the core customer groups while also meeting the broader needs of the community and other stakeholders. Political marketing has the opportunity to build a marketing framework that focuses on delivering value to a core target market (voters, supporters) and addressing the needs of society at large. The paper outlines a new definition of political marketing to meet the challenges of addressing the needs of the political marketplace, political party stakeholders, and the broader social agenda.
Radical innovation from relations-based knowledge: empirical evidence in Spanish technology-intensive firms

Purpose – The present paper seeks to provide a new insight into intellectual capital classification by theoretically and empirically differentiating relations‐based knowledge into social capital and relational capital. Additionally, taking into account the key role played by radical innovation to compete in the context defined by the “knowledge‐based economy”, the aim is to empirically investigate the possible effect of both relations‐based intellectual capital components on the development of this kind of innovation by firms.Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from a questionnaire responded to by 251 Spanish high and medium‐high tech firms. Based on their answers, exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis are carried out.Findings – As theoretically proposed, relations‐based intellectual capital can be separated into social and relational capital, with social capital as the main component. Both elements have a significantly positive influence on radical innovation developed by firms.
Aspects of Information Strategy Formulation for Customer Orientation

Economic transactions are vulnerable to the hazards of both bounded rationality and opportunistic behaviour. These hazards are encountered in the form of information problems that have to be dealt with before, during and after the agreement on a transaction. The three information problems discussed in this paper can be exploited by either of the parties involved in the transaction for strategic purposes. Information strategy is then described as the way organizations deal with these information problems. This research analyses what aspects customer-oriented organizations can take into account when formulating an information strategy.
Using evaluative conditioning to explain corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship

This paper investigates the mechanism under which attitude formation takes place in corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship. We developed a conceptual model that synthesises three theoretical frameworks (evaluative conditioning, relationship marketing and brand equity), aiming to explain corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship. Specifically, the proposed model posits that, in sport sponsorship, close consumer relationships with a sport brand leverage sponsor brand equity elements (brand familiarity, brand personality and brand image) and can lead to positive outcomes (wordof-mouth communications). We tested the proposed model using data collected from fans of two professional soccer teams (N = 280). The results of the study confirmed the proposed relationships and further provided new insights regarding the role of brand equity elements in creating ‘backward’ effects to the sport brand (team). Moreover, the findings suggest that sport sponsorship might be the ideal context for co-branding partnerships between mature/high-equity brands.
Analysis of Glycan Polymers Produced by Peptidoglycan Glycosyltransferases*

Bacterial cells are surrounded by a cross-linked polymer called peptidoglycan, the integrity of which is necessary for cell survival. The carbohydrate chains that form the backbone of peptidoglycan are made by peptidoglycan glycosyltransferases (PGTs), highly conserved membrane-bound enzymes that are thought to be excellent targets for the development of new antibacterials. Although structural information on these enzymes recently became available, their mechanism is not well understood because of a dearth of methods to monitor PGT activity. Here we describe a direct, sensitive, and quantitative SDS-PAGE method to analyze PGT reactions. We apply this method to characterize the substrate specificity and product length profile for two different PGT domains, PBP1A from Aquifex aeolicus and PBP1A from Escherichia coli. We show that both disaccharide and tetrasaccharide diphospholipids (Lipid II and Lipid IV) serve as substrates for these PGTs, but the product distributions differ significantly depending on which substrate is used as the starting material. Reactions using the disaccharide substrate are more processive and yield much longer glycan products than reactions using the tetrasaccharide substrate. We also show that the SDS-PAGE method can be applied to provide information on the roles of invariant residues in catalysis. A comprehensive mutational analysis shows that the biggest contributor to turnover of 14 mutated residues is an invariant glutamate located in the center of the active site cleft. The assay and results described provide new information about the process by which PGTs assemble bacterial cell walls.
Efektywność funkcjonowania publicznych szkół wyższych

Edukacja wyższa jest zaliczana do dóbr merytorycznych (społecznie pożądanych). Ze względu na to, że w wielu krajach rządy interweniują w mechanizm rynkowy wspierając szkolnictwo wyższe, pojawia się istotne pytanie o efektywność sektora publicznego w alokacji rzadkich zasobów gospodarczych. W artykule podjęto dyskusję na temat efektywności publicznych szkół wyższych i metod jej pomiaru, koncentrując uwagę na Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Dokonano przeglądu literatury zagranicznej i krajowej w tym zakresie. W artykule zaprezentowano również wyniki wstępnych badań w zakresie wskaźnika efektywności DEA dla trzynastu wydziałów Szkoły Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego w Warszawie. W badaniach zastosowano model CCR ukierunkowany na maksymalizację efektów. W modelu uwzględniono jedną zmienną po stronie nakładów i trzy zmienne po stronie efektów. Cztery wydziały uznano za w pełni efektywne, zaś pozostałych dziewięć za nieefektywne. Istnieje potrzeba kontynuacji badań na większej, ale wewnętrznie jednorodnej próbie badawczej.
Are Food Exchange Websites the Next Big Thing in Food Marketing? A Latent Class Analysis.

A Latent Class model is utilized to examine vegetable and livestock producers’ preferences for a number of different features offered by food exchange websites. The results indicate that growers are willing to pay on average $55.69 per month if an online marketplace is offered. Additionally, the WTP for advertising on FacebookSocial media is on average $20.43 per month. Lastly, the producers are willing to pay $31.37 per month more for the service if it is provided by a private for profit company.
Type A Behavior Pattern, Sex, and Social Support

Low social support has been suggested as a contributing factor to cardiac disease in some individuals with Type A Behavior Pattern. A number of studies have focused on the relationship between social support and Type A traits in subjects without cardiac disease as a means of evaluating this hypothesis; however, results of these studies have been confusing. In the current study, involving samples of adolescents and working adults, there was a significant positive correlation between Type A scores and satisfaction with social support in men but not in women.
The Roles of Reputation on Retention and Cross-buying in Premium Banking Services

This study explores how reputation affects customer retention and cross-buying in premium banking services. In this study we suggest retention and cross-buying as the extension of continuance commitment for more comprehensive and objective measurement in a long-term commitment. A quantitative study was undertaken with 525 respondents in a main city in Australia. Results indicate that whilst reputation influenced customer retention, it has no impact on cross-buying. The findings also provide insights into how customer retention could be extended into cross-buying for more profitable customers. One of the recommendations in the study is due to customer passiveness; customer-oriented strategy could be applied. Implications of our research are discussed as well as limitations and guidelines for future research.