Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of shared domain knowledge on strategic information systems planning and alignment

Background: Lack of alignment or harmony between information technology (IT) and business imperatives continues to plague organisations despite decades of research. Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is the process of coordinating the relationship between IT and the business in order to steer alignment. Shared domain knowledge (SDK) is a factor that is posited as important for improving both SISP and alignment, which is theorised to be the main outcome of SISP. Objectives: The aim of this article is to examine the impact of SDK on SISP and alignment. Method: Data were gathered from management consultants in a large, global IT organisation, through the use of a structured questionnaire, and analysed. Results: It was shown that SDK positively influences SISP characteristics and the alignment outcome. Specifically, it was found that high levels of rationality in SISP positively influenced the intellectual dimension of alignment, whilst IT manager participation in business planning influenced the social dimension of alignment. SDK was found to have a bearing on all of the SISP characteristics measured (i.e. rationality, adaptation, business planning-SISP integration and IT manager participation in business planning). SDK was also found to positively impact both the intellectual and social dimensions of alignment. Conclusion: The implications of the findings are that fostering a knowledge sharing environment in organisations will help improve alignment, as well as the formal processes designed to steer alignment such as SISP.
Firm Size, Capital Structure, and Performance: An Empirical Study Based on the Panel Data of A-share Listed Companies

How does the change in a firm’s capital structure and RD the larger the scale of the enterprise, the higher debt level, and the worse performance of the enterprise. R&D investment plays a positive moderator role between firm size and capital structure. Higher R&D investment will positively moderate the relationship between firm size and capital structure.
Measuring Readiness and Success at a Higher Education Institution

This study investigated readiness as a correlate of academic success among beginning university students. A total of 829 first-time entering students from a large business sciences faculty were participants (males = 319, females = 510, mean age = 19, SD = 0.50 years). They completed the Academic Readiness Questionnaire (Lemmens, 2010) during the first-year orientation week. Data on academic success, consisting of subject marks and credits were collected in 2009 after a results verification process. Data were analysed with three separate multiple regression analyses. The first analysis consisted of the overall student sample, the second and third consisted of the black and the white students separated from the overall student sample. The main findings reveal that high school marks, the number of subjects in first year (credits registered), goal orientation, race, learning-efficacy, gender and the geographical area of high school have a direct relationship with academic success. The variables that predict academic success for black students are high school marks, credits registered, and parental education. The variables that predict academic success for white students are high school marks, goal orientation, credits registered, learning-efficacy, gender, and parental education.
Impact of liraglutide versus atorvastatin on cardiovascular changes in rat model of adenine induced chronic renal failure

The prevalence of cardiovascular changes markedly increases with deterioration of patient's renal function and can stack up 65 to 70% in end-stage renal disease. A rapid fall in renal function is often associated with uncontrolled congestive heart failure. Beyond their lipid-lowering effect, statins have been shown to protect the heart in different diseases. Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, used to control diabetes. It improves cardiac dysfunction in non-diabetics, but underlying mechanisms remain to some extent, unclear. Fifty two male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200 to 250 g were grouped into negative control, positive control, liraglutide treated group (0.3 mg/kg), atorvastatin treated group (10 mg/kg), liraglutide and atorvastatin treated group (0.3 and 10 mg/kg, respectively), liraglutide and atorvastatin treated group (0.15 and 5 mg/kg, respectively). Combination of both drugs significantly reduce creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) in both doses (p<0.008, p <0.002) and lactate dehydrognase (LDH) (p<0.04, p<0.01). Liraglutide alone or in combination with atorvastatin in both doses (p<0.02, p<0.01 and p<0.01) significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD). Atorvastatin alone (p<0.02) or in combination with liraglutide in both doses (p<0.001, p<0.001) induced a significant decrease of malondialdehyde (MDA). Atorvastatin alone (p<0.01) or in combination with liraglutide in both doses induced a significant amelioration of nitric oxide (NO) and cholesterol (p<0.01 and p<0.02). Significant improvements in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and glucose profile were seen with all tested drugs either single or in combination. Combined implementation of both drugs improves histopathological changes of cardiac muscle fibres. Liraglutide has promising effects on cardiovascular changes in adenine induced chronic nephropathy through modulation of LDH, CK-MB and improvement of NO and SOD. Also, it can mitigate fibrosis and cardiac tissue changes. Its effects markedly increase in conjunction with atorvastatin. Combined administration of liraglutide and atorvastatin in a high dose has a reliable effect on improving outcome in biochemical and histopthological cardiac muscle fibers changes. Key word: Atorvastatin, liraglutide, adenine, renal failure.
Review on air cathode in Li-air batteries

Lithium-air (Li-air) battery is a promising electrochemical system with unprecedented high energy density. However, many problems and challenges prevent its wide scale application and commercialization. Low oxygen diffusion rates and large voltage gap are two of the main problems in Li-air battery. These two problems are related to the materials used in the air cathode such as porous carbon materials and metallic catalysts. This review seeks to discuss various materials used in the air cathode for Li air batteries. Mechanism of reaction in air cathode will be elucidated and discussed.
A numerical study using the Canadian Regional Climate Model for the PIDCAP period

Simulations of summertime conditions over the BALTEX region using the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) are compared with observations for the PIDCAP period. A systematic cold bias of the surface temperature was found in a reference simulation made with a version of the CRCM which uses the physical processes package of the third generation global climate model of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis. This cold bias is found to be due to excessive cloud near the surface. Revision of the cloud scheme, which was originally designed for use in conjunction with relatively coarse resolution of the AGCM, results in a reduction of the cloud cover, improved net radiative flux at the surface and substantial reduction of the cold bias. An associated result is that the lower atmosphere becomes more conditionally unstable which increases the number of convective events. Nevertheless the incidence of convective precipitation events remains unrealistically low.
Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE)

In Canada there are numerous studies about indigenous Entrepreneurship, most descriptive with little theory development or testing. This leaves a gap in the information available to researchers, policy makers and practitioners. In this paper we describe a research program intended to address this gap beginning with the activities of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, considered an exemplar of successful indigenous entrepreneurship. From these activities, we draw propositions about indigenous entrepreneurship that are compatible with generic theory. Finally, we describe how we will move from these propositions to a model of indigenous entrepreneurship using grounded theory and structural equation modelling.
uvby-β photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor star. VIII. Stars of very low metal abundance

A catalogue of uvby -β photometry for 87 of the turn-off and subgiant stars from the HK survey of Beers et al. (1992) is given. Most of these stars have [Fe/H]. These photometric data have been taken and reduced using the same techniques as in our previous two uvby -β catalogues. An error analysis has been made; typical mean observational errors for a star with are 0.008, 0.007, 0.011, 0.010 and 0.012 in V , , m 1 , c 1 and β , respectively. Our photometric data are also compared to the UBV photometry and spectral indices from the HK survey; satisfactory agreement is found indicating good quality for the two data sets. The stars are classified in reddening-free diagrams of the uvby -β system; several of the stars are found to have been mis-classified in the HK survey. Two metal-poor supergiants, three (possibly four) horizontal branch stars, one blue subluminous star and two stars with ambiguous photometry have been identified. Stellar parameters, such as , M V , , and T eff , plus error estimates for these parameters, are provided using our photometric calibrations. Although all stars have galactic latitudes many of them are significantly reddened with ranging from 0.02 to 0.15. The average reddening towards the South Galactic Pole region, , is corresponding to in contrast to the low value of derived from the Burstein & Heiles (1982) maps. The stars are analyzed in the , [Fe/H] diagram, and individual ages estimated using the isochrones of VandenBerg & Bell (1985) and of Bergbusch & VandenBerg (1992). These very metal-poor stars are found to be coeval, within 1-2 Gyr, with the halo and thick-disk stars studied previously, with a mean age in excess of 18 Gyr. Several blue “thick-disk" stars, which are perhaps analogous to the “blue metal-poor" stars of Preston et al. (1994), have been identified.
The influence of degraded stimuli on audio-visual integration

The integration of input from multiple senses is essential for maintaining an integrated picture of the external environment and can yield information about the world that is unattainable from unimodal sensory input alone. The phenomenon of multisensory integration has been subjected to detailed analyses leading to three general principles: the temporal and the spatial rule and the principle of inverse effectiveness (Stein & Meredith, 1993). The latter states that multisensory stimuli are integrated inversely proportional to the effectiveness of the best unisensory response. In an applied study, Doll and Hanna found that the simultaneous presentation of weak auditory and visual stimuli enhances recognition beyond a value that would be obtained by unimodal presentation, even when the unimodal stimuli are intact. The objective of the current experiment was to investigate whether degraded auditory and visual stimuli would influence multisensory integration in accordance with the principle of inverse effectiveness at a behavioral level, thus that the best performance is obtained for crossmodal presentation when stimuli are degraded. In a forced-choice categorization task participants were required to identify one of two objects (objects A and B) on the basis of auditory (540 Hz and 560 Hz tones), visual (a horizontal and a vertical ellipse) or audio-visual features, where the 540 Hz tone and the horizontal ellipse combined to object A and the 560 Hz tone and the horizontal ellipse represented object B. On some trials, stimulus features were partly or fully degraded. The effect of the factors Presentation Mode with three levels (auditory, visual and audio-visual) and level of Stimulus Degradation with five levels (0%, 25%, 75% and 100%) was investigated on reaction times and accuracy data. The general results reveal that audio-visual presentation is superior to unimodal presentation and that the best performance was obtained for audio-visual presentation when stimuli are moderately degraded. These data provide behavioral evidence for the principle of inverse effectiveness with degraded stimuli and suggest that for real-world situations that highly rely on recognition of noisy input from one modality, like air- and car traffic, congruent information presented via additional modalities can enhance object recognition.
Geography of British Columbia: People and Landscapes in Transition

Why is British Columbia unique within Canada? What are the physical processes that have made this province so rugged and produced such variation in climate and vegetation? Why did non-Natives come to British Columbia and what impact did they have on First Nations? Why did so many Asians come to this province and then leave for other parts of Canada? How were resources developed in the past and how are those resources developed today? These are just a few of the topics Brett McGillivray discusses in this study. The book is divided into two parts. The first focuses on processes of change and development to the landscape and the people of British Columbia and examines natural hazards, physical processes, European historical geography, First Nations peoples, and Asian immigration. The second part contains a detailed examination of the economic geography of the province and addresses the present-day issues of urbanization, economic development and resource management. This up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of the rich history and development of this province should be welcomed by teachers, students, scholars and anyone interested in the development of British Columbia.
3d acceleration for heat detection in dairy cows

Accurate and reliable detection of heat in dairy cows is es- sential for a controlled reproduction and therefore, for maintaining milk production. Classical approaches like visual identification are no longer viable on large dairy herds. Several automated techniques of detection have been proposed, but expected results are only achieved by expen- sive or invasive methods, because practical methods are not reliable. We present a method that aims to be both practical and accurate. It is based on simple attributes extracted from 3D acceleration data and well known classifiers: multilayer perceptrons, support vector machines and decision trees. Results show promising detection ratios, above 90% in several configurations of the detection system. Best results are achieved with multilayer perceptrons. This information could be readily incorpo- rated to the automated system in a dairy farm and help to improve its eciency.
Molecularly imprinted high affinity nanoparticles for 4-ethylphenol sensing

A novel sensor for 4-ethylphenol (4EP) was developed based on molecularly imprinted nanoparticles produced via the solid phase imprinting method. The nanoparticles were immobilised on the surface of a gold electrode previously modified with a self assembled monolayer of lipoic acid coupled to EDC/NHS ((1-ethyl-3-[dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide)/Nhydroxysuccinimide). Each step of the process was characterised by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The electrode was used to selectively determine 4EP by differential pulse voltammetry; a quite remarkable sensitivity improvement was observed in the nanoparticle-modified electrode in reference to the non modified bare gold electrode. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EUROSENSORS 2015.
Ecological niche modeling as a new paradigm for large-scale investigations of diversity and distribution of birds

Large-scale assessments of the distribution and diversity of birds have been challenged by the need for a robust methodology for summarizing or predicting species' geographic distributions (e.g. Beard et al. 1999, Manel et al. 1999, Saveraid et al. 2001). Methodologies used in such studies have at times been inappropriate, or even more frequently limited in their analytical scope and predictive properties (Peterson et al. 2002c). A new set of methodologies focus on modeling the dimensions of species’ ecological niches, and offer considerably improved analytical and predictive possibilities. The purpose of this brief contribution is to summarize these new methodologies, and to discuss several possible applications of this new approach.
Intertemporal Complementarity and Optimality: A Study of a Two-Dimensional Dynamical System

We study the underlying structure of the two-dimensional dynamical system generated by a class of dynamic optimization models, which allow for intertemporal complementarily between adjacent periods, but which preserve the time additively separable framework of Ramsey models. Specifically, we identify conditions under which the results of the traditional Ramsey type theory are preserved even when the intertemporal independence assumption is relaxed. Local analysis of this theme has been presented by Samuelson (1971). We establish global convergence results and relate them to the local analysis, by using the mathematical theory of two-dimensional dynamical syste
INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS FOR SMES ( EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SMES IN A COUNTRY IN TRANSITION AND IN A DEVELOPED COUNTRY FACING NEw ChALLENGES ) by

This study analyses the financial reporting problems of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in two European countries – Croatia and Italy, reflecting different institutional and economic environments of a transitional economy and developed economy in stagnation. The survey explores the peculiarities of SMEs accounting from the cost/benefit aspect of accounting information, pointing out their specific needs comparing to the large entities. The SMEs accounting problems are analysed in the light of environmental factors, internationalisation process and under the pressure of accounting harmonisation goals. Thus, our contribution is a survey, by theoretical and empirical point of view, on International Accounting Standard (IAS/IFRS) applicability to SMEs, which is one of the most important topics of the current international debate among accounting scholars and professionals.
Lost in Translation: Social Choice Theory is Misapplied Against Legislative Intent

Several prominent scholars use results from social choice theory to conclude that legislative intent is meaningless. We disagree. We support our argument by showing that the conclusions in question are based on misapplications of the theory. Some of the conclusions in question are based on Kenneth Arrow's famous possibility theorem. We identify a substantial chasm between what Arrow proves and what others claim in his name. Other conclusions come from a failure to realize that applying social choice theory to questions of legislative intent entails accepting assumptions such as legislators are omniscient and legislators have infinite resources for changing law and policy. We demonstrate that adding more realistic assumptions to models of social choice theory yields very different theoretical results - including ones that allow meaningful inferences about legislative intent. In all of the cases we describe, important aspects of social choice theory were lost in the translation from abstract formalisms to real political and legal domains. When properly understood, social choice theory is insufficient to negate legislative intent.
Developmental stability and adaptive radiation in the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in the Near‐East

Chromosomal species of the mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi, in Israel have been shown to display distinct adaptive strategies to increasing aridity. This adaptive radiation appeared to be associated with an increase in allozymic heterozygosity. In the present study, the developmental stability (DS) estimated by fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of dental traits was used to assess the suitability of habitat and the efficiency of adaptation to local environmental conditions among populations and chromosomal species. Although FA levels were highly heterogeneous among populations, they were not found to differ between species. DS of populations appeared, however, to be impaired at higher altitudes and in indurate soils. Since these environmental features were largely covariant, the effect of each one could not be precisely determined. Interestingly, while aridity is considered as the major selective force acting on populations southwards, DS was not altered under arid conditions, suggesting that mole rat populations were adapted to their local conditions of aridity. However, the cline of aridity is matched to several environmental and genetic clines among which are the increasing heterozygosity and recombination rate among species southwards. In studies of natural populations, the potential complementary effects of environmental and genetics on DS have to be considered and hamper the interpretation of habitat suitability expressed by DS in terms of adaptive strategies.
Otolith chemistry of juvenile snapper Pagrus auratus in Victorian waters: natural chemical tags and their temporal variation

Determining contributions of juveniles from different areas to adult populations is diffi- cult using traditional methods such as manual tagging and recapture. Environmental variation can, however, produce natural chemical tags in the otoliths of juvenile fish. Spatial variation in the otolith chemistry (Ba, Sr, Mn) of age 0+ snapper collected from inlets along the coast of Victoria, south- eastern Australia, enabled characterisation of otolith chemical tags for specific areas. In particular, a tag based largely on high Ba levels was specific to snapper from the largest juvenile area and most important fishery, Port Phillip Bay. This tag enabled accurate discrimination between snapper from this bay (98 and 85%) and other Victorian nursery areas in the 2000 and 2001 year classes, respec- tively. Differences in classification accuracy between these year classes were due to lower Ba levels in otoliths from some sites within Port Phillip Bay in 2001. Variation in otolith chemical tags between adjacent sampling months during the recruitment period, although significant, did not confound spa- tial discrimination between Port Phillip Bay and other inlets. Likewise, variation in otolith chemical tags between adjacent year classes, while greater than between months, did not greatly confound spatial discrimination. Comparisons across 5 year classes over a 9 yr period for Port Phillip Bay, how- ever, showed substantial differences in the elemental tag for this Bay. Differences in otolith chemistry between year classes were driven by variation in Ba and Sr levels, whereas between-month differ- ences were due to Mn variation. Future classifications of adults to juvenile nursery areas will require chemical tags characterised from juveniles of the same year class(es) as the adults being classified. Small-scale (mo) temporal mismatches between the sampling of juvenile and adult otoliths of the same year class should not influence the accuracy with which adults are classified to juvenile origins.