Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Innovation, a winning solution?

Ever since professor Joseph Schumpeter defined a cycle starting phenomenon that became established as innovation have societies as well as enterprises been on trails to find innovations. The definitional requirement of starting cycles was rightly interpreted as equal to success. This shortcut might have caused some confusion that is detectable in today's wide and equivocal use of the term innovation. Definitional accuracy is a virtue itself. But it neither makes or breaks success and from success' point of view it might not even be interesting whether there is an unequivocal definition of innovation, it only seeks its own survival. The importance of discussing definition is justified by the conceptual change in the occurrence of innovation it is no longer a scientifically verifiable fact based on detected data, or that has become the more seldom employed dimension, but a future expectation. The latter receives increasing amounts of funding and is the core activity of large and small enterprises. Innovation is an activity attracting major interest particularly in Europe. The European Union has prepared for the adoption of an innovation programme which has gone through a wide review in all the Member States. The objectives inbound to this initiative are wide and comprehensive. They range from the old cliche of "Europe lags behind" to solving the unemployment problems in Europe. There is no doubt that the stakes are high in innovation. The overall weight of innovation is enough to justify any measures. That, however, is not the complete picture. Innovation as an activity, a solve-all serendipity has fundamental societal relevance beyond its expected results. The matter in point is financing or even direct support. It seems that societal financiers assume increasing responsibility for providing means for "innovative" ventures in the hope of allowing innovations to mature. Whatever the purpose of the main exercise, it is important that the definitional clarities prevail under circumstances of multiple interests such as innovation being vital as well for the private as the public domain. Although misconceptions seldom are causes in their own right it could be of essence to clarify the basic tenets in a branch that is under continuous public interest.
Radio resource allocation for OFDMA-based cognitive systems

This paper addresses the problem of wireless resource allocation in OFDMA-based cognitive radio cooperative systems. The objective is maximizing the total throughput and minimizing the transmission power of cognitive transmissions while guaranteeing fairness between the different cognitive users queues. The proposed radio resource allocation algorithm is based on maximizing the rate to power ratio. We also investigate the conflict resolution problem by suggesting a Conflict Resolution rate-based procedure to allocate conflicted subcarriers. Moreover, to secure cognitive transmissions we propose a double reservation procedure based on rate to power ratio margin RPRM, and thus to allocate secondary subcarriers. We propose to serve urgent transmissions, based on a fairness indicator. Simulations show the performance and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Empirical estimation of production risk using a cost function with panel data

The purposes of this study are twofold. First, it extends production risk from a production function to a more general cost function. The theoretical model is able to account for the effects of risk on a firm's minimum cost and optimal input demands. Second, the present paper provides an estimable framework for an analysis of the impacts of the risk on firm behaviour. Employing the model to Taiwan's electronics and information industry, it is found that production risk appears to play an important role in production cost. Evidence is found that the vast majority of sample firms belong to risk-averters.
Social Interaction Influences Blood Cortisol Values and Brain Aromatase Genes in the Protandrous False Clown Anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris

Anemonefish, Amphiprion spp. , are socially controlled, protandrous sex changers with a monogamous mating system. Under certain conditions, sexually immature anemonefish with ambisexual gonads differentiate directly into males or females. Formation and maintenance of social rank in a group are considered key requirements for the induction of sex change or differentiation. Generally, each animal living in a social group experiences a different level of social stress in accordance with its social rank, and we hypothesize that the stress situation of individual anemonefish influences its sex determination. Groups of three sexually immature anemonefish were placed into each of five experimental tanks and kept for 10 days to allow for social rank formation and behavioral observation. The fish were then euthanized, and blood and brain samples were collected from each fish. The social rank of each individual was distinguishable from day 1 of the experiment. Aggressive behaviors were most frequent and blood Cortisol values were higher in dominant individuals. The transcription of mRNA for stress-related genes, i.e., those encoding for glucocorticoid and arginine vasotocin receptors, was higher in the brains of dominant individuals than in other social ranks. Furthermore, we detected higher transcription levels of gonad and brain aromatase genes, which encode the enzyme that converts androgens into estrogens, in the brains of dominant individuals. These results suggest that social rank reflects the blood Cortisol value, which in turn leads to sex differentiation by manipulating transcription of genes, including aromatase genes, in the brain.
Australian Labour Market Institutions, ‘Deregulation’ and the Open Economy

Labour market ‘deregulation’ is a major economic policy issue in Australia. Some of the desire for deregulation has been part of a worldwide trend in OECD countries whilst some comes from more localised disquiet about the alleged effect of Australia's industrial relations institutions on the economy. This article looks at the evidence em Australian labour market regulation and its relation to economic performance. The article finds that Australian labour market institutions have had little effect on efficiency but have provided important distributional outcomes. Furthermore it is argued that with ‘globalisation’ there is more reason to continue labour market protection not less to enhance Australia's capacity to trade and invest in the global economy.
SAR image change detection based on Spark-FLICM algorithm

In this paper, we propose a Spark-based fuzzy local information C-Means (FLICM) algorithm that provides synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image change detection. With the volume and resolution of SAR images increasing, current serial clustering algorithms are not suitable to handle big data, scalable solutions are indispensable. The proposed algorithm based on Spark framework implements FLICM algorithm according to MapReduce programming model. The membership degree is obtained in parallel during Map phase where the local information is obtained by broadcasting arrays and clustering centers are obtained during Reduce phase. With a cluster composed of five nodes, experiments on real SAR images show good performance.
An Empirical Test of a Theory of the Urban Housing Market

Many empirical tests have been conducted of the received theory of the urban housing market developed and popularised by Muth (1969) and Mills (1972) . Most of the tests have confirmed the theory . This paper reports on data for Chicago which fail to confirm an important aspect of the theory . The essential features of the model are that a unit of housing services can be produced by the services of land and capital inputs in varying proportions and that perfect competition prevails in the input and output markets . One of the most important implications of the theory is that the intensity of land use is a positive function of land rent (or value). Intensity of land use can be measured by population density, by the value of housing services produced per unit of land, by the value of capital per unit of land, or by the ratio of factor shares at a location . Most empirical tests have examined population density, although Muth (1969) and others have used the second approach. Koenker (1972), Rydell (1976), Fountain (1977) and Kau, Lee and Sirmans (1977) have followed the third approach, and Muth (1971) has used the fourth measure. The purpose of this paper is to examine net population density in the city of Chicago as a function of land value and other variables as derived from the model . Despite the large number of studies of urban population density, this approach has not previously been followed . Most of the studies of population density have involved estimating gross population density (population per unit of land, including all uses of land) as a function of independent variables . It is clear that the theory pertains to net population density (population per unit of land used for housing), so [Received January 1979]
Emerging Issues in the U.S. Organic Industry

Consumer demand for organic products has widened over the last decade. While new producers have emerged to help meet demand, market participants report that a supply squeeze is constraining growth for both individual firms and the organic sector overall. Partly in response to shortages in organic supply, Congress in 2008 included provisions in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (2008 Farm Act) that, for the first time, provide financial support to farmers to convert to organic production. This report examines recent economic research on the adoption of organic farming systems, organic production costs and returns, and market conditions to gain a better understanding of the organic supply squeeze and other emerging issues in this rapidly changing industry.
The EU as a ‘normative’ power: how can this be?

Abstract Existing conceptions of the EU as a ‘civilian’/‘normative’/‘civilizing’ power lack precision and are normatively biased. There may be ‘normative’ or ‘civilian’ dimensions to EU foreign policy, yet it is problematic to imply, as such conceptualizations do, that the EU is a ‘force for good’ without identifying criteria and assessment standards that make it possible to qualify, substantiate or reject such a claim. How can we know that the EU's pursuit of norms is legitimate? One possible ‘critical standard’ might be to consider that a putative ‘normative’ or ‘civilian’ power would act in order to transform the parameters of power politics through a focus on strengthening the international legal system. From such a perspective there is, however, a tension in the EU's approach to international affairs.
Maturation of functional T-lymphocyte subpopulations in the rat.

The T-lymphocyte differentiation alloantigens, A.R. T. -1 and A.R. T. -2 were used to follow the functional development of these cells in the rat. Delayed hypersensitivity and lymphocytes cytotoxic for allogeneic tumor cells were present in adoptively transferred recipients by 3 wk postirradiation and fetal liver reconstitution. However, these animals did not regain appreciable GvH potential until 7.5 wk postreconstitution. Normal percentages of A.R. T-1 lymphocytes were observed at all times in the spleen and lymph nodes of these animals, whereas, below normal numbers of A.R. T-2 lymphocytes were observed up to 7.5 wk postreconstitution. Depletion experiments using specific anti-A.R. T. sera demonstrated that the proliferative response to PHA and the cytotoxic lymphocyte response to alloantigens were reduced after treatment with anti-A.R. T. -1, but not with anti-A.R. T. -2. In contrast, the GvH potential of lymph node cells was reduced by treatment with either anti-A.R. T. -1 or anti-A.R. T. -2 serum plus complement. The use of these A.R. T. alloantisera in the rat has greatly facilitated the establishment of differentiation patterns for functional T lymphocytes and has resulted in the association of specific functional T-cell subpopulations with characteristic surface alloantigens.
Interaction between Foreign and Domestic Investors in the Korean Stock and Futures Markets

The present paper analyzes the behavioral relations of major investor groups in the stabilized Korean stock and futures markets after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Investor groups cannot be classified as positive or negative feedback traders on market returns when both stock and futures markets are considered, which is inconsistent with the results in Ghysels and Seon (2005). Foreign investors and domestic institutions tend to take opposite positions in both markets. The impact of foreign investors on the basis change is significantly negative in the futures market, whereas domestic institutions have a negative relation in the stock market. This supports the view that selling activity of foreign investors in the futures market pulls the futures price down compared with the index value and, consequently, induces the reverse cash-and-carry trade of domestic institutions. This relationship, which negatively influenced the Korean economy during the crisis, as shown in Ghysels and Seon (2005), still exists in the Korean financial markets. Copyright 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation 2009 East Asian Economic Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Ageing improves the antioxidant response against postoperative atrial fibrillation: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES Extracorporeal circulation is associated with ischaemia-reperfusion-induced oxidative stress and atrial fibrillation (AF). Ageing is the major risk factor for this arrhythmia. Reinforcing the antioxidant defence system would be expected to protect the myocardium against ischaemia-reperfusion damage. We studied the effect of antioxidant reinforcement and ageing on the occurrence of postoperative AF. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and vitamins C and E, or placebo was administered to 152 patients divided by age: young patients (30-59 years) and old patients (60-80 years). For the detection of AF, we used 12-lead and Holter EKGs. Antioxidant enzyme activity was determined in atrial tissue. Oxidative stress was assessed through plasma malondialdehyde levels. RESULTS Supplemented patients over 60 years old showed higher glutathione peroxidase activity than control patients in the same age range. There was no difference between the supplemented and placebo groups in patients under 60 years old. The decrease in the incidence of postoperative AF in supplemented patients was more marked in the older patients than in the younger ones. CONCLUSIONS Since the antioxidant supplementation with n-3 PUFAs and vitamins C and E resulted in a more marked reduction of postoperative AF in older patients, it could be suggested that the efficacy of this therapy improves with ageing.
Monetary Policy under Fixed Exchange Rates: Effectiveness, the Speed of Adjustment and Proper Use

Some, though far from total, agreement has begun to emerge as to the role and effects of monetary policy in a closed economy. At least major issues have been delineated and the battle joined in terms of fairly well-defined analytical frameworks. The impact of changes in the stock of money (or its rate of change) on prices, output and interest rates has been discussed at the theoretical level and investigated empirically. Much dispute remains as to the lag-structure of response to monetary disturbances, as to the division into output and price effects, and as to proper monetary targets and policy indicators. Nevertheless, most economists would agree that monetary policy can be used as a countercyclical device, and that the stock of money (or its rate of growth) can, in some average sense over the medium run, be controlled, however difficult it may be to exercise such control in the very short run and however poorly monetary authorities have actually performed in this respect. Discussion of monetary policy in the open economy, on the other hand, has proceeded at a higher level of abstraction (or over-simplification) and empirical work has remained scarce. The reason is close at hand: with some notable exceptions, recent developments in monetary theory and policy analysis have been, largely, the work of economists based or trained in the United States; and, from an American vantage point (especially a Middle-Western one and before the so-called "dollar" crises), what more natural simplifying assumption than that of the closed economy? Yet, in recent years, under the pressure of events and following the rediscovery of Hume and Ricardo and the work of, among others, Meade, Alexander, Polak, Prais, Tsiang, Johnson and Mundell, the analysis of monetary policy in the open economy has made much progress, at least on a theoretical plane. The focus and conclusions of that work, especially that of Mundell, have been rather different from those of analyses dealing with the closed economy: the monetary balance-of-payments adjustment mechanism and the role of capital mobility and of the size of countries are emphasized; severe ' Preliminary versions of this paper were presented at the Second Konstanz Seminar on Monetary Theory and Policy (June, 1971) and at the February 1972 Money Study Group Conference held at Bournemouth. I am indebted to Leonall Anderson and Karl Brunner for their incisive discussion at Konstanz and to Harry G. Johnson for helpful comments. 136
The effect of green tea on oxidative damage and tumour formation in Lobund–Wistar rats

A number of epidemiological studies suggest that the consumption of green tea reduces the incidence of prostate cancer. As the major catechins present in green tea are potent antioxidants, we hypothesized that genetic and cellular damage induced by oxygen free radicals could be significantly reduced by potent antioxidants in green tea, thus reducing the cumulative genetic and cellular damage with age, and slowing or preventing tumour formation. Long-term administration of a decaffeinated green tea extract to Lobund–Wistar rats for periods up to 26 months almost halved the incidence of primary tumours in the genitourinary tract when compared with an age-matched cohort receiving just water. We observed no inhibition of DNA adduct formation or lipid peroxidation in animals consuming green tea compared with animals consuming deionized water. The decrease in tumour formation was associated with an increase in 8-hydroxy-2′deoxyguanosine and 4-hydroxynonenal content (markers of DNA adduct formation and lipid peroxidation, respectively) in the epithelium of the ventral prostate in aging animals. In addition, there was an increase in 8-hydroxy-2′deoxyguanosine expression, but no change in 4-hydroxynonenal expression in the seminal vesicles of older animals. An age-associated increase in expression of the antioxidant enzymes manganese superoxide dismutase and catalase in the epithelium of the ventral prostate of aging animals was observed. Furthermore, there was also an increase in manganese superoxide dismutase expression, but no change in catalase expression in the seminal vesicles of older animals. These data demonstrate that consumption of green tea decreases the incidence of genitourinary tract tumours in the Lobund–Wistar rat, but has no effect on age-associated DNA adduct formation and lipid peroxidation in the ventral prostate and seminal vesicles of the aging rat.
An Accurate and Efficient Method for Pricing Asian Options

In this paper we provide an accurate and efficient method for valuing Asian options that works well for the low and medium volatility as well as longer average time window. Numerical results show that our method significantly outperforms the other analytic approximation methods in the literature. The pricing errors in terms of mean square errors for calculating a bundle of Asian options are less than one percent. Our method is fast and efficient compared to the Monte Carlo benchmark method adopted as well.
Time-to-build and interrelated investments and labour demand under rational expectations : applications to six OECD countries

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Service‐Learning Outcomes: Guidelines for Educators and Researchers

The purpose of this paper is to survey, organize, and evaluate extant research on service‐learning to provide guidance to both educators and researchers. Because little has been written about service‐learning in academic accounting, the research cited comes primarily from other disciplines. Our literature survey is divided into two sections: (1) student outcomes related to intellectual skills, and (2) student personal outcomes. After surveying the literature, we synthesize the results to offer guidance for educators interested in using service‐learning and make suggestions for how accounting researchers could contribute to the literature regarding the student outcomes of service‐learning. In addition, to illustrate our recommendations for educators, we provide examples of desired outcomes and assessment criteria for several accounting service‐learning projects.
Testing a cultural tourism typology

This paper tests further a cultural tourism typology based on the interface between centrality of cultural tourism as a trip motive and the depth of experience. Five types of cultural tourist are identified that represent five benefit-based segments. The segments are tested against a variety of trip, demographic, motivational, preferred activity, awareness, cultural distance and activity variables. Significant differences are noted between the groups, suggesting that the model presented may be effective in segmenting the cultural tourism market. Moreover, although the segmentation process is predicated on two variables, these variables are reflective of underlying trip motivation, activity preference and cultural distance factors noted between the different types of cultural tourist. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Magnetic slip ring — Rotary transformer based novel non-contact signal transfer mechanism for spacecraft application

This paper describes a novel non-contact signal transfer mechanism for transferring multiple signals over the rotating interface through electromagnetic means. This signal transfer mechanism is configured for the transfer of temperature signals of a Spacecraft Mechanism. FE Analysis of rotary transformer was carried out for optimization of size and operating parameters. In the Signal Electronics portion, operating range of JFET is optimized to achieve uniform gain during amplitude modulation. The system was realized and linearity of 2 % and resolution of 1% of Full Scale Division (FSD) was achieved.