Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Order-of-Entry Effects for Service Firms in Developing Markets: An Examination of Multinational Advertising Agencies

The internationalization process of service firms has received increased attention in recent years. Yet the question whether entry order affects firm performance for service firms in developing markets has remained unanswered. Despite lacking empirical evidence, prior research has suggested that first-mover advantages (FMAs) do not translate to service firms and developing markets. However, framed in a resource-advantage theory perspective, the authors’ empirical analysis of 379 multinational subsidiaries of advertising agencies in 43 developing markets indicates a significant relationship between entry order and firm performance. The authors also examine the moderating effects of international experience, firm size, subsidiary ownership structure, and rate of economic development to assess how late entrants can mitigate late-mover disadvantages. The authors provide empirical evidence that, contrary to recent literature, service firms do enjoy FMAs. They add to the understanding of the FMA phenomenon as well as to the broader issue of the internationalization process and performance effects for service firms.
A Comparative Study on Performance of Combining Methods for Half-Duplex Three-Node Cooperative Diversity Wireless Network

This paper analysis the performance of the ad-hoc network with a base station, a mobile and a third station acting as a relay. Three combining methods for the amplify-and-forward (af) protocol and the decode-and-forward (DF) protocol are compared. Simulations indicate that the amplify-and-forward (AF) protocol beats the decode-and-forward (DF) protocol under all these three combining methods. To combine the incoming signals the channel quality should be estimated as well as possible, more estimation accuracy requires more resource. A very simple combining method can obtain the performance compared with that by optimal combining methods approximately. This indicates the implementation of cooperative diversity in future wireless network. All these three combining methods for both diversity protocols can achieve the maximum diversity order.
Desperately Seeking Structure: Sherwin Rosen (1938-2001)

From his first publication in 1968 to his last in 2001, Sherwin Rosen (1938-2001) published 80 journal articles and book chapters. In his collected scientific writings, they would cover 1750 pages. His 36 short articles and communications would add another 200 pages. On top of that, he co-authored one book and coedited three. ' From his journal articles, 12 were reprinted: one was reprinted four times, one three times and one twice. Using this imperfect standard, we can distinguish gold, silver and bronze among his classics. Gold would be the 1974 hedonics paper, silver the 1981 tournaments paper with Lazear and bronze the 1979 self-selection paper with Willis. The ranking appears to reflect their reception in the research community quite well. Although opinions always may differ, the papers have defined important research areas that drew wide attention. There can absolutely be no doubt that Rosen has been seeding like a happy farmer in Spring:
Modelling the Relationship between Child Abuse and Long‐Term Health Care Costs and Wellbeing: Results from an Australian Community‐Based Survey

Childhood abuse is a serious social and economic problem. In Australia, there are 17,000 substantiated cases of physical and sexual child abuse each year. We model the relationship between childhood abuse and long-term health, health care costs and well being using data from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. We find that adults with a history of childhood abuse suffer from significantly more health conditions, incur higher annual health care costs and are more likely to harm themselves. Our results suggest that child abuse has long-lasting economic and welfare costs. The costs are greatest for those who experienced both physical and sexual abuse.
Empirical Evidence of Risk Shifting in Financially Distressed Firms

This paper provides evidence of risk-shifting behavior in the investment decisions of financially distressed firms. Using a real options framework, I show that shareholders' risk-shifting incentives can reverse the expected negative relation between volatility and investment. I test two hypotheses that are consistent with risk-shifting behavior: (i) volatility has a positive effect on distressed firms' investment; (ii) investments of distressed firms generate less value during times of high uncertainty. Empirical evidence using 40 years of data supports both hypotheses. I further evaluate the effect of various firm characteristics on risk shifting, and estimate the costs of the investment distortion.
Strict Pareto-Improving Multilateral Reforms of Tariffs

Starting from a tariff-distorted equilibrium of international trade, the authors examine the welfare effects of a gradual multilateral reform of tariffs (and other trade taxes and subsidies). Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of strict Pareto improving multilateral (differential) tariff reforms, accompanied by international transfers of income, are obtained. These results are then applied to various concrete tariff reform proposals such as proportional reductions in tariffs and the reduction of the highest ad valorem tariff rates. Some of the authors' theorems extend the generality of previously obtained results and some new tariff reform proposals are also made. Copyright 1991 by The Econometric Society.
The measurement of the response of immunized mice to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis va. hominis.

Data have been presented which show the response of normal and vaccinated mice, in terms of time of death, to intravenously administered increasing doses of virulent human-type tubercle bacilli strain H37Rv. The deaths of normal mice infected intravenously with small doses and the deaths of vaccinated mice infected intravenously with slightly larger doses were found to be so anormally distributed that neither the mean survival time nor the median survival time could be used as the measurement of the average response. Instead, the response of such mice to the tuberculous infection was measured by recording the number of mice which survived 30 days or longer, and the rationale for this procedure is given. Only by a determination of the relationship between the number of tubercle bacilli in the challenge dose and the response of both normal and vaccinated mice can a suitable single challenge test dose of virulent tubercle bacilli be selected to measure the degree of immunity to this disease in mice. Using this method of evaluation, it was shown that neither large single doses nor small single challenge doses of the H37Ra strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis var. hominis could be used to measure the immune state of mice, since both normal and vaccinated mice responded to such doses in a similar fashion. Only when intermediate doses (0.5 to 1.5 mg) were used was an adequate differentiation between normal and vaccinated mice obtained. Alternatively, the degree of immunity in mice may be measured by determining the 30-day lethal dose/50 (30-DLD50). This can be done by determining the number of tubercle bacilli which will kill 50% of the normal mice within 30 days, and comparing this with the number of tubercle bacilli required to kill 50% of the vaccinated animals within the same period. Application of the above principles to the problem of the measurement of the immunity produced in mice by the injection of various agents has shown that vaccination with 3 strains of BCG produced a significantly greater degree of immunity in mice than did vaccinaton with a fourth strain of BCG or with the H37Ra strain. The latter 2 strains were equivalent in their immunity-producing ability. Ultraviolet irradiation almost completely abolished the ability of tubercle bacilli to stimulate production of immunity in mice, whereas heat (126°C for 20 min) reduced the immunizing capacity of the H37Ra and BCG strains about 50%. Unrelated organisms such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus sphaericus, and Hemophilus pertussis did not stimulate the production of any immunity in “Strong A” strain mice. Booster doses of the H37Ra strain administered either 2 or 4 days before challenge nearly doubled the immune response of “Strong A” mice to tuberculous infection. The “Strong A” strain mice were found to develop a higher degree of acquired immunity to tuberculous infection than mice of the “Rockland” all-purpose strain.
Enhancing behavioral health treatment and crisis management through mobile ecological momentary assessment and SMS messaging

Many veterans returning from service in Afghanistan or Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or mild traumatic brain injury. Treating these conditions can be challenging because of high rates of relapse and associated memory impairments. We report on a pilot study that assessed the utility of mobile health (mHealth) technologies, including personal digital assistant-based ecological momentary assessment and two-way interactive text (SMS) messaging, for providing treatment feedback to clinicians, encouraging and motivating veterans throughout treatment, and monitoring participants for relapse after treatment discharge. The results of the pilot suggest that mHealth technologies are feasible adjuncts to traditional mental treatment in the veteran population. Additional work is needed to establish the degree of clinical and economic value.
Dynamic Range Improvement for an Analog Photonic Link Using an Integrated Electro-Optic Dual-Polarization Modulator

A novel analog photonic link with enhanced spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) based on an integrated electro-optic dual-polarization modulator is presented and demonstrated. The dual-polarization modulator, which consists of a polarization beam splitter, a polarization beam combiner, and two z-cut LiNbO3 MZMs, can achieve complementary intensity modulation along the orthogonal polarization directions with different modulation indexes. By properly adjusting the power relationship of the orthogonal polarization directions, two third-order intermodulation distortions (IMD3) have equal intensity and opposite phase and cancel each other out. Combined with a low-biasing technique to reduce the noise power, the SFDR of the link can be further improved. A theoretical analysis is presented and validated by a simulation. The IMD3 can be suppressed by 30.6 dB, giving an improvement in SFDR of about 22 dB compared with a conventional optical double-sideband modulation link.
The effect of prior alliance experience on acquisition performance

Information asymmetry usually results in acquiring a target where post-acquisition performance is often disappointing. In this study, we examine whether previous bidder–target alliances mitigate the negative effect of information asymmetry. Further, in cases when the target firms in an acquisition are from the high technology or service industries or privately held firms, whereby the firms are composed of unique knowledge, intangible assets and less disclosed information, respectively, we test whether there are significantly more acquisitions when prior bidder–target alliances exist, as it is assumed that these alliances reduce the level of information asymmetry. We find on average the post acquisition stock performance is better when the purchasing firm acquires a prior alliance partner. Furthermore, when acquiring privately held target firms, the target firms are more likely to be previous alliance partners. Finally, when the target firms are ‘more informed’ (i.e. high technology, service or privately held firms), the post acquisition performance is disappointing. However, bidder–target alliances reduce the amount of value destroyed.
Renewing the Debate on Decentralisation

ABSTRACT There is an extensive literature on decentralisation, but most studies focus on one (or only a few) of the many cases that have emerged in recent years. The three papers which follow offer a welcome corrective by considering substantial numbers of countries, and by identifying priorities for future research. Treisman asks why governments do (or do not) pursue fiscal decentralisation and reaches conclusions that are both fresh and controversial. O'Dwyer and Ziblatt assess the impact of decentralisation on government effectiveness and efficiency. Their definitions and tools differ from those used by others, so their findings supplement but sit uneasily alongside other analyses. Schneider's complex paper considers the impact of various types of decentralisation on social policies. It will ignite controversy on several fronts – not least because it finds that deconcentration has the most positive impact, while others regard deconcentration on its own as a form of centralisation. The debates that these papers will fuel are badly needed, but contending analysts must find ways of countering the tendency to talk past one another.
Is there fire? Executive compensation and employee attitudes

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the relationship between CEO compensation and employee attitudes.Design/methodology/approach – Based upon equity/organizational justice theories and the CEO compensation literature, hypotheses were developed which suggest that executive compensation and employee attitudes will be related. These hypotheses were tested by linking a large‐scale survey of employee attitudes to CEO compensation data for public companies based in the USA.Findings – Employee attitudes appear to be related to some measures of CEO compensation, although sometimes the relationship that was found was negative and sometimes it was positive, but in all cases the effect size was quite small. Specifically, change in CEO salary was negatively related to evaluation of senior management and general satisfaction. However, change in total CEO compensation was positively related to evaluation of senior management and general satisfaction, while CEO bonus level was positively related to general satisfaction.
A Comparative Study on Hearing Aid Benefits of Digital Hearing Aid Use (BTE) from Six Months to Two Years

Abstract Introduction For many reasons, it is important for audiologists and consumers to document improvement and benefit from amplification device at various stages of uses of amplification device. Professional are also interested to see the impact of amplification device on the consumer's auditory performance at different stages i.e. immediately after fitting and over several months of use. Objective The objective of the study was to measure the hearing aid benefit following 6 months – 1-year usage, 1 year – 1.5 yeaŕs usage, and 1.5 yeaŕs – 2 years' usage. Methods A total of 45 subjects participated in the study and were divided equally in three groups: hearing aid users from 6 months to 1 year, 1 year to 1.5 year, and 1.5 year to two years. All subjects responded to the Hearing Aid Benefit Questionnaire (63 questions), which assesses six domains of listening skills. Result Results showed the mean scores obtained were higher for all domains in the aided condition, as compared with unaided condition for all groups. Results also showed a significant improvement in the overall score between first-time users with hearing aid experience of six months to one year and hearing aid users using hearing aids for a period between 1.5 and 2 years. Conclusion It is possible to conclude that measuring the hearing aid benefit with the self-assessment questionnaires will assist the clinicians in making judgments about the areas in which a patient is experiencing more difficulty in everyday listening environment and in revising the possible technologies.
Hyperbaric Oxygen and Ginkgo Biloba Extract Inhibit Aβ25-35-induced Toxicity and Oxidative Stress in vivo: A Potential Role in Alzheimer's Disease

ABSTRACT Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of Aβ peptides in human brains and Aβ induced free radical-mediated damage is one of the hypotheses. In the present study, we explored the protective effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and Ginkgo Biloba extract (EGB761) on Aβ25-35-induced brain toxicity. Our results demonstrated that EGB761, HBO, and the combination HBO and EGB761, could significantly improve the cognitive function in AD rats' model, especially the combination group. What's more, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in rat hippocampal tissue were obviously enhanced followed by evidently reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the same treatment groups mentioned earlier. There were no differences of nitric oxide (NO) productions in the group of EGB761, HBO, and HBO and EGB761, but they were all lower than that of model group. These findings suggest that both HBO and EGB761 may relieve cell toxicity and oxidative stress in AD and thus play a potential protective role in AD. Furthermore, the combination could have better effects compared with single one.
A Triple‐Hurdle Model of Production and Market Participation in Kenya's Dairy Market

Existing analyses of market participation are based on a "double-hurdle" modeling approach. Such models are appropriate only when all members of the population of interest actually produce the good. In some contexts, however (e.g., smallholder farmers), many members of the population do not produce particular goods that they could produce and that their neighbors do produce. Policies influencing market participation among producers may thus also induce additional farmers to become producers. Previous double-hurdle approaches do not allow explicitly for this possibility. To address these limitations, this article presents a "triple-hurdle" approach with an initial stage that includes nonproducers. The model is used to identify the factors associated with Kenyan smallholder farmers choosing to participate in dairy production, and the role that these producers choose to play (or not) in the marketplace. In the midst of debates underway over the privatization of the parastatal Kenya Creameries Company, new knowledge about smallholder participation in dairy could be an important contribution. Results suggest the importance of rural electrification, training, and improved grazing practices. We find that expected net sales are significantly higher when farmers have access to informal private markets. We also describe a version of the ordered tobit model that includes nonproducers and is nested in our triple-hurdle model. A likelihood ratio test shows the latter to be a significantly better fit to our data. We discuss how insights gained from this study differ from the insights that would come from a double-hurdle ordered tobit that also includes nonproducers.
Do Amnesty Programs Encourage Illegal Immigration? Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act (Irca)

This paper examines whether allowing certain undocumented immigrants to legalize their status leads to additional illegal immigration. The authors focus on the effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted amnesty to over three million undocumented immigrants. They find that apprehensions of persons attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border declined immediately following passage of the law but returned to normal levels during the period when illegal immigrants could file for amnesty and in the years thereafter. The authors’ findings suggest that the amnesty program did not change long-term patterns of illegal immigration from Mexico.
Price, Scarcity, and Consumer Willingness to Purchase Pirated Media Products

Worldwide purchases of pirated media products continue to rise despite various industry and government efforts to quell their growth. Academic research examining consumer decisions underlying the purchase of pirated media has been limited in its approach by focusing almost exclusively on main-effects relationships and by using noncausal research designs. This article addresses these shortcomings by examining how various factors that consumers may perceive as constraining their ability to purchase genuine products (e.g., high price, stockouts, low income, lack of channel access, government restrictions) lead them to acquire pirated products and to condone such behavior in others. The authors report the results of three studies (two of which are experimental) that test three moderators of the consumption constraint effects using various settings, stimuli, and consumer types. The findings support the hypotheses that factors that may be perceived as limiting consumption can lead to higher piracy-related activity and are moderated by ethical beliefs, interpersonal social influence, and trait psychological reactance. The authors discuss the results in terms of implications for policy makers, managers, and future research opportunities.
Research and standards: advanced cloud and virtualization techniques for 5G networks (part II) [Guest Editorial]

The evolution of mobile network architecture is an essential part in the development process of the fifth generation (5G) of cellular mobile systems, and that is through the incorporation of advanced cloud technologies and network function virtualization techniques. The new network architecture needs to support a wide range of high data rate applications and services, offering capacities of up to multiple gigabits per second, yet meeting extremely stringent latency and reliability requirements under a diverse variety of scenarios. Thus, the automation of network control and overall system management to achieve such an ambitious set of performance targets became crucial. Significant global effort for the necessary new technologies has been initiated.
Stock market reaction to Olympic Games announcement

This article analyses stock market reactions in countries competing to hold the Olympic Games around the time of the winning bid announcements, using both regular and abnormal returns. We analyse the announcement effects of winning and losing for both Summer and Winter games, beginning with 1996 games announced in 1990, up until the announcement of the 2012 games in 2006. We find significantly negative stock market reaction for winners of the bid to host Winter Games and insignificant positive reaction for winners of the Summer Games.
Towards an integrated framework for Lean Six Sigma application: Lessons from the airline industry

By following a qualitative methodological approach, this article aims to investigate the critical factors influencing the application of Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) in an airline company. Secondary data were collected through an analysis of company's written procedures and quality assurance policies. In addition, primary data were collected through a number of interviews with managers. Findings suggest that there are particular factors that influence the implementation of L6σ such as leadership and strategic orientation, quality-driven organisational culture, continuous training, teamwork, customer satisfaction, and technical systems. This study supports the view that the above factors are not only significant for L6σ application but, also, can be seen as useful investigation tools in their potential application. This article has four major contributions. Firstly, it expands our understanding regarding the implementation of L6σ in the service industry, by exploring the interrelationship of both positive and negative factors affecting its application. Secondly, it focuses on the responses of managers, who always play the most significant role in the adoption sophisticated management practices. Thirdly, it explores L6σ application in an airline service industry, which seems to be neglected by the current literature. Finally, it provides future research studies with an integrated framework that can be investigated in many different organisations coming from other sectors, attempting to find ways of institutionalising L6σ philosophy in any organisational setting.