Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between the environmental and economic performance of firms: an empirical analysis of the European paper industry

This paper examines the relationship between the environmental and economic performance of firms in the European paper manufacturing industry. It initially discusses possible functional relationships between environmental and economic performance rooted in different theoretical frameworks and links these to recent empirical and theoretical analyses of the Porter hypothesis. Following this, it reports the results of an empirical study carried out in the European paper industry. Findings fit better with ‘traditionalist’ reasoning about the relationship between environmental and economic performance, which predicts the relationship to be uniformly negative. In particular they confirm the necessity for a more differentiated view of the Porter hypothesis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.
Effect of Li+ upon the Mg2+-dependent activation of recombinant Gialpha1.

Although lithium salts have been used in the treatment and prophylaxis of manic-depressive or bipolar patients for 50 years, the mechanism of the pharmacologic action of Li+ is unknown. Based on activity studies of inhibitory and stimulatory guanine-binding (G) proteins in rat cortical membranes, it was proposed that Li+ inhibition of G-proteins may account for its pharmacologic action. We used the purified alpha subunit of the recombinant inhibitory G-protein, rGialpha1, and found that Li+ at therapeutic levels significantly inhibited the formation of the GDP.AlF4-. rGialpha1 complex. Because our studies were conducted with a purified, metal-reconstituted G-protein rather than with cell membrane suspensions, our Li+ inhibition results lend additional support to the G-protein hypothesis for Li+ action.
Media Selection for Deceptive Communication

What media do deceivers choose for their deceptions and why do they choose them? Few past studies of media selection have investigated media choice for deception. Media richness theory predicts that the most common media choice for deception would be face-to-face, while Hancock et al’s three-factor model predicts that phone would be the dominant choice. Our data allow us to compare these two perspectives. We also investigate two aspects of communication event context: severity of the problem and familiarity of the deceiver with the recipient. To investigate these issues, we conducted a sample survey of over 500 middle and upper managers. Our findings tend to support media richness theory, as the favored media for deception was face-to-face. The importance of face-to-face was amplified when the recipient was a friend of the deceiver instead of a stranger. The situation's urgency only helped respondents decide if they would lie or not.
SU-G-BRB-07: Developing a QA Procedure for Gated VMAT SABR Treatments Using 10 MV Beam in Flattening-Filter Free Mode.

PURPOSE To develop a QA procedure for gated VMAT stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) treatments. METHODS An interface was constructed to attach the translational stage of a Quasar respiratory motion phantom to a pinpoint ion chamber insert and move the ion chamber inside an ArcCheck diode array. The Quasar phantom controller used a patient specific breathing pattern to translate the ion chamber in a superior-inferior direction inside the ArcCheck. An amplitude-based RPM tracking system was specified to turn the beam on during the exhale phase of the breathing pattern. SABR plans were developed using Eclipse for liver PTVs ranging in size from 3-12 cm in diameter using a 2-arc VMAT technique. Dose was measured in the middle of the penumbra region, where the high dose gradient allowed for sensitive detection of any inaccuracies in gated dose delivery. The overall fidelity of the dose distribution was confirmed using ArcCheck. The sensitivity of the gating QA procedure was investigated with respect to the following four parameters: PTV size, duration of exhale, baseline drift, and gating window size. RESULTS The difference between the measured dose to a point in the penumbra and the Eclipse calculated dose was under 2% for small residual motions. The QA procedure was independent of PTV size and duration of exhale. Baseline drift and gating window size, however, significantly affected the penumbral dose measurement, with differences of up to 30% compared to Eclipse. CONCLUSION This study described a highly sensitive QA procedure for gated VMAT SABR treatments. The QA outcome was dependent on the gating window size and baseline drift. Analysis of additional patient breathing patterns will be required to determine a clinically relevant gating window size and an appropriate tolerance level for this procedure.
Entrepreneurship Success: “The Lone Ranger” Versus “It Takes a Village” Approach?

Abstract A prominent metaphor in the entrepreneurship literature is challenged. The entrepreneur is often depicted as a “Lone Ranger” symbolized as a stoic individual making entrepreneurial decisions in isolation. Although entrepreneurship research has examined the impact of social context on venture creation, it has done so without specific regard to the spousal relationship. Based on this literature gap, another metaphor of “It Takes a Village” is suggested. Such a metaphor recognizes that many entrepreneurs make their entrepreneurial decisions within an immediate decision context of the couple potentially creating a greater probability of new venture success. That decision context is ripe with a myriad of emotions that must be traversed in moving toward mutually shared decisions. If entrepreneurs have a strong couple relationship as they create new ventures, that relationship strength can provide a reliable stock of resilience capacity that can be drawn upon to combat the liability of newness of a new venture.
Dimensões das Capacidades Organizacionais: evidências de PMEs Exportadoras Mineiras

Este trabalho teve como objetivo mensurar e categorizar as PMEs mineiras quanto a sua capacidade organizacional, subdividida em tres dimensoes: produtiva, inovativa e gerencial. A amostra foi constituida por 45 PMEs mineiras. A natureza do estudo e quantitativa e os dados foram coletados por meio de um questionario semi-estruturado. As tecnicas utilizadas para atender aos objetivos foram a analise dos componentes principais visando identificar os indicadores de maior peso sobre as dimensoes analisadas e a media ponderada para categorizar as empresas quanto as capacidades. Os resultados demonstraram dentre as dimensoes da capacidade organizacional, maior peso na dimensao gerencial, seguida da dimensao inovativa e por ultimo da dimensao produtiva. Os resultados indicam que o gestor, por ser responsavel pela tomada de decisao e pela elaboracao de estrategias, e o fator de maior peso na obtencao de vantagem competitiva da empresa, seguido pela capacidade de aprendizagem da empresa. A gestao, adequacao e agilidade da producao, no entanto, nao se configuram como elementos essenciais e principais para a vantagem competitiva. Os resultados contribuem para o entendimento da heterogeneidade das competencias organizacionais de pequenas empresas exportadoras de Minas, e para a consolidacao dos estudos em capacidades organizacionais.
An Empirical Study Demonstrating How Different Design Constraints, Project Organization and Contexts Limited the Utility of Personas

There are few independent studies reporting on the relation between interaction designers existing practices contra their efficient use of personas. Practitioners have reported that the technique have a potential for software mass-market products, and as a user-information-needs-model. Based on three different software development project characteristics this paper presents an independent study on the usefulness of personas. In the first project, it is demonstrated that personas played a surprisingly little role compared to other design influences. In the second project personas was useful as a political instrument. In the third project the balance between invested personas efforts and its usefulness was questioned. All projects demonstrate that personas functioned as an internal concept in the discussions between interaction designers and to justify design rationales 'after the fact' to other project members, as if they actually were based on the persona.
Tourism in Cape Verde: An Analysis from the Perspective of Demand

In the last few years the economic model of the islands of Cape Verde has undergone a significant change. This paper analyses Cape Verde's economic transformation over the last decade, which is mainly attributable to tourism. For this analysis, the results of fieldwork carried out in the three islands in the archipelago are presented, in which foreign tourists' perceptions and opinions are examined. The results show the high level of tourist satisfaction, the need to reinforce links between the tourism sector and the local community and tourists' high evaluation of the beaches, restaurants and hospitality.
ISTEA: ANOTHER SUBSIDY FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (ISTEA), which allocates money collected from gasoline excise taxes to transportation projects in the states, is designed to give the states roughly as much money as they put in through excise taxes. However, a state can evade this constraint by encouraging the use of alternative fuels, which have lower excise taxes. Taxes collected from the state will be reduced, but a state will not see its allocation of highway funds diminish. The ISTEA, along with the excise tax break, does more than just encourage states to promote ethanol; some states can enhance transportation funding by mandating ethanol usage, as some have already figured out. This paper shows that the financial incentives given to ethanol usage by the 1991 Transportation Act and the excise tax break are much higher than anyone intended and serve no useful purpose, regardless of any ethanol benefits. The result of this act is that promotion and use of ethanol will eventually provide less funds for future transportation spending by the states. To solve this inequity, the authors suggest that the federal excise tax exemption for alcohol-blended fuels be deleted.
The Economic Sociology of Firms and Entrepreneurs

The way in which entrepreneurs, particularly minorities and immigrants manage to obtain the capital and labor necessary to sustain a business can be studied by considering the social structure within which individuals and groups construct firms.Ethnographic studies of Java and the Philippines indicate that trust and solidarity among entrepreneurs are integral to the formation of small enterprises.Certain patterns of group solidarity give immigrants and other minorities an advantage in the construction of new ventures. Examples of these solidarity patterns include the credit associations and social connections that have enabled overseas Chinese to establish efficient firms in Southeast Asia.While this sort of "internal coupling" (with co-ethnics) works to minorities' and immigrants' advantage, they also benefit by the "decoupling process" that results from moving away from friends and family. Although some argue that social capital hampers the expansion of minority-owned businesses, the fact is that many large industrial empires are built on social and family connections. (SAA)
Mechanisms of Epileptogenesis in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Related Malformations of Cortical Development with Abnormal Glioneuronal Proliferation

Malformations of cortical development (MCDs) are increasingly recognized as causes of medically intractable epilepsy. In order to develop more effective, rational therapies for refractory epilepsy related to MCDs, it is important to achieve a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of epileptogenesis, but this is complicated by the wide variety of different radiographic, histopathological, and molecular features of these disorders. A subset of MCDs share a number of characteristic cellular and molecular abnormalities due to early defects in neuronal and glial proliferation and differentiation and have a particularly high incidence of epilepsy, suggesting that this category of MCDs with abnormal glioneuronal proliferation may also share a common set of primary mechanisms of epileptogenesis. This review critically analyzes both clinical and basic science evidence for overlapping mechanisms of epileptogenesis in this group of disorders, focusing on tuberous sclerosis complex, focal cortical dysplasia with balloon cells, and gangliogliomas. Specifically, the role of lesional versus perilesional regions, circuit versus cellular/molecular defects, and nonneuronal factors, such as astrocytes, in contributing to epileptogenesis in these MCDs is examined. An improved understanding of these various factors involved in epileptogenesis has direct clinical implications for optimizing current treatments or developing novel therapeutic approaches for epilepsy in these disorders.
Testing Enterprising Tendency In Occupational Groups

SUMMARY The administration of a test of enterprising tendency showed that business owner-managers were significantly more enterprising than other occupational groups, namely teachers, nurses, civil servants, clerical trainees and lecturers and trainers. This test, which aims to measure key characteristics of enterprising people, is described within this paper. Key enterprise characteristics may include a high need for achievement, a high need for autonomy, calculated risk-taking, an internal locus of control and a creative tendency. The result of this pilot study may suggest that the occupation of setting up and managing a business requires an enterprising tendency, unlike other occupations. However, it could reflect the fact that business owner-managers are the most studied sample of enterprising people and that the test is drawn from this literature. However, further studies are required to clarify distinctions within occupational groups and to determine if business owner-managers are more enterprising than other occupational groups. It would be especially interesting to compare the enterprising tendency of business owner-managers with managers and enterprising people from other occupational groups.
Collective bargaining and wage determination in Italian manufacturing

The article presents preliminary work on the role of unions and collective bargaining in the process of wage determination at firm level in Italy. The characteristics of the wage determination process and how it effects the composition of pay in Italian manufacturing is described. The methodology used to estimate the union/non-union differential and its application to the Italian case is provided. The data set and variables uses are described and regression estimates are presented. A particular focus is placed on the relevance of union density and firm size to the level and composition of pay for both manual and non-manual workers. JEL: L60
The market performance of franchise stock portfolios

Purpose – This paper's aim is to examine the risk‐adjusted market performance of an overall franchise and three sub‐sector franchise common stock portfolios from 1990 through 2008.Design/methodology/approach – Four sets of franchise sector portfolios are constructed, their returns are calculated, and their performances relative to three market benchmarks are evaluated using the Sharpe ratio and Jensen's α. Findings – The all franchise portfolio significantly outperformed the three market benchmarks. Among the sector portfolios, the services and restaurant portfolios also outperformed the market benchmarks, but not the lodging portfolio. Results support the theoretical hypothesis that franchising may provide superior advantages to investors and point to a possible “franchising anomaly”. Investors consider franchise firms to be less risky than the average publicly traded firms and therefore require a lower rate of return.Practical implications – The results of the study suggest that in the past, franchise ma.
Quantitative sensory testing in patients with polyneuropathy and healthy individuals

Aims – Elderly individuals and patients with polyneuropathy often feel heat pain or burning sensation on quantitative sensory testing (QST) of warm perception distally in the lower limbs. We therefore studied heat pain threshold (HPT), warm perception threshold (WPT) and the difference between heat pain and warm perception thresholds in 48 patients with symptoms and signs of polyneuropathy matched according to age and gender with 48 healthy persons.
Smart Meter with non-intrusive load monitoring for use in Smart Homes

One feature of Smart Homes includes recording the consumption of electricity of appliances in the household. The recordings are conducted using Smart Meters. To demonstrate the usefulness of Smart Meters for the final customers, this paper identifies several benefits by presenting the research area non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NALM). The purpose is to discuss the energy consumption of different appliances in detail in order to determine a means of reducing this consumption. The analysis focuses on the drawbacks of the appliances examined. Based on the results of the analysis, the approach to gathering data is described. With this approach we want to greatly simplify the NALM process. Finally the initial results obtained using this approach are discussed.
Quantitative Analysis of the Content of EMS Handoff of Critically Ill and Injured Patients to the Emergency Department

Abstract Objectives: Patient handoff occurs when responsibility for patient diagnosis, treatment, or ongoing care is transferred from one healthcare professional to another. Patient handoff is an integral component of quality patient care and is increasingly identified as a potential source of medical error. However, evaluation of handoff from field providers to ED personnel is limited. We here present a quantitative analysis of the information transferred from EMS providers to ED physicians during handoff of critically ill and injured patients. Methods: This study was conducted at an urban academic medical center with an emergency department census of greater than 100,000 visits annually. All patients arriving to our institution by EMS and meeting predefined triage criteria are brought immediately to the ED resuscitation area upon EMS arrival. Handoff from EMS to ED providers occurring in the resuscitation area was observed and audio recorded by trained research assistants and subsequently coded for content. The emergency department team as well as EMS were blinded to study design. Results: Ninety patient handoffs were evaluated. In 78% (95%CI = 70.0–86.7) of all handoffs, EMS provided a chief concern. In 58% (95%CI = 47.7–67.7) of handoffs EMS provided a description of the scene and in 57% (95%CI = 46.7–66.7) they provided a complete set of vital signs. In 47% (95%CI = 31.3–57.5) of handoffs pertinent physical exam findings were described. The EMS provider gave an overall assessment of the patient's clinical status in 31% (95%CI = 21.6–40.3) of cases. Significantly more paramedic handoffs included vital signs (70% vs. 37%, χ2 = 9.69, p = 0.002) and physical exam findings (63% vs. 23%, χ2 = 14.11, p < 0.001). Paramedics were more likely to provide an overall assessment (39% vs. 17%, χ2 = 4.71, p < 0.05). Conclusions: While patient handoff is a critical component of safe and effective patient care, our study confirms previous literature demonstrating poor quality handoff from EMS to ED providers in critically ill and injured patients. Our analysis demonstrates the need for further training in the provision of patient handoff.
Organisational susceptibility to fraud and theft, organizational size and the effectiveness of management controls: some UK evidence

This paper examines the principal determinants of an organization's susceptibility to theft and fraud in the context of a rational economic framework in which the level of protection is determined by the minimization of cost. The empirical study shows that, adjusting for differences in organizational type and industrial sector, both organizational susceptibility and the size of a typical theft or fraud increase with organizational size. Access to resources and the manner in which the theft or fraud is perpetrated are also important determinants of the money lost. However, they are unaffected by management controls or the nature of their violation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Changes in some physical characteristics of the digesta in the reticulo-rumen of cows fed once daily

1. Three cows were given 3, 5 or 7 kg hay once daily in a Latin-square design, and samples of digesta from four sites in the rumen and one site in the reticulum were taken at six times within the 24 h period after the feed. Dry-matter content and distribution of particle size and of particle density were measured for each sample. The changes in these measurements with time were studied. The incidence of rumination was also recorded. 2. Dry-matter contents of samples ranged from 15 to 3%. Values for samples from the dorsal sacs of the rumen were considerably higher than those for samples from the ventral sites; they also changed more with time after feeding and with level of feeding. 3. Particles were fractionated by sieving into six size groups with mean dimensions (mm) of 9·3 × 0·8, 4·4 × 0·6, 2·6 × 0·3, 1·6 × 0·25, 0·5 × 0·1 and smaller than 0·5 × 0·1. Coarse particles occurred at highest concentrations in the dorsal sacs of the rumen and responded to effects of time and level of feeding; smaller particles showed less response. 4. Particle densities ranged from 800 g/l to 1500 g/l. The proportions of low-density particles were higher in samples from the dorsal sacs of the rumen than in samples from ventral sites; the latter samples had higher proportions of high-density particles than of low-density particles. The changes which occurred are discussed. 5. The density of coarse particles tended to be low and that of fine particles tended to be high. 6. Rumination started at the time of maximum concentration of particles of low density and minimum concentration of particles of high density. Conversely, rumination ended when the concentration of the low-density particles was a minimum and that of the dense particles a maximum. 7. The results are discussed in relation to the possible movement of particles within the reticulo-rumen and the kinetics of particle breakdown.
A malware detection system based on intermediate language

Malware remains a serious problem for economic corporations, government agencies, and individuals. With the evolution of malware, the malware detection method based on signature, reputation or anomaly show the lack of detection ability. In this paper, we proposed a novel malware detection system, which use the feature extract from intermediate representation and utilizes multiple evaluation methods to detect the malware. We extract the feature from intermediate representation with fine-grained that retain the functional sequence of malware. Then, we use LSTM (Long Sort Term Memory) to learn the pattern from the training set and build a detection system that contain many antivirus software's results to detect malware and classify it. Our approach is evaluated on more than 300,000 samples. Experimental results show that our system can effectively detect unknown malware and classify it.
Instructional Media and Teaching Methods for Engaging Children with Computer Programming

Technology - based learning could help students achieve fundamental abilities and skills like computational thinking and creativity. Engaging young students in computer science concepts and programming with a creative and enjoyable way is a challenging issue. We are aiming to apply and evaluate constructionist or apprenticeship techniques and visual programming tools that could assist and improve the learning activity.