Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using the European Model of Total Quality Management to assess the Performance of Organizations. Case Study on Educational Services

Improving quality represents for all organizations and especially for those in services one of the most important strategies for enhancing performance and competitiveness. In the current social and economic context, the evaluation of the performance of organizations must be approached holistically. Performance means a special result, obtained in a certain field, which expresses the quality of the adjustment of the organization to the conditions in the environment. Currently, it is necessary to rethink the whole approach to the ways of evaluating performance. The continuous quest for meeting and even surpassing clients’ expectations, the involvement of all employees in the organization and the permanent improvement of quality represent important dimensions of Total Quality Management (TQM). As any strategy, TQM comprises a series of activities which lead to meeting all the quality objectives, by optimum use of available resources and of the strengths of the organization. The European model of excellence (the EFQM model established by the European Foundation for Quality Management) provides a set of criteria which can be applied to any enterprise and subsidiary so as to assess performance obtained through TQM. The EFQM model represents a non-prescriptive framework which recognizes the existence of numerous different approaches allowing organizations to obtain sustainable excellence. This framework contains basic concepts specific to The European Quality Award (EQA). Our study presents the use of the European model of TQM as a reference point for management and of the improvement of the quality of services rendered by educational organizations, giving practical applicability and utility to the theoretical concepts presented. It proves that by applying the European model of excellence to assess the performance of educational organizations, a real diagnosis can be performed, which contributes to the elaboration of strategies for improving the quality of training and educational services, adapted to the realities of each school.
Ca2+ induces the formation of two distinct subpopulations of group II intron molecules.

The phosphate sugar backbone imposes a large negative charge on RNA and DNA that needs to be neutralized for three dimensional-structure assembly. In addition to proteins and polyamines, the most important cofactors that bind nucleic acids are metal ions. They help to overcome repulsion forces and mediate higher order structure formation, and they frequently participate directly in the chemical reaction of catalytic nucleic acids, i.e. ribozymes. [1] Catalytic RNAs show a distinct specificity for metal ions, both with respect to the kind as well as their concentration. [2–6] Mg2+ is the most abundant divalent metal ion in the cell and is often considered the natural cofactor for ribozymes. Self-splicing group II introns rank amongst the largest ribozymes known and are found in organellar genes of lower eukaryotes, fungi, plants and bacteria. [7] They represent large molecular machines able to perform autocatalysis. [7] In vitro, the D135 ribozyme derived from the S. cerevisiae group II intron Sc. ai5γ displays an optimal activity at unphysiologically high metal ion concentrations (500 mM KCl, 50–100 mM MgCl2). [8] This ribozyme consists of domains 1, 3, and 5, contains all the elements necessary for activity and represents the best investigated system for group II intron folding. [9,10] D135 folds in a Mg2+ dependent fashion. [10] Starting from the unfolded state U in the presence of monovalent metal ions only, two transient on-pathway intermediates I (extended intermediate) and F (folded intermediate) are observed before reaching the native state N by the addition of Mg2+. I and F are in fast dynamic equilibrium separated by low energy barriers. [10] Interestingly, increasing [Mg2+] activate the structural dynamics, directly linking dynamics to ribozyme activity. [10] The hammerhead ribozyme retains activity with Ca2+ only,[3,11] and the Tetrahymena group I intron was shown to globally fold with Ca2+ only, but requires small [Mg2+] for catalysis. [12] Group II introns instead are inhibited already by very low [Ca2+];[4] Ca2+ thereby actively replaces Mg2+ ions in the folded state. [4] Calcium inhibition is particularly interesting because the cox1 gene coding for Sc. ai5γ is located in mitochondria and these cellular compartments are not only involved in Ca2+ homeostasis, serving as Ca2+ storage pools, but both the cox1 gene and altering Ca2+ levels are also involved in apoptosis. [13–15] Therefore, the ribozyme splicing activity and thus correct cox1 expression is potentially regulated by local [Ca2+] in mitochondria. Until now it was impossible to distinguish whether the role of Ca2+ is reflected in the disturbance of the overall ribozyme structure or the replacement of one or more Mg2+ ions directly involved in catalysis. Both of these effects would result in a similar, undistinguishable inhibition in a standard cleavage assay. To address this, we have characterized the folding of the group II intron D135 ribozyme in the presence of Ca2+ independently of catalysis using single-molecule Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET).
Tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1 expression is repressed by miR-155, and its restoration inhibits pancreatic tumor development

Pancreatic cancer is a disease with an extremely poor prognosis. Tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1 (TP53INP1) is a proapoptotic stress-induced p53 target gene. In this article, we show by immunohistochemical analysis that TP53INP1 expression is dramatically reduced in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and this decrease occurs early during pancreatic cancer development. TP53INP1 reexpression in the pancreatic cancer-derived cell line MiaPaCa2 strongly reduced its capacity to form s.c. , i.p., and intrapancreatic tumors in nude mice. This anti-tumoral capacity is, at least in part, due to the induction of caspase 3-mediated apoptosis. In addition, TP53INP1−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) transformed with a retrovirus expressing E1A/rasV12 oncoproteins developed bigger tumors than TP53INP1+/+ transformed MEFs or TP53INP1−/− transformed MEFs with restored TP53INP1 expression. Finally, TP53INP1 expression is repressed by the oncogenic micro RNA miR-155, which is overexpressed in PDAC cells. TP53INP1 is a previously unknown miR-155 target presenting anti-tumoral activity.
Kinetics of cytomegalovirus load decrease in solid-organ transplant recipients after preemptive therapy with valganciclovir.

The availability of valganciclovir (VGCV) has significantly simplified the treatment of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection after solid-organ transplantation. We show that there was no difference in the kinetics of the decrease in HCMV load after preemptive therapy with VGCV in 22 solid-organ transplant recipients (T1/2=2.16 days), compared with that in 23 patients treated with intravenous ganciclovir (GCV) (T(1/2) = 1.73 days; P=. 63). Preemptive therapy with VGCV provides control of HCMV replication that is comparable to that achieved with preemptive intravenous therapy with GCV.
The Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana: a case for blending traditional and introduced wildlife conservation systems.

The introduction of nationally-managed “western”-style protected area systems in Africa often led to antagonism between government authorities and local communities, because rural communities, which were largely excluded and displaced, often resorted to unsustainable activities like encroachment for settlement, illegal hunting and farming. It is the view of most biodiversity conservationists, however, that the management of natural resources must take into consideration both the introduced “western” model and traditional or local knowledge. The study aimed at assessing the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana, as an example of blending traditional and introduced wildlife conservation systems, using interviews and questionnaire to obtain information from a cross-section of inhabitants of the area. The results indicated that the dual management system in operation at present has been largely successful, as the inhabitants appear to support the mechanisms put in place to manage the Sanctuary. Policy recommendations proposed to further enhance this success are in the areas of research and monitoring, education and awareness, tourism improvement, and introduction of community incentive schemes.
Competition and Management Accounting Information and Control System Design: Survey of Australian Manufacturing and Service Organisations

The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the relation between management accounting information and control system design and environmental uncertainty i.e. intensity of competition. This study empirically tests the association between the types of competitive intensity and the investment in integrated cost management systems. The investment of cost management systems is measured using a comprehensive set of cost management practices across the value chain. These systems are tested as integrated strategies i.e. either upstream focussed or downstream focussed. Based on a sample of 77 responses from a survey of Australian manufacturing and service organisations, the study demonstrates that the association between the level of integrated cost management system investment and the individual intensity of competition dimensions of purchase and marketing for upstream-focussed systems whereas downstream-focussed systems are associated with the individual dimensions of price, technical personnel and purchase competitive intensities. This study is one of a limited number that provide evidence of (i) the importance of controlling for the type of competition in the design of management accounting information and control systems, specifically for cost management systems; and (ii) provides a comprehensive examination of cost management practice investment and integration across the value chain.
Understanding the small business sector

This text introduces the key characteristics of the small business sector. Looking at core business functions, it examines the specific problems that face the small business owner. It shows how the business environment for the smaller firm differs from that of larger companies, and studies how far their success or failure depends on the wider economic climate. It also looks at the different locations, whether urban or regional, and the effect of small businesses on the outside community. In addition, the book studies the internal organization of small companies, encompassing discussions of employment, entrepreneurship, management strategies, organizational cultures, finance and the variety of challenges the small business owner faces in each of these questions.
Associations between adult attachment ratings and health conditions: evidence from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.

OBJECTIVE Attachment insecurity has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for the development of disease and chronic illness. This study was the first to investigate associations between adult attachment ratings and a wide range of health conditions. DESIGN Cross-sectional data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (N = 5645) were used. MEASURES Participants completed Hazan and Shaver's (1987) measure of adult attachment and provided reports regarding 15 health conditions. RESULTS Logistic regression analyses that adjusted for demographic variables indicated that avoidant attachment ratings were positively associated with conditions defined primarily by pain (e.g., frequent or severe headaches). Anxious attachment ratings were positively associated with a wider range of health conditions, including several involving the cardiovascular system (i.e., stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure). Secure attachment ratings were unrelated to the health conditions. Additional analyses investigated whether the attachment ratings accounted for unique variance in the health conditions beyond that accounted for by lifetime histories of depressive, anxiety, and alcohol- or substance-related disorders. In these analyses, anxious attachment ratings continued to have significant positive associations with chronic pain, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, and ulcers. CONCLUSION The findings were generally supportive of the theory that insecure attachment is a risk factor for the development of disease and chronic illness, particularly conditions involving the cardiovascular system. Further research regarding the role of attachment in the development of specific health conditions is warranted.
Risk Premia in Tractor and Combine Investments

A farmer planning to use Net Present Value (NPV) analysis on machinery requires estimates of operating benefits over time, an estimate of terminal or salvage values and a risk-adjusted discount rate. Using financial market information and related Root Mean Square Errors on machinery value forecasts, risk premia for combine and tractor investments are estimated for non-diversified investors. These risk premia can be added to the risk free rate in comparable maturity long term bonds to derive an appropriate discount rate for NPV analysis. Where machines are held as single-asset portfolios, risk premia identified for discounting terminal value vary between 5.5% and 8.3% for combines and between 2.4% and 3.6% for tractors, depending on age during the holding period. Where machines are held as parts of multi-asset portfolios, risk premia are usually lower, depending on machinery's weight in the multi-asset portfolio and its covariance with the rest of the portfolio.
Comment: "e-Iatrogenesis": The Most Critical Unintended Consequence of CPOE and other HIT

In the September/October 2006 issues of JAMIA, Campbell et al.'s article “Types of Unintended Consequences Related to Computerized Provider Order Entry”1 lays out an innovative and comprehensive framework for categorizing the things that can go wrong when CPOE systems are implemented. We commend the authors for helping to move forward our collective understanding of this important area. As CPOE and other components of health information technology (HIT) logarithmically diffuse across the U.S. health care system, it is clear they will eventually become the standard all-encompassing platform for the delivery of medical care. As has been the case for all previous medical and non-medical technologies, HIT dissemination carries with it both positive and negative consequences. All nine types of “unintended consequences” outlined by Campbell et al. in their article should be …
Framework for identifying areas in the operations division of Vodacom that could be outsourced

Telecommunication operators are faced with the challenges of rising upward pressure by the competition; this is mainly due to the saturation of subscribers and the aggressive battle for a share of the customer wallet. This has forced mobile network operators to look for new opportunities to drive growth and to cut costs in business operations. The battleground rules are mainly defined by the speed with which new technologies are introduced, customer perception of the quality of the network, and site planning. The purpose of this study is to identify a framework to help the company identify activities which, due to their level and quality of performance, either help or hinder the performance of critical success factors. The starting point for this process is defining the critical success factors based on the company‟s high level priorities. Thereafter, activities that are critical or non-critical, based on their influence on each critical success factor, are identified. Finally, Vodacom‟s operations group activities in a value chain are analysed. The framework is applied to analyse Vodacom‟s operations group activities in a value chain with a view to improve sustainable execution of critical success factors. The report concludes with a decision to outsource activities that are non-critical and are being performed poorly, and the strategic outsourcing of those critical activities which require specialised skills easily sourced outside the company instead of Vodacom spending huge amounts of money in attracting and retaining such specialised skills. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za
Modeling microblogging communication based on human dynamics

Microblog is a large-scale information sharing platform where intensive communications are taking place through interactive user behaviors. Previous studies have analyzed and modeled a series of traditional communications, such as letter, email and phone calls. The timing of human activities tends to be non-Poisson with bursts and heavy tails. Hence, several models have been proposed to explain human dynamics of bursts and heavy tails in various fields. However, as a newly developed product of Web2.0, microblog possesses inherent new characteristics, e.g. user-centric broadcast medium and asymmetric user relations. The communication in microblog is still poorly understood. Our work proposed an interest-driven model to simulate basic user communicating behaviors and processes. We came to the conclusion that, in microblogging communication, individual behaviors are bursts of rapidly occurring events separated by long periods of inactivity. Collective behaviors follow heavy-tailed Power Law distribution, whose origin is the descent of interests. Empirical statistics were also given to verify the model.
Implementation of DDoS Attack Preemption and Improved Data Integrity in Cloud

mobile phone is a basic need for everyone. Mobile Cloud Computing is a very convenient & on- demand network access of the shared resources like services, network, applications, Servers & cloud data storages. DDoS attack can be possible on mobile cloud as well as data integrity can also be possible on data stored on mobile cloud. DDoS is one of the largest threads for the internet users & cloud service providers. Data integrity is necessary for any cloud data centre to avoid data corruption or data crash. Security is major dilemma in cloud environment. In Proposed mechanism DDoS is detected & pre-empted by log monitoring of each & every request of services provided. Once attacker has been detected by log monitoring Attacker will be blocked permanently or tentatively depending on the log details. Mobile cloud user needs their data to be safe & private to maintain confidentiality. Data integrity can be achieved by implementing M-AES algorithm to the data stored in mobile cloud. M-AES algorithm preserves the data integrity in mobile cloud computing. Question arises why combining DDoS & Data Integrity? After preventing DDoS attack providing upload & download data services to protect data stored on cloud servers from spoofing, data integrity is provided to data. If a user uploads data & malicious user or hacker tries to modify the data by spoofing in such cases, providing encryption to data before uploading data on cloud as well as by sending verification code to registered email-id as a security purpose. Keep log of file details like file size, date of upload, number of words, type of file by using these parameters spoofing can be detected.
Extreme Patterns of Variance in Small Populations: Placing Limits on Human Y‐Chromosome Diversity through Time in the Vanuatu Archipelago

Small populations are dominated by unique patterns of variance, largely characterized by rapid drift of allele frequencies. Although the variance components of genetic datasets have long been recognized, most population genetic studies still treat all sampling locations equally despite differences in sampling and effective population sizes. Because excluding the effects of variance can lead to significant biases in historical reconstruction, variance components should be incorporated explicitly into population genetic analyses. The possible magnitude of variance effects in small populations is illustrated here via a case study of Y‐chromosome haplogroup diversity in the Vanuatu Archipelago. Deme‐based modelling is used to simulate allele frequencies through time, and conservative confidence bounds are placed on the accumulation of stochastic variance effects, including diachronic genetic drift and contemporary sampling error. When the information content of the dataset has been ascertained, demographic models with parameters falling outside the confidence bounds of the variance components can then be accepted with some statistical confidence. Here I emphasize how aspects of the demographic history of a population can be disentangled from stochastic variance effects, and I illustrate the extreme roles of genetic drift and sampling error for many small human population datasets.
The Impact of Top Management Team Nationality Diversity and International Experience on Foreign Entry Mode

Nationality diversity and international experience constitute two related yet distinct sources of competence among upper echelons. While both TMT international experience and nationality diversity increases the likelihood of firms expanding outside their home region, our results show that TMTs with international experience are more likely to expand abroad via greenfield investments, whereas nationally diverse TMTs are more likely to engage in international acquisitions and joint ventures. This highlights the need to treat TMT nationality diversity and international experience as two different characteristics influencing foreign entry mode decision.
Privacy-preserving framework for geosocial applications

The paper deals with user privacy in geosocial applications. Geosocial applications have become very popular but can misuse user's private data and location. We propose a novel solution that prevents tracking and protects against personal identity and location being misused by external attackers or service providers. The proposed framework provides security and privacy protection for geosocial applications that provide, for example, information sharing, geotagging, and monitoring of people without revealing their identity to unauthorized persons, including the service provider. Unlike current security solutions in geosocial services, our novel framework uses advanced cryptography to secure user privacy. This protection is provided by advanced group signatures ensuring data integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation, and strong privacy protection. The paper outputs a detailed cryptographic scheme for the protection of privacy in geosocial services and its security analysis. The proposed scheme has also been implemented, and the performance results are outlined in the paper. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.