Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF ERP FOR LOGISTICS OPERATIONS IN APPAREL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN BIYAGAMA, SRI LANKA

The study examines the factors affecting the adoption of ERP for logistics operations in apparel manufacturers in Biyagama, Sri Lanka. The investments in ERP solutions have become strategic decision which can have a wide range of advantages to business enterprises. The decision of adaptation or investment in ERP is influenced by many factors. These factors influence on the management behavior of ERP and technology investment. Then, the research problem is what are factors affecting the adoption of ERP in apparel manufacturers in Biyagama? The research objectives of the study are to identity the factors affecting the adoption of ERP by literature reviews and develop a conceptual framework to represent the adoption of ERP in Biyagama, Sri Lanka. The study caters a significant in term of practical, personal and academic significance to the industry; the study methodology of the study is the formal survey where 101 executive officers/managers were interviewed through the questionnaire survey. The comprehensive literature survey was conducted to identify the indicators for the study and 40 indicators were identified for developing the model. The exploratory factor analysis was performed to categorize the indicators. The study has defined the scope through sample size, study approach, time horizon. The study items are grouped under 6 variables including the level of organizational readiness for ERP, level of organizational fit for ERP, level of investment and business type, level of risk and failure, organizational intention and change management, etc. Article visualizations:
Trademark Protection and Bank Loan Contracting: The Evidence from the 1996 Federal Trademark Dilution Act

This paper examines the role of trademark protection in bank loan contracting by exploiting the 1996 Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) that substantially strengthened the protection of famous trademarks. A difference-in-differences analysis based on the FTDA suggests that firms with more famous trademarks pay significantly lower interest rates, and reveal lower cash flow volatility and higher profitability. We also find a significantly increased frequency in firms’ use of trademarks as collateral to secure bank loans. These results are consistent with the view that banks account for enhanced brand value through trademark protection that strengthens firms’ market positions.
Tobacco control and sustainable development: shared challenges and future opportunities

In recent years, scholars and public health officials have increasingly perceived tobacco as a threat to sustainable development. This article explores how stronger tobacco control efforts can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. Most obviously, given that tobacco use and exposure account for over 7.2 million deaths annually, tobacco control is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving SDG 3: Good Health and WellBeing. However, the article also shows how tobacco is, among others, a driver of poverty and inequalities, a threat to sustainable economic growth, a challenge to the environment, and an obstacle to good governance. In effect, tobacco hinders progress on a host of other SDGs. Particular emphasis is placed on SDG 17: Partnership for the goals. While tobacco control partnerships for the past decades have helped attain public health progress globally, there is a risk of this SDG being hijacked by the tobacco industry and other corporate actors, who use it as a tool to justify the proliferation of public-private partnerships. Finally, the article calls for greater cross-disciplinary thinking and closer collaboration between tobacco control and development scholars, which could be crucial in designing successful tobacco control interventions in lowand middle-income countries, and could help achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda. Key wOrds: sustainable development, tobacco control, TTCs, LMICs, public-private partnership. address fOr cOrrespOndence: Britta K. Matthes, Department for Health, University of Bath, UK, e-mail: b.matthes@bath.ac.uk DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/jhi.2019. 87840 IntroductIon – tobAcco control As A development prIorIty In May 2017, just months before the end of her second term as Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan spoke about championing the WHO’s mission to fight tobacco use as one of her proudest achievements in office. What was surprising was the justification that followed. Dr. Chan did not focus on the usual costs associated with smoking – the millions of premature deaths globally, the US$ 1.4 trillion wasted annually in healthcare expenditure and lost productivity, or the human suffering brought by the host of cancers, heart diseases, and respiratory diseases caused by tobacco use. Instead, she declared that ‘tobacco is a deadly threat to global development’, affecting ‘every country on every level and across many 1Matthes BK, Zatonski M. Addressing the tobacco epidemic as a sustainable development priority: the need for cross-disciplinary thinking. CDS Blog. http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/cds/2019/05/31/addressing-the-tobacco-epidemic-as-a-sustainable-development-priority-the-need-forcross-disciplinary-thinking/, accessed on 10.07.2019.
The Latvian audit services market: current issues and challenges

New EU rules on statutory audit reform were adopted by the Council of the EU in April 2014. The changes affect all areas of audit regulation, including market competition, auditor oversight, audit quality and application of standards, audit reporting, corporate governance related to auditors, auditor selection and auditor independence. The purpose of this study is to examine the current state and expected changes in the Latvian audit market within the context of EU audit reform. The research methods are respectively systematic, logical and comparative analysis, analysis of secondary data, as well as expert methods. The principal results of the study provide evidence of the high level of market concentration of Latvia’s audit firms/networks, the dominant share of non-audit revenue in total revenue for the four biggest players on the market, the auditing oligopoly in the PIE market, the impact of EU audit reform on auditor-client relationships, and the activities of audit committees in the banking sector. The results of the study indicate that Latvia’s audit firms are not fully transparent. Based on the findings and results of the study, the author proposes a set of recommendations aimed at making the Latvian audit market more transparent and less concentrated.
Usage of Information and Communication Technology for Access to Financial Services in Tanzania

Access to financial services is limited to the large population worldwide. This study mainly intended to examine relationship of ICT adoption in microfinance institution on access to financial services, particularly on availability, convenience and affordability in Tanzania. A cross sectional study design was conducted in two regions (Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam) for 11 selected Microfinance institutions. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to reduce the variables to the manageable size while retaining the original information as possible. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) with help of Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 21. SEM used to determine multiple relationships between ICT adoption and access of financial services variables simultaneously. The analysis included 303 customers from 77 microfinance institutions from Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam. Five factors were grouped from 29 variables. Only one path leading from ICT adoption to availability of financial services was found statistically significant. This implies ICT plays a key role of delivering financial services to clients via electronic delivery channels. Hence services become available to everybody regardless of location and time.
Measuring the online tax service system with development of success models

Based on the regulations of the Directorate General of Taxation 243/PMK.03/2014 related to the modernization and simplification of tax administration, the reporting of the tax format can no longer be submitted to the tax office. In other words, the taxpayer must do tax reporting online. Thus must understand how the use of online reporting system. Because not a few users of the system feel difficult in its use. The purpose of this study is to build models in the measurement of online tax services. The model developed is the model of Delone and Mclean where this model is very suitable to measure the success of the system. There are 8 variables and 44 Indicators used to measure the system. The indicator is divided into three parts, the input consists of culture, tax content. The process consists of information quality, system quality, service quality, trust, user satisfaction. The output consists of tax system success. Then from each indicator is made a question with the aim to assess the success of the system used.
An Empirical Estimation of Asymmetric information in Indian Stock Markets with Special reference to Pharmaceutical Companies

for all the companies. Even PIN's parameters namely , , and are significant. However, Results for Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Dr. Reddy Laboratories, Glaxosmithkline pharmaceuticals and Sun Pharmaceuticals are identical in all break periods. Similarly, Lupin Ltd and Cipla Ltd have identical results ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Economics AN EMPIRICAL ESTIMATION OF ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION IN INDIAN STOCK MARKETS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Corporate Financial Performance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gradually turning into a critical issue in business management. Over the decades, both theoretical and empirical literature were concentrated on studying the effect of CSR disclosure on corporate financial performance (CFP). However, the results have been ambiguous and inconsistent. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between CSR disclosure and CFP in Vietnamese large listed firms on short-term and long-term profitability. We performed linear regressions on the sample data to investigate the effect of CSR disclosure on corporate financial performance. CSR disclosure is measured by using a disclosure index which consists of environmental, social, economic and legal aspects. For CFP, return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q ratio were employed as measures of short-term and long-term profitability respectively. The results indicated in the short run, there is no significant relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance. However, in the long run, there was a positive significant relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance. The results are encouraging since it provides empirical evidence that Vietnamese firms can be both socially responsible and financially successful. It is expected to make Vietnamese firms become more aware of the significance of CSR practice.
How Business Models and Technologies are Being Integrated in Legal Tech Companies

Legal Tech is still in its infancy as a technology and as a business. Up to now, little is known about those businesses, what they actually do and who are they actually serving. Most of the material about legal technology in the literature focus on the aspects of technological advances, technological applications and challenges to the practice of law. However, researchers haven’t given much attention to the business elements related to this innovation and how those technologies are been commercialized. This work focus on mapping the Legal Tech companies spread around the world and provide a synthesis of their technologies, products, services and business models. Data collected from websites of those companies was used to explain how those elements interact. Moreover, a taxonomy was created in order to group similar solutions and allow easier visualization and comprehension of Legal Tech businesses. The results of this work show effective references about the most common business models in this new industry, its connection to new technologies, and also provide new evidences about the number of companies operating in this market. Entrepreneurs, innovation managers, business researchers, lawyers, Legal Tech owners and investors might find the contents of this material very useful to undertand and explore Legal Tech.
Making it fair: pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce

In Australia, the average industry gender pay gap still stands around 17 per cent. The Australian workforce is highly gender segmented; women predominate in four or five industries and occupations. Women are more likely to be employed in low paying jobs with little or no career pathways. They are more likely to be employed as casuals and part time workers. They are more likely to have interrupted work patterns and breaks in their paid employment. The Committee inquired into and reported on the causes of any potential disadvantages in relation to women’s participation in the workforce including, but not limited to: (1) the adequacy of current data to reliably monitor employment changes that may impact on pay equity issues; (2) the need for education and information among employers, employees and trade unions in relation to pay equity issues; (3) current structural arrangements in the negotiation of wages that may impact disproportionately on women; (4) the adequacy of recent and current equal remuneration provisions in state and federal workplace relations legislation; (5) the adequacy of current arrangements to ensure fair access to training and promotion for women who have taken maternity leave and/or returned to work part time and/or sought flexible work hours; and (6) the need for further legislative reform to address pay equity in Australia. The report sets out a scheme to act to close the gender pay gap. It includes proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009, greater powers for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to act on wage discrimination and the establishment of a specialist Pay Equity Unit within Fair Work Australia with a broad mandate for change.
Seeing COL’s Technology-Enabled Learning Benchmarks in the Light Provided by the ACODE Benchmarking Process

Since 2014 the Australasian Council for Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) have been holding biennial inter-institutional benchmarking summits for those higher education institutions wishing to benchmark their capacity in technology enhanced learning. Over this time the evidence has been mounting as to the longer-term benefits for many of the institutions undertaking this activity. For those who have regularly applied this tool, it can be demonstrated that there have been improvements in particular areas of their practice. In the light of this, and now that the Commonwealth of Learning have developed their own Benchmarks for technology-enabled learning, it is worth understanding how this tool can be applied by institutions, so that similar or, if one might be bold enough to suggest, better results may be afforded. This paper will compare the two tools and the methodologies adopted and provide suggestions based on the lessons learned from over 40 institutions in Australasia. It will report on the three ACODE Benchmarking activities that have occurred since 2014 in Australia and provide a longitudinal view of the key features and outcomes of these activities. In conclusion this paper will challenge institutions to take seriously their mandate to provide their students with learning environments that meet the highest possible quality, particularly now in a higher education setting that will come under increased scrutiny by regulatory bodies. More importantly, it will reflect on what the potential implications are for institutions in moderating their learning management and associated systems.
Human Inspierd Algorithms and Algorithm Discovery Methods for Robotic Intelligence

The objective of the presented research is to identify and implement algorithms providing robotic intelligence. The starting point of the research is implementing algorithms for robotic intelligence using a neural network based cognitive control model, since it has the potential to combine the learning capability of neural networks with the flexibility of symbolic systems. To confirm and utilise this potential, we proposed two algorithms inspired by high-level human cognitive abilities. A further step toward practical application requires improvements of the process for obtaining the algorithms’ inputs. For that purpose, we proposed two algorithm discovery methods targeting algorithms used in low-level, basic information-processing human abilities. The first proposed algorithm is based on the human ability for mental rehearsal and provides a functionality for fast switching among the learned behaviours according to environment and task requirements. The algorithm is characterised by a neural network implementation of behaviour-based control system that supports learning combinations of basic behaviours, and acquiring internal representations that govern the behaviour switching. Unlike the most approaches that encode the robot’s behaviour only into the neural network’s weights, here it is partially encoded as a sustained activation of the context layer neurons, which allows faster changes. An expected benefit of implementing the proposed algorithm is providing behaviour flexibility for a control system of a cleaning robot or a pet robot, for example. The second proposed algorithm provides realisation of task specific, human abilities by learning from successful task solutions obtained from skilled individuals. The algorithm is characterised by a modified neural network realisation of a cognitive control model that allows learning from positive examples only. In tests performed using data from human
Review of system strength and inertia requirements for the national electricity market of Australia

Synchronous generators (SGs) are still making major contributions to the re-stabilization of a power system following voltage/frequency disturbances, attributed to their inherent capability of providing system strength and inertia. However, SGs powered by fossil fuels are operating to a lesser extent and scheduled for decommissioning in the National Electricity Market (NEM) of Australia due to the accelerating increase of low bidding priced asynchronous generation of wind and solar, which leads to the reduction and even in some cases, a shortage of system strength and inertia. This paper comprehensively reviews the requirements of system strength and inertia in the NEM from an operational security perspective. Australia is the first country that established the regulation rules of system strength and inertia to accommodate issues of an emerging high penetration level of non-synchronous renewable generation.
Barriers to Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana

: The main aim of this conceptual study is to show the findings on issues that Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in Ghana face in relation to their performance and development in its various task performed. The study was centred on semi-structured interview questionnaires that were conducted among SMEs in general which was supported by existing literature on the performance and growth of SMEs. This empirical study used relatively small number of SMEs since it is an ongoing Ph.D study. The population size will be increased in the main study. The use of semi-structured interview questionnaires and the critical study of various literature has resulted in determining and defining the dimensions of the growth/development issues or barriers to SMEs. This evaluation will empower the SMEs to get an in-depth understanding concerning the accurate development to issue with likely reasonable measures. The outcome of the study shows that both the internal and external factors pose a problem. Where the external factors include getting the funds, the effect from the foreign markets and some institutional regulations affects SMEs. The technical know-how and new product ideas are lacking, and this was taken as some barriers to SMEs performance or development resulting from the feedback and literature. At the end of the study, it made evident that SMEs come across performance barriers, and this is ascribed to both the internal and the external factors influencing the business operations. This study introduced an important qualification into understanding and indicating the barriers that affects the SME performance that leads to it growth or development.
Comentarios de viajes online sobre medios de hospedaje: un abordaje cuantitativo con viajeros de la ciudad de Natal (Brasil)

espanolEn virtud de los constantes avances tecnologicos, la actividad turistica ha sufrido grandes cambios, hecho que se percibe en el creciente numero de personas que comparten sus experiencias de viajes en internet. En este sentido, el presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo analizar las variables que influyen en la intencion de uso de los Comentarios de Viajes Online (CVO) al elegir un medio de hospedaje. Se busco investigar los comentarios disponibles en internet sobre servicios y productos turisticos, especificamente sobre los medios de hospedaje. El objetivo de la investigacion fue analizar los antecedentes de la intencion de uso de los CVOs al elegir un hospedaje, a traves del Modelo de Aceptacion Tecnologica, la Teoria Motivacional, la Similitud y la Confiabilidad. La metodologia utilizada fue de caracter exploratorio-descriptivo, un estudio bibliografico con abordaje cuantitativo. El mismo recurrio a la tecnica del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales a traves del Partial Least Squares (PLS), para testar y evaluar el modelo de investigacion propuesto. Se trabajo con 308 viajeros de 5 hoteles de Natal (Brasil), que ya habian utilizado los CVOs en la eleccion del hospedaje. Los resultados demostraron que los entrevistados tienen la intencion de utilizar los CVOs al elegir un establecimiento hotelero EnglishOnline Travel Reviews about Accommodations: A Quantitative Approach with Travelers in Natal (Brazil). The constant technological advances have made major changes in the tourism industry. This is noticeable by the growing number of people who share their travel experiences on the Internet.This study aimed to analyze the variables that influence the use of the Online Travel Reviews (OTR) in choosing an accommodation. It was done an investigation into the comments available on the internet about information on touristic products and services, specifically about accommodations. The research proposed to analyze the antecedents of intention to use OTR in choosing an accommodation through the Technology Acceptance Model, Motivational Theory, Similarity, and Trustworthiness. The methodology used was a descriptive-exploratory study, bibliographic research, utilizing a quantitative approach. The study used a Structural Equation Modeling technique called Partial Least Squares (PLS), to test and evaluate the proposed research model. Data collection was performed with 308 travelers in five hotels in Natal (Brazil), who have used the OTRs in choosing an accommodation. The results showed that the respondents have attitude and intention to use the OTRs to choose an accommodation. For hotels and travel agencies, the study confirmed that travelers use OTRs and are influenced by them to choose services, hotels, and ultimately to plan their travels. Therefore, it is up to the entrepreneurs to use the internet to optimize and optimize their sales