bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Best-Practices im Umgang mit rechtlichen Fragestellungen zum Forschungsdatenmanagement (FDM)
Authors: Ostendorff Philipp , Linke David
Published: October 2019

Der Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse mehrerer Interviews zur Organisation rechtlicher Aspekte des FDM dar. Die Interviews ergaben das Ergebnis, dass rechtliche Fragestellungen zum FDM wichtiger Bestandteil der Beratungsangebote sind. Als Organisationsstruktur bietet sich das Modell des First-Level-Supports an. Dadurch lässt sich die bibliothekarische mit der technischen und rechtlichen Expertise verbinden. Anders als in der bisherigen Praxis sollte die Hochschule jedoch mit klaren Arbeitsanweisungen oder Tätigkeitsbeschreibungen für die Beratungsleistungen ihrer Mitarbeiter einstehen.
Exploring, Photographing and Vacationing in J. G. Ballard’s Airport Landscape
Authors: Crouch Giorgios
Published: October 2019

Landscape and architecture has played a major role in J. G. Ballard's writing, I have in particular been fascinated with the use of airports in his work. When attempting to hunt down and photograph J. G. Ballard's airport landscape police and security would disrupt my ability to take photographs meaning initial plans would be altered and I would turn my focus to the peripheries, spending time cut off from the infrastructure, dwelling in abandoned waste land and forgotten patches of wilderness. Inadvertently I would replay the roles of certain characters from Ballard's work, becoming marooned and learning to adapt to the landscape. Photographing these places would yield unusual results, images resembling a science fiction landscape, turning the realist properties of photography on its head. I would discover that the extreme nature of the airport landscape influences those who experience it, so when Ballard's work portrays the modern landscape he is also revealing the unseen psychology of the humans inhabiting it.
On approximation in generalized Zygmund class
Authors: Nigam Hare Krishna
Published: October 2019

Here, we estimate the degree of approximation of a conjugate functiong˜{\tilde g}and a derived conjugate functiong˜′{\tilde g'}, of a 2π-periodic functiong∈Zrλg \in Z_r^\lambda,r≥ 1, using Hausdorff means of CFS (conjugate Fourier series) and CDFS (conjugate derived Fourier series) respectively. Our main theorems generalize four previously known results. Some important corollaries are also deduced from our main theorems. We also partially review the earlier work of the authors in respect of order of the Euler-Hausdorff product method.
Existence and Ulam stability for nonlinear implicit differential equations with Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative
Authors: Benchohra Mouffak , Bouriah Soufyane , Nieto Juan J.
Published: October 2019

In this paper, we establish the existence and uniqueness of solutions for a class of initial value problem for nonlinear implicit fractional differential equations with Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative, also, the stability of this class of problem. The arguments are based upon the Banach contraction principle and Schaefer’s fixed point theorem. An example is included to show the applicability of our results.
Silent Spaces: Allowing Objects to Talk
Authors: Sherritt Megan
Published: October 2019

Object-oriented ontology (OOO) is a philosophy that asks us to step outside the human-centric view of the world to recognize that objects have realities of their own. Although we cannot directly access a thing-in-itself, we can still come to know something about it through an indirect access that Graham Harman suggests is provided by aesthetics, specifically the metaphor. In the metaphor, we step into the place of the object-in-itself (that withdraws) and experience a taste of its reality. This main purpose of this article is to show that the visual arts—specifically Haim Steinbach’s art works—offer a different way to know objects. Steinbach “arranges” found objects on shelves; this emphasis on “arrangement” raises questions about the nature of the space between objects. I argue that it is this space between objects (rather than the indirect contact with objects) that grants us some access to the thing-in-itself. By relating the spaces between objects to silence, I show that it is in these spaces that objects speak. In other words, the theatricality of the metaphor Harman privileges for understanding the object only exists in a silence that emerges from the spaces between objects.
Antinomies of Metaphysical Experience between Theodor Adorno and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
Authors: Ustun Berkay
Published: October 2019

This article is an inquiry into the concept of metaphysical experience through a joint discussion of two authors and philosophers with different approaches that nevertheless converge in the reclamation of the concept and rely both on the experience of death as an example. In both cases, the authors are guided by the central problem of how not to relinquish metaphysical experience to unscrutinized immediacy or a powerful conversion which enjoins subjection, putting it in contact with aesthetics and ethics at once. Theodor Adorno situates metaphysical experience as a problem of philosophy of history and devotes attention to the contemporary possibility of experiences that evoke transcendence. The transformations he identifies in the concept also lead him to propose art as a domain where metaphysical experience is alive. The implicit personal investment Adorno makes is much more clear in Lacoue-Labarthe who, in a dialogue with Maurice Blanchot, shows the experience as deeply bound up with literature and its links to subjectivity. The article argues that the main difference between the two approaches is modal and temporal from the side of the object, aside from the different modes of interrogation recognized with the labels deconstruction and critical theory.
Geospatial analysis of drought tendencies in the Carpathians as reflected in a 50-year time series
Authors: Szabó Szilárd , Szopos Noémi Mária , Bertalan-Balázs Boglárka , László Elemér , Milošević Dragan D , Conoscenti Christian , Lázár István
Published: October 2019

Climate change is one of the most important issues of anthropogenic activities. The increasing drought conditions can cause water shortage and heat waves and can influence the agricultural production or the water supply of cities. The Carpathian region is also affected by this phenomenon; thus, we aimed at identifying the tendencies between 1960 and 2010 applying the CarpatClim (CC) database. We calculated the trends for each grid point of CC, plotted the results on maps, and applied statistical analysis on annual and seasonal level. We revealed that monthly average temperature, maximum temperature and evapotranspiration had similar patterns and had positive trends in all seasons except autumn. Precipitation also had a positive trend, but it had negative values in winter. The geospatial analysis disclosed an increasing trend from West to East and from north to west. A simple binary approach (value of 1 above the upper quartile in case of temperature and evapotranspiration, value of 1 below the lower quartile; 0 for the rest of the data) helped to identify the most sensitive areas where all the involved climatic variables exceeded the threshold: Western Hungary and Eastern Croatia. Results can help to prepare possible mitigation strategies to climate change and both landowners and planners can draw the conclusions.
Between Diplomatic Crisis and Economic Interaction: An Information Battle, Public Diplomacy and Investments in US-Mexico Relations, 1876–1880
Authors: Riguzzi Paolo
Published: October 2019

In the second half of the 1870s, relations between the United States and Mexico faced a difficult situation. On the one hand, an acute diplomatic and security crisis occurred, involving various dimensions of Mexican sovereignty. On the other hand, foundations for modern economic exchange between the two countries were laid, based on the developing railroad connection. This article analyses this situation focusing on the relationship between diplomatic, economic and information interactions, seeking to understand how the conflict was settled. The analysis of the crisis management demonstrates that the solution was contingent upon the use of unconventional diplomatic channels, which had important implications for the course of the bilateral relationships that followed.

En la segunda mitad de la década de 1870, las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y México enfrentaron una situación difícil. Por un lado, ocurrió una grave crisis diplomática y de seguridad, que involucró varias dimensiones de la soberanía mexicana. Por otro, se sentaron las bases para el intercambio económico moderno entre los dos países, con base en la conexión ferroviaria en desarrollo. Este artículo analiza dicha situación, enfocándose en la relación entre interacciones diplomáticas, económicas y de información, y buscando entender cómo se resolvió el conflicto. El análisis de la gestión de la crisis demuestra que la solución dependió del uso de canales diplomáticos no convencionales, lo cual tuvo importantes implicaciones para la evolución posterior de las relaciones bilaterales.
Hyperinsulinaemia: does it tip the balance toward intrahepatic fat accumulation?
Authors: Hodson Leanne , Karpe Fredrik
Published: October 2019

In health, the liver is metabolically flexible over the course of the day, as it undertakes a multitude of physiological processes including the regulation of intrahepatic and systemic glucose and lipid levels. The liver is the first organ to receive insulin and through a cascade of complex metabolic processes, insulin not only plays a key role in the intrahepatic regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, but also in the regulation of systemic glucose and lipid concentrations. Thus, when intrahepatic insulin signalling becomes aberrant then this may lead to perturbations in intrahepatic metabolic processes that have the potential to impact on metabolic health. For example, obesity is associated with intrahepatic fat accumulation (known as nonalcoholic liver disease (NAFLD)) and hyperinsulinaemia, the latter as a result of insulin hypersecretion or impaired hepatic insulin extraction. Although insulin signalling directly alters intra- and extrahepatic metabolism, the regulation of hepatic glucose and fatty acid metabolism is also indirectly driven by substrate availability. Here we discuss the direct and indirect effects of insulin on intrahepatic processes such as the synthesis of fatty acids and peripherally regulating the flux of fatty acids to the liver; processes that may play a role in the development of insulin resistance and/or intrahepatocellular triacylglycerol (IHTAG) accumulation in humans.
Adrenal insufficiency, be aware of drug interactions!
Authors: Thijs Elke , Wierckx Katrien , Vandecasteele Stefaan , Van den Bruel Annick
Published: October 2019

A 42-year-old man with complaints of muscle soreness and an increased pigmentation of the skin was referred because of a suspicion of adrenal insufficiency. His adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol levels indicated a primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) and treatment with hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone was initiated. An etiological workup, including an assessment for anti-adrenal antibodies, very long-chain fatty acids, 17-OH progesterone levels and catecholamine secretion, showed no abnormalities. 18Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT showed bilateral enlargement of the adrenal glands and bilateral presence of an adrenal nodule, with 18fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation. A positive tuberculin test and positive family history of tuberculosis were found, and tuberculostatic drugs were initiated. During the treatment with the tuberculostatic drugs the patient again developed complaints of adrenal insufficiency, due to insufficient dosage of hydrocortisone because of increased metabolism of hydrocortisone.

Learning points:

Shrinkage of the adrenal nodules following tuberculostatic treatment supports adrenal tuberculosis being the common aetiology.

The tuberculostatic drug rifampicin is a CYP3A4 inducer, increasing the metabolism of hydrocortisone. Increase the hydrocortisone dosage upon initiation of rifampicin in case of (adrenal) tuberculosis.

A notification on the Addison’s emergency pass could be considered to heighten physician’s and patients awareness of hydrocortisone drug interactions.
Clusters and Upgrading: a Purposeful Approach
Authors: McDermott Gerald A. , Rocha Héctor O.
Published: October 2019

We develop a theoretical model to investigate how backward societies can improve their upgrading capabilities by transforming existing industrial agglomerations into dynamic clusters. Our main assumptions are two: first, emerging market economies are not uniform but characterized by variety of subnational regional and sectoral organizational and institutional configurations; second, the basic building block and unit of explanation in social sciences is personal action guided by some intention, which is heterogeneous across different actors. Based on these assumptions and the literature on human motives and social networks, we develop a purposeful approach to clusters and upgrading. We argue that governments can develop institutions with private actors that facilitate new types of relationships and improve the access local firms have to a variety of knowledge resources, a key ingre­dient to upgrading. We illustrate this argument revisiting the literature on clusters and upgrading in Latin America and using two case studies in Argentina, a country better known for its volatility and lack of optimal social capital and institutions. We conclude with avenues for further research.
Knowledge Management in Transition Economies: Selected Key Issues and Possible Research Avenues
Authors: Michailova Snejina , Sidorova Elena
Published: October 2019

Most of the existing literature on knowledge and knowledge management has a Western or Japanese origin. While this literature provides important insights and findings, these may not necessarily be successfully replicable in other contexts and may lose some of their relevance when applied there. Such and similar observations have given a rise to a substantial number of knowledge management studies conducted in non-Western settings, among those transition economies. We highlight three particular challenges to the knowledge management literature in transition economies: moving beyond the extension of existing knowledge to instead developing contextualized and distinct knowledge; shifting from studying unidirectional knowledge transfer to examining multidirectional knowledge flows; and changing emphasis from studying knowledge transfer to studying knowledge creation.
An Analysis of Relationship Between the Learning Organization and Organization Culture in Indian Business Organization
Authors: Singh Kavita
Published: October 2019

To keep pace with the rapid changes in the environment, organizations must keep pace, otherwise they are likely to perish. They have to remain flexible and continually improve to gain competitive advantage and must be able to adapt and strive to take the lead, otherwise their survival will be at stake. To meet the challenges posed by this rapidly changing environment, an organization must create and assimilate new knowledge at an increasing pace, encourage innovation and learn to compete in new ways. The culture of the organization plays a very significant role in keeping the process of learning vibrant in the organization leading it to become a learning organization. The present paper identifies the relationship between the organization culture and the learning organization in Indian business organizations and concludes that the organization culture plays a vital role in the development of a learning organization. It further contends that three major constructs of organization culture, i.e., openness, proaction and experimentation tend to provide the members of an organization with a sense of direction and creative thinking which in turn enhance organizational learning in turbulent environment.
Carreer Aspirations of R&D Professionals in Government Research Institutes and Multinational Corporations in Malaysia
Authors: Ismail Maimunah , Ramly Efizah Sofiah
Published: October 2019

The research compares the influence of self-efficacy, organizational socialization and continuous improvement practices on career aspirations of research and development (R&D) professionals of government research institutes (GRIs) and multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia. This study used Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to examine the influence of the selected variables on career aspirations of the R&D professionals. Data were collected from 164 respondents from GRIs and 120 respondents from MNCs in the country. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions. The two groups differed significantly in terms of their levels of self-efficacy and organizational socialization, and were not significantly different in continuous improvement practices and career aspirations. Self-efficacy and organizational socialization levels of R&D professionals in GRIs were found to be slightly higher than those of MNCs. Regression results showed MNCs reported higher explanatory power compared to that of the GRIs in terms of variance in career aspiration. This study suggests that continuous improvement practices and self-efficacy are relevant to the model of SCCT. Managers and human resource development (HRD) practitioners in both types of organizations need to restructure the work practices of R&D professionals by strengthening the quality improvement work procedures and cognitive-behaviour initiatives.
Patriotism, Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism and Purchase Behavior in Kazakhstan
Authors: Rybina Liza , Reardon James , Humphrey Janet
Published: October 2019

The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of consumer ethnocentrism and its antecedents - patriotism and cosmopolitanism on consumer domestic and foreign buying behavior in the emerging economy of Kazakhstan. This country poses an interesting question as to how the effects of attitudes and purchase behavior differ in the once controlled regime after receiving independence from a dominant regime. These different attitudes likely affect international integration of Kazakhstan into the global economy. As expected, consumer ethnocentrism leads to high consumption of domestically produced goods and to the lower level of consumption of imported products. Patriotism has a significant positive effect and cosmopolitanism has a significant negative effect on ethnocentric attitudes of consumers in the country studied. The findings of the present study suggest that Kazakhstan seems to have a strong negative link of cosmopolitanism on ethnocentric attitudes and overall, this country seems to have the promise of becoming integrated into the global economy. Managerial implications of the findings are considered and directions for the future research are identified.
Sovereign Credit Rating Announcements and Baltic Stock Markets
Authors: Klimavičienė Asta
Published: October 2019

This study examines whether sovereign credit rating announcements convey price relevant information to investors in Baltic stock markets, and tests the degree of anticipation and price reaction. Event study methodology is employed to test for the price impact of sovereign credit rating announcements by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch. This enables to analyse whether there is an anticipation of the forthcoming announcement in a particular market, a price impact on the announcement day, and a possible delayed reaction. Results indicate that there is an asymmetric reaction: the price impact of negative events is several times larger than that of positive events. Moreover, although some types of rating announcements are anticipated, there is still a significant price impact on the announcement day. The impact differs across the three Baltic stock markets, and depends on the credit rating agency issuing the announcement. The main conclusion is that sovereign credit rating announcements contain pricing relevant news in addition to information already in a public domain.
A Conceptual Model of Cultural Distance, MNC Subsidiary Roles, and Knowledge Transfer in China-based Subsidiaries
Authors: Qin Cindy , Ramburuth Prem , Wang Yue
Published: October 2019

This conceptual paper seeks to review the literature on international strategic management, examine the trilateral interactive relations among national culture, subsidiary strategic context and knowledge transfer between China-based subsidiaries and their headquarters. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV), cross-cultural management theories and other studies of international strategic management, we propose a conceptual model for understanding the interaction between cultural distance and subsidiary strategic context in the knowledge transfer process within MNCs, and ultimately the impact on the performance of subsidiaries. Drawing foundational support from this new model, we explore implications for future research.
Understanding Proactive Behaviours and Career Success: Evidence From an Emerging Economy
Authors: Rasdi Roziah Mohd , Garavan Thomas N. , Ismail Maimunah
Published: October 2019

This article explores the relationship between proactive career behaviours and both objective and subjective career success. The study was conducted on a sample of managers within the public sector of an emerging economy (Malaysia). A sample of 288 managers reported on their proactive career behaviours and career success. Results show that managers who engage in individual career management and networking behaviours report more subjective career success. Networking is positively related to both objective and subjective career success. We discuss the implications for managers' career in emerging economies.
Bastions of Irrational Conservatism? Shop-floor Accounts and the Co-evolution of Organizational and Institutional Change in Russia
Authors: Grancelli Bruno
Published: October 2019

On the whole, the co-evolutionary literature on state-business relationships in Russia conveys the idea that significant changes have occurred in property and corporate governance while less change is noticed in management structures, and workplaces are the places less touched by the systemic transformation. This paper critically assesses the idea that organizational changes only proceed from top to down and from the outside to the inside: those who interact in the workplace are not just the receiving end of change. Yet, the cognitive lenses through which this area of empirical reality is seen have often led to the superposition on shop-floor accounts of overarching frameworks such as that of surplus value extraction and the class antagonism it is bound to breed. I argue that better ways to bridge the micro-macro gap may be found within an institutional research that highlights the links between the microlevel of firm capacities for change and the meso level of organizational fields and local socioinstitutional environments. Therefore, the paper reviews some major contributions of the co-evolutionary framework with a focus on the bridging issue of emerging entrepreneurship. Then it addresses the methodological challenge of devising explanatory mechanisms that might improve our understanding of that issue. Two examples are proposed here for a comparative look at the Russian case: the attention for the “strategies of  independence” of working people in classic works of industrial sociology as well as for the “social construction of markets” as aggregate outcome of such strategies in the Italian  industrial districts. The paper concludes with some remarks on whether a rational model of purposive action is or is not compatible with thick descriptions and high-context explanations of the micro-meso link.
Attitude Formation Towards Local and International Ecological Face and Body Care Brands Among Lithuanian Female Consumers
Authors: Pikturnienė Indrė , Mackelaitė Aistė
Published: October 2019

Current environmental trends in production and marketing resulted in a close-loop situation, when on the one hand consumers demand environmentally friendly and ecological products and are ready to pay price premiums for them, on the other hand, marketers explore usage of environmentally friendly brands and labels as a competitive advantage. Both local and international brands compete in the market of ecological products. However, consumer propensity to purchase ecological brands differs, as this variable can be a function of a number of factors. The paper analyses the impact of consumer values, perceived environmental knowledge and pro-environmental concern on consumer attitudes towards ecological brands (local or international), and the influence of consumer attitude elements on intention to purchase local vs. foreign ecological brands in the industry of face and body care. Lithuanian women were polled to determine the relationship of these variables. The results indicate that the attitude towards an ecological product is related to the value of a sense of belonging and pro-environmental concern; intention to purchase a local brand is predicted by the attitude towards the local brand only, whereas intention to purchase an international brand is predicted by the attitude towards an international and ecological brand, and negatively correlates with the attitude towards a local brand.
Time-series Models Forecasting Performance in the Baltic Stock Market
Authors: Grigaliūnienė Žana
Published: October 2019

Contradicting evidence on time-series and financial analysts’ forecasting performance calls for further research in emerging markets. Motivation to use time-series models rather than analysts’ forecasts stems from recent research that reports time-series predictions to be superior to analysts’ forecasts in predicting earnings for longer periods and for small firms that are hardly followed by financial analysts, especially in emerging markets. The paper aims to explore time-series models performance in forecasting quarterly earnings for Baltic Firms in 2000-2009. The paper uses simple and seasonal random walk models with and without drift, Foster’s, Brown-Rozeff’s and Griffin-Watts’ models to forecast quarterly earnings. It also employs the firm-specific Box-Jenkins methodology to perform time-series analysis for individual firms. Forecasting performance of selected models is compared on the basis of goodness-of-fit statistics. The paper finds that naive time-series models outperform premier ARIMA family models in terms of mean percentage errors and average ranks. The findings suggest that investors use naive models to form their expectations.
On Future Pensions From the Second Pillar Pension Funds
Authors: Bartkus Algirdas
Published: October 2019

The main focus of this paper lies in the possibility for particular second pillar pension funds participants to get a higher pension, compared with non-participants. These particular participants are the employees with average wages and average employment history. This analysis is of main importance when it comes to the decision to participate in the second pillar or not. Unit roots tests and cointegration analysis are used as the possible tools to investigate the dynamics of retirement income for participants and non-participants. This research has the intention to determine the conditions when replacement from the second pillar will offset the loss from pay-as-you-go system.
Determinants of Banks’ Profitability in a Developing Economy: Evidence From Nigeria
Authors: Obamuyi Tomola Marshal
Published: October 2019

The unimpressive banks’ performance in Nigeria over the last decade has remained a source of concern for all and sundry. This study investigates the effects of bank capital, bank size, expense management, interest income and the economic condition on banks’ profitability in Nigeria. The fixed effects regression model was employed on a panel data obtained from the financial statements of 20 banks from 2006 to 2012. The results indicate that improved bank capital and interest income, as well as efficient expenses management and favourable economic condition, contribute to higher banks’ performance and growth in Nigeria. Thus, government policies in the banking system must encourage banks to regularly raise their capital and provide the enabling environment that will accelerate economic growth in the country. Bank management must efficiently manage their portfolios in order to protect the long run interest of profit-making.
Impact of Congruence Between Sports Celebrity and Brand Personality on Purchase Intention: the Case of Mineral Water Category in Lithuania
Authors: Šeimienė Eleonora , Jankovič Tamara
Published: October 2019

In Lithuania as in other post-soviet and emerging countries, the practice of using celebrities in advertising is relatively new, but the trend has been growing over the past two decades. The study performed in Lithuanian mineral water category analyses relation between purchase intention of the advertised brand and such independent variables as sports celebrity, brand personality, celebrity similarity to the consumer and consumer attitude towards the celebrity. This paper proves that congruence between the celebrity and brand personality positively impacts purchase intention of the advertised brand. Brand personality turns to have the most impact on purchase intention. The study also revealed that the more consumers find themselves similar to the celebrity, the more they are willing to purchase the brand. However, consumer attitude towards the celebrity appears to be not as important as it was expected.
Conventional Vs. Islamic Finance: the Impact of Ramadan Upon Sharia-compliant Markets
Authors: Mitchell Matthew C. , Rafi Muhamad Iqbal Mohd , Severe Sean , Kappen Jeffrey
Published: October 2019

The Islamic financial industry is growing at a rate 50% faster than that of conventional banking and is expected to be worth USD 2.1 trillion by the end of 2014. This rapid growth and institutionalization of an alternative financial market highlights a growing need to further investigate Sharia-compliant markets and how they compare with their conventional market counterparts. This paper investigates this broad relationship by focusing on the effects of Ramadan upon the performance of Sharia-compliant financial instruments. Specifically, we utilize an event-study methodology to compare the performance of Sharia-compliant stocks to their conventional counterparts across a large sample of countries and regions. We find strong evidence for a significant Ramadan effect within Muslim majority countries and regions. The effect is strongest in the days leading up to Ramadan, and also around the beginning of Ramadan’s third Ashra on the 20th day. This timing reflects the mental, emotional and practical preparations that individuals go through during the course of the month-long observance. These results are not consistent with traditional economic expectations and therefore reflect the unique socially-embedded nature of this emerging and religiously inspired financial system.
The Accounting Profession’s Role in Corporate Governance in Frontier Markets: a Research Agenda
Authors: Crittenden II Carl A. , Crittenden William F.
Published: October 2019

Accountants, and especially auditors, play an essential role in financial reporting of public and private firms. Stakeholders of companies in frontier markets rely on financial reports to assist with uncertainty avoidance. Yet, the rules of the game are evolving and not well known. If firms, financial institutions and individuals are to invest and commit resources within frontier nations, there has to be confidence in the accuracy of financial information. The research ideas generated herein fuse early work on corporate governance with more recent research from a variety of emerging market scholars to develop an agenda for accounting and governance research in frontier markets. It is our belief that the accounting profession will have to take a lead role in creating the standards needed to deal with issues unique to frontier nations and to create the transparency necessary to help stakeholders evaluate risk.
Using Mimic Models to Examine Determinants of Vat Gap in Lithuania
Authors: Kasnauskienė Gindra , Krimisieraitė Jolita
Published: October 2019

In recent years analysis of economic loss attributed to different aspects of shadow economy has attracted much attention of both academics and policy makers. Recent statistical data shows that new member states have on average a 9 percent higher VAT gap than the older members of the European Union. Knowing that economies of emerging markets rely on the VAT for a substantially higher percentage of their government revenues, it is very important to understand the determinants limiting revenue mobilization in those countries. In Lithuania, the VAT gap increased dramatically after the crisis of 2008 , and now is one of the largest in the EU. However, few studies have empirically tested some hypotheses about the VAT as a revenue-raising instrument in the country. The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants significantly influencing the size of the VAT gap in Lithuania using the MIMIC method for quarterly data of the period 2000-2013. The applied MIMIC model indicated that two factors (General government consumption expenditure and inflation) have a statistically significant impact on the VAT gap in the long-run. The results of the eMIMIC model show that two determinants (inflation and household deposits) have a statistically significant influence on the gap in the short-run. The authors believe that the key findings of the study can be used as one of the supporting tools in adjusting Lithuanian pro-growth tax policy and improving administration of VAT taxes.
Intention to Purchase Alcohol by Adults in the Country in Transition: the Effects of Health Consciousness, Self-efficacy and Religion Importance
Authors: Sinkevičius Mindaugas
Published: October 2019

The major trend in modern societies is towards encouragement of the reduction of alcohol use; however, this is not always in line with the various contexts and occasions. Individual factors may present rather non-homogeneous groups that often exert totally opposite influence on the intention to purchase alcohol. This research aims to examine the phenomenon of adult intention to purchase alcohol in Lithuania as a country in transition influenced by an individual’s health-consciousness, self-efficacy and religion importance. The nature of these factors is very different; their essence may lie in a rather individualistic concern about personal health, or can be linked with rather distant, but strong personal beliefs, priorities or lifestyles. Therefore, this research aimed to explore these effects. A total of 487 completed questionnaires were collected to perform the research. The findings reveal that health consciousness and religion importance have a significant influence on alcohol purchase intention among adults. However, self-efficacy proved to be of low influence.
Determinants of Bank Performance in a Developing Country: Evidence From Morocco
Authors: Ferrouhi El Mehdi
Published: October 2019

This paper aims to define long-term determinants of Moroccan commercial banks performance, for the period 2005-2015, using the Johansen cointegration test. For this purpose, we use bank performance ratios (ROA, ROE and NIM) as dependent variables, and deposits, liquidity ratios, bank-specific and macroeconomic variables as explicative variables. Results obtained show that long-term performance of Moroccan commercial banks depends on deposits, short-term, long-term and funding liquidity, the size of the bank and its square, internal and external funding, deposits interest rates and foreign direct investments. These results show the significance of bank-specific variables as long-term determinants of the performance of Moroccan commercial banks.
Try Not to Be Late! - the Importance of Delivery Service in Online Shopping
Authors: Coşar Cihan , Panyi Krisztina , Varga Akos
Published: October 2019

This study focuses on the role of delivery services in online purchases and their impact on customer satisfaction. Delivery service is one of the most important tasks of online purchase related to logistics, its performance directly influences the level of satisfaction. We aim to research what the online webshops and e-commerce businesses can or should do to have a positive impact on the customer satisfaction level. The research showed that delivery process in online purchases plays a significant role in customer satisfaction and in the decision making of whether or not one should purchase goods from a webshop. We contribute to the existing literature by widening it towards Eastern Europe and Turkey with our own conducted quantitative research. We released our questionnaire to an Eastern European and Turkish community as we were aiming to gather information on the emerging markets of Europe. We have utilized the following methods: frequency distribution, reliability testing, correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, normality test and one-way ANOVA to test our hypotheses. We found that delivery services and privacy policies play the most important part in ordering online in these communities, however, the income level of a person shows no significant relation towards customer satisfaction. We agree that any difficulties with the delivery process can have a negative effect on the purchase and the consumers, and that it influences how one can satisfy his or her needs.
Stock Market Participation Puzzle in Emerging Economies: the Case of Lithuania
Authors: Mauricas Žygimantas , Darškuvienė Valdonė , Mariničevaitė Tamara
Published: October 2019

We examine underlying factors that explain an exceptionally low stock market participation rate among Lithuanian households by carrying out a comprehensive survey of mass affluent individuals. The probit regression analysis of the survey results indicates that lack of financial literacy, low risk tolerance and lack of trust in financial institutions are the three key factors explaining the stock market participation puzzle in Lithuania, while high investment fees, high stock market return expectations or underdeveloped local capital markets do not have a significant effect. The paper also examines whether the same factors also have influence on investment fund, bond and real estate market participation rates. Interestingly, lack of financial literacy, low risk tolerance, lack of trust in financial institutions and high stock market return expectations increase household participation rate in real estate market. The latter finding should be of particular interest to macro-prudential policy makers as increasing financial literacy of households and increasing trust in financial intermediaries would likely cause higher stock market participation at the expense of investments in local real estate market thus not only improving household portfolio diversification and liquidity, but also potentially mitigating local real estate boom and bust cycles.
In Vitro Effect of Temperature on Dentin Bond Strength of Universal Adhesive Systems
Authors: Akarsu DDS, PhD Serdar , Aktuğ Karademir DDS Sultan
Published: October 2019

The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of two universal adhesives (Universal Single Bond and All Bond Universal) and a two-step self-etch adhesive system (Clearfil SE Bond) to dentine at various temperatures. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty dentin specimens were divided randomly to 12 groups, according to adhesive systems (Universal Single Bond and All Bond Universal, Clearfil SE Bond)  and temperature  ( 4ºC, 20 ºC, 36ºC, 55ºC) used. Dentin specimens were prepared (n :10, adhesives were applied, and composite cylinders were polymerized. Statistical analysis of the SBS data was performed using Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s Honestly Significant Differences post-hoc test. Results: The Clearfil SE Bond was shown to have higher SBS than the universal adhesives at all temperatures; however, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). In both groups, the lowest SBS values were observed in the samples at 4°C while the highest SBS values were observed in the samples at 55°C. In this case, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: The results suggest that the effectiveness of an adhesive may increase if it is preheated at 36°C or above before use instead of being used immediately after removal from the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Monitoring of genealogical structure development of East Bulgarian breed horses originating from stallions of other sporting breeds
Authors: Sabeva I. , Popova M.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. The origin of horses from the East Bulgarian breed, which descent from the other sport breeds stallions used for grading has been investigated. Genealogical structure development was traced by pedigree analyses of 1123 horses, born during the period from 2000 to 2018. The East Bulgarian
Horse Association set of statistical data, concerning stallions’ breeding activity and productive life of their progeny were used. Two new lines with founders
Hanoverians Da Kapo (GER) and Eistanzer (GER) were set up during the last four generations. Nowadays the line of stallion Da Kapo (GER) has developed
in second and third generation after the founder and the line of stallion Eistanzer (GER) – in fourth generation after the founder. A small bulk of genealogical
groups with origin traced to stallions Ladykiller, Cottage Son, Cor de la Bryere and Alme Z have developed.
Biodegradation of synthetic dyes of textile effluent by microorganisms: an environmentally and economically sustainable approach
Authors: Jamee Radia , Siddique Romana
Published: October 2019

Due to its overall environmental impact, the residual dye in the wastewater from the synthetic dye manufacturing and textile industries is a global concern. The discharge contains a high content of pigments and other additives, possessing complex structures. As per the requirement for dyed clothing, dyestuff in the effluent is less susceptible to acids, bases, and oxygen. Thus, conventional physical and chemical methods are not always efficient in degrading the dyes. Some microorganisms growing in an area affected with textile effluent have the capability to utilize the dyes as a source of carbon or nitrogen or both. As a very clean, inexpensive, and sufficient alternative, bioremediation of textile wastewater using these microorganisms has gained major popularity. This review primarily centers the contribution of bacteria in this sector and the isolation of such bacteria from textile effluent. A secondary focus is discussing the factors which influence the performance by different bacteria.
Etymology and Semantic Spectrum of adhimukti and Related Terms in Buddhist Texts
Authors: Benedetti Giacomo
Published: October 2019

The action noun adhimukti derives from the verb adhi-muc, not attested in Classical Sanskrit but in P?li. It is regularly used in the passive, with the original meaning ‘to be fastened to’, and then ‘to adhere’. This meaning is not used in a concrete sense, but in a metaphorical one, referred to mind and mental objects, so that adhimukti can be used to express inclination, faith in a doctrine, and also intentional and stable representation of an image or an idea in meditative practice, sometimes with the effect of transformation of external reality. The common feature appears to be adherence or the fixing of the mind on its object.
Mountain Mandalas: Shugend? in Ky?sh?, by Allan G. Grapard
Authors: Sala Emanuela
Published: October 2019

Mountain Mandalas: Shugend? in Ky?sh?, by Allan G. Grapard. Bloomsbury. 2016. 320 pp. Hb. £90. ISBN–13: 9781474249003. Pb. £31. ISBN-13: 9781350044937. Ebook £34.54. ISBN-13: 9781474249027.
Real-Time Smile Detection using Deep Learning
Authors: Nguyen Chi Cuong , Tran Giang Son , Nghiem Thi Phuong , Burie Jean-Christophe , Luong Chi Mai
Published: October 2019

Real-time smile detection from facial images is useful in many real world applications such as automatic photo capturing in mobile phone cameras or interactive distance learning. In this paper, we study different architectures of object detection deep networks for solving real-time smile detection problem. We then propose a combination of a lightweight convolutional neural network architecture (BKNet) with an efficient object detection framework (RetinaNet). The evaluation on the two datasets (GENKI-4K, UCF Selfie) with a mid-range hardware device (GTX TITAN Black) show that our proposed method helps in improving both accuracy and inference time of the original RetinaNet to reach real-time performance. In comparison with the state-of-the-art object detection framework (YOLO), our method has higher inference time, but still reaches real-time performance and obtains higher accuracy of smile detection on both experimented datasets.
FUZZY COMMON SEQUENTIAL RULES MINING IN QUANTITATIVE SEQUENCE DATABASES
Authors: Do Van Thanh , Truong Duc Phuong
Published: October 2019

Common Sequential Rules present a relationship between unordered itemsets in which the items in antecedents have to appear before ones in consequents. The algorithms proposed to find the such rules so far are only applied for transactional sequence databases, not applied for quantitative sequence databases.The goal of this paper is to propose a new algorithm for finding the fuzzy common sequential (FCS for short) rules in quantitative sequence databases. The proposed algorithm is improved by basing on the ERMiner algorithm. It is considered to be the most effective today compared to other algorithms for finding common sequential rules in transactional sequence database. FCS rules are more general than classical fuzzy sequential rules and are useful in marketing, market analysis, medical diagnosis and treatment
Waste glass as binder in alkali activated slag–fly ash mortars
Authors: Liu G. , Florea M. V. A. , Brouwers H. J. H.
Published: October 2019

This paper illustrates the application of waste glass powder as part of the binder in slag–fly ash systems activated by NaOH and NaOH/Na2CO3 activators. To evaluate the reaction kinetics, reaction products, mechanical properties, and durability performance of glass powder modified alkali activated slag–fly ash systems, calorimetry test, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, strength test, drying shrinkage tests, and carbonation test were conducted. From the isothermal calorimeter results, glass powder shows a higher reactivity compared to fly ash but still lower than slag. The reaction products of glass power modified samples exhibit an enhancement of polymerization degree of Si–O–T, observed in FTIR. As a consequence, higher drying shrinkage exists in glass modified mortars. The mechanical performance of different samples is mostly controlled by the Ca/Si of dry mixtures and activator type. After the slag–fly ash binder system was modified by the waste glass, a significant enhancement of resistance to carbonation was identified, especially for NaOH/Na2CO3 activated mortars, which show an increase of 300% on the carbonation resistance ability compared to the reference sample. The Na/(Si + Al) ratio of dry mixtures exhibits a positive correlation with carbonation resistance.