361 research outputs found
SMEs entry mode decision making process: Rational or cybernetic?
Entry mode choice is a critical decision when a firm expends its business to foreign markets. By applying rational and cybernetic strategies to international strategic decision-making process, this paper investigates how small and medium sized firms (SMEs) decision makers decide their entry mode choices. By focusing on the entry decision making process, this research distinguishes the prior entry mode studies that emphasize the relationship between influencing factors and their impacts on entry mode choices. The results of this study show that SME managers normally adapt a combination of rational and cybernetic strategies in their international entry decision making process. This highlights that SMEs’ international entry decision making process is dynamic and complex
Multi-phase High-Velocity Clouds toward HE 0226-4110 and PG 0953+414
We study the physical conditions, elemental abundances, and kinematics of the
high-velocity clouds (HVCs) along the sight lines toward active galaxies
HE0226-4110 and PG0953+414 using Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer data. Our observations reveal
multiple components of HVC absorption in lines of HI, CII, CIII, CIV, OVI,
SiII, SiIII, and SiIV in both directions. We investigate whether
photoionization by the extragalactic background radiation or by escaping Milky
Way radiation can explain the observed ionization pattern. We find that
photoionization is a good explanation for the CII, CIII, SiII, and SiIII
features, but not for the OVI or CIV associated with the HVCs, suggesting that
two principal phases exist: a warm (T~10^4K), photoionized phase and a hotter
(T=1-3x10^5K), collisionally-ionized phase. The warm HVCs toward HE0226-4110
have high levels of ionization (97-99%), and metallicities ([Z/H] between -0.9
and -0.4) close to those in the Magellanic Stream, which lies eleven degrees
away on the sky at similar velocities. These HVCs have thermal pressures that
would place them close to equilibrium in a fully ionized 10^6 K Galactic corona
with n_H=4-9x10^{-5}cm^{-3} at 50 kpc. A mini-survey of the hot, collisionally
ionized HVC components seen here and in five other sight lines finds that in
11/12 cases, the high ions have kinematics and ionic ratios that are consistent
with an origin in conductive interfaces. However, the broad absorption wing on
the OVI profile toward PG0953+414 is not completely explained by the interface
scenario, and may be tracing the outflow of hot gas into the Milky Way halo as
part of a Galactic fountain or wind.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures (9 in color), accepted for publication in Ap
High-Velocity Clouds in the Nearby Spiral Galaxy M 83
We present deep HI 21-cm and optical observations of the face-on spiral
galaxy M 83 obtained as part of a project to search for high-velocity clouds
(HVCs) in nearby galaxies. Anomalous-velocity neutral gas is detected toward M
83, with 5.6x10^7 Msolar of HI contained in a disk rotating 40-50 km/s more
slowly in projection than the bulk of the gas. We interpret this as a
vertically extended thick disk of neutral material, containing 5.5% of the
total HI within the central 8 kpc. Using an automated source detection
algorithm to search for small-scale HI emission features, we find eight
distinct, anomalous-velocity HI clouds with masses ranging from 7x10^5 to
1.5x10^7 Msolar and velocities differing by up to 200 km/s compared to the HI
disk. Large on-disk structures are coincident with the optical spiral arms,
while unresolved off-disk clouds contain no diffuse optical emission down to a
limit of 27 r' mag per square arcsec. The diversity of the thick HI disk and
larger clouds suggests the influence of multiple formation mechanisms, with a
galactic fountain responsible for the slowly-rotating disk and on-disk discrete
clouds, and tidal effects responsible for off-disk cloud production. The mass
and kinetic energy of the HI clouds are consistent with the mass exchange rate
predicted by the galactic fountain model. If the HVC population in M 83 is
similar to that in our own Galaxy, then the Galactic HVCs must be distributed
within a radius of less than 25 kpc.Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ. Some figures
have been altered to reduce their siz
Memories of S S Hakozaki-Maru
textabstractOBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of different protocols of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation on thyroid function with those of the natural menstrual cycle. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective controlled study. SETTING: University Medical Center. PATIENTS: A total of 97 women without a history of endocrine disease undergoing intrauterine insemination either in a natural cycle, or with mild ovarian hyperstimulation, or in vitro fertilization (IVF). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: estradiol (E2), thyroxine binding globulin (TBG), free thyroxine (FT4), total thyroxine (TT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) during the midluteal phase. RESULTS: In the IVF group midluteal E2, TBG, and TT4 were significantly higher; midluteal FT4 was significantly lower (mean difference: -1.46 pmol/L; P < 0.001) and midluteal TSH was significantly higher (mean difference: 0.52 mU/L; P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian hyperstimulation in IVF is associated with lower midluteal FT4. and higher midluteal TSH levels compared to the natural cycle
Tree identity rather than tree diversity drives earthworm communities in European forests
Given the key role of belowground biota on forest ecosystem functioning, it is important to identify the factors that influence their abundance and composition. However, the understanding of the ecological linkage between tree diversity and belowground biota is still insufficient. Here we investigated the influence of tree diversity (richness, True Shannon diversity index, functional diversity) and identity (proportion of evergreen leaf litter and leaf litter quality) on earthworm species richness and biomass at a continental and regional scale, using data from a Europe-wide forest research platform (FunDivEUROPE) spanning six major forest types. We found a marked tree identity effect at the continental scale, with proportion of evergreen leaf litter negatively affecting total earthworm biomass and species richness, as well as their biomass per functional group. Furthermore, there were clear litter quality effects with a latitudinal variation in trait-specific responses. In north and central Europe, earthworm biomass and species richness clearly increased with increasing litter nutrient concentrations (decreasing C:N ratio and increasing calcium concentration), whereas this influence of litter nutrients was absent or even reversed in southern Europe. In addition, although earthworms were unaffected by the number of tree species, tree diversity positively affected earthworm biomass at the continental scale through functional diversity of the leaf litter. By focusing on tree leaf litter traits, this study advanced our understanding of the mechanisms driving tree identity effects and supported previous findings that litter quality, as a proxy of tree identity, was a stronger driver of earthworm species richness and biomass than tree diversit
Appearance of the weight-bearing lateral radiograph in retrocalcaneal bursitis
Background and purpose A retrocalcaneal bursitis is caused by repetitive impingement of the bursa between the Achilles tendon and the posterosuperior calcaneus. The bursa is situated in the posteroinferior corner of Kager's triangle (retrocalcaneal recess), which is a radiolucency with sharp borders on the lateral radiograph of the ankle. If there is inflammation, the fluid-filled bursa is less radiolucent, making it difficult to delineate the retrocalcaneal recess. We assessed whether the radiographic appearance of the retrocalcaneal recess on plain digital (filmless) radiographs could be used in the diagnosis of a retrocalcaneal bursitis. Methods Whether or not there was obliteration of the retrocalcaneal recess (yes/no) on 74 digital weight-bearing lateral radiographs of the ankle was independently assessed by 2 observers. The radiographs were from 24 patients (25 heels) with retrocalcaneal bursitis (confirmed on endoscopic calcaneoplasty); the control group consisted of 50 patients (59 heels). Results The sensitivity of the test was 83% for observer 1 and 79% for observer 2. Specificity was 100% and 98%, respectively. The kappa value of the interobserver reliability test was 0.86. For observer 1, intraobserver reliability was 0.96 and for observer 2 it was 0.92. Interpretation On digital weight-bearing lateral radiographs of a retrocalcaneal bursitis, the retrocalcaneal recess has a typical appearanc
X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure calculations with pseudopotentials. Application to K-edge in diamond and alpha-quartz
We present a reciprocal-space pseudopotential scheme for calculating X-ray
absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra. The scheme incorporates a
recursive method to compute absorption cross section as a continued fraction.
The continued fraction formulation of absorption is advantageous in that it
permits the treatment of core-hole interaction through large supercells
(hundreds of atoms). The method is compared with recently developed
Bethe-Salpeter approach. The method is applied to the carbon K-edge in diamond
and to the silicon and oxygen K-edges in alpha-quartz for which polarized XANES
spectra were measured. Core-hole effects are investigated by varying the size
of the supercell, thus leading to information similar to that obtained from
cluster size analysis usually performed within multiple scattering
calculations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
The 1st Verified Software Competition, Extended Experience Report
We, the organizers and participants, report our experiences
from the 1st Veried Software Competition, held in August 2010 in Edinburgh
at the VSTTE 2010 conferenc
The 1st Verified Software Competition, Extended Experience Report
We, the organizers and participants, report our experiences
from the 1st Veried Software Competition, held in August 2010 in Edinburgh
at the VSTTE 2010 conferenc
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