A Conceptualization of e-Risk Perceptions and the Offline-Online Risk Trade-Off for Small Firm Internationalization

A sound conceptualization of international e-risks has grown in demand, because of the increasing penetration of the Internet, and specifically the enabling-facility of the Internet technology for small firms. Yet, to date, there has been no study explicitly attempting to build an international business risk framework for the online environment, nor to explain online internationalization decisions. The purpose of the present paper is threefold, (1) to combine and complement the existing traditional international risk constructs and the emerging views on e-business risks into a comprehensive and unified international risk framework for the online context; (2) to develop propositions regarding SMEs’ active online internationalization decisions by drawing on Dunning's OLI framework; and (3) to explore the online–offline risk trade-off inherent in online internationalization decisions by integrating the e-risk framework into the eclectic paradigm

Hydrophobic polymer modification with ionic reagents: Polystyrene staining with water-soluble dyes

Homopolymer polystyrene films tinted with methylene blue and other hydrophilic cationic dyes are made following anew two-step procedure: dye adsorption in latex particles, followed by polymer plasticization with a suitable solvent. The dyed polymer is soluble in nonpolar solvents, and the dyes do not phase separate, even in nonsolvents for the pure dye salts. Microanalytical data on the particles and films were acquired using energy-loss spectroscopy imaging (ESI-TEM) and scanning electric potential microscopy (SEPM). The results are interpreted considering that (i) the polystyrene latex particles have a mild ionomer character, due to the charged sulfate groups arising from the polymerization initiator and bound to the chain ends; (ii) there is formation of ion pairs made out of dye cation and chain-end sulfate; (iii) the cationic dye self-associates, as evidenced by a pronounced metachromatic behavior. A nonpolar polymer can thus be made compatible with a basic dye without any special chain modification, just by using this new procedure based on dye sorption followed by diffusion.19187580758

Disfonias: relação S/Z e tipos de voz Dysphonias: S/Z ratio and types of voice

OBJETIVO: verificar o resultado da relação s/z e do tipo de voz em pacientes com diagnóstico de disfonias orgânico-funcionais (DOF) e disfonias funcionais por uso incorreto da voz (DFUIV), bem como a ocorrência das diferentes patologias dentro das DOF. MÉTODOS: 70 indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, entre cinco e 65 anos de idade, atendidos numa clínica-escola, cadastrados em Banco de Dados, entre 1998 e 2006, com DOF e DFUIV, ambos classificados em três subgrupos: casos em que a relação s/z indicava hipercontração, normalidade, e falta de coaptação das pregas vocais durante a fonação. Os tipos de voz foram classificados conforme a ocorrência em: sem alteração; ruidosa; ruidosa, comprimida e/ou apresentando alteração de f0h; ruidosa e/ou apresentando alteração de f0h; e comprimida. RESULTADOS: ocorrência significativa de DOF e de DOF com nódulos vocais; nas DOF e DFUIV, ocorrência significante de relação s/z normal com tempos isolados de /s/ e /z/ abaixo do normal e voz ruidosa. CONCLUSÕES: O resultado da relação s/z foi estatisticamente significativo a favor da faixa de normalidade estabelecida, tanto nos pacientes com diagnóstico de DOF, quanto naqueles com DFUIV, sendo que, em ambos os grupos de pacientes, a voz ruidosa foi a mais freqüente. Dentro das DOF, os nódulos vocais foram significativamente mais freqüentes do que as demais patologias.<br>PURPOSE: to check the result of s/z ratio and types of voice in patients with diagnosis of organic-functional dysphonias (DOF) and functional dysphonias by incorrect use of voice (DFUIV), as well as the occurrence of the various pathologies within the DOF. METHODS: 70 subjects of both genders, between 5 and 65 years old, seen in a clinic-school, registered in a data bank from 1998 to 2006, with DOF and DFUIV, both classified in three sub-groups: cases in which the s/z ratio indicated hypercontraction, normality and lack of coaptation of the vocal folds during phonation. According to the occurrence, the types of voice were classified in: without alteration; noisy; compressed and/or presenting alteration of f0h; noisy and/or with alteration of f0h; and compressed. RESULTS: significant presence of DOF and DOF with vocal nodules; in DOF and DFUIV, significant presence of the normal s/z ratio with isolated times of /s/ and /z/ below the normal and noisy voice. CONCLUSIONS: the result of the s/z ratio was statistically significant in favor of the range of established normalcy, both in patients with a diagnosis of DOF, as well as with those with DFUIV, and that, in both groups of patients, the noisy voice was the most frequent. Within the DOF, the vocal nodules were significantly more frequent than the other pathologies

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: a description of the detector configuration for Run 3

Abstract The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1 was routinely achieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3, accelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running at an instantaneous luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1, with an average of up to 60 interactions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to recover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably under Run 3 sustained pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the beam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and b-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger electronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition system, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve triggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through increased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New Small Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors, providing both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Trigger coverage of the inner barrel muon layer near one endcap region was augmented with modules integrating new thin-gap resistive plate chambers and smaller-diameter drift-tube chambers. Tile Calorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy resolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger Scintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable total proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion measurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much harsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC and are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration of the ATLAS detector.</jats:p