A note using mergers and acquisitions to gain competitive advantage in the United States in the case of Latin American MNCs

Author's OriginalThe "new" economic and business climate in Latin America, fostered by multilateral trade agreements such as NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and the ANDEAN Pact, suggests that Latin American (LA) firms must become more aggressive and competitive in order to survive. Foreign direct investment in the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is often an effective way of competing in a tough global environment. Using transactions data collected from Security Data Company's Worldwide Merger and Acquisition database, this paper analyzes the relative involvement of firms from five LA countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela) in acquiring targets in the United States of America. Transaction characteristics examined and summarized include the annual distribution (1985-1998) of the deals, the industrial sector of the target firm, the form of acquisition method used, and the form of ownership of the target firm. The trends are analyzed, and implications for managers are indicated.Milman, C. D., D’Mello, J. P., Aybar, B., & Arbaláez, H. (2001). A note using mergers and acquisitions to gain competitive advantage in the United States in the case of Latin American MNCs. International Review of Financial Analysis, 10(3), 323-332. doi:10.1016/S1057-5219(01)00056-

Students’ opinions on the prevailing and innovative methods in medical education technology and changes recommended

Background: Medical education technology has evolved greatly and it is essential to keep abreast of the recent techniques to keep the students focussed in the classroom. It is also necessary to receive feedback and input from the students regarding our teaching methodologies. Our aim was to learn from the learners about their opinion regarding the current teaching methodology.Methods: 172 students belonging to two batches participated in the study.  79.83% of the students were satisfied with the current system. A questionnaire was prepared with 23 questions covering the current methodology, innovations, learning methods and faculty qualities.Results: 77.70% of the students opined that the present system of medical teaching in pharmacology was satisfactory. 40% of the students thought that interactive sessions are desirable. 52.8% students said that was that seminars can be fun once in a while with 21.35% saying that only the group leaders benefit from seminars. 60.8% said bedside teaching sessions were interesting and useful. 52.67% students thought that problem-based learning (PBL) could be interesting and 21.5% thought it is essential.Conclusions: The survey reveals that the students are satisfied with the current system on the whole. However they require changes in some areas like lectures and seminars. They appear willing and enthusiastic to accept new concepts in teaching. Hence, newer teaching-learning methodologies should be tried and adopted for better classroom results

Associating Facial Expressions and Upper-Body Gestures with Learning Tasks for Enhancing Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Learning involves a substantial amount of cognitive, social and emotional states. Therefore, recognizing and understanding these states in the context of learning is key in designing informed interventions and addressing the needs of the individual student to provide personalized education. In this paper, we explore the automatic detection of learner’s nonverbal behaviors involving hand-over-face gestures, head and eye movements and emotions via facial expressions during learning. The proposed computer vision-based behavior monitoring method uses a low-cost webcam and can easily be integrated with modern tutoring technologies. We investigate these behaviors in-depth over time in a classroom session of 40 minutes involving reading and problem-solving exercises. The exercises in the sessions are divided into three categories: an easy, medium and difficult topic within the context of undergraduate computer science. We found that there is a significant increase in head and eye movements as time progresses, as well as with the increase of difficulty level. We demonstrated that there is a considerable occurrence of hand-over-face gestures (on average 21.35%) during the 40 minutes session and is unexplored in the education domain. We propose a novel deep learning approach for automatic detection of hand-over-face gestures in images with a classification accuracy of 86.87%. There is a prominent increase in hand-over-face gestures when the difficulty level of the given exercise increases. The hand-over-face gestures occur more frequently during problem-solving (easy 23.79%, medium 19.84% and difficult 30.46%) exercises in comparison to reading (easy 16.20%, medium 20.06% and difficult 20.18%)

Harnessing content and context for enhanced decision making

In a time in which a significant amount of interpersonal interactions take place online, one must enquire to which extent are these milieus suitable for supporting the complexity of our communication. This is especially important in more sensitive domains, such as the one of Online Dispute Resolution, in which inefficient communication environments may result in misunderstandings, poor decisions or the escalation of the conflict. The conflict manager, in particular, may find his skills severely diminished, namely in what concerns the accurate perception of the state of the parties. In this paper the development of a rich communication framework is detailed that conveys contextual information about their users, harnessed from the transparent analysis of their behaviour while communicating. Using it, the conflict manager may not only better perceive the conflict and how it affects each party but also take better contextualized decisions, closer to the ones taken in face-to-face settings.This work is part-funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT { Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028980 (PTDC/EEI-SII/1386/2012) and project PEst- OE/EEI/UI0752/2014

Investigating the Information Systems Heterarchy

This article assesses how one IS organization is changing in response to the increased globalization of software development and posits the emergence of a new form of multi-national enterprise (MNE)—the heterarchy. Data from two projects create new insights into the structures and behaviors of ISMNEs as they adapt to global systems development. The article identifies four primary dimensions of impact—cultural, economic, operational, and organizational—and suggests how such organizations are evolvin

Enjoyed or bored?:A study into achievement emotions and the association with barriers to learning in MOOCs

MOOCs are accessible online personal development opportunities in which learners can expand their knowledge on many topics. Yet, the experience of barriers to learning often hinders learners from achieving their personal learning goals. Therefore, it is important to have insight into determinants that may influence the experience of (certain) barriers. This study investigated whether the emotional determinants enjoyment and boredom, which are known to impact learner achievement and motivation, affect the experience of (specific) barriers while learning in MOOCs. The results show that boredom did affect the experience of barriers related to technical and online related skills, social context and time, support and motivation, yet it did not affect the experience of barriers related to the design of the MOOC. Enjoyment was not correlated to any of the barriers. Furthermore, the same analysis comparing men to women again revealed that boredom did not significantly affect the experience of barriers related to the design of the MOOC, yet did significantly affect the experience of the other barriers. No, significant differences were found between males and females. These findings may serve as input for supporting learners in achieving their individual learning goals

Tune in to your emotions: a robust personalized affective music player

The emotional power of music is exploited in a personalized affective music player (AMP) that selects music for mood enhancement. A biosignal approach is used to measure listeners’ personal emotional reactions to their own music as input for affective user models. Regression and kernel density estimation are applied to model the physiological changes the music elicits. Using these models, personalized music selections based on an affective goal state can be made. The AMP was validated in real-world trials over the course of several weeks. Results show that our models can cope with noisy situations and handle large inter-individual differences in the music domain. The AMP augments music listening where its techniques enable automated affect guidance. Our approach provides valuable insights for affective computing and user modeling, for which the AMP is a suitable carrier application

Exploring the “impact” in Impact sourcing ventures: a sociology of space perspective

Using qualitative methods this paper explores the lived experience of individuals employed in impact sourcing ventures. In doing so, the paper attempts to understand “impact” from the point of view of beneficiaries. The paper, drawing on Georg Simmel’s work on the sociology of space, explores how space influences the lived experience of beneficiaries in ImS ventures. The findings highlight the various strategies adopted by beneficiaries to navigate the dialectical tensions experienced as a result of living and working in the new (ImS workplace) and the old (community) space. The paper also draws attention to the multifaceted nature of impact

Health Effects of Psidium guajava L. Leaves: An Overview of the Last Decade

Today, there is increasing interest in discovering new bioactive compounds derived from ethnomedicine. Preparations of guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaves have traditionally been used to manage several diseases. The pharmacological research in vitro as well as in vivo has been widely used to demonstrate the potential of the extracts from the leaves for the co-treatment of different ailments with high prevalence worldwide, upholding the traditional medicine in cases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and parasitic infections. Moreover, the biological activity has been attributed to the bioactive composition of the leaves, to some specific phytochemical subclasses, or even to individual compounds. Phenolic compounds in guava leaves have been credited with regulating blood-glucose levels. Thus, the aim of the present review was to compile results from in vitro and in vivo studies carried out with guava leaves over the last decade, relating the effects to their clinical applications in order to focus further research for finding individual bioactive compounds. Some food applications (guava tea and supplementary feed for aquaculture) and some clinical, in vitro, and in vivo outcomes are also included.The author Vito Verardo thanks the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for “Ramón y Cajal” post-doctoral contract

Sit still and pay attention: Using the Wii Balance-Board to detect lapses in concentration in children during psychophysical testing.

During psychophysical testing, a loss of concentration can cause observers to answer incorrectly, even when the stimulus is clearly perceptible. Such lapses limit the accuracy and speed of many psychophysical measurements. This study evaluates an automated technique for detecting lapses based on body movement (postural instability). Thirty-five children (8-11 years of age) and 34 adults performed a typical psychophysical task (orientation discrimination) while seated on a Wii Fit Balance Board: a gaming device that measures center of pressure (CoP). Incorrect responses on suprathreshold catch trials provided the "reference standard" measure of when lapses in concentration occurred. Children exhibited significantly greater variability in CoP on lapse trials, indicating that postural instability provides a feasible, real-time index of concentration. Limitations and potential applications of this method are discussed