Perception of Macao Teachers and Students Regarding Gaming Operators\u27 Social Responsibility

The study brings to the forefront a discussion of corporate social responsibility of gaming operators. It assessed Macao high school students\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions of the extent of social responsibility being exercised by the six local gaming operators, as well as their support for the operators, and desire for further gaming investment and work opportunities in the gaming sector. The majority of the respondents were not aware of gaming operators exercising socially responsible activities. Among those who were, the majority perceived that only one company was involved and none has participated in protecting the environment, beautifying the city, creating a harmonious environment, treating local staff fairly, and promoting responsible gambling. Five social responsibility factors were identified. Poisson regression analysis indicated that perception of gaming operators\u27 being considerate of Macao\u27s interests was influenced significantly by their contribution to three socially responsible activities

Proudly Agripreneurs! Learning from 24 young African business leaders

This booklet highlights key elements of the publication Ils l’ont fait ! published by CTA in collaboration with MediaProd from Burkina Faso, which outlines the achievements of 24 entrepreneurs that have been featured by Agribusiness TV. CTA wants to reveal the impacts these agripreneurs have had, and encourage other young people to take inspiration, so they too can better invest their efforts in agriculture. The booklet introduces the 24 young entrepreneurs and explains how they are addressing the key youth agripreneurship challenges they are facing

Linear Prediction of Long-Memory Processes: Asymptotic Results on Mean-squared Errors

We present two approaches for linear prediction of long-memory time series. The first approach consists in truncating the Wiener-Kolmogorov predictor by restricting the observations to the last $k$ terms, which are the only available values in practice. We derive the asymptotic behaviour of the mean-squared error as $k$ tends to $+ \infty$. By contrast, the second approach is non-parametric. An AR($k$) model is fitted to the long-memory time series and we study the error that arises in this misspecified model

Linear Prediction of Long-Range Dependent Time Series

We present two approaches for next step linear prediction of long memory time series. The first is based on the truncation of the Wiener-Kolmogorov predictor by restricting the observations to the last $k$ terms, which are the only available values in practice. Part of the mean squared prediction error comes from the truncation, and another part comes from the parametric estimation of the parameters of the predictor. By contrast, the second approach is non-parametric. An AR($k$) model is fitted to the long memory time series and we study the error made with this misspecified model

Influence of Personal Factors on Macau Residents\u27 Gaming Impact Perceptions

This paper explores the influence of personal factors on gaming impact perceptions using Macau, China as a case study. The objective is to examine how residents\u27 gaming perceptions were affected by (1) personal benefits received from gaming; (2) length of residence; and (3) demographic characteristics. The study also aims to assess the relative magnitude of influence exerted by each variable on gaming impact perceptions. All personal factors were found to contribute to differences in gaming impact perceptions among sub-groups of respondents. Regression analyses revealed that age, education and residence status had influence on gaming impact perceptions. Findings support that the theory of social exchange is at play in the shaping of perceptions of gaming impact among Macau residents

Characterization of the role that bacterial surface polysaccharide poly N-acetyl glucosamine plays in nonvaccine serotypes of streptococcus pneumoniae colonization and pathogenicity

Poly N-acetyl glucosamine is a cell surface polysaccharide that has been characterized in Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus as involved in biofilm formation and implicated in virulence. Its role in bacterial colonization and pathogenicity is now being characterized in Streptococcus pneumoniae. The aim of this thesis was to produce PNAG-deficient S. pneumoniae mutants and to confirm differential levels of biofilm formation in PNAG-deficient mutants in comparison to their wild type strains. Using PCR, gel electrophoresis, and indirect immunofluorescence, successful transformations of PNAG-deficient mutants were confirmed. Biofilm assays provided preliminary data for further investigation of the role that PNAG plays in colonization in S. pneumoniae. A novel finding in PNAG genetic structure in S. pneumoniae was also discovered, providing a new avenue of research on PNAG