Economic freedom and cross-border acquisitions from emerging markets into developed economies

Extending the home base perspective by considering investors' parent countries, this study examines the effect of economic freedom (EF) on emerging-market enterprises' (EMEs) overseas acquisition completion in developed countries. Using a large data set of 5,174 cross-border acquisition deals from ten major emerging markets (EMs) during 1985–2011, we find that (1) the probability of deal completion is positively associated with the levels of EF of the acquirers' countries, the acquirers' parent and the target; (2) the EF of the countries of acquirers' parents has a substitutive effect on that of the acquirers' countries; (3) the difference of EF between the targets' countries and the countries of acquirers' parents negatively influences deal completion; and (4) the difference of EF between the targets' countries and the acquirers' countries negatively influences deal completion. These findings have important theoretical implications for international business scholars, as well as practical implications for managers and for policymakers of EMEs that are active in foreign direct investment

Post-depositional subsidence of the Avellino tephra marker bed in the Pontine plain (Lazio, Italy):Implications for Early Bronze Age palaeogeographical, water level and relative sea level reconstruction

Land subsidence has played and is still playing a significant role in coastal wetlands worldwide and in palaeogeographical reconstructions of such wetlands. The varying thickness of compaction-prone sediments over a stable subsurface is a key factor in determining its magnitude and in locating the most affected areas. In the coastal low-lying Agro Pontino (Lazio, Italy), subsidence of the past 90 years has been mapped using historical elevation data. Due to the fortunate preservation of distal Avellino tephra (AV-tephra, ca. 1900 cal. BCE) within its marshy strata, discovered a decade ago, detailed palaeogeographical reconstruction of the landscape in preparation for an assessment of its land use suitability in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) was possible. Current altitude variations of water-lain tephra in lake areas assumed to be connected necessitated a closer look at its original deposition altitude and the role of post-depositional subsidence. Recent subsidence patterns proved very useful for distinguishing stable from subsidence-prone areas. Two different EBA palaeo lake environments are distinguished: an inland and a near-coastal lake. The AV-tephra altitude variation within these lakes partly marks differential post-depositional subsidence within these lakes. Calculation of initial ripening of tephra-bearing lake deposits on top of shallowly buried Pleistocene ridges allowed for an estimation of original tephra deposition altitudes and associated lake levels. For the inland lake, a wide lake edge zone between 0.5 and 2 m above current sea level (m asl) was reconstructed, where EBA habitation or land use was possible. At the near-coastal lake, a water level of −1.5 to −1.3 m asl at the time of AV-tephra deposition was constrained. Because tephra deposition occurred here just after marine influence ceased, this altitude range is proposed to be a Relative Sea Level (RSL) index point at the time of AV-tephra deposition. The altitude range is in agreement with RSL models for tectonically stable areas in this region. The importance of subsidence in palaeogeographical, water level and RSL reconstructions in the region is stressed

Toward a model for digital tool criticism: Reflection as integrative practice

In the past decade, an increasing set of digital tools has been developed with which digital sources can be selected, analyzed, and presented. Many tools go beyond key word search and perform different types of analysis, aggregation, mapping, and linking of data selections, which transforms materials and creates new perspectives, thereby changing the way scholars interact with and perceive their materials. These tools, together with the massive amount of digital and digitized data available for humanities research, put a strain on traditional humanities research methods. Currently, there is no established method of assessing the role of digital tools in the research trajectory of humanities scholars. There is no consensus on what questions researchers should ask themselves to evaluate digital sources beyond those of traditional analogue source criticism. This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of digital tools and the discussion of how to evaluate and incorporate them in research, based on findings from a digital tool criticism workshop held at the 2017 Digital Humanities Benelux conference. The overall goal of this article is to provide insight in the actual use and practice of digital tool criticism, offer a ready-made format for a workshop on digital tool criticism, give insight in aspects that play a role in digital tool criticism, propose an elaborate model for digital tool criticism that can be used as common ground for further conversations in the field, and finally, provide recommendations for future workshops, researchers, data custodians, and tool builders

Off-lining to tape is not archiving: Why we need real archiving to support media archaeology and ensure our visual effects legacy thrives

© 2019 ISAST This paper examines digital asset archiving and preservation practice in the visual effects (VFX) industry. The authors briefly summarize media archaeology theory and provide an overview of how VFX studios presently archive project assets and records, based on case study and interview research conducted with expert VFX practitioners from leading international studios. In addition, the authors propose that current practice could be improved by adopting archival science methods, including digital preservation practices. Doing so will support media archaeology studies of digital cultures over time and ensure that the legacy of VFX creative and technical production thrives for future generations

Response of Mouse Lung Air-Blood Barrier to X-Irradiation: Ultrastructural and Stereological Analysis

Male mice of the Balb/c strain were exposed, at an age of three months, to a single dose of 10 or 20 Gy on the right hemithorax. At 3, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months after exposure, lungs were processed for electron microscopy following a standardized procedure in order to allow stereological analysis. By this method, the arithmetical mean thickness and, the air-blood barrier mean thickness in the lung parenchyma was shown to increase quickly with time by oedemization and fibrinization of the septal space. The ratio endothelium/epithelium surfaces (Sr/SF) gradually decreased by reduction of both surfaces but this was more marked for Si. The endothelium and epithelium were both highly damaged. Quantitative results indicate that damage to the epithelial cells and mainly to type II, appear at the same time as damage to the endothelium. From the time lapse quantitation it is not possible to determine which one plays the predominant role in the radiation pneumonitis. The strong reaction of the basement membrane and mainly of the interstitial cells could play a decisive role in the evolution of the illness