Creditable behaviour? The intra-firm management of trade credit

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the reasons for the apparent failure of many UK firms to achieve the competitive advantages indicated in largely positivist literature through the management of their trade credit positions

An analysis of the Lowest Total Fertility Rate in Hong Kong SAR

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Hong Kong has dropped significantly over the past 30 years, from 2.48 births per woman in 1976 to 0.966 in 2005, which is one of the lowest in the world. It is mainly caused by the change of marital distribution which has contributed to about 56% of the decline in the total fertility rate for the period 1976-2001. Delay of marriage and reduction in the marital fertility rate have also been shown to be two major causes for the low TFR. A new measure, called a weighted total marital fertility rate (WTMFR), is introduced such that change of age at marriage and the fertility within marriage can be factored in explaining the decline of the fertility rate. The delay of marriage has contributed to about 52% of the reduction of WTMFR whereas the reduction of the fertility within marriage has accounted for the other 48%. Apparently, the proportion of women remaining single has been stabilized and leveled off recently. However, the preference of having smaller family size has become a norm rather than an exception. It is very unlikely to see a rebound of fertility among the Hong Kong women in the near future if there is no increase in marriages or births outside wedlock. Encouraging more births among married women so as to increase fertility is expected to have limited impact.Age at first marriage, decomposition, Hong Kong, Total fertility rate, Weighted total marital fertility rate

CULTURA, SOCIEDADE, IDÉIAS E INOVAÇÃO DA DISCIPLINA DE EDUCAÇÃO GERAL DOS ESTUDANTES NO AGORA NORMAL: UM CONCEITO E DESENVOLVIMENTO NO ENSINO

The study aims to examine the culture, society, ideas, and innovation (CSII) of General Education subjects of students in the now normal concept and development in teaching. It also identifies the core competency of culture, society, ideas, and innovation of general education subject of students in the now normal in the area of cognitive knowledge, soft skills, hard skills, and specific discipline knowledge and the concept and development of teaching as student-centred learning culture in terms of digital literacy, effective communication, and critical thinking framework, outcome-based learning, inquiry and collaborative learning, and authentic assessment learning. The study employs descriptive quantitative research design. It measures the educational phenomena of the study on the core competency of culture, society, ideas, and innovation of general education subjects of students in the now normal and concept development. Random sampling technique is utilised in the study. The study comprised Seven Hundred (700) respondents only from the selected students in the General Education Subject.              Results show that core competency on cognitive knowledge provides creative thinking, critical thinking, coordination, self-reflection, making references, and reasoning, show that soft skills are attributed to communication, collaboration, creative thinking, and time management in the core competency of learning, show that hard skills specify the role and task needed for the ability of skills and competency, show that specific discipline knowledge explores the defining core competency and discipline for ideas in various levels of outcome in learning, show that concept and development of teaching in terms of digital literacy, effective communication, and critical thinking framework develop a sustainable skills proficiency in digital technology literacy, effective communication, and framework of critical thinking, show that outcome-based learning promotes order of higher thinking skills and curriculum acquisition on conventional requirement information ability in learning, show that inquiry and collaborative learning involves inquiry based learning and collaborative student involvement through group learning for the collective task of students, and show that authentic assessment learning stimulates student ability and assessment effectively and efficiently in complex tasks, skills, and knowledge.             Findings show that there is no significant correlation between the core competency of culture, society, ideas, and innovation of general education subjects of students in the now normal and the concept and development of teaching as student-centred and learning culture among the respondents.  O estudo visa examinar a cultura, a sociedade, as idéias e a inovação (CSII) das disciplinas de Educação Geral dos estudantes no conceito agora normal e no desenvolvimento do ensino. Também identifica a competência central da cultura, sociedade, idéias e inovação da disciplina de educação geral dos estudantes no agora normal na área do conhecimento cognitivo, habilidades suaves, habilidades duras e conhecimentos específicos da disciplina e o conceito e desenvolvimento do ensino como cultura de aprendizagem centrada no estudante em termos de alfabetização digital, comunicação eficaz e estrutura de pensamento crítico, aprendizagem baseada em resultados, investigação e aprendizagem colaborativa, e aprendizagem autêntica de avaliação. O estudo emprega um desenho descritivo de pesquisa quantitativa. Ele mede os fenômenos educacionais do estudo sobre a competência central da cultura, sociedade, idéias e inovação das disciplinas de educação geral dos estudantes no agora normal e desenvolvimento de conceitos. A técnica de amostragem aleatória é utilizada no estudo. O estudo incluiu setecentos (700) respondentes apenas dos estudantes selecionados na disciplina de Educação Geral. Os resultados mostram que a competência central no conhecimento cognitivo fornece pensamento criativo, pensamento crítico, coordenação, auto-reflexão, fazendo referências e raciocínio, mostram que habilidades suaves são atribuídas à comunicação, colaboração, pensamento criativo e gerenciamento de tempo na competência central da aprendizagem, mostram que habilidades difíceis especificam o papel e a tarefa necessária para a capacidade de habilidades e competência, mostram que o conhecimento específico da disciplina explora a competência central definidora e a disciplina para idéias em vários níveis de resultados na aprendizagem, mostram que o conceito e o desenvolvimento do ensino em termos de alfabetização digital, comunicação eficaz, e a estrutura de pensamento crítico desenvolvem uma proficiência sustentável em habilidades de alfabetização em tecnologia digital, comunicação eficaz e estrutura de pensamento crítico, mostram que o aprendizado baseado em resultados promove a ordem de maior capacidade de pensamento e aquisição de currículo sobre a capacidade convencional de informação de requisitos no aprendizado, mostram que a investigação e o aprendizado colaborativo envolvem o aprendizado baseado em investigação e o envolvimento colaborativo do estudante através do aprendizado em grupo para a tarefa coletiva dos estudantes, e mostram que o aprendizado autêntico de avaliação estimula a capacidade e a avaliação do estudante de forma eficaz e eficiente em tarefas, habilidades e conhecimentos complexos. As descobertas mostram que não há correlação significativa entre a competência central da cultura, sociedade, idéias e inovação das disciplinas de educação geral dos estudantes no agora normal e o conceito e desenvolvimento do ensino como cultura centrada no estudante e cultura de aprendizagem entre os respondentes.

Tunneling magnetoresistance sensors with different coupled free layers

Large differences of magnetic coercivity (HC), exchange coupling field (HE), and tun- neling magnetoresistance ratio (TMR) in magnetic tunnel junctions with different coupled free layers are discussed. We demonstrate that the magnetization behavior of the free layer is not only dominated by the interfacial barrier layer but also affected largely by the magnetic or non-magnetic coupled free layers. All these parameters are sensitively controlled by the magnetic nanostructure, which can be tuned also by the magnetic annealing process. The optimized sensors exhibit a large field sensitivity of up to 261%/mT in the region of the reversal synthetic ferri- magnet at the pinned layers

Leveraging dynamic export capabilities for competitive advantage and performance consequences: Evidence from China

As the business arena becomes more global and therefore dynamic, organizations must balance their capabilities with the demands and the conditions of the international marketplace. This leads firms to trade off the development of more capabilities with the identification of core capabilities which can best improve export competitiveness and performance. Based on the Dynamic Capabilities Approach (DCA), we develop a model of four export capabilities, namely adaptability, innovativeness, unpredictability, and task-flexibility, aimed at achieving competitive advantage in foreign markets and enhance export performance. Based on a survey of 213 Chinese exporting organizations, we find out that innovativeness, unpredictability and task-flexibility are positively related to competitive advantage, while adaptability is negatively related to it. Moreover, we uncovered that in the cases of adaptability, innovativeness and task-flexibility their impact on competitive advantage diminishes under higher levels of competitive intensity, however, for unpredictability this impact becomes negative. We also confirm the necessity of addressing competitive advantage separately from firms’ performance

Marginally Better: My Husband’s Lover And Gay Portrayal

My Husband’s Lover is a Philippine telenovela that has garnered critical and commercial success (and along the way catapulting its two stars to A-list status), mainly due to a premise that heavily mirrors Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (2005) but that which is unique to generally conservative Philippine society. Two high school best friends Eric Del Mundo (Dennis Trillo) and Vincent Soriano (Tom Rodriguez) also happen to be high school sweethearts, with the former leaving the latter.. Likewise, the latter’s family is the typical conservative Filipino family, so he decided to conceal his homosexuality for fear of being disowned. The two reunite years later, with Eric returning from the United States and learning that his former lover is engaged and is expecting a child with Lally Agatep (Carla Abellana). The series details the continuation of Vincent’s and Eric’s (still hidden) romance, and the former’s internal conflict, that between his true feelings and his morals. The dynamics of a love triangle peculiar to the average Filipino audience separate it from the typical Filipino romantic plotline, the portrayal of homosexuality being another Philippine TV trope that has been amply twisted so that it is “fresh.” Instead of the usual flamboyant gay best friend, the homosexuals are not only far from flamboyant, but are also the main characters of the series. Instead of being staples of beauty salons speaking in seeming code that is actually gay lingo, the homosexuals are affluent and well-spoken. The authors will buttress their textual analysis of all ten seasons of My Husband’s Lover with literature on the bakla and the global gay. With queer theory as the framework of the study, with emphasis on the theory’s element of performativity, the authors will also use several significant instances throughout the ten seasons of the series as premises to one of queer theory’s assumptions, that gender is fluid

Homosexuality, health and humanity: Hlebotomy and biases Against gays

During the authors’ visit to hospital for a voluntary blood donation, one of them took notice of a problematic question in a survey that would determine whether one is fit to donate blood. This question was “Nakipagtalik ka na ba sa iyong kauri?” which, in English, translates to “Have you ever had sexual relations with your own kind?

Influence of a knot on the strength of a polymer strand

Many experiments have been done to determine the relative strength of different knots, and these show that the break in a knotted rope almost invariably occurs at a point just outside the `entrance' to the knot. The influence of knots on the properties of polymers has become of great interest, in part because of their effect on mechanical properties. Knot theory applied to the topology of macromolecules indicates that the simple trefoil or `overhand' knot is likely to be present with high probability in any long polymer strand. Fragments of DNA have been observed to contain such knots in experiments and computer simulations. Here we use {\it ab initio} computational methods to investigate the effect of a trefoil knot on the breaking strength of a polymer strand. We find that the knot weakens the strand significantly, and that, like a knotted rope, it breaks under tension at the entrance to the knot.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Coevolved mutations reveal distinct architectures for two core proteins in the bacterial flagellar motor

Switching of bacterial flagellar rotation is caused by large domain movements of the FliG protein triggered by binding of the signal protein CheY to FliM. FliG and FliM form adjacent multi-subunit arrays within the basal body C-ring. The movements alter the interaction of the FliG C-terminal (FliGC) "torque" helix with the stator complexes. Atomic models based on the Salmonella entrovar C-ring electron microscopy reconstruction have implications for switching, but lack consensus on the relative locations of the FliG armadillo (ARM) domains (amino-terminal (FliGN), middle (FliGM) and FliGC) as well as changes during chemotaxis. The generality of the Salmonella model is challenged by the variation in motor morphology and response between species. We studied coevolved residue mutations to determine the unifying elements of switch architecture. Residue interactions, measured by their coevolution, were formalized as a network, guided by structural data. Our measurements reveal a common design with dedicated switch and motor modules. The FliM middle domain (FliMM) has extensive connectivity most simply explained by conserved intra and inter-subunit contacts. In contrast, FliG has patchy, complex architecture. Conserved structural motifs form interacting nodes in the coevolution network that wire FliMM to the FliGC C-terminal, four-helix motor module (C3-6). FliG C3-6 coevolution is organized around the torque helix, differently from other ARM domains. The nodes form separated, surface-proximal patches that are targeted by deleterious mutations as in other allosteric systems. The dominant node is formed by the EHPQ motif at the FliMMFliGM contact interface and adjacent helix residues at a central location within FliGM. The node interacts with nodes in the N-terminal FliGc α-helix triad (ARM-C) and FliGN. ARM-C, separated from C3-6 by the MFVF motif, has poor intra-network connectivity consistent with its variable orientation revealed by structural data. ARM-C could be the convertor element that provides mechanistic and species diversity.JK was supported by Medical Research Council grant U117581331. SK was supported by seed funds from Lahore University of Managment Sciences (LUMS) and the Molecular Biology Consortium

Carriage of linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE) among humans and animals in Nigeria: coexistence of the cfr, optrA, and poxtA genes in Enterococcus faecium of animal origin

Objectives: In contrast to increasing reports of the emergence of linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE) emanating from many countries in Europe, Asia, and North America, data on its status and dissemination from the African continent remain scarce, with the information available limited to countries in North Africa. This study investigated the carriage of LRE and the genetic mechanism of resistance among Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis strains recovered from humans and animals in Makurdi, Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between June 2020 and July 2021 during which 630 nonduplicate human and animal faecal samples were collected and processed for the recovery of LRE. The genetic mechanisms for resistance were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing. Results: Linezolid-resistant enterococci were recovered from 5.87% (37/630; 95% CI: 4.17–8.00) of the samples, with the prevalence in animals and humans being 6.22% [(28/450); 95% CI: 4.17–8.87] and 5.00% [(9/180); 95% CI: 2.31–9.28], respectively. All isolates remained susceptible to vancomycin. No known point mutation mediating linezolid resistance was detected in the 23S rRNA and ribosomal protein genes; however, acquisition of one or more potentially transferable genes (cfr, optrA, and poxtA) was observed in 26 of the 37 LRE isolates. Co-existence of all three transferable genes in a single isolate was found in four E. faecium strains of animal origin. Conclusion: This study provides baseline evidence for the emergence and active circulation of LRE driven majorly by the acquisition of the optrA gene in Nigeria. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to report a co-carriage of all three transferable linezolid resistance determinants in E. faecium. Active LRE surveillance is urgently required to understand the extent of LRE spread across sub-Saharan Africa and to develop tailored mitigation strategies