The institutionalization process of governance in a Virtual Business Community: a case study

Virtual Business Communities (VBC) are market organizations, supported by Information and Communication Technology, that improve business interactions and the exchange of information and knowledge in virtual networks of organizations. In the inter-organizational context of a VBC, governance is related to division of work and distribution of power and responsibility. Only a small number of authors studied this process and they reported problems faced with the governance of VBC. Therefore, our research question is “how the dynamics of the institutionalization process of governance contributes to develop VBC?” In order to answer this research question, we based our study on Institutionalization Theory and on Tolbert and Zucker’s (1996) model. We performed a case study in an agricultural value chain. The main results of our study are the challenges faced during the institutionalization process of governance, concerning the stages habitualization, objectivation and sedimentation, and the analysis of legitimacy in these stages

The strategic choice of payment method in takeovers: The role of environmental, social and governance performance

Payment method choice in takeovers is mainly driven by both asymmetric information between the acquirer and the target and the acquirer's financial capability. In this paper, we examine whether increased transparency and better access to finance induced by environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance are associated with the strategic choice of payment method in takeovers. More specifically, we investigate how the acquirer's and the target's ESG coverage and different levels of ESG performance affect the probability of cash offers in a sample of 836 US takeovers from 1992 to 2014. In examining the target, our results suggest that ESG coverage is positively associated with the probability of cash offers, whereas we find a negative relationship for ESG concerns and no effect for ESG strengths. Upon examining the acquirer, ESG coverage and ESG concerns both increase the probability of cash offers; however, we do not find results supporting our prediction regarding the acquirer's ESG strengths. We infer that ESG coverage and level affect strategic considerations in the choice of the payment method in takeovers because they not only reduce information asymmetry, but also enhance financing capability

Accurate magnetic sensor system integrated design

Inductive measurement of magnetic fields is a diagnostic technique widely used in several scientific fields, such as magnetically confined fusion, plasma thrusters and particle accelerators, where real time control and detailed characterization of physics phenomena are required. The accuracy of the measured data strongly influences the machine controllability and the scientific results. In the framework of the assembly modifications of the RFX-mod experiment, a complete renew and improvement of the magnetic diagnostic system, from the probes moved inside the vacuum vessel to the integrator modules, has been carried out. In this paper, the whole system making up the magnetic diagnostics is described, following the acquisition chain from the probe to the streamed data and illustrating the requirements and conflicting limitations which affect the different components, in order to provide a comprehensive overview useful for an integrated design of any new systems. The characterization of a prototypical implementation of the whole acquisition chain is presented, focusing on the flexible ADC architecture adopted for providing a purely numerical signal integration, highlighting the advantages that this technology offers in terms of flexibility, compactness and cost effectiveness, along with the limitations found in existing implementation in terms of ADC noise characteristics and their possible solutions

Precision measurements of Linear Scattering Density using Muon Tomography

We demonstrate that muon tomography can be used to precisely measure the properties of various materials. The materials which have been considered have been extracted from an experimental blast furnace, including carbon (coke) and iron oxides, for which measurements of the linear scattering density relative to the mass density have been performed with an absolute precision of 10%. We report the procedures that are used in order to obtain such precision, and a discussion is presented to address the expected performance of the technique when applied to heavier materials. The results we obtain do not depend on the specific type of material considered and therefore they can be extended to any application.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Noise reduction in muon tomography for detecting high density objects

The muon tomography technique, based on multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic ray muons, has been proposed as a tool to detect the presence of high density objects inside closed volumes. In this paper a new and innovative method is presented to handle the density fluctuations (noise) of reconstructed images, a well known problem of this technique. The effectiveness of our method is evaluated using experimental data obtained with a muon tomography prototype located at the Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL) of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). The results reported in this paper, obtained with real cosmic ray data, show that with appropriate image filtering and muon momentum classification, the muon tomography technique can detect high density materials, such as lead, albeit surrounded by light or medium density material, in short times. A comparison with algorithms published in literature is also presented

Nanoscale characterization of an all-oxide core-shell nanorod heterojunction using intermodulation atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods

The electrical properties of an all-oxide core-shell ZnO-Co3O4nanorod heterojunction were studied in the dark and under UV-vis illumination. The contact potential difference and current distribution maps were obtained utilizing new methods in dynamic multifrequency atomic force microscopy (AFM) such as electrostatic and conductive intermodulation AFM. Light irradiation modified the electrical properties of the nanorod heterojunction. The new techniques are able to follow the instantaneous local variation of the photocurrent, giving a two-dimensional (2D) map of the current-voltage curves and correlating the electrical and morphological features of the heterostructured core-shell nanorods

Mast cell targeting hampers prostate adenocarcinoma development but promotes the occurrence of highly malignant neuroendocrine cancers

Mast cells (MC) are c-Kit-expressing cells, best known for their primary involvement in allergic reactions, but recently reappraised as important players in either cancer promotion or inhibition. Here, we assessed the role of MCs in prostate tumor development. In prostate tumors from both tumor-prone transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice and human patients, MCs are specifically enriched and degranulated in areas of well-differentiated (WD) adenocarcinoma but not around poorly differentiated (PD) foci that coexist in the same tumors. We derived novel TRAMP tumor cell lines, representative of WD and PD variants, and through pharmacologic stabilization or genetic ablation of MCs in recipients mice, we showed that MCs promote WD adenocarcinoma growth but are dispensable for PD tumors. WD tumors rely on MCs for matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP-9) provision, as reconstitution of MC-deficient mice with wild-type but not MMP-9 -/- MCs was sufficient to promote their growth. In contrast, PD tumors are MMP-9 self-competent, consistently with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Such a dual source of MMP-9 was confirmed in human tumors, suggesting that MCs could be a good target for early-stage prostate cancer. Interestingly, in testing whether MC targeting could block or delay tumorigenesis in tumor-prone TRAMP mice, we observed a high incidence of early and aggressive tumors, characterized by a neuroendocrine (NE) signature and c-Kit expression. Taken together, these data underscore the contribution of MCs in tumor progression and uncover a new, opposite role of MCs in protecting against the occurrence of aggressive NE variants in prostate cancer. ©2011 AACR

REPORT DEGLI ANALISTI E IMPATTO DELLE VARIAZIONI DELLE RACCOMANDAZIONI E DEI TARGET PRICE: EVIDENZE SUL MERCATO ITALIANO

In questo lavoro esaminiamo la reazione del mercato a seguito della pubblicazione dei report emessi dagli analisti finanziari sulle società quotate in Italia contenenti un cambio di raccomandazione o di target price. I risultati mostrano come la reazione sia negativa in caso di downgrade e positiva in caso di upgrade, sia per i cambi di raccomandazione che di target price. La reazione è maggiore in valore assoluto per i downgrade piuttosto che per gli upgrade. Inoltre, quando i report riportano sia un cambio di raccomandazione sia un cambio di target price, la reazione è intensificata in caso di doppio upgrade o doppio downgrade. Nei casi in cui la direzione della revisione di raccomandazione è opposta a quella del target price, invece, i risultati suggeriscono che a prevalere sia l’informazione contenuta nel cambio di raccomandazione

Estudio preliminar de algunas variables de crecimiento y fertilidad en ratones de Bioterio

 In the present work, the results obtained in the comparative study of the growth and fertility of Balb/C and CF-1 mice from the Bioterium of the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of the Northeast are exposed, by modifying the environmental conditions of breeding and reproduction of the animals before and after the moving of the Center to its new facilities. The characteristics studied in both strains were: breeding number, weight according to sex before and after weaning, until to the 15th week of life, and fertility rate. The results obtained show that the moving caused stress in both murine strains, and the effect was manifested in the decrease of growth and fertility rates observed in the animals. These values were not statistically significant, which allows us to conclude that the enrichment of the habitat in the new facilities helped to alleviate in some way the stress of the move. This is the first systematic study carried out for this purpose and lays the foundations for others for monitoring the adaptation and production in the new facilities.En el presente trabajo se exponen los resultados obtenidos en el estudio comparativo del crecimiento y la fertilidad de ratones Balb/C y CF-1 del Bioterio de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, al modificar las condiciones ambientales de cría y reproducción de los animales previa y posteriormente al traslado del Centro a sus nuevas instalaciones. Las características estudiadas en ambas cepas fueron: número de crías, peso según sexo previo y posterior al destete, hasta la semana 15 de vida y tasa de fertilidad. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el traslado causó estrés en ambas cepas murinas, cuyo efecto se manifestó en la disminución de las tasas de crecimiento y fertilidad en estos animales experimentales. Estos valores resultaron no significativos estadísticamente, lo que nos permite concluir que el enriquecimiento del hábitat en las nuevas instalaciones ayudó a paliar de alguna manera el estrés de la mudanza. Este es el primer estudio sistemático realizado a este efecto y sienta las bases de otros para el seguimiento de la adaptación y producción en las nuevas instalaciones