| 41. |
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| 42. |
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| 43. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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Small firms' use of their business relationships to cope with increased competition
- 2012
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In: International Journal of Business Strategy. - : International Academy of Business and Economics. - 1553-9563 .- 2378-8585. ; 12:2, s. 36-47
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of the study is to explore the effect of how small firms draw on their limited networks to develop their markets and serve them well, a performance that will guarantee their survival and success. Drawing on a business relationship approach, two case studies have been used to highlight the extent to which exchange relationships have impacted on the performance of the small firms in this study. As an important finding, the study highlights the extent to which regular and intensive interactions between the case companies and the limited actors in their network have enabled each of the case companies to develop their respective niche markets and serve them well, something which also explains their survival and ability to win and retain loyal customers.
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| 44. |
- Bacauskiene, Marija, et al.
(author)
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Random forests based monitoring of human larynx using questionnaire data
- 2012
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In: Expert systems with applications. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0957-4174 .- 1873-6793. ; 39:5, s. 5506-5512
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is concerned with soft computing techniques-based noninvasive monitoring of human larynx using subject’s questionnaire data. By applying random forests (RF), questionnaire data are categorized into a healthy class and several classes of disorders including: cancerous, noncancerous, diffuse, nodular, paralysis, and an overall pathological class. The most important questionnaire statements are determined using RF variable importance evaluations. To explore data represented by variables used by RF, the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) and the multidimensional scaling (MDS) are applied to the RF data proximity matrix. When testing the developed tools on a set of data collected from 109 subjects, the 100% classification accuracy was obtained on unseen data in binary classification into the healthy and pathological classes. The accuracy of 80.7% was achieved when classifying the data into the healthy, cancerous, noncancerous classes. The t-SNE and MDS mapping techniques applied allow obtaining two-dimensional maps of data and facilitate data exploration aimed at identifying subjects belonging to a “risk group”. It is expected that the developed tools will be of great help in preventive health care in laryngology.
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| 45. |
- Bakker, Roel H., et al.
(author)
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Impact of wind turbine sound on annoyance, self-reported sleep disturbance and psychological distress
- 2012
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 425, s. 42-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose of the research: The present government in the Netherlands intends to realize a substantial growth ofwind energy before 2020, both onshore and offshore. Wind turbines, when positioned in the neighborhood ofresidents may cause visual annoyance and noise annoyance. Studies on other environmental sound sources,such as railway, road traffic, industry and aircraft noise show that (long-term) exposure to sound can havenegative effects other than annoyance from noise. This study aims to elucidate the relation between exposureto the sound of wind turbines and annoyance, self-reported sleep disturbance and psychological distress ofpeople that live in their vicinity. Data were gathered by questionnaire that was sent by mail to a representativesample of residents of the Netherlands living in the vicinity of wind turbinesPrincipal results: A dose–response relationship was found between immission levels of wind turbine soundand selfreported noise annoyance. Sound exposure was also related to sleep disturbance and psychologicaldistress among those who reported that they could hear the sound, however not directly but with noiseannoyance acting as a mediator. Respondents living in areas with other background sounds were less affectedthan respondents in quiet areas.Major conclusions: People living in the vicinity of wind turbines are at risk of being annoyed by the noise, anadverse effect in itself. Noise annoyance in turn could lead to sleep disturbance and psychological distress. Nodirect effects of wind turbine noise on sleep disturbance or psychological stress has been demonstrated,which means that residents, who do not hear the sound, or do not feel disturbed, are not adversely affected.
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| 46. |
- Bas, D. B., et al.
(author)
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Collagen antibody-induced arthritis evokes persistent pain with spinal glial involvement and transient prostaglandin dependency
- 2012
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In: Arthritis & Rheumatology. - : Wiley. - 2326-5191 .- 2326-5205. ; 64:12, s. 3886-3896
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectivePain is one of the most debilitating symptoms reported by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. While the collagen antibody–induced arthritis (CAIA) model is used for studying the effector phase of RA pathologic progression, it has not been evaluated as a model for studies of pain. Thus, this study was undertaken to examine pain-like behavior induced by anticollagen antibodies and to assess the effect of currently prescribed analgesics for RA. In addition, the involvement of spinal glia in antibody-induced pain was explored.MethodsCAIA was induced in mice by intravenous injection of a collagen antibody cocktail, followed by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide. Disease severity was assessed by visual and histologic examination. Pain-like behavior and the antinociceptive effect of diclofenac, buprenorphine, gabapentin, pentoxifylline, and JNK-interacting protein 1 were examined in mechanical stimulation experiments. Spinal astrocyte and microglia reactivity were investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.ResultsFollowing the induction of CAIA, mice developed transient joint inflammation. In contrast, pain-like behavior was observed prior to, and outlasted, the visual signs of arthritis. Whereas gabapentin and buprenorphine attenuated mechanical hypersensitivity during both the inflammatory and postinflammatory phases of arthritis, diclofenac was antinociceptive only during the inflammatory phase. Spinal astrocytes and microglia displayed time-dependent signs of activation, and inhibition of glial activity reversed CAIA-induced mechanical hypersensitivity.ConclusionCAIA represents a multifaceted model for studies exploring the mechanisms of pain induced by inflammation in the articular joint. Our findings of a time-dependent prostaglandin and spinal glial contribution to antibody-induced pain highlight the importance of using appropriate disease models to assess joint-related pain.
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| 47. |
- Bas, Turker, et al.
(author)
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RELQUAL in Turkish business relationships – theory testing and measurement model
- 2012
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In: International Journal of Business Excellence. - Olney : InderScience Publishers. - 1756-0047 .- 1756-0055. ; 5:6, s. 620-638
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examines a construct of relationship quality (RELQUAL) in Turkish business relationships, and appears to be the first of its kind in this region. The sample frame comprises the 500 largest companies in Turkey based upon revenue across multiple industries. The analysis yield support to the argument that continuity, trust, coordination, opportunism, commitment, formalisation, specific assets, dependence, satisfaction and cooperation are separate constructs that play an important role in creating relationship quality in Turkish business relationships. This study is of managerial and theoretical interest to executives and researchers since it provides a framework of constructs to be considered in corporate efforts in maintaining satisfactory levels of relationship quality, not only in Turkish business relationships, but it may also be applicable in other business relationships and countries. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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| 48. |
- Bellalta, Boris, et al.
(author)
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On the performance of packet aggregation in IEEE 802.11ac MU-MIMO WLANs
- 2012
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In: IEEE Communications Letters. - Piscataway, N.J. : IEEE Press. - 1089-7798 .- 1558-2558. ; 16:10, s. 1588-1591
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multi-user spatial multiplexing combined with packet aggregation can significantly increase the performance of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). In this letter, we present and evaluate a simple technique to perform packet aggregation in IEEE 802.11ac MU-MIMO (Multi-user Multiple Input Multiple Output) WLANs. Results show that in non-saturation conditions both the number of active stations (STAs) and the queue size have a significant impact on the system performance. If the number of STAs is excessively high, the heterogeneity of destinations in the packets contained in the queue makes it difficult to take full advantage of packet aggregation. This effect can be alleviated by increasing the queue size, which increases the chances of scheduling a large number of packets at each transmission, hence improving the system throughput at the cost of a higher delay. © 1997-2012 IEEE.
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| 49. |
- Belova, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Meshfree methods in option pricing
- 2012
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A meshfree approximation scheme based on the radial basis function (RBF) methods is presented for the numerical solution of the options pricing model. This work deals with the valuation of the European, Asian and American options. The option prices are modeled by the Black-Scholes equation. The θ-method is used to discretize the equation with respect to time. Next, the option price is approximated in space with RBF. In case of American options a penalty method is used, i.e. the free boundary is removed by adding a small and continuous penalty term to the Black-Scholes equation. Finally, we present a comparison of analytical and finite difference solutions and numerical results. © 2012 MANT.
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| 50. |
- Bengtsson, Sverker, et al.
(author)
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Time, Money and Support : Student-Athletes Transition to High Achivement Sport
- 2012
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In: Athletic Insight Journal. - New York : Nova Science Publishers, Inc.. - 1947-6299 .- 2374-0531. ; 4:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of within-career transition, as experienced by student-athletes striving to reach the international level. Interviews were used to examine the perceptions of 26 Swedish student-athletes with a mean age of 22.5 years practicing individual sportsatthe national elite level, involved in a career assistance program. Categories identified through thematiccontent analysis were changes experienced in the transition, the career assistance program, resources to adjust to the new level in sport, satisfaction with their current situation, and strategies to adjust to the new level in sport. The athletes highlighted the value of interpersonal support and commitment, and recognized the need to develop further coping strategies, such as stress and time management. Practical implications for promoting successful within-career transitions are discussed © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
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