3,371 research outputs found
The win/profit maximization debate: Strategic adaptation as the answer?
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to highlight the heterogeneity of the organizational aims within the professional football teams in Ligue 1. Second, to understand why some teams swing from a win orientation toward a soft budget constraint from year to year, and vice versa. Design/methodology/approach: Financial data from annual reports for the period 2005/15 was collected for the 35 Ligue 1 clubs. To define the degree of compliance with the intended strategy for those clubs, an efficiency analysis was conducted thanks to the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. This measure of performance was supplemented with the identification of productivity and demand shocks to identify whether clubs suffered from such shock or changed their strategy. It enables to precise the nature of the evolution in the utility function, with regards to the gap between expectation and actual performance. Findings:The paper suggests that a team can switch from one orientation to another from year to year due to the uncertain nature of the sports industry. The club director’s utility function could also be maximized under inter temporal budget function in order to adjust the weight between win and profit according to the opportunities in the environment. Originality/value: The paper sheds new light on the win/profit maximization. The theoretical model provides an assessment of the weight between win and profit in Ligue 1 and then identifies a new explanation for persistent losses in the sports industry
Developing win-win outcomes across a range of grassland-based livestock systems
No full textIn Europe, grassland-based livestock farming systems develop across a wide range of biogeographicalconditions. These systems allow producing meat, milk and cheese with limited competition with human foodsupply. Intensive grazing systems limit greenhouse gas emission per unit of product, but high animal densitieslead to nitrate leaching and various other nuisances. Favorable grass-growth conditions combined with theuse of grass-legume mixtures allows limiting the inputs needed for production and system environmentalfootprint. Under more marginal conditions, permanent grasslands and rangelands provide valuable habitats forvarious forms of biodiversity, and a wide bundle of regulating (e.g. climate regulation via carbon sequestration,pollination, flood regulation, fire prevention, erosion prevention) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic value, productquality, ecotourism) ecosystem services. Provisioning services usually exhibit negative correlations withcultural and regulating services so that trade-offs between stakeholders occur. Though win-wins are theexception, not the rule, case-studies from various European countries illustrate opportunities for win-winsin grassland-based systems. Analyzing the mechanisms involved in grazing management and acting on thespatial arrangement of practices to increase landscape heterogeneity can help reconciling production andbiodiversity. In order to create win-win situations, it is also necessary to take into account the point of viewof all stakeholders. Importantly, it should not be assumed that provisioning services must always dominateany other ecosystem services. Finally, prospective scenarios offer opportunities to quantify whether shifts inproduction systems or food choices are likely to lead to win-win solutions
Developing win-win outcomes across a range of grassland-based livestock systems
No full textIn Europe, grassland-based livestock farming systems develop across a wide range of biogeographicalconditions. These systems allow producing meat, milk and cheese with limited competition with human foodsupply. Intensive grazing systems limit greenhouse gas emission per unit of product, but high animal densitieslead to nitrate leaching and various other nuisances. Favorable grass-growth conditions combined with theuse of grass-legume mixtures allows limiting the inputs needed for production and system environmentalfootprint. Under more marginal conditions, permanent grasslands and rangelands provide valuable habitats forvarious forms of biodiversity, and a wide bundle of regulating (e.g. climate regulation via carbon sequestration,pollination, flood regulation, fire prevention, erosion prevention) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic value, productquality, ecotourism) ecosystem services. Provisioning services usually exhibit negative correlations withcultural and regulating services so that trade-offs between stakeholders occur. Though win-wins are theexception, not the rule, case-studies from various European countries illustrate opportunities for win-winsin grassland-based systems. Analyzing the mechanisms involved in grazing management and acting on thespatial arrangement of practices to increase landscape heterogeneity can help reconciling production andbiodiversity. In order to create win-win situations, it is also necessary to take into account the point of viewof all stakeholders. Importantly, it should not be assumed that provisioning services must always dominateany other ecosystem services. Finally, prospective scenarios offer opportunities to quantify whether shifts inproduction systems or food choices are likely to lead to win-win solutions
Developing win-win outcomes across a range of grassland-based livestock systems
No full textIn Europe, grassland-based livestock farming systems develop across a wide range of biogeographicalconditions. These systems allow producing meat, milk and cheese with limited competition with human foodsupply. Intensive grazing systems limit greenhouse gas emission per unit of product, but high animal densitieslead to nitrate leaching and various other nuisances. Favorable grass-growth conditions combined with theuse of grass-legume mixtures allows limiting the inputs needed for production and system environmentalfootprint. Under more marginal conditions, permanent grasslands and rangelands provide valuable habitats forvarious forms of biodiversity, and a wide bundle of regulating (e.g. climate regulation via carbon sequestration,pollination, flood regulation, fire prevention, erosion prevention) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic value, productquality, ecotourism) ecosystem services. Provisioning services usually exhibit negative correlations withcultural and regulating services so that trade-offs between stakeholders occur. Though win-wins are theexception, not the rule, case-studies from various European countries illustrate opportunities for win-winsin grassland-based systems. Analyzing the mechanisms involved in grazing management and acting on thespatial arrangement of practices to increase landscape heterogeneity can help reconciling production andbiodiversity. In order to create win-win situations, it is also necessary to take into account the point of viewof all stakeholders. Importantly, it should not be assumed that provisioning services must always dominateany other ecosystem services. Finally, prospective scenarios offer opportunities to quantify whether shifts inproduction systems or food choices are likely to lead to win-win solutions
The Effects of Energetic and Informational Masking on the Words-in-Noise Test (Win)
No full textBackground: In certain masking paradigms, the masker can have two components, energetic and informational. Energetic masking is the traditional peripheral masking, whereas informational masking involves confusions (uncertainty) between the signal and masker that originate more centrally in the auditory system. Sperry et al (1997) used Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) words in multitalker babble to study the differential effects of energetic and informational masking using babble played temporally forward (FB) and backward (BB). The FB and BB are the same except BB is void of the contextual and semantic content cues that are available in FB. It is these informational cues that are thought to fuel informational masking. Sperry et al found 15% better recognition performance (∼3 dB) on BB than on FB, which can be interpreted as the presence of informational masking in the FB condition and not in the BB condition (Dirks and Bower, 1969). The Words-in-Noise Test (WIN) (Wilson, 2003; Wilson and McArdle, 2007) uses NU-6 words as the signal and multitalker babble as the masker, which is a combination of stimuli that potentially could produce informational masking. The WIN presents 5 or 10 words at each of seven signal-to-noise ratios (S/N, SNR) from 24 to 0 dB in 4 dB decrements with the 50% correct point being the metric of interest. The same recordings of the NU-6 words and multitalker babble used by Sperry et al are used in the WIN. Purpose: To determine whether informational masking was involved with the WIN. Research Design: Descriptive, quasi-experimental designs were conducted in three experiments using FB and BB in various paradigms in which FB and BB varied from 4.3 sec concatenated segments to essentially continuous. Study Sample: Eighty young adults with normal hearing and 64 older adults with sensorineural hearing losses participated in a series of three experiments. Data Collection and Analysis: Experiment 1 compared performance on the normal WIN (FB) with performance on the WIN in which the babble segment with each word was reversed temporally (BB). Experiment 2 examined the effects of continuous FB and BB segments on WIN performance. Experiment 3 replicated the Sperry et al (1997) experiment at 4 and 0 dB S/N using NU-6 words in the FB and BB conditions. Results: Experiment 1-with the WIN paradigm, recognition performances on FB and BB were the same for listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing loss, except at the 0 dB S/N with the listeners with normal hearing at which performance was significantly better on BB than FB. Experiment 2-recognition performances on FB and BB were the same at all SNRs for listeners with normal hearing using a slightly modified WIN paradigm. Experiment 3-there was no difference in performances on the FB and BB conditions with either of the two SNRs. Conclusions: Informational masking was not involved in the WIN paradigm. The Sperry et al results were not replicated, which is thought to be related to the way in which the Sperry et al BB condition was produced
The use of medial clavicular epiphysis ossification stages for bone age determination
No full textIntroduction. Bone age determination is a radiological method investigating the compatibility of ossification processes of bones with chronological ages.
Aim. We aimed to investigate the use of CT staging of the medial clavicular epiphyseal ossification in bone age determination in Turkish adolescents and young adults.
Material and methods. Chest CT exams of 2018 patients between 11 and 35 years of age were retrospectively evaluated for epiphyseal ossification stages of the bilateral medial clavicles (4036 clavicles) on both axial&coronal images and compared with the sex and chronologic age of the individuals in Turkey.
Results. For stage 2,3 and 4 the ages of women were greater than men and it was statistically significant. For an individual classified as stage 4,it can be said with certainty that he or she has already reached the age of 18.There was no statistically significant difference between left&right sides and between the axial&coronal images.In addition, it was found that the medial clavicular head epiphyses showed a lot of variation.
Conclusion. CT evaluation of the medial clavicular epiphysis ossification stages is helpful in determination of the individuals over the age of 18. Regardless of the sex, the stage 4 can be used as a criterion to make the prediction that an individual is older than 18 years
A Comparison of Two Word-Recognition Tasks in Multitalker Babble: Speech Recognition in Noise Test (SPRINT) and Words-in-Noise Test (WIN)
No full textBackground: The Speech Recognition in Noise Test (SPRINT) is a word-recognition instrument that presents the 200 Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) words binaurally at 50 dB HL in a multitalker babble at a 9 dB signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) (Cord et al, 1992). The SPRINT was developed by and used by the Army as a more valid predictor of communication abilities (than pure-tone thresholds or word-recognition in quiet) for issues involving fitness for duty from a hearing perspective of Army personnel. The Words-in-Noise test (WIN) is a slightly different word-recognition task in a fixed level multitalker babble with 10 NU-6 words presented at each of 7 S/N from 24 to 0 dB S/N in 4 dB decrements (Wilson, 2003; Wilson and McArdle, 2007). For the two instruments, both the babble and the speakers of the words are different. The SPRINT uses all 200 NU-6 words, whereas the WIN uses a maximum of 70 words. Purpose: The purpose was to compare recognition performances by 24 young listeners with normal hearing and 48 older listeners with sensorineural hearing on the SPRINT and WIN protocols. Research Design: A quasi-experimental, mixed model design was used. Study Sample: The 24 young listeners with normal hearing (19 to 29 years, mean = 23.3 years) were from the local university and had normal hearing (≤20 dB HL; American National Standards Institute, 2004) at the 250-8000 Hz octave intervals. The 48 older listeners with sensorineural hearing loss (60 to 82 years, mean = 69.9 years) had the following inclusion criteria: (1) a threshold at 500 Hz between 15 and 30 dB HL, (2) a threshold at 1000 Hz between 20 and 40 dB HL, (3) a three-frequency pure-tone average (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) of ≤40 dB HL, (4) word-recognition scores in quiet ≥40%, and (5) no history of middle ear or retrocochlear pathology as determined by an audiologic evaluation. Data Collection and Analysis: The speech materials were presented bilaterally in the following order: (1) the SPRINT at 50 dB HL, (2) two half lists of NU-6 words in quiet at 60 dB HL and 80 dB HL, and (3) the two 35-word lists of the WIN materials with the multitalker babble fixed at 60 dB HL. Data collection occurred during a 40-60 minute session. Recognition performances on each stimulus word were analyzed. Results: The listeners with normal hearing obtained 92.5% correct on the SPRINT with a 50% point on the WIN of 2.7 dB S/N. The listeners with hearing loss obtained 65.3% correct on the SPRINT and a WIN 50% point at 12.0 dB S/N. The SPRINT and WIN were significantly correlated (r = -0.81, p \u3c .01), indicating that the SPRINT had good concurrent validity. The high-frequency, pure-tone average (1000, 2000, 4000 Hz) had higher correlations with the SPRINT, WIN, and NU-6 in quiet than did the traditional three-frequency pure-tone average (500, 1000, 2000 Hz). Conclusions: Graphically and numerically the SPRINT and WIN were highly related, which is indicative of good concurrent validity of the SPRINT
Study on the Humanitarian Intervention under International Law
No full textThe law of intervention lies between the extremes of absolute independence on the one hand and unregulated interference on the other. This study was intended to present a rule of transcending practical importance for the preservation of a just peace among nations, namely: that no state shall unreasonably insist upon its rights or pursue its interests to the detriment of the opposing rights and interests of other states. Humanitarian intervention is means that dictatorial interference in the internal affairs of a State through the use of armed forces by a third party for a limited time and for the specific purpose of protecting the inhabitants of the State from arbitrary and persistent human rights abuses which exceed the limits of the authority within which sovereign States are presumed to act
The disadvantage of winning an election
No full textThis paper analyzes the problem that an incumbent faces during the legislature when deciding how to react to popular initiatives or policy proposals coming from different sources. We argue that this potential source of electoral disadvantage that the incumbent obtains after being elected can jeopardize the reelection possibilities of the incumbent. We analyze the decision of the incumbent when facing reelection and we characterize the conditions under which the advantages that the incumbent obtains can overcome the disadvantages. Finally, we use the results of this analysis to discuss some implications of the use of mechanisms of direct democracy like referenda and popular assemblies on electoral competition.Incumbency advantage, Referenda, Popular initiatives, Elections.
Comparative Study on Cottage Industry of Sagaing in 2009 and 2019
No full textThis research was carried out to examine the comparative study on cottage industry between 2009 and 2019 in Sagaing. It is a small-scale such as the manufacturing business of a home (Will Kenton, June 11, 2019). In the study area, it studies the six cottage industries such as consumer goods industries, service and miscellaneous works, food-stuff industries, handicraft industries, clothing and apparel making industries, and construction material industries (U Hla Htun Aung, 2011). So, field surveys use to obtain information from 68 people in wards of Sagaing. The collected data in wards are used by the method of the composite index of development. The comparative study on cottage industry between 2009 and 2019 found Pa Da Myar ward varies mostly the development of cottage industry of the composite index of development level with CDI 5.092. It is found that this ward is convenient in these wards for distributing the products of cottage industries and then these wards located near the highway road. Moreover, It is clear that the changes of cottage industry development implied moderate to the high level of development with one ward due to the increasing the jade beads industry, roasting and frying Fish work, purify drinking water, pottery industry, and handy craft work and the low to moderate level of development with three wards because of increasing weaving industry and handy craft. Other wards did not change on the development of cottage industries due to the foreign market (i.e. – clothing and apparel making industries, handicraft industries such as silver industry, guitar making, and handy craftworks). It was found that the modern technology for cottage industry has been increased. If it has an adequate electric power supply and raw materials, cottage industries can be developed all beneficial factors for the study area in future
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