There is a saying that all roads leads to Rome. This applies certainly to the tinting of dispersion colours, because there are many possible ways of arriving at a particular shade…
Martin Hofman‐Apitius, Erfan Younesi and Vinod Kasam
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the information extracted from scientific text can be directly used in support of life science research projects. In modern…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the information extracted from scientific text can be directly used in support of life science research projects. In modern digital‐based research and academic libraries, librarians should be able to support data discovery and organization of digital entities in order to foster research projects effectively; thus the paper aims to speculate that text mining and knowledge discovery tools could be of great assistance to librarians. Such tools simply enable librarians to overcome increasing complexity in the number as well as contents of scientific literature, especially in the emerging interdisciplinary fields of science. This paper seeks to present an example of how evidences extracted from scientific literature can be directly integrated into in silico disease models in support of drug discovery projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The application of text‐mining as well as knowledge discovery tools is explained in the form of a knowledge‐based workflow for drug target candidate identification. Moreover, an in silico experimentation framework is proposed for the enhancement of efficiency and productivity in the early steps of the drug discovery workflow.
Findings
The in silico experimentation workflow has been successfully applied to searching for hit and lead compounds in the World‐wide In Silico Docking On Malaria (WISDOM) project and to finding novel inhibitor candidates.
Practical implications
Direct extraction of biological information from text will ease the task of librarians in managing digital objects and supporting research projects. It is expected that textual data will play an increasingly important role in evidence‐based approaches taken by biomedical and translational researchers.
Originality/value
The proposed approach provides a practical example for the direct integration of text‐ and knowledge‐based data into life science research projects, with the emphasis on their application by academic and research libraries in support of scientific projects.
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Monika Martišková and Katarína Lukáčová
The automotive industry in Slovakia underwent a steep development pathway during the last 20 years, mostly thanks to the inflow of foreign direct investments, resulting in…
Abstract
The automotive industry in Slovakia underwent a steep development pathway during the last 20 years, mostly thanks to the inflow of foreign direct investments, resulting in increasing production outputs, exports, and employment. In this chapter, we highlight the limits of this growth, pointing out on production function of the industry heavily based on foreign capital. Under the current challenges of production digitalization, automatization, and car electrification, the position of the country seems uncertain. As a response, the government of Slovakia, but also others in the region, embarked on supporting new wave of foreign direct investments mostly in battery production and in the case of Slovakia also attracting a fifth car manufacturer. We conclude that this strategy fixes the current dependency on foreign capital and know-how rather than allows for upgrading.
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Large regional differences in Slovakia existed already at the beginning of the 20th century, which resulted in emigration mainly from the east of the territory. The subsequent…
Abstract
Large regional differences in Slovakia existed already at the beginning of the 20th century, which resulted in emigration mainly from the east of the territory. The subsequent popularity of the communist regime is explained by a successful reduction in the regional disparities and increased well-being of the inhabitants. The transformation since 1990 ignored important regional differences among the Czech and Slovak regions and this led to the disintegration of Czechoslovakia. Governance structures in Slovakia remained centralized. This harmed the welfare – weaker economic performance of the regions and worse results of the labor market. The underutilization of the economic potential of regions has consequently slowed down the catching up at the national level. Slovakia thus so far missed the opportunity to use transfers from the European Union more productively. In recent years, however, there has been some progress in changing the unsatisfactory model of public governance to a more modern one, with much greater decision-making and financial autonomy for the regions.
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Florian Barth, Benjamin Hübel and Hendrik Scholz
The authors investigate the implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices of firms for the pricing of their credit default swaps (CDS). In doing so, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate the implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices of firms for the pricing of their credit default swaps (CDS). In doing so, the authors compare European and US firms and consider nonlinear and indirect effects. This complements the previous literature focusing on linear and direct effects using bond yields and credit ratings of US firms.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, the authors apply fixed effects regressions on a comprehensive panel data set of US and European firms. Further, nonlinear and indirect effects are investigated utilizing quantile regressions and a path analysis.
Findings
The evidence indicates that higher ESG ratings mitigate credit risks of US and European firms from 2007 to 2019. The risk mitigation effect is U-shaped across ESG quantiles, which is consistent with opposing effects of growing stakeholder influence capacity and diminishing marginal returns on ESG investments. The authors further reveal a mediating indirect volatility channel that substantially amplifies the direct effect of ESG on credit risk. A one-standard-deviation improvement in ESG ratings is estimated to reduce CDS spreads of low, medium and high ESG firms by approximately 4%, 8% and 3%, respectively.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine whether credit markets reflect regional differences between Europe and the US with regard to the ESG-CDS-relationship. In addition, this paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating differences in the response of CDS spreads across ESG quantiles and to study potential indirect channels connecting ESG and CDS spreads using structural credit risk variables.
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The purpose of this paper is to summarize the most important quantitative representations of electric and magnetic yoyo fields obtained on the basis of the general systemic yoyo…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the most important quantitative representations of electric and magnetic yoyo fields obtained on the basis of the general systemic yoyo model.
Design/methodology/approach
The traditional calculus‐based methods are employed in reference with the qualitative analysis and reasoning of spinning yoyo flows.
Findings
This paper presents an opportunity for us to see how theoretical and experimental results obtained in the conventional electromagnetic theory can be potentially generalized to the study of the general systemic yoyo model.
Originality/value
This paper looks at the well‐established laws of electromagnetic theory from the angle of systems studies with an eye on the possibility of first generalizing these laws to the situations of general systems, and second, the potential to employ these generalized laws to social science and humanity areas.
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Carolin Berlich, Felix Daut, Anna C. Freund, Andrea Kampmann, Benedict Killing, Friedrich Sommer and Arnt Wöhrmann
Deutsche Bahn AG (Deutsche Bahn hereafter) was the former German railroad monopolist until deregulation in 1996. It was a well-known company that operated in worldwide markets for…
Abstract
Synopsis
Deutsche Bahn AG (Deutsche Bahn hereafter) was the former German railroad monopolist until deregulation in 1996. It was a well-known company that operated in worldwide markets for transport and logistics at the time of the case (late 2013). The case “Deutsche Bahn AG: a former monopoly off track?” focuses on the opportunities and challenges faced by Deutsche Bahn with regard to its position in the German individual transportation market. On the one hand, Deutsche Bahn is facing external problems. Increasing competition in short- and long-distance traffic threatens its strong business position. The competition emerged from a growing long-distance bus market and the increase in private railway companies. During the last few years before 2013, Deutsche Bahn has lost several public tenders for individual passenger travel in Germany. On the other hand, Deutsche Bahn has internal problems that endanger its image as a service company. A lack of service quality and the technical condition of its trains has led to rising numbers of customer complaints. In addition, staffing and punctuality problems have exacerbated the situation. One of the main technical issues the company faces is that ordered trains have not been delivered on time. Given the focus on Deutsche Bahn’s domestic challenges, its international business activities are tackled only briefly. While regulatory and political events have an impact on Deutsche Bahn, these are not the main subjects of the case.
Research methodology
This case has been written from public sources. Consequently, no company release is provided. None of the information has been disguised in any way.
Relevant courses and levels
The case is intended for use in a 90-minute strategic management class attended by students at the end of their undergraduate studies or in postgraduate study. Although the case relates to issues in strategic management, the special regulatory environment and some of the issues covered could make the case a useful complement in other classes as well, such as classes in supply chain management (procurement) or the management of public companies. Therefore, students should have basic knowledge in developing strategies, management, marketing, human resource management, and finance.
Theoretical bases
Strategic Analysis and Strategic Management, Railroad Logistics, Deregulation of a former Monopoly, Stakeholder Theory.