The University of South Carolina System is a state university system collection of campuses established in 1957 to expand the educational opportunities of the citizens of South Carolina as well as extend the reach of the University of South Carolina (UofSC) throughout the state. With over 52,000 students at the eight campuses, the system is the largest institution of higher learning in the state of South Carolina.The system includes the flagship research campus in Columbia, South Carolina, three senior campuses, and four regional campuses. UofSC has several thousand future students in feeder programs at surrounding technical colleges..
There has been widespread use of stochastic differential equations in modeling climate change, especially the stochastic models with alpha-stable L é vy jumps. The family of L é vy α -stable distributions is used in many applications for modeling heavy-tailed data. These distributions are crucial for capturing extreme events, such as market crashes and abrupt climate changes. Although tests like p-variation, quantile-tests, and maximum likelihood methods based on characteristic functions have proven to be successful in determining parameters in stochastic and alpha-stable L é vy dynamics, knowing the closed-form distribution of the process helps in capturing certain properties of the process. In this work, a well-known stochastic differential equation describing a climatic state that depends on ocean circulation and atmospheric forcing is considered. The unique stationary and transition probability density functions of the atmospheric forcing process, satisfying Itô and Stratonovich dynamics, and the properties of the distributions are obtained, analyzed, and used to estimate parameters in the model. We validate our claim by comparing the results obtained in this study with simulated distributions and by applying the methodology to real-world volcanic aerosol forcing data.
Purpose-Grounding our expectations in social network theory and the resource-based view, we investigate how a firm's operations efficiency shapes its likelihood of survival and engagement in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within the pharmaceutical industry context. We further examine how the firm's supplier and customer network positions moderate these effects. Design/methodology/approach-We use data from 172 pharmaceutical firms and their supplier and customer networks to measure operations efficiency through data envelopment analysis and capture firms' network brokerage positions using betweenness centrality. We employ an instrumental variable probit regression to assess the hypothesized relationships. Findings-The results indicate that operations efficiency reduces the likelihood of bankruptcy, an effect strengthened by higher customer network betweenness. Moreover, operations efficiency increases the probability of M&A activity, with supplier network betweenness positively moderating this relationship. Research limitations/implications-By demonstrating that a firm's operations efficiency and network betweenness serve as complementary resources, this study motivates future research into how a firm's internal capabilities, such as operations efficiency and network structure, can jointly impact the firm's performance. Practical implications-The study highlights network betweenness as a key moderator - supplier betweenness strengthens the effect of operations efficiency on M&A activity, while customer betweenness helps reduce bankruptcy risk. Originality/value-This study emphasizes the role of operations efficiency in driving firm survival and M&A activity while advancing our understanding of how supplier and customer network betweenness interact with operations efficiency. By conceptualizing betweenness centrality as a brokerage capability, we demonstrate how its complementarity with operations efficiency fosters firms' performance.
Background Research indicates that retrieval practice enhances long-term retention in laboratory and classroom settings. However, many studies compare retrieval practice to re-reading and often involve racially homogeneous samples, raising concerns about generalizability. Objective This study investigated whether a diverse sample of undergraduates who completed a short retrieval practice exercise would outperform those who received a review on the final exam. Method Using a quasi-experimental design, students in one section of a psychology course received a brief overview of exam concepts ( n = 19), while those in the other section completed a 10-item multiple-choice practice test ( n = 19). Both sections took a final exam 48 h later. Results Students who completed the practice test outperformed those who received the brief overview on the final exam. The retrieval practice benefit was evident across factual, application, and unrelated questions, with the largest advantage observed for rephrased factual questions. Conclusion This study replicated and extended past findings by showing that a brief retrieval practice activity benefits diverse learners in the classroom. Its simplicity allows instructors to implement it with minimal preparation. Teaching Implications Instructors should encourage retrieval practice in class and during independent study, especially when students are preparing for formal assessments.
Air-stable, formally tetravalent metal complexes supported by a bis(carbene)-amide CNC pincer ligand display significant absorption spanning across the NIR-II region.
