Abstract
One of the most difficult scenarios for unsupervised segmentation of moving objects is found in nighttime videos where the main challenges are the poor illumination conditions resulting in low-visibility of objects, very strong lights, surface-reflected light, a great variance of light intensity, sudden illumination changes, hard shadows, camouflaged objects, and noise. This paper proposes a novel method, coined COLBMOG (COLlinearity Boosted MOG), devised specifically for the foreground segmentation in nighttime videos, that shows the ability to overcome some of the limitations of state-of-the-art methods and still perform well in daytime scenarios. It is a texture-based classification method, using local texture modeling, complemented by a color-based classification method. The local texture at the pixel neighborhood is modeled as an..-dimensional vector. For a given pixel, the classification is based on the collinearity between this feature in the input frame and the reference background frame. For this purpose, a multimodal temporal model of the collinearity between texture vectors of background pixels is maintained. COLBMOG was objectively evaluated using the ChangeDetection.net (CDnet) 2014, Night Videos category, benchmark. COLBMOG ranks first among all the unsupervised methods. A detailed analysis of the results revealed the superior performance of the proposed method compared to the best performing state-of-the-art methods in this category, particularly evident in the presence of the most complex situations where all the algorithms tend to fail.

Abstract
The adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) will revolutionize the storage capacity in the power system and, therefore, will contribute to mitigate the uncertainty of renewable generation. In addition, EVs have fast response capabilities and are suitable for frequency regulation, which is essential for the proliferation of intermittent renewable sources. To this end, EV aggregators will arise as a market representative party on behalf of EVs. Thus, this player will be responsible for supplying the power needed to charge EVs, as well as offering their flexibility to support the system. The main goal of EV aggregators is to manage the potential participation of EVs in the reserve market, accounting for their charging and travel needs. This work follows this trend by conceiving a chance-constrained model able to optimize EVs participation in the reserve market, taking into account the uncertain behavior of EVs and their charging needs. The proposed model, includes penalties in the event of a failure in the provision of upward or downward reserve. Therefore, stochastic and chance-constrained programming are used to handle the uncertainty of a small fleet of EVs and the risk profile of the EV aggregator. Two different relaxation approaches, i.e., Big-M and McCormick, of the chance-constrained model are tested and validated for different number of scenarios and risk levels, based on an actual test case in Denmark with actual driving patterns. As a final remark, the McCormick relaxation presents better performance when the uncertainty budget increases, which is appropriated for large-scale problems.

Abstract
Whether research output significantly impacts on economic growth, and which research areas/fields of science matter the most to improve the economic performance of countries, stand as fundamental endeavors of scientific inquiry. Although the extant literature has analyzed the impact of research output on economic growth both holistically and by field, the impact of academic knowledge as a capital good (hard and social sciences) versus a final good (medical and humanities) has been largely neglected in analyses involving large sets of countries over a broad period of time. Based on a sample of 65 countries over 36 years (1980 to 2016), and employing system GMM dynamic panel data estimations, four main results are worth highlighting: (1) holistic research output positively and significantly impacts on economic growth; (2) both the academic knowledge of scientific areas that most resemble capital goods (physical sciences, engineering and technology, life sciences or social sciences) or final goods (base clinical, pre-clinical and health or arts and humanities) foster economic performance; (3) the global impact of research output is particularly high in the fields of engineering and technology, social sciences, and physics; and (4) the impact of research output on economic growth occurs mainly through structural change processes involving the reallocation of resources towards the industrial sector.

Abstract
This article aims at identifying the effect of executive compensation, mediated by the nature of the control, on the sustained performance of the company in a defined ownership context, in which a shareholder or group holds more than half of the voting shares. Despite the wide literature on the relationship between executive compensation and performance, there is little evidence of the lagged effect of compensation on future performance and sustainability. This is particularly significant in countries where concentrated ownership structures dominate, where the controller has incentives to control the behavior of executives and may use the negotiation of such remuneration in order to guide management for their interests or as an instrument of expropriation of minority shareholders. The present study advances along this path by including in the analysis the nature of the control and by considering the lagged effects of the vesting period on performance. Based on executive compensation data from a group of listed Brazilian companies, the effect of this remuneration on change in shareholders' wealth in the three-year period is analyzed by means of multiple regression. The results pointed out that the impact of the variable remuneration on future performance depend on the nature of the remuneration, and on the type of ownership control. Effectively, the weight of the bonus in the total remuneration does not show significant effect. However, the weight of the stock-based remuneration is negatively related with the future performance. Moreover, this result applies both to companies with a controller shareholder and to companies with control shared, but not to companies with dispersed ownership, for which there is evidence of a positive relationship between the importance of the stock-based remuneration and the future performance.

Abstract
This paper provides the preliminary findings of a newly granted two-year project investigating the adoption of disruptive technologies, by focusing on the case of additive manufacturing (AM) in the medical technology (MedTech) industry, particularly implant applications. This is done by (I) stakeholder mapping of the industry in Australia. This included members of industry, researchers, academics, regulatory experts and MedTech consultants. (II) Identifying the top four major opportunity areas in which innovation can foster the adoption of AM implants, them being developments in Materials Science, Technology, Business Models, and Regulation & Quality Management. (III) Identifying and discussing the barriers in realizing such opportunity areas in practice, and finally (IV) recommending solutions based on the discussion and understanding of the proposed barriers that are hindering the widespread adoption and diffusion of 3-D printed medical implants. The impact of the project will be to unlock the potential of AM applications in the medical technology, which will benefit potential new entrants to the industry, incumbent firms, health care system, and patients in Australia.

Abstract
Worldwide, family businesses are one of the cornerstones of the entrepreneurial fabric, being as a consequence central to growth and development. In a globalized era, these institutions require the attention of businessmen, practitioners, and policymakers. The chapter seeks to examine if the internationalization performance does vary according to firm size, and its link to the innovative performance in multiple dimensions along with conventional characteristics such as age and turnover. Theoretical research evidences the interest in understanding the patterns and determinants of the internationalisation performance, given its importance in firm growth and survival; however, this strategical option brings advantages and problems. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the determinants do change according to firm dimension; estimations provide valuable insights about the connection between globalized operation and innovation, for the different organisations. © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.