Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic management of human resources in the multinational enterprise

The efficient operation of a multinational enterprise is contingent upon the availability and effective utilization of numerous strategic resources—technology, capital, know-how, and people. It is my contention that human power is a key ingredient to the successful operation of a multinational, without which all the other aforementioned resources could not be effectively and efficiently utilized or transferred from corporate headquarters to the various subsidiaries in the world; hence the need for multinationals to devote greater attention to the strategic management of human resources as part of the overall planning and control process in a firm. This article identifies the most common pitfalls to human resource planning in U.S. multinationals and offers guidelines for the development of a paradigm for the strategic management of human resources in the multinational enterprise.
Go big or stay home? Korean machinery firms, trade fair dynamics and export performance

With heightened global competition, many manufacturers export as a process by which to increase sales and expand into new markets. South Korean manufacturers export in order to expand outside of a small domestic market, but confront the constraints of many exporters (especially smaller firms), including access to market intelligence and geographically distant prospective customers. This article examines efforts by machine tool manufacturers to minimize the friction of distance involved with exporting through the use of international trade fairs. Analytical emphases are placed on the influence of individual export destinations and on the role of firm size vis-à-vis firm export intensities and overall export strategies and motivations.
Public Sector Motivation as an Independent Variable Affecting Career Decisions

This article addresses the issue of public sector motivation. Essentially, do public sector employees elicit different motives regarding their work expectations in contrast to people working in the private sector? For instance, do public sector employees have a higher need to serve the public and a lower need for monetary rewards? This article explores the conceptual and theoretical basis for public sector motivation and then reports the results of a small empirical study that tests hypotheses derived from these constructs. Our findings suggest that if public sector motivation does exist, that its effect on employee behavior and attitudes toward work expectations and personal goals is negligible at best.
Restraint Reduces Formalin-Test Pain but the Effect Is Not Influenced by Lesions of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus

Previous research indicates that the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) plays an important role in the development of stress-induced analgesia (SIA). Research implicating the PVN in SIA has generally employed the cold-water swim as the stressor and a phasic pain test, such as the tail-flick test, as the pain model. The present study, using the formalin test for tonic pain, investigated the effect of PVN lesions on (1) tonic pain responses and (2) SIA caused by 30 min of restraint. Male Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Two groups received electrolytic lesions of the PVN and two additional groups served as sham-operated controls. One group which received PVN lesions and one group which was sham-operated were exposed to 30 min of restraint immediately prior to a 0.05-ml injection of 2.5% formalin into the planter surface of one hindpaw. The remaining groups which either received PVN lesions or were sham-operated received the formalin injection without prior exposure to restraint. During the first phase of the formalin response, PVN lesions did not alter duration of paw elevation scores, but significantly increased duration of paw licking scores. A 30-min period of restraint had no effect on duration of paw elevation scores, but significantly decreased duration of paw licking scores. PVN lesions did not alter the significant decrease in paw licking scores as a result of restraint. During the second phase of the formalin response, PVN lesions did not alter either the duration of paw elevation scores or the duration of paw licking scores. A 30-min period of restraint significantly decreased duration of paw elevation scores, but had no effect on duration of paw licking scores. PVN lesions did not alter the significant decrease in paw elevation scores as a result of restraint. The results indicate that PVN lesions increase paw licking only during the first phase of the formalin response, with no other alterations in paw licking or duration of paw elevation. In addition, a 30-min period of restraint can produce short-term and long-term SIA for tonic pain. The short-term SIA is reflected as a decrease in paw licking, whereas the long-term SIA is reflected as a decrease in paw elevation. In addition, PVN lesions failed to alter SIA during both phases of the formalin test. The differential effect of restraint on pain responses during the two phases of the formalin test and the lack of effect of PVN lesions on SIA for tonic pain suggest that stress engages multiple endogenous pain inhibitory systems.
Effects of improved access to safety counseling, products, and home visits on parents' safety practices: results of a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE To present the results of an intervention trial to enhance parents' home-safety practices through pediatric safety counseling, home visits, and an on-site children's safety center where parents receive personalized education and can purchase reduced-cost products. DESIGN Pediatricians were randomized to a standard- or an enhanced-intervention group. Parents of their patients were enrolled when the patient was 6 months or younger and observed until 12 to 18 months of age. SETTING A hospital-based pediatric resident continuity clinic that serves families living in low-income, inner-city neighborhoods. PARTICIPANTS First- and second-year pediatric residents and their patient-parent dyads. INTERVENTIONS Parents in the standard-intervention group received safety counseling and referral to the children's safety center from their pediatrician. Parents in the enhanced-intervention group received the standard services plus a home-safety visit by a community health worker. OUTCOMES Home observers assessed the following safety practices: reduction of hot-water temperature, poison storage, and presence of smoke alarms, safety gates for stairs, and ipecac syrup. RESULTS The prevalence of safety practices ranged from 11% of parents who stored poisons safely to 82% who had a working smoke alarm. No significant differences in safety practices were found between study groups. However, families who visited the children's safety center compared with those who did not had a significantly greater number of safety practices (34% vs 17% had > or 3). CONCLUSIONS Home visiting was not effective in improving parents' safety practices. Counseling coupled with convenient access to reduced-cost products appears to be an effective strategy for promoting children's home safety.
Dynamics of Idiosyncratic Volatility and Market Volatility: An Emerging Market Perspective

Abstract Estimating idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) using various model-dependent and model-independent measures, we investigate the characteristics of aggregate IVOL in Malaysia over the period 1990–2008. The IVOL estimated in all models have similar patterns and has no trend over the sample period. There is evidence of episodic phenomenon. During financial crisis periods, market volatility is relatively higher than IVOL – a plausible reason is high correlation between firms' returns. Small firms and low-priced stocks appear to influence IVOL more than large firms and high-priced stocks. In Malaysia, market volatility and IVOL may predict GDP growth.
A stochastic frontier approach to running performance

Long-distance running performance depends on age of the runner and race distance. In this paper we apply a stochastic frontier approach to estimate optimal running performance across distances from 5000 meter up to and including the marathon. We present age correction factors for 5000, 10000, 15000 meters, half marathon and marathon distances for women and men. Two conclusions emerge: (1) official age grading tables are too optimistic for older runners, and (2) running performance-age curves differ across distances.
Firm reputation, recruitment web sites, and attracting applicants

Despite rapid growth in using Web sites to recruit applicants, little theoretical or empirical research has examined how firm attributes influence the effectiveness of recruitment Web sites. We developed and tested a model that examines the relationships among the firm's reputation as an employer, the attributes of the firm's Web site, and applicant attraction using data on business students' reactions to the recruitment Web sites of 144 firms. Results indicated that the amount of company and job attribute information provided on a recruitment Web site, the Web site's vividness, and the firm's reputation as an employer have a three-way interactive effect on prospective applicants' perceptions of the recruiting organization. As such, certain Web site attributes were more effective for firms with poor reputations and others for those with a good reputation. The implications of these results for recruitment research and for firms using Web sites as recruitment tools are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
How Integrated are World Capital Markets? Some New Tests

This paper present some new empirical evidence on the extent of world capital-market integration. The first set of tests carried out uses data from different countries to compare internationally expected marginal rates of substitution between consumption on different dates. If residents of different countries have access to a nominally risk-free bond denominated in dollars, say, their common expected marginal rate of substitution of future for present dollars should equal the gross nominal return on dollar bonds. Tests of the international equality of expected marginal substitution rates yield evidence consistent with a substantial degree of international capital-market integration after, but not before, 1973. These tests are naturally based on a particular model of intertemporal consumption choice, but direct estimation of the inter-country relationships implied by that model lends support to its assumptions. These last findings are relevant to the current debate in macroeconomics about the role of intertemporal substitution. The second set of tests conducted in this paper concerns correlations between countries' saving and investment rates. For a sample often countries, correlations between annual changes in saving and investment rates over the period 1948-1984 look quite similar to those found in quarterly data. Surprisingly, however, the correlation coefficients are often lower before the mid-1960s than afterward This finding throws further doubt on the interpretation of saving-investment correlation coefficients as structural parameters reflecting the response of domestic investment to shifts in national saving.
Surveillance of pneumococcal meningitis among children in Sindh, southern Pakistan.

BACKGROUND Information about the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease among children in Pakistan is limited. METHODS Surveillance of bacterial meningitis among children aged <5 years was set up at 18 hospitals in southern Pakistan that fulfilled the following criteria: (1) >30 pediatric admissions weekly, (2) skilled personnel to perform lumbar punctures, and (3) close proximity to an Aga Khan University Hospital laboratory collection point. RESULTS A total of 2690 children were admitted to the hospital with suspected acute bacterial meningitis, and 2646 (98%) underwent lumbar puncture. Of the 2646 cerebrospinal fluid specimens obtained, 412 (16%) were purulent, and pathogens were detected by culture or latex agglutination testing in 83 (20.1%) of the purulent specimens. Of the 83 isolates detected, 48 (57.8%) were Haemophilus influenzae type b, 32 (38.5%) were Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 3 (3.6%) were Neisseria meningiditis. Overall, 81% of the pathogens detected were from children aged <1 year. More than 50% of families reported definite prior antimicrobial use. The minimum detected incidence rates of purulent meningitis in Hyderabad were 112 cases per 100,000 children aged <1 year and 45.3 cases per 100,000 children aged <5 years. After adjustment for limitations in access to care and the low sensitivity of cerebrospinal fluid culture, the adjusted incidence rates of pneumococcal meningitis were 81 cases per 100,000 children aged <1 year (95% confidence interval, 26.2-190.5 cases per 100,000) and 20 cases per 100,000 children aged <5 years (95% confidence interval, 7.3-43.7 cases per 100,000). Of the 32 children with pneumococcal meningitis, 8 (25%) died during hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS Our surveillance system detected a substantial burden of purulent meningitis among infants and children in southern Pakistan. H. influenzae type b and S. pneumoniae accounted for >90% of detected pathogens. The use of vaccines against these 2 pathogens could prevent a substantial portion of disease and deaths in Pakistan.
Design of Robust Digital Stabilizing Controller for Fourth-Order Boost DC–DC Converter: A Quantitative Feedback Theory Approach

In this paper, we have proposed a quantitative feedback theory based robust digital voltage mode controller for a fourth-order boost dc-dc converter operating in continuous conduction mode. Discrete-time models of the converter are established for triangular trailing-edge modulation, which is then used in the compensator design. It is observed that an up-down glitch is present in the frequency response of control-to-output transfer functions of higher order dc-dc converters, and because of this, gain margin (GM) and phase margin (PM) alone are unable to give correct information about closed-loop stability. Therefore, in this paper, we have introduced a safety margin as an additional design specification, which along with GM and PM information reflects the actual stability of the higher order dc-dc converters. A simplification in loop-shaping approach is also proposed, which considerably reduces the time and effort involved in loop-shaping as compared to present trial-and-error-based approach and also results in a robust compensator of feasible order. Robustness of the designed controllers is analyzed in frequency and time domains through computer simulations and is then verified experimentally on a 28-V 30-W laboratory prototype converter. The experimental results are in line with the analytical design studies and demonstrate that the controller, which is directly designed through a discrete-time model, is more robust than an average model-based digitally redesigned controller.
Social capital and collective identity in the local food movement†

Social movement actors are seeking alternatives to the highly industrialized, global food system through alternative agri-food initiatives to counter the conventional practices of the industrial food system. Many of these initiatives have proven successful. Social movement researchers have documented the importance of the roles and services social movement organizations provide for movement constituents to realize their success, emphasizing human and financial capital as key components for mobilizing collective action. Researchers have also documented the value of interorganizational networks, and the benefits of collaboration to expand the share of resources, and perhaps more importantly design social movement frames to direct collective action for social change. However, what local food movement research has yet to address are some of the potential barriers that minimize collaboration among organizational leaders as it relates to social capital and collective identity. This paper takes a cross-sectional network analysis of social movement organizations working to increase the sustainability of various areas within the local food system in Marin County, California, a historically agricultural region serving a number of urban communities. Findings from the mixed-methods research reveal evidence of collective identity and social capital as enhancing collaboration among particular types of organizations while reducing potential collaboration among and between other social movement organizations. By analysing the collective identity and dichotomous nature of social capital among social movement organizations, this research contributes a clearer understanding of the existing gaps for increasing the sustainability of a local food system.
Development Patterns for Decision Support Systems

Examples from a case-oriented survey of fifty-six decision support systems are cited to illustrate each of four implementation patterns that were observed in the sample. These four system development patterns are defined in terms of high or low degrees of (1) initiation by the user and (2) participation in the development process. A surprising finding is that systems initiated by users and implemented with their active participation account for less than one fourth of all cases. A qualitative analysis of the cases explains this finding by interpreting the four patterns in terms of six frequently observed system development situations, each of which has its own purpose and dynamics. Categorizing these situations under the headings "built for," "sold to," or "forced upon," key questions and concerns for various stakeholders in system development efforts are cited. A concluding quandary for management involves the choice of a project portfolio that is neither too risky nor too safe.
Health Care Entrepreneurship in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Exploratory Study

In this empirical study, the authors explore entrepreneurship in the health care business in the Eastern Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) using cross-cultural literature and the resource-based view to ground its analyses. The data were collected using a questionnaire targeted toward the health care entrepreneurs in Mbuji Mayi, the capital city of the Eastern Kasai Province in July 2010, which yielded 68 responses. The results indicated that the entrepreneurs were predominantly middle-aged Congolese men with backgrounds in the health services field who had raised their startup capital mostly from personal savings or friends and family. Their businesses, which were mostly in the form of sole proprietorships, were likely to be located in areas underserved by public medical facilities and usually provided both curative and preventative medical services.
Stochastic Dynamic Northern Corn Rootworm Population Model

Using a published single-season model of adult population dynamics and data from field experiments, Mitchell and Riedell develop a complete life cycle model for northern corn rootworm. To develop the life cycle model, Mitchell and Riedell use temperature-dependent development and age-dependent advancement to determine adult population dynamics and oviposition. They also use a simple stochastic hatch and density-dependent larval survival model to determine adult emergence. Mitchell and Riedell then evaluate the long-run performance of the model by using stochastically generated daily air and soil temperatures for 100-year simulations for a variety of corn planting and flowering dates in Ithaca, NY, and Brookings, SD. After correcting for a bias in oviposition, they show that the model's predictions for both locations are consistent with anecdotal field data.
Insider trading with correlation between liquidity trading and a public signal

We analyse a Kyle-type continuous-time market model in which liquidity trading is correlated with a noisy public signal that is released continuously. We show that, in contrast to the previous literature, Kyle's λ, the price sensitivity to the order flow, can even be non-monotonic, depending on the correlation structure. We also show that the introduction of an additional public signal does not necessarily improve the informational efficiency of the market, depending on the correlation.
Goal Management, Management Reform, and Affective Organizational Commitment in the Public Sector

ABSTRACT This article addresses the long-standing and ever-relevant issue of goal-related management in public organizations and its impact on employees’ affective commitment to their organization. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the analysis explores the importance of goal-related predictors—organizational goal ambiguity, leader goal support, goal difficulty, and collaborative goal setting—for public employees’ affective organizational commitment. In addition, we examine the moderating effects of management reform in the Swiss federal government. The analyses indicate that collective perceptions of goal ambiguity and collaborative goal setting diminish organizational commitment, while employees’ perceptions of leader goal support and goal difficulty enhance the criterion variable. Furthermore, management reforms moderate the influences of leader goal support and goal difficulty on affective organizational commitment. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusion.
Moesin is a possible target molecule for cytomegalovirus-related Guillain-Barré syndrome

Objective: Previous histochemical studies in the demyelinating form of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), have shown complement deposition on the surface of Schwann cells, and therefore unknown epitopes would be present on the outer surface of Schwann cells. Methods: We used a proteomic-based approach to search for the target molecules of AIDP in the extracted proteins from schwannoma cells. Sera were obtained from 40 patients with GBS, 31 controls with inflammatory disease, and 46 normal controls. Results: We found that patients with AIDP after cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection have serum autoantibodies against membrane-organizing extension spike protein (moesin), which is expressed in the Schwann cell processes at the nodes of Ranvier and is crucial for myelination. Of the 40 patients with GBS, 6 had recent CMV infection and 5 of them (83%) had high levels of serum immunoglobulin G antibodies against moesin. The anti-moesin antibodies were found in none of the control subjects with disease including 5 with CMV infection but no neuropathy, and only 2 (4%) of the 46 normal control subjects. Immunocytochemistry showed that moesin was stained at the distal tips of schwannoma cells by sera from the patients with CMV-related AIDP but not by sera from controls. Conclusion: Moesin is a possible immunologic target molecule of pathogenic autoantibodies in patients with CMV-related AIDP. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class II evidence that levels of serum anti-moesin antibodies accurately distinguishes CMV-related AIDP from non–CMV-related AIDP (sensitivity 83%, specificity 93%).