Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voices in the social construction of bullying at work: exploring multiple realities in further and higher education

Further and higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) have undergone radical change programs largely as a result of government policy and the opening up of these sectors to increased levels of competition. The speed with which these enforced changes have taken place have led to claims of bullying and 'macho-management' inside institutions by a range of different commentators including the news media and trade unions. In exploring the link between the accounts of bullying portrayed by the media and trade unions, this paper reports how a study of university and college lecturers reveals a marginal role for these moral agents of bullying in the social construction process. In exploring the relationship between information on bullying and respondents experiences of bullying, this paper illustrates that it is work colleagues who are the strongest constituent in the social construction process. It appears that work colleagues play a critical role with the identification of being bullied, as well as with the possible causes of bullying and are central to the generation of both meanings and labels for workplace bullying.
Image restoration through regularization based on error energy minimization

Image restoration has been an important field of image processing for decades. Various methods of restoration have been studied. Meanwhile, regularization presents a very general methodology for image restoration. However, more regularization will remove more noise but will also lose more image detail, and vice versa. In this article, a novel image restoration algorithm is presented, which is derived from regularization by minimizing error energy of noise and ring artifact. Thus, this proposed algorithm is not only immune to noise but also ringing artifact, where a designed high‐pass filter is used in the algorithm proposed here such as the difference of a delta function and a blurring function or an edge operator like a Laplacian operator. This proposed algorithm can achieve high‐resolution images by being implemented with a 1D noiseless signal to reveal its ability of generating high frequencies beyond the diffraction limit and with a 2D computer‐generated noisy image to show the ability of being immune to noise as well as with a 94‐GHz millimeter‐wave image to validate its reliability. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 20, 308–315, 2010
Iron and zinc status of young women aged 14 to 19 years consuming vegetarian and omnivorous diets.

OBJECTIVE To assess the iron and zinc status of young females, aged 14 to 19 years, consuming vegetarian and omnivorous diets. METHODS Dietary intakes (via 3-day weighed food records), BMI, and laboratory indices of iron and zinc status were compared in a convenience sample of 79 lacto-ovo-vegetarians (LOV), 16 semi-vegetarians (SV), and 29 omnivorous (OM) females. RESULTS Twenty-nine percent LOV, 44% SV, and 17% OM had low iron stores (i.e., plasma ferritin < 12 micrograms/L); only 3% had anemia. As well, 24% LOV, 33% SV, and 18% OM had serum zinc < 10.71 mumol/L and 14% LOV, 14% SV, and 17% OM had hair zinc < 1.68 mumol/g. Intakes of iron and ascorbic acid from the weighed food records were associated with serum iron (p < 0.04) and total iron binding capacity (negatively; p < 0.02), respectively, whereas Phy:Zn molar ratios were associated with serum zinc (negatively; p < 0.04). Z-scores for BMI were associated with serum zinc (p < 0.02) and diet type (p < 0.001); serum AP activity was associated with age (p < 0.0001) and oral contraceptive use (p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Suboptimal iron and zinc status was attributed to low intakes of poorly available iron and zinc in all dietary groups.
Basic fibroblast growth factor regulates IGF‐I binding proteins in the clonal osteoblastic cell line MC3T3‐E1

In previous studies, we reported that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) regulates insulin‐like growth factor messenger RNAs and protein levels in the osteoblastic MC3T3‐E1 cells. In the present study, we examined the expression of insulin‐like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) in MC3T3‐E1 cells and determined whether bFGF altered IGFBP mRNAs and protein levels. Since previous studies suggested that IGFBPs can inhibit DNA synthesis stimulated by IGF‐I, we wondered whether the mitogenic effect of bFGF was altered by exogenous IGFBP‐3. Confluent MC3T3‐E1 cells were serum‐deprived for 24 h and then treated with bFGF for 6–24 h. In control cultures, MC3T3‐E1 cells expressed the mRNAs for IGF‐I, IGF‐II, and IGFBP‐2, 4, 5, and 6 but not IGFBP‐1 or 3. A 24 h treatment with bFGF at 10−8 M decreased IGF‐I mRNA by 97%, IGF‐II mRNA by 73%, IGFBP‐2 by 64%, IGFBP‐4 by 73%, IGFBP‐5 by 95%, and IGFBP‐6 by 65%. The inhibitory effect of bFGF on IGF‐I and IGFBP mRNA levels was not altered by aphidicolin, an inhibitor of cell replication. bFGF 10 nM decreased IGF‐I levels determined by radioimmunoassay after acidification by 45% and 72% at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Western ligand blot for IGF binding proteins revealed that MC3T3‐E1 cells expressed IGFBPs of 24, 30, and 34 kD. Treatment with bFGF 10−8 M decreased the levels of the 24 and 30 kD band at 24 h but increased the 34 kD band. Western immunoblot revealed that the 24 kD protein was IGFBP‐4 and the 34 kD band was IGFBP‐2. bFGF at 10−9‐10−8 M increased thymidine incorporation into DNA (TdR) in a dose‐dependent manner. When exogenous IGFBP‐3 was added to the cultures there was a significant reduction in DNA synthesis while the mitogenic effect of bFGF was not blocked. In summary, bFGF not only regulates IGF‐I mRNA and protein levels but it also regulates the IGF‐II mRNA and mRNA and protein levels of the IGFBPs expressed in MC3T3‐E1 cells. However, the mitogenic effect of bFGF may be independent of endogenous IGF‐I. These results may be important in understanding the role of bFGF in bone cell function.
Haptic Object Recognition is View-Independent in Early Blind but not Sighted People

Object recognition, whether visual or haptic, is impaired in sighted people when objects are rotated between learning and test, relative to an unrotated condition, that is, recognition is view-dependent. Loss of vision early in life results in greater reliance on haptic perception for object identification compared with the sighted. Therefore, we hypothesized that early blind people may be more adept at recognizing objects despite spatial transformations. To test this hypothesis, we compared early blind and sighted control participants on a haptic object recognition task. Participants studied pairs of unfamiliar three-dimensional objects and performed a two-alternative forced-choice identification task, with the learned objects presented both unrotated and rotated 180° about the y-axis. Rotation impaired the recognition accuracy of sighted, but not blind, participants. We propose that, consistent with our hypothesis, haptic view-independence in the early blind reflects their greater experience with haptic object perception.
Determinants of International Human Resource Management Approaches and Activities: A Suggested Framework*

The following article reports on the results of a qualitative, comparative case study of the management of expatriates by four Australian companies. International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is a field in its infancy and the study aims to contribute to theory-building by examining the IHRM activities of selection, predeparture training, compensation and repatriation in the context of the organization in which these activities take place. The purpose was to extend our understanding of IHRM beyond the descriptive studies of earlier research, though existing knowledge in the area was the starting point. Thus, while the initial focus of the investigation was on the IHRM activities, the use of an exploratory qualitative methodological approach allowed the examination of the process of expatriate management. This approach also assisted in identifying underlying relationships, patterns and trends which could be interpreted as linkages or interrelationships between IHRM activities and other organizational factors, such as stage in internationalization, type of industry, strategy and structure. It was possible to identify linkages between the four major IHRM activities, and what were defined as firm-specific and situation-specific variables. These linkages were then conceptualized into a suggested framework.
Reliability of Non-Expert Observer Estimates of the Magnitude of Marine Reserve Effects

No-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are being implemented for various conservation and fishery management objectives. Well-designed ecological monitoring programs should accompany the implementation of NTMRs to assess their performance against stated objectives. However, monitoring programs often have limited funding and limited access to experienced (“expert”) underwater visual census (UVC) observers. Consequently, use of non-expert, volunteer observers to collect marine ecological data has increased. The need to assess the quality and utility of non-expert data has been acknowledged. Few studies have directly compared expert and non-expert assessments, and these are generally one-point-in-time comparisons. Here we assess the magnitude of NTMR:Non-reserve density ratios for target and non-target reef fish collected in five separate years over a decade (2000–2009) by expert and non-expert observers in the Palm Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Despite variations in methods and resultant differences in absolute fish density estimates, NTMR:Non-reserve density ratio estimates made by experts and non-experts usually differed by 10% or less. Furthermore, estimates of the statistical significance of reserve effects made by experts and non-experts had at least 80% agreement over the decade. The findings support the notion that UVC data collected by trained non-expert observers can provide reliable information on the magnitude of NTMR effects.
Modelling a Way of Life: Immaterial and Affective Labour in the Fashion Modelling Industry

© 2007 ephemera 7(1): 250-269 Modelling a Way of Life articles Elizabeth Wissinger 251 that are more complex and somewhat less obvious than this simple one-to-one equation of consumerism. Theorizing the model as a threshold between the images consumers see of them and the work that goes into producing those images, I describe modelling as work that not only sells products, but also calibrates bodily affects, often in the form of attention, excitement, or interest, so that they may be bought and sold in a circulation of affects that plays an important role in post-industrial economies. This paper sets out to explore affective and immaterial labour using the real world example of fashion modelling. In the first section of this paper, I will elaborate how modelling work conforms to immaterial and affective labour as understood by Maurizio Lazzarato and Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri respectively. Second, I will present a more precise definition of affect, including an explanation of how and when affect is not just emotion, but rather, the condition of emergence of emotions. Finally, I will work through various examples of how modelling work may be used to refine these definitions, especially in terms of how media technologies engage with affectivity at the level of non-subjective flows, in a technical-affective link that modelling work helps to create. Modelling as Immaterial and Affective Labour Looking in from the outside, the job of modelling seems fairly simple. Legally, a professional model is someone who, “performs modelling services for; or consents in writing to the transfer of his or her exclusive legal right to the use of his or her name, portrait, picture or image, for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade”. He or she will transfer the right to their image “directly to a retail store, manufacturer, an advertising agency, a photographer, or a publishing company”. The ‘services’ in question include “the appearance by a professional model in photographic sessions or the engagement of such model in live, filmed or taped modelling performance for remuneration”. In other words, models appear in person, or in photographs, either in advertisements or to promote commercial transactions. What, in particular, makes this labour immaterial and/or affective? According to Maurizio Lazzarato, immaterial labour is labour, which “produces the informational and cultural content of the commodity” (Lazzarato, 1996: 133). With regard to the informational form, the skills used require “cybernetics and computer control” (ibid.), whereas the cultural forms of production involve a “series of activities that are not
Effectiveness of community-based directly observed treatment for tuberculosis in an urban setting in Tanzania: a randomised controlled trial.

SETTING An urban district in Dar es Salaam city with a high tuberculosis (TB) caseload. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of community-based direct observation of treatment (DOT) using guardians and former TB patients compared to hospital-based DOT in an urban setting in Tanzania. DESIGN Unblinded randomised control trial conducted in five sites under operational conditions in Temeke district. No changes to existing treatment delivery were made other than randomisation. The main outcome measure was treatment success. Analysis was by intention to treat. FINDINGS A total of 587 new tuberculosis patients were enrolled. Among enrolled patients, 260 were assigned to community-based DOT using guardians and former TB patients and 327 to health facility-based DOT. Both DOT options gave similar treatment outcomes. Treatment success rate among patients under community and health facility-based DOT were 85% and 83%, respectively (OR 1.17, 95%CI 0.75-1.83). CONCLUSION Community-based DOT is as effective as health facility-based DOT and can achieve good treatment outcomes, even in countries with well functioning National Tuberculosis Programmes.
SPATIALLY RESOLVED STELLAR, DUST, AND GAS PROPERTIES OF THE POST-INTERACTING WHIRLPOOL GALAXY SYSTEM

Using infrared imaging from the Herschel Space Observatory, observed as part of the Very Nearby Galaxies Survey, we investigate the spatially resolved dust properties of the interacting Whirlpool galaxy system (NGC 5194 and NGC 5195), on physical scales of ∼1 kpc. Spectral energy distribution modeling of the new infrared images in combination with archival optical and near- through mid-infrared images confirms that both galaxies underwent a burst of star formation ∼370–480 Myr ago and provides spatially resolved maps of the stellar and dust mass surface densities. The resulting average dust-to-stellar mass ratios are comparable to other spiral and spheroidal galaxies studied with Herschel, with NGC 5194 at log (Mdust/M⋆) = −2.5 ± 0.2 and NGC 5195 at log (Mdust/M⋆) = −3.5 ± 0.3. The dust-to-stellar mass ratio is constant across NGC 5194 suggesting the stellar and dust components are coupled. In contrast, the mass ratio increases with radius in NGC 5195 with decreasing stellar mass density. Archival mass surface density maps of the neutral and molecular hydrogen gas are also folded into our analysis, revealing a fairly constant gas-to-dust mass ratio, 94 ± 17 across the system. Somewhat surprisingly, we find the dust in NGC 5195 is heated by a strong interstellar radiation field (ISRF), over 20 times that of the ISRF in the Milky Way, resulting in relatively high characteristic dust temperatures (∼30 K). This post-starburst galaxy contains a substantial amount of low-density molecular gas and displays a gas-to-dust ratio (73 ± 35) similar to spiral galaxies. It is unclear why the dust in NGC 5195 is heated to such high temperatures as there is no star formation in the galaxy and its active galactic nucleus is 5–10 times less luminous than the one in NGC 5194, which exhibits only a modest enhancement in the amplitude of its ISRF.
Wage trends and policies in China: dynamics and contradictions

This article considers the central dilemmas of wage policies in state socialist economies. It reviews the pre-1978 Chinese low-wage and high employment policy and details the development of Chinese wage policies during the 1980s. The dynamics and contradictions which have resulted in inflation, declining labour productivity, falling real wages and social tensions are analysed.
An exploration of small firm psychological contracts

It is argued here that more sophisticated frameworks of analysis than currently exist are required to support deeper understanding of small firm employment relationships. A psychological contract framework is adopted, presenting data on three small firm case studies and contrasting this with existing perspectives on small firm employment relationships. The degree of heterogeneity demonstrated in employment relationships in the small firm sector leads to the argument that a single typology of `small firm' employment relationships is not possible. While small firms may differ in nature to large firms, there is a range of forces in so heterogeneous a sector that go to create employment relationships and a narrow framework, especially one predicated upon notions of size, will not adequately reflect the complexities of the relationships under consideration. A broader, less deterministic, framework such as the psychological contract supports the development of more nuanced understandings of small firm employment relationships.
Socio-Economic Influences of E-Commerce Adoption

Abstract The adoption of Internet and e-commerce has rapidly spread across the world. Most countries, especially in the developing nations category, are making substantial investments in raising IT infrastructure, building a strong telecommunications infrastructure, promoting Internet and e-commerce adoption in businesses, government, and various communities. As electronic commerce grows and its benefits realized, important socio-economic affects are likely to emerge. This paper proposes a framework for investigating the socio-economic influences of e-commerce adoption. The proposed framework is illustrated by considering the adoption of Internet and e- commerce in India.
Culture of Family Commitment and Strategic Flexibility: The Moderating Effect of Stewardship

The ability of family firms to identify and respond to changes in their external environments can be a key source of competitive advantage leading to success and survival. Some research, however, has suggested family firms are conservative and often lack the ability to adapt to their changing competitive environments. Using data from 248 family firms, we found a family firm's culture of commitment to the business is positively associated with its strategic flexibility—the ability to pursue new opportunities and respond to threats in the competitive environment. Further, we found stewardship–oriented organizational culture positively moderated the family commitment–strategic flexibility relationship.
The Openness of Knowledge Sharing within Organizations: A Comparative Study of the United States and the People's Republic of China

This study examines empirically the interaction effects of national culture and contextual factors (nature of the knowledge and the relationship between the knowledge sharer and recipient) on employees' tendency to share knowledge with co‐workers. Quantitative and open‐ended responses to two scenarios were collected from 142 managers (104 from the U.S. and 38 from the People's Republic of China). These two nations were selected due to their divergence on salient aspects of national culture, as well as their global political and economic importance. The focus on interaction effects was aimed at providing a more powerful test of culture's effects than simple comparisons of means typical of prior related research. Consistent with culture‐based expectation, the quantitative results indicated that Chinese vs. U.S. nationals' openness of knowledge sharing was related to their different degrees of collectivism—the relative emphasis on self vs. collective interests—as well as whether knowledge sharing involved a .
Can the baseline search and matching model quantitatively explain Okun’s law?

Okun’s Law is an empirically observed, negative relationship between changes in an economy’s unemployment rate and its growth rate of output. The baseline search and matching model with stochastic labour productivity fails to match the Okun’s coefficient, because it generates a too low unemployment volatility and a too high correlation between labour productivity and unemployment. The model is capable of matching the coefficient if it is extended with an addition of employment separation shocks plus a high calibrated value of nonmarket activities. This article also shows that changes in the stochastic properties of exogenous shocks could explain changes in the Okun’s coefficient in the Great Moderation (1984–2007).
Expatriate skills training strategies of Chinese multinationals operating in Australia

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenal growth in outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Chinese multinationals. In contrast to their developed country counterparts, Chinese multinationals lack experience in foreign expansion and international operation. Although there has been increasing academic attention placed on Chinese outward FDI, little research on expatriate skills training of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) has been conducted. Since the mainstream research focuses on expatriate pre-departure training rather than on learning during assignment, this study aims to bridge this gap by exploring how Chinese MNEs cope with expatriate training and skill enhancement when operating in an advanced economy such as Australia. The study utilises cross-level, in-depth interviews to analyse expatriate training in seven Chinese multinationals. Drawing on social learning theory, some patterns of Chinese expatriate skills training strategies are revealed, such as internationalisation as learning, the use of subsidiaries as a training tool, and learning as belonging.
The impact of government spending on poverty reduction: Evidence from Pakistan 1972 to 2008

This study aims at assessing the impact of government spending in various sectors of the economy on poverty reduction. Time series annual data for the period 1972 to 2008 has been used for analyzing the long-run impact of government spending in education, health, economic and community services, budget deficit and law and order on poverty reduction by using recent econometric development. The results show that government spending on education and law and order significantly contribute to poverty reduction while government spending on budget deficit and economic and community services appeared to be responsible for poverty in Pakistan. The study reveals that government spending in health sector does not have significant impact on poverty reduction. The study recommends that Government of Pakistan should allocate more resources towards education and health sector for the development of human capital. There is a need to reform government institutions like police, judiciary, civil services that may help in reducing poverty. Furthermore government should cut down its wasteful non-development expenditure financed through domestic and foreign borrowing and allocate more resources for developing education, health and infrastructure sectors of the economy. Key words: Government spending, poverty, education, budget deficit, cointegration.