Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The paradox of the education race: how to win the ranking game by sailing to headwind

In this article, we experiment with the idea of combining path dependency, convergence and contingency in explaining Finnish distinctiveness in education policy and politics since the early 1990s. The focus of this article is on quality assurance and evaluation (QAE) in comprehensive schooling. We elaborate on and contextualise the Finnish QAE model by analysing the particular and somewhat ambiguous ways in which global QAE practices have – or have not – been received and mediated in Finland.
Context affects nestmate recognition errors in honey bees and stingless bees

SUMMARY Nestmate recognition studies, where a discriminator first recognises and then behaviourally discriminates (accepts/rejects) another individual, have used a variety of methodologies and contexts. This is potentially problematic because recognition errors in discrimination behaviour are predicted to be context-dependent. Here we compare the recognition decisions (accept/reject) of discriminators in two eusocial bees, Apis mellifera and Tetragonisca angustula, under different contexts. These contexts include natural guards at the hive entrance (control); natural guards held in plastic test arenas away from the hive entrance that vary either in the presence or absence of colony odour or the presence or absence of an additional nestmate discriminator; and, for the honey bee, the inside of the nest. For both honey bee and stingless bee guards, total recognition errors of behavioural discrimination made by guards (% nestmates rejected + % non-nestmates accepted) are much lower at the colony entrance (honey bee: 30.9%; stingless bee: 33.3%) than in the test arenas (honey bee: 60–86%; stingless bee: 61–81%; P<0.001 for both). Within the test arenas, the presence of colony odour specifically reduced the total recognition errors in honey bees, although this reduction still fell short of bringing error levels down to what was found at the colony entrance. Lastly, in honey bees, the data show that the in-nest collective behavioural discrimination by ca. 30 workers that contact an intruder is insufficient to achieve error-free recognition and is not as effective as the discrimination by guards at the entrance. Overall, these data demonstrate that context is a significant factor in a discriminators' ability to make appropriate recognition decisions, and should be considered when designing recognition study methodologies.
The Determinants of the Career Choice of International Students in South Africa

The primary objective of the study was to determine the factors that influence the career choice of international students in South Africa. The study used the quantitative research approach and a descriptive research design. Data for the research was gathered through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. The participants in the survey were international students pursuing business related courses at two universities located in the Limpopo and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to collect data from seventy five respondents. The results indicated that there are multiple influences on the career choice of international students. The most important determinants of the career choice of international students pursuing business courses are the interest in the course, the prestige of the course, the prospect of well-paying jobs, bright future prospects, and the influence of job opportunities, the influence of parents and the subjects passed at Matric or equivalent level. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n23p668
An industry betrayed: the case of total quality management in manufacturing

Notes that researchers have cited various reasons for the high failure rate of total quality management (TQM) in manufacturing organisations and asks – is TQM a wonderful philosophy or a disaster that was allowed to happen? Based on empirical case study material, this article considers the experience of a real manufacturing company which introduced TQM, with the assistance of an external firm of management consultants. The state of the company at the outset of the TQM initiative and the rationale which led it to go down the TQM road are examined. Considers the way in which the company sought to implement the tenets of TQM, the effect that the approach generated and its longer‐term consequences. Further it will seek to elucidate why, in this instance, the TQM initiative, and with it the company, failed to survive in a competitive business environment. Finally, develops guidelines applicable to TQM implementation in companies which turn to that approach as a panacea for all their ills.
Resident Well-Being in Conservation Resettlement: The Case of Padampur in the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Studies of forced resettlement during the creation and maintenance of national parks and protected areas have found negative socioeconomic consequences for human well-being. We investigated residents' social and economic well-being following a citizen-initiated resettlement program in Padampur, Nepal. We found a difference between voluntary and forced resettlement respondents in overall satisfaction as well as evaluation of land quality and employment factors. However, there was no difference in their evaluation of land ownership, housing, physical infrastructure, health, social ties, and support services as having positive outcomes. Most respondents reported being socially and economically better off in the new location. In the future, economic status, food and nutrition, and marginalization of some groups could potentially reduce satisfaction. We suggest that future conservation-related resettlement consider lessons from the Padampur model.
Do point prevalence and prolonged abstinence measures produce similar results in smoking cessation studies? A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Many smoking cessation trials report either prolonged abstinence (PA) rates (i.e., not smoking since a quit date, with or without a grace period) or point prevalence (PP) abstinence rates (i.e., no smoking one or more days prior to the follow-up), but how these two relate is unclear. METHODS We located 28 pharmacotherapy trials that provided 76 within-study comparisons of PA versus PP. The first two authors independently coded all trials. RESULTS The two measures were highly correlated (r = .88) and PA averaged 0.74 that of PP. Equations for converting PP to PA and vice versa produced estimations that, in 90% of cases, were within 4%-5% of actual PP or PA values. The odds ratio and the relative risk for active versus control were identical when PA and PP were used; however, the difference in proportion abstinent for active versus control was somewhat less when PA was used than when PP was used (8% vs. 10%). DISCUSSION We conclude that PA and PP are closely related and can be interconverted with moderate accuracy. They also produce similar effect sizes when odds ratio and relative risk are used as effect sizes. When absolute difference in percent abstinent is used as an effect size, PA produces a smaller effect size than PP. We believe trials should continue to report both PA and PP outcomes to enhance comparisons across studies.
The effect of early interceptive treatment in children with posterior cross-bite.

To evaluate the results of interceptive treatment in the deciduous and early mixed dentition in children with posterior cross-bite in contrast to non-treatment, 86 four-year-old children with posterior cross-bite were selected from a total of 1046 children (9.6%). Half of the children with posterior cross-bite were treated early, starting at 5 years of age with grinding and, in the event of unsatisfactory results, expansion plates. The other half of the children were not treated until the age of 13. Another 25 children with excellent occlusion were included in the study as controls. All the children were followed to the age of 13 with five registrations at different ages. The registrations comprised clinical examination, impressions for dental casts, radio-graphic examination and photographs. Due to removal from the town or lack of interest some children were lost to follow-up. Thus, 61 children and 25 controls were included in the 8-year longitudinal follow-up. Of the 33 children treated early, only 9 showed correction of the cross-bite after grinding treatment. The subsequent interceptive treatment with expansion plates resulted in correction of the cross-bite in a further 17 children. Of the 28 children where no corrective treatment had been performed during the observation period, 6 showed spontaneous correction of the cross-bite. Four children in the control group developed cross-bite. It is, therefore, recommended to start treatment of posterior cross-bite by grinding in the deciduous dentition. If there is no effect, an orthodontic appliance, preferably fixed, should be applied in the early mixed dentition.
Consumption and Liquidity Constraints: An Empirical Investigation

Several recent studies have suggested that empirical rejections of the permanent income/life cycle model might be due to the existence of liquidity constraints. This paper tests the permanent income hypothesis against the alternative hypothesis that consumers optimize subject to a well-specified sequence of borrowing constraints. Implications for consumption in the presence of borrowing constraints are derived and then tested using time-series/cross-section data on families from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The results generally support the hypothesis that an inability to borrow against future labor income affects the consumption of a significant portion of the population.
Regulation of Brown Adipose Tissue Activity by Interoceptive CNS Pathways: The interaction between Brain and Periphery

To maintain thermal homeostasis, specific thermogenic tissues are under the control of central thermoregulatory networks that regulate the body's response to thermal challenges. One of these mechanisms involves non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT), which is activated in cold environments in order to defend the body against physical damage as a result of hypothermia. The objective of our study was to assess the interaction between CNS thermoregulatory pathways and sympathetic innervation in BAT during a cold exposure paradigm. Our results show that an innocuous whole-body cooling paradigm induces significant differences in fMRI BOLD signal at the location of the right anterior insula and the red nucleus/substantia nigra region, between lean subjects with high levels of sympathetic innervation in supraclavicular BAT (BAT+ group), and subjects with low levels of sympathetic innervation (BAT− group). Specifically, results indicate significantly larger fMRI BOLD signal changes between periods of cooling and warming of the skin in the BAT+ (as compared to BAT−) group at the location of the right anterior insula. In contrast, the BAT+ group showed significantly smaller fMRI BOLD signal changes in the midbrain between periods of skin cooling and warming. Our findings are consistent with a hierarchical thermoregulatory control system that involves the initiation of inhibitory signals from the right anterior insula toward midbrain areas that normally exert tonic inhibition on the medullary raphe, from where BAT is directly innervated. Our data suggests that exposure to cold elicits differential neuronal activity in interoceptive regulatory centers of subjects with high and low level of sympathetic innervation. As a result, the variability of cold-activated BAT mass observed in humans might be, in part, yoked to different sensitivities of interoceptive cortical brain areas to skin temperature changes.
Career progression in older managers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what drives UK managers aged over 50 to continue progressing in their careers rather than retiring, and their perceptions of career progression at a time in life when opportunities for further promotion may have ceased. It examines subjectively significant personal and organizational influences on career progression and the extent to which older managers perceive that motivation for career progression changes over the career.Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts a qualitative, inductive approach, comprising semi‐structured interviews with 27 male and 13 female managers, aged 50 and over, from two large, UK financial services organizations.Findings – The findings show that motivation for career progression in managers aged over 50 is driven by individually diverse patterns of career drivers, personal and work‐related influences, and attitudes towards career opportunities. These can be classified into four different orientations towards future ca.
In Times of Uncertainty in the Hotel Industry: Hotel Directors' Decision‐Making and Coping Strategies for Dealing with Uncertainty in Change Activities

This paper is based on an exploratory case study of 12 hotel directors from Copenhagen, Denmark. The study investigates their perceived uncertainty in terms of decision‐making during change processes with the aim of evaluating whether hotel directors take advantage of uncertainty to promote creativity and innovation in their change activities as a means of business development. It investigates which change activities hotel directors perceive as highly or less uncertain, and why and how they address uncertainties strategically. The findings of the study suggest that hotel directors do not benefit from uncertainty in order to develop competitive advantages. They employ traditional strategic approaches that apparently seem to reduce uncertainty by means of planning, sticking to procedures and routines and postponing decisions until they feel sure about them.
Aging and Primate Male Sexual Behavior

Summary Old male rhesus macaques display less sexual behavior than young and middle-aged males. The decrease in sexual activity occurs without a statistically significant decline in gonadal hormones or change in diurnal patterns of serum T, DHT, or LH. Levels of sexual activity are not increased by administering T to old intact males. However, the hormone is effective in increasing sexual behavior in old long-term-castrated males. Performance can be increased to levels observed in equally old untreated intact males. Readily detectable physical disabilities of old age have been observed to impair sexual performance, but the observed general decline in sexual activity cannot be accounted for by known physical disabilities. Novelty, as represented by a change in female partner or by a change in environment, has not increased sexual performance in old rhesus males. Only when old males were paired with empirically selected preferred females is their sexual behavior increased to levels displayed by young males. Drugs reported to increase levels of sexual behavior in rats have thus far been less effective in old rhesus males than powdered rhinoceros horn has been in man. The probable absence of a placebo effect in rhesus males should increase their usefulness as an animal model for the study of sexual behavior in aging men.
The bonus pool, mark to market and free cash flow: producer surplus and its vesting in the financial markets

Regulatory proposals that seek to limit or govern finance industry bonuses in the interests of systemic stability need to be grounded in the financial economics of producer surplus and its distribution. In this respect, existing treatments of economic agency in justifying large bonus awards are content to accept accounting Profit and Loss (P&L) numbers as a basis for the managerial bonus pool. We argue that managerial bonuses and shareholder dividends should be treated more symmetrically, and constrained by free cash flow criteria that capture producer surplus created by genuine managerial ability. Priority rules should apply, such that fair market value is a compensation for shareholder risk bearing and not a source of managerial surplus. The use of free cash flow conversion ratios neutralises the free option problem that has become a social irritant in public bailouts.
Toxicity and induction of resistance to Listeria monocytogenes infection by amphotericin B in inbred strains of mice

Amphotericin B (AmB) treatment before infection with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes prolonged survival of AKR mice but shortened survival of C57BL/6 mice compared with survival of untreated infected controls. C57BL/6 mice were also more sensitive to the acute toxic effects of AmB than AKR mice, as were (C57BL/6 X AKR)F1 hybrid mice. Spleen cells and erythrocytes (RBCs) from the C57BL/6 and the F1 hybrid mice were both more sensitive to the lytic and lethal effects of AmB than corresponding cells from AKR mice. Biochemical analysis indicated that catalase levels in RBCs from C57BL/6 and F1 hybrid mice were about 60% of those found in RBCs from AKR mice. The lysis by AmB of RBCs from all these strains of mice was inhibited by catalase or incubation in a low-oxygen environment. These findings suggest that (i) the low catalase levels in C57BL/6 and F1 hybrid mice may limit the protection of cells from the oxidant damage involved in AmB action, and (ii) the toxicity which occurs at low concentrations of AmB in the mouse strains with low intracellular catalase levels may interfere with or ablate the AmB-induced increases in mouse resistance to L. monocytogenes infection.
Atopic eczema in a multiracial country (Malaysia)

A total of 14342 patients with skin diseases who had attended either the National University of Malaysia skin clinic or a private dermatological office were analysed. Five hundred and thirty‐four cases (3·7%) had a topic eczema, the prevalence being highest among the Malays (4·3%). The prevalence of atopic eczema among clinic attenders is lower in all three major Malaysian races when compared with studies from England.
Metagenomic detection of phage-encoded platelet-binding factors in the human oral cavity

The human oropharynx is a reservoir for many potential pathogens, including streptococcal species that cause endocarditis. Although oropharyngeal microbes have been well described, viral communities are essentially uncharacterized. We conducted a metagenomic study to determine the composition of oropharyngeal DNA viral communities (both phage and eukaryotic viruses) in healthy individuals and to evaluate oropharyngeal swabs as a rapid method for viral detection. Viral DNA was extracted from 19 pooled oropharyngeal swabs and sequenced. Viral communities consisted almost exclusively of phage, and complete genomes of several phage were recovered, including Escherichia coli phage T3, Propionibacterium acnes phage PA6, and Streptococcus mitis phage SM1. Phage relative abundances changed dramatically depending on whether samples were chloroform treated or filtered to remove microbial contamination. pblA and pblB genes of phage SM1 were detected in the metagenomes. pblA and pblB mediate the attachment of S. mitis to platelets and play a significant role in S. mitis virulence in the endocardium, but have never previously been detected in the oral cavity. These genes were also identified in salivary metagenomes from three individuals at three time points and in individual saliva samples by PCR. Additionally, we demonstrate that phage SM1 can be induced by commonly ingested substances. Our results indicate that the oral cavity is a reservoir for pblA and pblB genes and for phage SM1 itself. Further studies will determine the association between pblA and pblB genes in the oral cavity and the risk of endocarditis.
Impacts of environmental turbulence on entrepreneurial orientation and new product success

Purpose – What leads to new product success (NPS) is a very complex issue. Although prior research widely demonstrates that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a determinant for NPS and environmental turbulence is a form of unpredictability which impacts on the success of a product, little research has been conducted to examine if and to what extent environmental turbulence induces the EO behaviors of a firm and how these behaviors contribute to NPS. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study, which used data collected from 244 China-based electronics manufacturers, proposed and tested the theoretical relationships among the three constructs in the context of the electronics industry in China. Findings – Results revealed that the three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking) drive NPS. Environmental turbulence strongly influenced all three dimensions of EO, though its influence on NPS was mixed as there existed a strong negative but insignific.
Susceptibility of Legionella pneumophila to twenty antimicrobial agents

Thirty-three isolates of Legionella pneumophila, all except one of which were clinical isolates, were tested against 20 antimicrobial agents by using an agar dilution technique. Erythromycin, rifamp]in, and rosaramycin were the most active agents tested. Aminoglycosides, chloramphenicol, and cefoxitin also inhibited the organisms at low concentrations. Other agents, including moxalactam, cefoperazone, and cephalosporins, exhibited moderate to little activity. Tetracycline, doxycycline and minocyeline were apparently inactivated by charcoal-yeast extract medium. There was slight inoculum dependence noted with most of the antimicrobials tested, particularly the beta-lactam agents. There was no consistent difference in susceptibility between Center for Disease Control-supplied stock strains and recent clinical isolates, but there were marked differences with some agents. Susceptibility testing needs to be standardized in view of the influence of inoculum size, strain variation, and the medium used.
Form, content, and function: An evaluative methodology for corporate employment web sites

The current article reports the findings from two qualitative analyses of organizational Web sites drawn from two years of Fortune's list of “Best Companies to Work For. ” The results of these analyses provide a snapshot of online employment recruitment practices at two periods in time and supplied data for a classification procedure used to develop an evaluative methodology for assessing the impact of Web sites on job-seeker perceptions. The subsequent analysis provides insight about how the form, content, and function of employment Web sites affect job-seeker employment-pursuit decisions. Trends identified in this research also provide guidance for future research and practice in the area of employment Web-site strategy and design. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
TECHY LOLOS AND LOLAS GO ONLINE: FILIPINO SENIOR CITIZENS’ USE OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide qualitative data on how senior citizens (SC) use their online social networks. The ages of the SCs in this study range from 60 to 78 years old. Survey forms were given to 40 senior citizens. From the same sample, 20 participated in focused interviews. The data characterized the social networking of SCs based on important discussion points on identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, credibility, and participation which are identified by James, et al. (2009) in their empirical study on New Digital Media ethics. Keywords: senior citizens, social networks, new media
Access to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services among Women Receiving Welfare in Detroit

Provision of social services that can help welfare recipients overcome barriers to employment has become an important challenge for welfare-to-work programs, yet there is relatively little understanding of how spatial proximity to social services varies across welfare recipients in urban America. In this study, the authors examine the spatial proximity of welfare recipients in the three-county Detroit metropolitan area to mental health and substance abuse service providers. They find that spatial proximity to mental health services varies by geography and race among welfare recipients in Detroit, with evidence indicating that spatial trends in service accessibility are shifting in favor of suburban areas.