Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between human resource management and organizational effectiveness in non-profit sport organizations : a multi-level approach

Non-profit organizations are increasingly concerned with the effectiveness of their organizations. As limits are imposed, administrators must make the most effective use o f the resources at their disposal. The connection between human resource management (HRM) practices and firm performance has been well established in a variety o f for profit settings. Although some work related to sport has been conducted, Doherty (1998) suggested that much work remains including the investigation of more practices and more levels of analysis. The purposes of this study were to propose a model describing the critical pathways for the relationship between HRM system sophistication and organizational effectiveness and to test this model in a specific setting: NCAA Division in athletic departments. A cluster random sample o f 1702 coaches and 100 Athletic directors were asked to complete the questionnaires. A total o f47 (47%) athletic director and 393 (22%) usable coach responses were received. The coaching questionnaire contained a previously developed satisfaction scale, and a modification of Meyer and Allen’s (1991) affective commitment scale. The athletic director questionnaire contained a modification of Huselid and Becker’s (1998) High Performance Work Practices Index. Organizational effectiveness was assessed in terms o f athletic achievement (Sears Cup points) and academic achievement (graduation rates). ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ANOVA and MANOVA were utilized to examine the relationship between HRM sophistication groups and individual, group, and organizational-level outcomes. Results supported previous findings in that HRM sophistication was related to athletic achievement at the organizational level. It was not, however, related to academic achievement. Furthermore, HRM grouping was not significantly related to individuallevel outcomes. Within and between analysis showed that athletic departments could be conceptualized as “parts” or heterogeneous groups. Using the departmental averages for outcome variables, MANOVA results revealed that HRM sophistication was not significantly related to group-level outcomes. Multiple regression analysis indicated that both individual and group outcomes explained a very small, but significant amount of variance in organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, the relationship between attitudes and athletic achievement was completely mediated by performance at both the individual and group level. The discussion presents both practical and research implications from the findings as well as limitations and directions for future research.
Clinical user experiences of observation and response charts: focus group findings of using a new format chart incorporating a track and trigger system

Background Optimising clinical responses to deteriorating patients is an international indicator of acute healthcare quality. Observation charts incorporating track and trigger systems are an initiative to improve early identification and response to clinical deterioration. A suite of track and trigger ‘Observation and Response Charts’ were designed in Australia and initially tested in simulated environments. This paper reports initial clinical user experiences and views following implementation of these charts in adult general medical-surgical wards. Methods Across eight trial sites, 44 focus groups were conducted with 218 clinical ward staff, mostly nurses, who received training and had used the charts in routine clinical practice for the preceding 2–6 weeks. Transcripts of audio recordings were analysed for emergent themes using an inductive approach. Findings In this exploration of initial user experiences, key emergent themes were: tensions between vital sign ‘ranges versus precision’ to support decision making; using a standardised ‘generalist chart in a range of specialist practice’ areas; issues of ‘clinical credibility’, ‘professional autonomy’ and ‘influences of doctors’ when communicating abnormal signs; and ‘permission and autonomy’ when escalating care according to the protocol. Across themes, participants presented a range of positive, negative or mixed views. Benefits were identified despite charts not always being used up to their optimal design function. Participants reported tensions between chart objectives and clinical practices, revealing mismatches between design characteristics and human staff experiences. Overall, an initial view of ‘increased activity/uncertain benefit’ was uncovered. Conclusions Findings particularly reinforced the significant influences of organisational work-based cultures, disciplinary boundaries and interdisciplinary communication on implementation of this new practice chart. Optimal use of all chart design characteristics will be possible when these broader cultural issues are addressed.
Linear and Nonlinear Dependence Models of Stock Market Returns

The main objective of this paper is to assess how mutual information as a measure of global dependence between stock markets and macroeconomic factors can overcome some of the weaknesses of the traditional linear approaches commonly used in this context. One of the advantages of mutual information is that it does not require any prior assumption regarding the specification of a theoretical probability distribution or the specification of the dependence model. This study focuses on the Portuguese stock market where we evaluate the relevance of the macroeconomic and financial variables as determinants of the stock prices behaviour.
HOW TO MEASURE HUMAN PERCEPTION IN SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of multiple-choice method, ranking method, rating method and the application of Analytic Hierarchy Process in measuring human perception. The AHP not only clearly identifies the most important alternative but also the preference for each alternative by each decision maker. Therefore, using AHP to analyze the decision-making process may result in a precise clarification of preference for alternatives. Based on survey researches on social issues, the results offered some evidence that the application of the AHP was superior to traditional questionnaire methods in representing human perceptions. http://dx.doi. org/10.13033/ijahp.v1i2. 31
Racial Disparities in Treatment Preferences for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background:Data suggest that differences in patient preferences may account for racial disparities in the use of medical interventions. Racial disparities have also been noted in outcomes and the delivery of healthcare services in chronic disease. Whether treatment preferences in chronic disease differ by race is not known. Methods:We elicited treatment preferences for aggressive therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who identified themselves as being black or white. Results:One hundred fifty consecutive eligible patients were invited to participate. Of these, 136 subjects completed the interview. In unadjusted analysis, 51% of white participants preferred aggressive therapy compared with 16% of blacks (P < 0.0001). Subjects who were married and reported having at least some college education had stronger preferences for aggressive therapy compared with their respective counterparts. After adjusting for covariates, race remained the strongest predictor of aggressive therapy examined in this study [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 11.2 (1.9–64.9)]. Conclusions:In this study, fewer black patients preferred aggressive treatment compared with white patients with similar disease severity. These results have important clinical implications because use of aggressive treatment improves both short- and long-term outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. Efforts to improve patient education and physician communication should be made to ensure that all patients have an accurate understanding of the benefits, as well as risks, associated with the best available treatment options.
Ethics of liver transplantation with living donors.

Discussion sur les problemes d'ethique poses par la transplantation d'un lobe hepatique de donneur vivant (generalement un parent) chez un enfant atteint d'insuffisance hepatique a un stade avance mais non critique. Proposition d'un protocole permettant une selection et un consentement libres
Aid, Structural Change and the Private Sector in Africa

This paper argues that official development assistance (foreign aid) is partly responsible for the lack of structural change in Africa. Africa’s development partners have devoted too few resources and too little attention to two critical constraints to private investment, infrastructure and skills, focusing instead on easily understood, but potentially low impact regulatory reforms. A new aid strategy, one that catalyses private investment in high value added sectors, is needed. Support for strategic interventions to push nontraditional exports, support industrial agglomerations, build firm capabilities, and strengthen regional integration should anchor a new donor agenda to create good jobs and sustain growth.
Medical Malpractice in Public Healthcare Systems: An Empirical Investigation of Scheduled Damages

In the last decades, medical malpractice has been framed as one of the most critical issues for healthcare providers and health policy, holding a central role on both the policy agenda and public debate. The Law and Economics literature has devoted much attention to medical malpractice and to the investigation of the impact of malpractice reforms. Nonetheless, some reforms have been much less empirically studied as in the case of schedules, and their effects remain highly debated. The present work seeks to contribute to the study of medical malpractice and of schedules of noneconomic damages in a civil law country with a public national health system, using Italy as case study. Besides considering schedules and exploiting a quasi-experimental setting, the novelty of our contribution consists in the inclusion of the performance of the judiciary (measured as courts’ civil backlog) in the empirical analysis. The empirical analysis is twofold. First, it investigates how limiting compensations for pain and suffering through schedules impacts on the malpractice insurance market in terms of presence of private insurers and of premiums applied. Second, it examines whether, and to what extent, healthcare providers react to the implementation of this policy in terms of both levels and composition of the medical treatments offered. Our findings show that the introduction of schedules increases the presence of insurers only in inefficient courts, while it does not produce significant effects on paid premiums. Judicial inefficiency is attractive to insurers for average values of schedules penetration of the market, with an increasing positive impact of inefficiency as the territorial coverage of schedules increases. Moreover, the implementation of schedules tends to reduce the use of defensive practices on the part of clinicians, but the magnitude of this impact is ultimately determined by the actual degree of backlog of the court implementing schedules.
Campus Recruitment: Four-Year Program Profile

A hospitality recuriter profile survey is replicated 18 years after the initial study and nine years from the last study to determine if recruiers and their opinions have significantly changed and what impact these changes may have on college students and the interviewing process. This article is available in Hospitality Review: http://digitalcommons.fiu. edu/hospitalityreview/vol21/iss1/9 Campus recruitment: Four-year program profile by Thomas Jones, Alfred W. luolo, and Lesley Johnson A hospitality recruiter profile survey is replicated layears aiter the initiaistudyandnino years from the last study to detemline if recruiters and ther opinions have significantly changed and what impact these changes may have on college students and (he interviewing process. I t has been almost a decade since the second,' and 18 years since the first studyZ that identified the traits and attitudes of recruiters at a four-year hospitality program. The second study in 1991-92 reflected a period of tremendous economic instability in the hospitality industry The hotel industry was just beginning to recover from a $15 billion loss in 1990, the greatest financial downturn in the history of the industry? It was decided in the spring of 2001 to once again replicate this study in order to determine if any significant changes had occurred in recruiters or the recruiting process in the years since the last study that would impact today's hospitality graduates. The study was conducted prior to the tragedy of September 11, 2001, but the industry was lagging prior to this tragedy. The hotel industry experienced the effect of the country's economic slowdown in the first quarter of 1991; however, industry pundits were predicting a modest rebound in 2002. ' Today, some experts believe that the devastating impact of the World Trade Center has only served to deepen and prolong the industry recession that had already begun.5 This article presents the results of this third study and will compare these findings to the findings of the initial study conducted in 1983 and the 1992 study. The survey instrument used in the current study was almost identical to the instrument used in 1992. A number of questions added to the 1992 study examined the impact of the 1990 recession on hiring practices. These were retained because of the specter of Jones, Izzolo, and Johnson 93
E-Mentoring Interaction Models

Little research has been conducted on electronic mentoring. Several traditional mentoring models exist; however, due to the novelty of the research area, no theoretical e-mentoring models appear in the literature. Using Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance as the theoretical framework, this research compared mentor-protege interaction, transactional distance, structure, satisfaction, and support in Internet-based asynchronous and synchronous mentoring settings. Emerging from this study were two ementoring interaction models—Mentor Initiation Model and Protege Collaboration Model.
HYDRUS Simulation of Sustainable Brackish Water Irrigation in a Winter Wheat-Summer Maize Rotation System in the North China Plain

Freshwater resources in the North China Plain (NCP) are near depletion due to the unceasing overexploitation of deep groundwater, by far the most significant source of freshwater in the region. To deal with the deepening freshwater crisis, brackish water (rich but largely unused water in agriculture) is increasingly being used in irrigation in the region. However, inappropriate irrigation with brackish water could lead to soil salinization and cropland degradation. To evaluate such negative impacts, the HYDRUS-1D model was used to simulate soil salt transport and accumulation under 15 years of irrigation with brackish water. The irrigation scenarios included brackish water irrigation during the wintering and jointing stages of winter wheat and then freshwater irrigation just before the sowing of summer maize. Freshwater irrigation was done to leach out soil salts, which is particularly vital in dry years. For the littoral region of the plain, HYDRUS-ID was used to simulate the irrigated cropping system stated above for a total period of 15 years. The results showed that it was feasible to use brackish water twice in one year, provided freshwater irrigation was performed before sowing summer maize. Freshwater irrigation, in conjunction with precipitation, leached out soil salts from the 100 cm root-zone depth. The maximum salt accumulation was in the 160–220 cm soil layer, which ensured that root-zone soil was free of restrictive salinity for crop growth. Precipitation was a critical determinant of the rate and depth leaching of soil salt. Heavy rainfall (>100 mm) caused significant leaching of soluble salts in the 0–200 cm soil profile. Salt concentration under brackish water irrigation had no significant effect on the variations in the trend of soil salt transport in the soil profile. The variations of soil salinity were mainly affected by hydrological year type, for which the buried depth of soil salt was higher in wet years than in dry years. The study suggested that 15 years of irrigation with brackish water is a reliable and feasible mode of crop production in coastal regions with a thick soil column above the water table. The scheme proposed in this study allowed the use of brackish water in irrigation without undue salinization of the crop soil layer, an intuitive way of resolving the deepening water crisis in the NCP study area and beyond.
CTX-M-Type Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases in Italy: Molecular Epidemiology of an Emerging Countrywide Problem

ABSTRACT A nationwide survey of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production among Enterobacteriaceae, carried out in 2003, showed that CTX-M-type enzymes have achieved a sizeable prevalence among ESBL producers in Italy, mostly in Escherichia coli and, to a lesser extent, in Klebsiella pneumoniae. In this work, we report on the molecular epidemiology of the CTX-M-producing isolates from that survey and on the mechanisms of dissemination of these emerging resistance determinants. The CTX-M-producing isolates were detected in 10 of the 11 participating centers distributed across the Italian national territory, although at remarkably variable rates in different centers (1.2 to 49.5% of the ESBL producers). All CTX-M determinants were of group 1, with CTX-M-15 and CTX-M-1 being the most prevalent variants (60% and 35%, respectively) and CTX-M-32 carried by a minority (5%) of isolates. Each variant was detected both in E. coli and in K. pneumoniae. Genotyping of the CTX-M-producing isolates by random amplification of polymorphic DNA revealed a notable diversity, especially among those producing CTX-M-1, while clonal expansion was evident with some CTX-M-15-producing strains. Mating experiments revealed a higher overall transferability of blaCTX-M-1 and blaCTX-M-32 than of blaCTX-M-15. Coresistance to quinolones and aminoglycosides was overall higher with the CTX-M-15-producing isolates. The present results indicate that CTX-M-producing strains are now widespread across the Italian territory and underscore the emerging role of these ESBL determinants in the European setting. They also reveal notable differences in the dissemination mechanisms of genes encoding different CTX-M variants of the same lineage.
Bosentan therapy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. A national open label study assessing the effect of Bosentan on haemodynamics, exercise capacity, quality of life, safety and tolerability in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (BOCTEPH-Study).

STUDY OBJECTIVES we performed an open-label national study to evaluate the effects of Bosentan on haemodynamics, exercise capacity, quality of life, safety and tolerability in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). PATIENTS AND METHODS fifteen patients with CTEPH not eligible or waiting for surgery were enrolled. The primary endpoint was the change in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Secondary endpoints included quality of life (measured by the Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire, MLHF), 6 minute walk distance (6MWD), World Health Organization (WHO) functional class, Borg dyspnoea scale, plasma endothelin, serum values of disease severity such as uric acid, N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), C-reactive protein measured by a highly sensitive method (CRPs) and other serum and haemodynamic parameters. RESULTS after six months of treatment with bosentan, the PVR decreased from 852 (319) to 657(249) dyn*s*m-5 (p = 0.02). Quality of life considerably improved from a mean total score of 48(14) to 35(17) (p = 0.003) with improvements in the physical (from 25(5) to 17(7)) and emotional (from 11(6) to 6(5)) subscores (p = 0.005 and 0.011), respectively. The 6MWD improved from 389(78) to 443(79) meters (p = 0.005). 4 patients (27%) improved and 11 patients (73%) maintained their WHO class with no deterioration during the six months of bosentan treatment (p = 0.02). Uric acid serum levels declined from 525(145) to 453(151) micromol/l (p = 0.006), NTproBNP and CRPs declined insignificantly. Endothelin serum levels increased from 4.3(1.5) to 5.9(2.2) pg/ml (p = 0.025). Patients tolerated the treatment well, and there were no severe adverse events or deaths. CONCLUSION this open-label study suggests a beneficial effect of bosentan therapy not only on pulmonary haemodynamics, but also on quality of life and exercise capacity for patients with severe CTEPH.
THE ROLE OF PERFORMANCE-BASED MEASURES IN ALLOCATING FUNDING FOR TRANSIT OPERATIONS

This synthesis will be of interest to transit agency general managers, financial officers, policy and planning personnel and others concerned with the economic and budget aspects of providing transit service, as well as funding officials and policymakers in organizations such as departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). This synthesis explores current practice and trends regarding the linkages between financial assistance, service provision, and performance measurement. It provides an overview of selected transit agency funding programs, as well as some current information from state DOTs. This report of the Transportation Research Board examines the role of state government in assisting local transit service. Survey results from both funding agencies and funding recipients are presented, along with selected case study examples of methods used to apportion transit operating funds.
Development of an instrument to assess readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE The degree to which patients with anorexia nervosa demonstrate readiness to recover from their illness has received scant theoretical or empirical attention. Investigating the prevalence and degree of amotivation for recovery in anorexia nervosa, its role in outcome, and the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance readiness to recover necessitates the existence of a reliable and valid measure of motivational issues relevant to the disorder. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument for assessing readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa, namely, the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ), a 23-item self-report questionnaire based on Prochaska and DiClemente's stages of change model. METHOD Seventy-one inpatients with anorexia nervosa participated in the study. On several occasions during their admission, participants completed the ANSOCQ as well as questionnaires assessing readiness to recover, anorexic symptomatology, general distress, and social desirability. RESULTS The ANSOCQ demonstrated good internal consistency (.90) and 1-week test-retest reliability (.89). Various aspects of validity were also supported, such as significant relationships with other instruments assessing readiness to recover and the prediction of weight gain during different periods of treatment. DISCUSSION The results suggest that the ANSOCQ is a psychometrically sound instrument that may prove useful in investigating the role of readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa.