Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of occupational health and safety programmers on performance of manufacturing firms in Western Province, Kenya

Occupational health and safety continues to be one of the most critical but highly criticized issues within the discipline of human resource management. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of health and safety programmes on performance of manufacturing firms in Western Province, Kenya. The study presents the results on an empirical study conducted. The study utilized a convenient sample by using all manufacturing firms in Western Kenya. Content validity and reliability of the research instruments were done through test retest method using one of the manufacturing firms which was not included in the final analysis. Reliability coefficient yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88. The data from all the manufacturing firms was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistical tools like Pearson correlation, simple regression and one way ANOVA. The study findings showed a moderate positive relationship between occupational health and safety programmes (OHSP) and organizational performance of manufacturing firms. This was an indication that OHSP were not efficient in the studied firms, thus, affecting organizational performance of these firms in terms of sales, profitability, production, order delivery, reputation, target achievement, product quality and production costs. Management of firms must put in place policies and structures for improving occupational health and safety. They should not wait to form ad hoc committees (after an accident has occurred), whose recommendations may not be implemented. Organizations should put in place active health and safety committees which should be given mandate to implement their recommendations. Everyone in the organization should adhere to laid down policies, rules and safety precautions to reduce accidents. The study results provide vital information to managers, researchers and academicians on the relevance of occupational health and safety in business organizations.
The changing role of management accounting systems towards value creation

Value concepts with a multi-stakeholder approach in the management accounting field are the subject of recent interest. The most popular management accounting conceptions, namely, activity-based costing (management) and balanced scorecard, reveal how the changed management accounting role integrates a focus on three key stakeholder groups: employees, customers and shareholders. Built on previous management accounting studies, this article explores when the management accounting system ensures value creation. The relationship between value creation and the management accounting system were disclosed using the multistakeholder theoretical approach. Research methods adopted in this study are empirical survey and empirical field study. The implementation level of modern management accounting conceptions was analysed using quantitative data (survey). Deeper analysis was performed in a Lithuanian organisation disclosing relationships between value creation and the implementation level of management accounting conceptions (case study). The results of the research revealed that modern management accounting conceptions might be a precondition for the changing role of management accounting but it depends on the implementation level and the organisation’s ability to manage all capacities of these conceptions.
Capital to Labor Growth Ratio and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns

We examine the cross-sectional relation between log growth in physical capital to log growth in labor and subsequent stock returns. The ratio is a strong predictor of negative future returns. This relation strengthens with measures of financing constraint while remaining robust to previously provided determinants of returns. A ratio-based 2-factor model outperforms common models explaining various asset pricing anomalies, indicating that anomalies reflect cross-sectional variation in this ratio. We interpret the findings as outcomes reflecting displacements on the production isoquant, in turn, affecting operating flexibility and risk premia. Other empirical results support this interpretation.
An Investigation of the Marketing Practices of Local Food Businesses in Southwestern Ontario

This thesis presents research from two interrelated studies examining the marketing practices of local food businesses in Southwestern Ontario. Focus groups were held with food system stakeholders to examine their attitudes and insights toward developing new technologies (i.e., smartphone and web-based tools) to promote local food. A survey of direct-market farmers sought to uncover their marketing practices and motivations. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that although technology already plays a prominent role in marketing, there is a strong desire for more metrics to measure the efficacy of marketing efforts. Further, new technologies should facilitate producer-consumer connections, as this practice plays an important role in marketing local food. This research will help to inform future efforts to ‘scale-up’ local food systems by examining the preferences and perspectives of local food businesses. This ensures the needs of these businesses are addressed in the pursuit of sustainable, resilient local food systems.
Natural Ovine Dermatophilosis: Clinical Aspects and Efficacy of Penicillin/Streptomycin Treatment

This is the first report about natural Dermatophilus congolensis infection in Turkey. Presumptive and confirmatory diagnoses were made based on clinical signs and the demonstration of the bacteria frorn scab material by direct microscopic examination and by culturing the organism on bacteriological media and identifying it by conventional methods such as biochemical reactions. The study was carried out using two groups of animals. Seventy sheep and 20 goats, 8-11 months old were included in group 1 and 155, 1-4 weeks old lambs in group 2. Ten sheep and five goats in the first group and 10 lambs in the second group were allocated as control groups. In group 1, the animals were treated daily with 20.000 IU Benzilpenicillin procaine and 20 mg Dihydrostreptomycin mixture per kg body weight for 5 days. Antibiotic sprays were applied locally. In the second group, lambs were treated daily with intramusculer injection of the same antibiotic for 3 days at the same dose. Differences between treated and untreated sheep in terms of recovery were highly significant (p < 0.01) in week 5 and (p < 0.001) in weeks 6, 7 and 8. Compared to untreated lambs, a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) was found in treated lambs in weeks 2 and 3 after treatment.
HLA and MICA: Targets of Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Heart Transplantation

Background. The goal of this study was to determine whether antidonor antibodies directed against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) or endothelial cells (ECs) expressed antigens, including major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related antigens A (MICA) are associated with the diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in heart transplant recipients. Methods. We studied posttransplant antidonor HLA antibodies in 168 heart allograft recipients transplanted from October 2001 to December 2005. Among them, there were 37 AMR+ patients and 131 age- and sex- matched AMR− controls. Sera were collected at the time of protocol biopsies and tested for the presence of HLA antibodies. Seventy-two of the 168 patients were genotyped for donor and recipient MICA alleles and were tested for the presence of anti-MICA antibodies. Thirty-one patients who never developed antibodies to HLA or MICA were further tested for anti-EC antibodies. Results and Conclusions. Of 37 AMR+ patients, 22 (60%) developed donor-specific antibodies (DSA) to HLA compared with 6 of 131(4%) AMR− patients (P<0.0001). Of the remaining 15 AMR+ patients, 5 had anti-HLA antibodies that were not donor specific and 10 did not show any HLA antibodies. In the subgroup of 72 patients, all 19 AMR+ patients had clearly demonstrable antibodies reactive with donor HLA, MICA or with nondonor-derived ECs, with 30% of them showed antibodies directed to non-HLA antigens. The incidence of transplant coronary artery disease was significantly higher in patients who had DSA to HLA and MICA compared with patients without DSA.
Initial Treatment Regimen and Risk of Hospitalization in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Study Objectives. Compare hospitalization risk of various initial treatment regimens for COPD. Design. Retrospective observational cohort design. Setting. Patients enrolled in 24 different managed care plans across the United States during 1997–2000. Patients. Aged at least 45 years with a primary diagnosis of COPD identified. Initiation date was the date the first inhaler was dispensed. Patients were required to have filled this prescription within 60 days of the first documented COPD diagnosis in the database. Interventions. Five therapy cohorts were identified 1) ipratropium alone or in combination with albuterol (IPR), 2) long‐acting beta agonists (LABA), 3) inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), 4) ICS + IPR and 5) ICS + LABA. Measurements. Subjects were observed for 12 months or until a COPD‐related hospitalization was observed, whichever came first. A sensitivity analysis was conducted by varying the observation period from > 60, > 90 and > 180 days to determine if this would impact the results. Results. 3616 patients were identified, 1754 (49%) on IPR alone, 1032 (29%) on ICS alone, 357 (10%) on ICS + IPR, 266 (7%) on LABA alone and 207 (6%) on ICS + LABA. Compared with IPR alone, patients in the ICS alone and ICS plus LABA had groups a 36% and 47% reductions in the risk of a COPD hospitalization, (HR: 0.643; 95% CI 0.512, 0.808 and HR: 0.533; 95% CI 0.328, 0.865) respectively. Conclusions. The results of this analysis suggest that initial treatment with an ICS alone or in combination with a LABA, compared to IPR alone, was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of COPD hospitalization 12 months following the start of therapy independent of concomitant asthma diagnosis. Similar outcomes were observed when the observation period was varied from > 60, > 90 and > 180 days.
Synchronous and metachronous lung carcinomas: Molecular evidence for multicentricity

The present study Is aimed to evaluate the genetic evidence for multicentricity of synchronous and metachronous multiple lung carcinomas. Nineteen cases of synchronous multlple lung carcinomas and 11 cases of metachronous multiple lung carcinomas were analyzed for p53 protein overexpression by lmmunohistochemlstry (DO‐7) and for genetic abnormality of the p53 gene by loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chromosome 17p and by poly‐merase chaln reaction (PCR)‐singlestrand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. They were also analyzed for K‐ras mutation. DNA from three patients was also sequenced by the dideoxy sequencing method to confirm the presence of mutations and determine the base substitutions. Different spectrums of genetic changes, which were evaluated by a combination of p53 mutation, LOH at chromosome 17p and p53 overexpression, were observed in 11 of 19 cases of synchronous multiple lung carcinomas (57.9%) In the present study. Slmllarly, five of 11 cases of metachronous multiple lung carcinomas (45.4%) showed a different pattern of genetic changes. The present data suggest that some of the multiple carcinomas have dlfferent clonal orlgins, although their histological types are identical, and support the use of genetic markers In the differential diagnosis between metastasis and second primary carcinoma of the lung.
Jamaican families.

The study of the family in the Caribbean originated with European scholars who assumed the universality of the patriarchal nuclear family and the primacy of this structure to the healthy functioning of society. Matrifocal Caribbean families thus were seen as chaotic and disorganized and inadequate to perform the essential tasks of the social system. This article provides a more current discussion of the Jamaican family. It argues that its structure is the result of the agency and adaptation of its members and not the root cause of the increasing marginalization of peoples in the developing world. The article focuses on families living in poverty and how the family structure supports essential family functions, adaptations, and survival.
Restriction fragment length polymorphism based phylogenetic analysis of Avena L.

We report a molecular approach to the study of the phylogenetic relationships of Avena diploid and polyploid species based on RFLP detected with three cDNA probes of nuclear genes belonging to multigenic families (low pI α-amylase, avenin, and globulin). All the probes were highly informative in the detection of polymorphism between oat species. Associations between species were determined from cluster (UPGMA) analysis based on distance values calculated from RFLP data separately for each of the two levels of ploidy. Results were in general agreement with morphology based phylogenetic analyses, confirming the large differentiation among A and C genomes in the evolution of diploid species and the genetic homogeneity among A. brevis, A. strigosa, and A. nuda and the recently discovered A. atlantica. A certain divergence was observed between two endemic species (A. canariensis and A. damascena) and the other diploid species with the A genome. The analysis of tetraploid species relationships confirms the differentiation of the barbata complex (A. wiestii, A. barbata, A. abyssinica, and A. vaviloviana) from the maroccana-murphyi-agadiriana group, which, despite some similarities in morphological and biochemical traits, seems to have accumulated deep genetic differences along its evolutionary pathway.
Family history and improving health.

OBJECTIVES This systematic review aimed to evaluate, within unselected populations: Question 1 (Q1) key elements of family history (FH) which usefully predict subsequent disease; Question 2 (Q2) the accuracy of reporting FH; Question 3 (Q3) the impact of FH-based risk information on the uptake of preventive interventions; Question 4 (Q4) the potential for harms associated with collecting cancer FH; Question 5 (Q5) factors that facilitate or hinder the collection of family history; and, Question 6 (Q6) future directions. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Controlled Trial Register (CCTR), and PsycINFO were searched from 1995 to March 2, 2009 inclusive. REVIEW METHODS Standard systematic review methodology was employed. Eligibility criteria varied by question, but overall, specified studies reported in English, excluded qualitative designs, and limited populations to those unselected for pre-existing risk (except for Q2). Study designs and outcomes varied by research question. RESULTS One hundred and thirty-seven publications were eligible in total for this review. Q1: Key elements of FH: Eighty-nine studies were eligible for this question of which 59 reported FH and data on subsequent or current disease in subjects. The varied definitions of positive FH were consistently associated with elevated relative risks, but their value in predicting future risk or detecting current disease was difficult to assess without considering further information on other risk factors or the available preventive interventions. Q2: Accuracy of FH Reporting. Thirty-seven studies evaluated accuracy and showed relatively high specificity and low sensitivity across all disease categories. Q3: Uptake of preventive interventions. Two studies evaluated the impact of FH-based risk and the evidence was insufficient to establish any effect on change in clinical preventive behavior or uptake of interventions. Q4: Harms of FH taking. Three studies evaluated the impact of FH-based risk information on psychological outcomes and indicated no evidence of significant harm.Q5: Factors affecting FH collection: The evidence base for addressing Q5 is heterogeneous and limited to six studies exploring the association between various factors and family history reporting, documentation and discussion. CONCLUSIONS Our review indicates: (Q1) Many FH definitions showed low discriminatory accuracy in predicting disease risk in individuals but further research is warranted; (Q2) accuracy of reporting is higher for relatives without, than those affected by, a given disease; (Q3) there is insufficient evidence to assess the effect of FH-based risk assessment on preventive behaviors; (Q4) there is limited evidence to assess whether the provision of FH-based personalized risk assessment results in adverse outcomes; (Q5) there is little evidence on factors affecting FH reporting and collection in primary care.
Academic Staff Perceptions of Service Quality Improvement in Ethiopian Public Higher Education Institutions

The article explores academic staff’s perceptions of service quality improvement in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed collecting data from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The perceptions of academic staff are reported on in this article. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff to be very poor. Recommendations are made on the reliability, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness, and assurance dimensions of service delivery featuring in the SERVQUAL scale. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n14p435
Cloud Computing Acceptance at Individual Level Based on Extended UTAUT

Cloud computing is a new method of computing and managing organizational information technology resources strategically. From the user perspective, it involves computing environment for accessing applications remotely, storing data, and supporting cooperative works. For the cloud computing to be effective in an organization, it should be accepted by individual users. In this paper we propose a research model, extending and modifying UTAUT model. We also test the validity of the model using the questionnaire from a sample of cloud computing services users
Technology rejection: the case of the wallet phone

Purpose – A wallet phone is a type of cell phone that is used for storage of all information, including identification, pictures, even airline tickets. This study seeks to understand consumer rejection of a technology, specifically wallet phone technology, using the technology acceptance model.Design/methodology/approach – Two studies were conducted using different samples in order to assess the differences in a student sample and a more diverse sample. In the first study, 226 students were sampled. In the second study, an online survey was conducted through a consumer panel and 480 surveys were collected. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis in order to test the hypothesized relationships.Findings – The findings suggest that a wallet phone is not seen by consumers as either easy to use or useful, as both were not found to be significant in their influence on attitudes toward wallet phones. Perceived risk was found to be significant. In addition, security and privacy were found to have a neg.
THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION ON SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCES OF MSMES FROM RIO GRANDE DO SUL

This study investigates the impact of the three dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking) on the three dimensions of sustainable organizational performance (social, economic and environmental) in industrial companies from Rio Grande do Sul (Brazilian state). A survey was conducted with 140 MSMEs of various segments. The data analysis was performed mainly by correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses. The results suggest that the innovativeness significantly impacts on environmental performance of the organizations surveyed. However, the other dimensions of the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) do not impact significantly on sustainable organizational performance. Thus, social performance impacts positively on economic performance. On the other hand, environmental performance does not impact on economic performance. This may suggests that social performance has an effect on economic results in short terms and environmental performance impacts on economic gains in long terms. Longitudinal studies may contribute to this kind of investigation.
Managing browsing experience in retail stores through perceived value: implications for retailers

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to examine the role of perceived value in managing browsing experience by focusing on its determinants and its consequences in terms of satisfaction and behavioral intentions.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected through a survey of 470 browsers frequenting cosmetic stores. Structural equation modeling and ANOVA are applied to test hypothesis.Findings – The empirical study allowed testing the effect of situational factors (store atmosphere, accompanying, motivation, mood and time of visit) on browsing's perceived value. It has also contributed to identify value's sources which lead to browser's satisfaction and loyalty.Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this research concerns mainly results' generalization related to methodological issue.Practical implications – The conclusions offer managers the opportunity to learn more about browsers and how to establish a long‐term relationship with them.Originality/value – This paper brings n.
Following in the Footsteps of Policy Entrepreneurs: Policy Advocates and Pro Forma Adopters

Abstract The third wave of democratisation has been accompanied by the spread of new institutions that allow citizens to directly participate in shaping policy outcomes. Leading international organisations, such as the World Bank and UN Habitat, have disseminated ‘best practice’ programmes identified with ‘good government’ policy reform efforts. One of the best known programmes, participatory budgeting (PB), was first adopted by an entrepreneurial government in 1989 as a means to promote social justice, accountability, and transparency. Yet, when these programmes are copied by policy advocates and pro forma adopters, the political pay-offs for government officials are smaller, which leads them to provide weaker support for the adopted policy. This article demonstrates that policy entrepreneurs are more likely to provide greater resources and support to innovative policies than their policy advocates and pro forma adopter counterparts due to the types of political payoffs available to them. The article concludes by considering when it might be most appropriate for international funding agencies and nongovernmental organisations to promote best practice policies.
Effect of weather on attendance with injury at a paediatric emergency department

Objectives: To ascertain whether the weather affects the attendance rate of children with injuries at a paediatric accident and emergency department. Methods: The maximum daily temperature and weather conditions (rain/cloud/sun) were noted over a three month period in spring/summer 2002, together with the number of children attending with new injuries or trauma. Results: There was a direct association between trauma attendance and clement weather with higher attendances on dry and sunny days. There was a less obvious association between maximum daily temperature and attendance. Conclusions: These findings confirm the anecdotal belief that warm sunny weather results in a higher attendance of paediatric injuries.