Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-performance work systems, organizational commitment, and the role of demographic features in the People's Republic of China

The present study is an attempt to overcome methodological deficiencies in strategic human resource management research that is restricted to organizational-level analysis regarding the absence or presence of a certain HR practice, the use of single-respondent data, and the views of HR managers or decision makers. We adopted a multiple-respondent strategy as the foundation for studying employee-centered high-performance work systems (HPWS). Because HPWS have gained popularity among multinational, private, and state-owned enterprises in China, we investigated Chinese employees' experiences with HPWS and tested the impact of HPWS on their organizational commitment. Several demographic variables were also explored in order to develop an employee-centered perspective. Survey results based upon 1,176 responses in 6 manufacturing firms in 2 Chinese cities revealed that organizational commitment correlates with a higher perception of existence of HPWS. The demographic characteristics of age, marital status, and education, but not gender, correlated significantly with organizational commitment. However, gender and marital status were found to moderate the relationship between perceptions of the existence of HPWS and organizational commitment, in that male and unmarried Chinese employees were significantly more affected by the existence of HR practices than female and married employees. Managerial and research implications of these findings are discussed.
Starting school : effective transitions

This paper focuses on effective transition-to -school programs. Using a framework of 10 guidelines developed through the Starting School Research Project, it provides examples of effective strategies and transition programs. In this context, the nature of some current transition programs is questioned, and the curriculum of transition is problematized. In particular, issues are raised around who has input into such programs and who decides on appropriate curriculum.
Quality of life of family caregivers 5 years after a relative's cancer diagnosis: follow‐up of the national quality of life survey for caregivers

Background. Although cancer has been considered as a chronic disease for those diagnosed, the long‐term impact of cancer on the family caregivers' quality of life (QOL) remains unknown. Thus, the current study aimed: (a) to characterize family caregivers of cancer survivors, (b) to describe the multidimensional aspects of QOL of family caregivers of cancer survivors, and (c) to identify demographic and caregiving experience factors that may play significant roles in the caregivers' QOL around 5 years after the relative's initial diagnosis.
An anatomy of gentrification processes: variegating causes of neighbourhood change

Several theoretical debates in gentrification literature deal with the role and importance of migration, in situ social mobility, and demographic change in urban social change. These debates focus primarily on structural processes. However, we have comparatively little insight into how and to what degree different mechanisms actually underpin upgrading in urban neighbourhoods. This paper uses Dutch register data to show how residential mobility, social mobility, and demographic change each contribute to gentrification in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. First, our findings show that residential mobility remains key to understanding the growth of higher-income residents in gentrifiying neighbourhoods. At the same time, social mobility and demographic change— notably ageing—are most important in explaining dwindling numbers of lower-income residents. Second, large differences exist across neighbourhoods. By mapping three idealtypical drivers of gentrification, we show how the migration-based ‘displacement model’ occurs predominantly in upgrading neighbourhoods with a high status. Conversely, in low-status upgrading neighbourhoods social mobility is more important in explaining gentrification. These different forms of upgrading occur simultaneously in both cities and should be integrated to advance our understanding of gentrification as a process that is both widespread and occurs in different, ever-changing forms across neighbourhoods.
Managers, budgets and organisational change: unbundling some of the paradoxes

The interplay between accounting and organisational change has been a topic of considerable interest in recent years. This paper is concerned with exploring the ways in which managers’ attitudes towards budgets may be influenced by processes of organisational change. Traditionally a high reliance on accounting measures of performance has generally been associated with provoking unfavourable reactions from managers on account of the pressure they experience to meet pre‐determined budgetary targets, with concomitant dysfunctional consequences for the achievement of organisational objectives. In contrast the paper argues that processes of organisational change, particularly the increasing use of “stretch” targets and empowerment strategies, may be prompting a more positive disposition towards budgets amongst managers. Drawing on recent research evidence, and building on notions of “psychological empowerment”, the paper suggests that managers may value the existence of pre‐determined budgetary targets as an “empowerment facilitator” in conditions of uncertainty. This possibility opens up new directions in behavioural accounting research.
Chinese Students Abroad: Why They Choose the UK and How They See Their Future

This article focuses on the recent phenomenon of an increasing number of Chinese students choosing to pursue their higher education in the UK. It explores those factors shaping both the students' decision to study in the UK and their preference to eventually live and work either in China or abroad. In addition, it examines the levels of (and reasons for) the career optimism/pessimism that these students feel. Inter alia, the study finds that it is the search for a quality higher education and a desire to improve their foreign language skills that cause these students to both look abroad and specifically choose the UK for their studies. UK degrees are seen as having greater career value than Chinese degrees. The majority feel that several years of living and working abroad would be best for their career prospects. The UK, USA and Australia are seen as the top three expatriation destinations. Finally, when considering their careers, more are optimistic than are pessimistic, especially the female students.
The Market for Innovation: Implications for Corporate Strategy

The strengthening of intellectual property protection in the United States has important implications for corporate strategy. Increasingly, firms are both selling intellectual property that they have developed and are purchasing it from other firms. The growth of a secondary market for innovation implies a new business model based on the ability of firms to develop strategies that can market and protect their innovations and efficiently access technologies developed externally. This article describes both the opportunities and risks of firms seeking to link their business strategies with the increasingly important market for innovation.
Nitric Oxide Modification of Rat Brain Neurogranin Affects Its Phosphorylation by Protein Kinase C and Affinity for Calmodulin*

Neurogranin (Ng) is a prominent protein kinase C (PKC) substrate which binds calmodulin (CaM) in the absence of Ca2+. Rat brain Ng contains four cysteine residues that were readily oxidized by nitric oxide (NO) donors, 1,1-diethyl-2-hydroxy-2-nitrosohydrazine (DEANO) and sodium nitroprusside, and by oxidants, H2O2 and o-iodosobenzoic acid. NO oxidation of Ng resulted in a conformational change detectable by increased electrophoretic mobility upon SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The NO-mediated mobility shift was reversed by treatment with dithiothreitol and was blocked by modification of Ng sulfhydryl groups with 4-vinylpyridine. Both the nonphosphorylated and PKC-phosphorylated Ng were susceptible to NO oxidation. Modification of Ng by DEANO was blocked by CaM in the absence of Ca2+; while in the presence of Ca2+, CaM did not protect Ng from oxidation by DEANO. CaM also failed to protect DEANO-mediated oxidation of PKC-phosphorylated Ng with or without Ca2+. Oxidation of Ng by the various oxidants apparently resulted in the formation of intramolecular disulfide bond(s) as judged by a reduction of apparent Mr on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; this oxidized form, unlike the reduced form, did not bind to CaM-affinity column. The oxidized Ng was also a poorer substrate for PKC; both the reduced and oxidized forms had similar Km values, but the Vmax of the oxidized form was about one-fourth of the reduced one. When comparing the rate of DEANO-mediated nitrosation of Ng with other sulfhydryl-containing compounds, it became evident that Ng ranked as one of the best NO acceptors among those tested, including serum albumin, glutathione, and dithiothreitol. Ng present in the rat brain synaptosomal preparations was also oxidized by DEANO in a dose-dependent manner when analyzed by immunoblot with a polyclonal antibody against this protein. These results suggest that Ng is a likely target of NO and other oxidants and that oxidation/reduction may serve as a mechanism for controlling both the PKC phosphorylation and the CaM-binding affinity of this protein.
Efficacy of a Vaccine Based on Protective Antigen and Killed Spores against Experimental Inhalational Anthrax

ABSTRACT Protective antigen (PA)-based anthrax vaccines acting on toxins are less effective than live attenuated vaccines, suggesting that additional antigens may contribute to protective immunity. Several reports indicate that capsule or spore-associated antigens may enhance the protection afforded by PA. Addition of formaldehyde-inactivated spores (FIS) to PA (PA-FIS) elicits total protection against cutaneous anthrax. Nevertheless, vaccines that are effective against cutaneous anthrax may not be so against inhalational anthrax. The aim of this work was to optimize immunization with PA-FIS and to assess vaccine efficacy against inhalational anthrax. We assessed the immune response to recombinant anthrax PA from Bacillus anthracis (rPA)-FIS administered by various immunization protocols and the protection provided to mice and guinea pigs infected through the respiratory route with spores of a virulent strain of B. anthracis. Combined subcutaneous plus intranasal immunization of mice yielded a mucosal immunoglobulin G response to rPA that was more than 20 times higher than that in lung mucosal secretions after subcutaneous vaccination. The titers of toxin-neutralizing antibody and antispore antibody were also significantly higher: nine and eight times higher, respectively. The optimized immunization elicited total protection of mice intranasally infected with the virulent B. anthracis strain 17JB. Guinea pigs were fully protected, both against an intranasal challenge with 100 50% lethal doses (LD50) and against an aerosol with 75 LD50 of spores of the highly virulent strain 9602. Conversely, immunization with PA alone did not elicit protection. These results demonstrate that the association of PA and spores is very much more effective than PA alone against experimental inhalational anthrax.
Cross‐Border Mergers and Acquisitions: Innovative Capacity and National Economic Security

Abstract Based on capital accumulation and the capacity to innovate, we use an Edgeworth box and find that in a host country that lacks capital, if multinational corporations (MNCs) remit more profits back to their parent companies and invest less in the host country, the latter’s R&D ability to innovate may decline. As a result, the host country’s economic security could be threatened. An empirical test using Chinese data suggests that introducing foreign capital actively and promoting the innovation of small and medium‐sized enterprises could help to maintain national economic security in cross‐border M&A.
Forecasting the Tourism Demand of North Cyprus

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the demand for tourism services in North Cyprus and makes demand projections. The findings of the regression analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between the number of tourists staying in tourist accommodations in North Cyprus and the real national income of the tourist generating country with a negative relationship between the volume of tourists from a given country and the relative prices of the two countries. The study continues with a trend analysis of tourism demand and uses the trend values in projecting annual as well as monthly tourist arrivals to North Cyprus.
On the functional morphology of the alimentary tract of some fish in relation to differences in their feeding habits; anatomy and histology.

1. The mouth is larger and more protrusible in Gobio and Cyprinus than in Rutilus , features which may be associated with the mud-grubbing, bottomfeeding habits of the two former fish, while the arrangement of the adductor muscles in Rutilus enable it to close its mouth more quickly than they and hence it can rapidly snap up its free-moving prey. 2. The selection of food is largely by taste in Gobio and Cyprinus , and hence both are richly supplied with taste-buds from lips to oesophagus, special concentrations being present on barbs around the mouth. Rutilus , on the other hand, augments taste by sight. Taste-buds are accordingly more restricted in distribution and less abundant where they do occur. They are fewer on the lips; there are no barbs. 3. The relative development of the pharyngeal masticatory apparatus (horny pad, pharyngeal teeth) bears a direct relationship to the amount of plant food in the diet, i.e. it increases in the order Gobio, Rutilus, Cyprinus . 4. The mucus-secreting cells attain their maximum development in the pharynx in all three fishes, as is usual amongst teleosts (cf. Al-Hussaini, 1947 a , p. 278) and are thus effectively placed to lubricate the food, irrespective of its nature, at the very commencement of its journey through the gut. 5. Gill-rakers carrying taste-buds and mucus-secreting glands are present in all three fish, but they are exceptionally short in Gobio for a bottom-feeding fish. This may be compensated for to some extent by a pair of food-selecting palatal cushions. 6. All three fishes are stomachless, the short oesophagus joining the pharynx directly to the pyloric sphincter. The loss of the food-holding capacity of the stomach is compensated for by the swelling of the first limb of the intestine. 7. The intestinal tube is longest and its looping most complex in Cyprinus , and shortest and with the simplest looping in Gobio . Four parts are recognized in the intestinal tube, not by external features, but by their mucosal foldings and certain histological characters. 8. An estimation of the mucosal area shows that the absorptive area of the intestinal epithelium is practically equal in the three species when related to the weight of the fish. This ratio has here been called the ‘mucosal coefficient’. 9. The intestinal epithelium comprises two principal histological cell types, viz. the absorptive cell and the goblet cell. 10. The internal surface across which food substances pass from the cells to the tissue fluids is greater in Cyprinus and Rutilus than in Gobio , owing to the greater length of the absorptive cells. 11. In order to be valid, estimations of the relative efficiency of the fish intestine should take into account the relative length of the gut (R.L.G.), the mucosal coefficient (Q.M.), and the length of the absorptive cells.
Women satisfaction with cosmetic brands: The role of dissatisfaction and hedonic brand benefits

Research suggests that the exposure to pictures of good-looking and even slightly above-average-looking females lowers the self-image of exposed women and increases dissatisfaction with their own appearance. This study analyses the effect of perceived instrumental/utilitarian and hedonic/emotional brand benefits on women’s satisfaction with cosmetic brands, focusing on relief from dissatisfaction with one’s self-image as one of four identified emotional brand experiences. A survey of 355 women was carried out, assessing instrumental and hedonic brand benefits of the brand used by each interviewed participant, as well as the degree of satisfaction with the surveyed brand. The collected data was modelled using structural equation analysis. Results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic brand benefits both contribute to satisfaction with cosmetic brands – with an overall stronger influence of emotional consumption experiences. The greatest influences were found for the feeling of relief from dissatisfaction with one’s self-image. This research reveals that one of the mechanisms through which cosmetics advertising works is by lowering women’s self perception in the first place and then delivering relief from this negative feeling as an emotional benefit through the brand. However, from an ethical point of view, such a strategy is questionable, especially given the problems of eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Key words: Brand associations, physical attractiveness, cosmetics consumption, advertising, women’s psychology.
The Firm in Economic Geography*

Abstract This article is concerned with the alleged absence in economic geography of a particular microtheoretical foundation that spells out precisely what makes the central actor of the subdiscipline, “the firm,” behave and perform the way it does. It especially maintains that economic geography is characterized by the lack of a clear conception and understanding of why this specific form of organizing economic activity exists and prevails in a specialized exchange economy, the factors conditioning its size and boundaries, and the endogenous mechanisms that influence its mode of external interaction. The article proposes that theories developed in neighboring fields—particularly economics—can be identified, selected, and subsequently applied within economic geography by developing a selection mechanism based on a few simple criteria.
UNIONISED FIRM VERSUS PRODUCER CO-OPERATIVE: A SCHOLASTIC EXERCISE

By way of presenting a fictitious story, this paper is ment to illustrate that in contrast to conventional wisdom, trade unions, in their symbiosis with capitalist firms, may further, rather than impede price-mediated self-regulation in the labour market via their involvement in wage-setting. Producer co-operatives, on the other hand, though might seem to represent a close collateral of fully unionised capitalist firms, should not be regarded as a viable alternative.
Sparse cuts, matching-cuts and leafy trees in graphs

In this thesis, three di®erent graph concepts are studied. A graph (V;E) consists of a set of vertices V and a set of edges E. Graphs are often used as a model for telecommunication networks, where the nodes of the network are represented by the vertices, and an edge is present between two vertices if the corresponding nodes are joined by a direct connection in the network. The two vertices joined by an edge are called its end vertices, and these two vertices are neighbors of each other. The degree of a vertex is its number of neighbors. The problems in this thesis can be explained and motivated using applications in the area of network design and analysis.
Geometry and force control of cell function

Tissue engineering is becoming increasingly ambitious in its efforts to create functional human tissues, and to provide stem cell scientists with culture systems of high biological fidelity. Novel engineering designs are being guided by biological principles, in an attempt to recapitulate more faithfully the complexities of native cellular milieu. Three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds are being designed to mimic native‐like cell environments and thereby elicit native‐like cell responses. Also, the traditional focus on molecular regulatory factors is shifting towards the combined application of molecular and physical factors. Finally, methods are becoming available for the coordinated presentation of molecular and physical factors in the form of controllable spatial and temporal gradients. Taken together, these recent developments enable the interrogation of cellular behavior within dynamic culture settings designed to mimic some aspects of native tissue development, disease, or regeneration. We discuss here these advanced cell culture environments, with emphasis on the derivation of design principles from the development (the biomimetic paradigm) and the geometry‐force control of cell function (the biophysical regulation paradigm). J. Cell. Biochem. 108: 1047–1058, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Robust joint selection of camera orientations and feature projections over multiple views

A number of critical factors arises when a complex 3D scene is to be reconstructed by means of a large sequence of different views. Some of them are related to the ability to recover the correct identity and the accurate projection of each observed feature. Other sources of error are tied to the reliability of the orientation estimate for each view. With this paper we propose a method that tries to solve both problems at the same time, while being also inherently resilient to outliers. At the core of the approach stands a widely adopted game-theoretical selection technique, which has already been successfully embraced to address similar tasks. The original inception, however, has been further refined to address a wider range of scenarios, as well as to offer a reduced memory consumption and computation complexity. By exploiting these enhancements, we were able to apply our technique to a large-scale setup involving several hundreds of view points and tens of thousands of independent observations.
Relational Competence-Based Knowledge Transfer Within Intrafamily Succession

This article discusses the challenges of knowledge management within intrafamily succession against the background of the knowledge-based view. As a knowledge transfer is crucial for a successful business continuation, factors that promote the interpersonal knowledge transfer are identified. Since the quality of the relationship between successor and predecessor is considered a key determinant of knowledge transfer, the role of relational competence in the knowledge transfer process is analyzed. A laboratory experiment (N = 107) was conducted to test the derived hypotheses. In its conclusion, the article presents the empirically confirmed strong relationship between relational competence and knowledge transfer within intrafamily succession.
Regulation of tumor–stroma interactions by the unfolded protein response

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a conserved adaptive pathway that helps cells cope with the protein misfolding burden within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Imbalance between protein folding demand and capacity in the ER leads to a situation called ER stress that is often observed in highly proliferative and secretory tumor cells. As such, activation of the UPR signaling has emerged as a key adaptive mechanism promoting cancer progression. It is becoming widely acknowledged that, in addition to its intrinsic effect on tumor biology, the UPR can also regulate tumor microenvironment. In this review, we discuss how the UPR coordinates the crosstalk between tumor and stromal cells, such as endothelial cells, normal parenchymal cells, and immune cells. In addition, we further describe the involvement of ER stress signaling in the response to current treatments as well as its impact on antitumor immunity mainly driven by immunogenic cell death. Finally, in this context, we discuss the relevance of targeting ER stress/UPR signaling as a potential anticancer approach.