bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) can target both DNA strands when the DNA is supercoiled
Authors: Shen Hong Ming , Storb Ursula
Published: August 2004

The activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is required for somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class-switch recombination of Ig genes. It has been shown thatin vitro, AID protein deaminates C in single-stranded DNA or the coding-strand DNA that is being transcribed but not in double-stranded DNA. However,in vivo, both DNA strands are mutated equally during SHM. We show that AID efficiently deaminates C on both DNA strands of a supercoiled plasmid, acting preferentially on SHM hotspot motifs. However, this DNA is not targeted by AID when it is relaxed after treatment with topoisomerase I, and thus, supercoiling plays a crucial role for AID targeting to this DNA. Most of the mutations are in negatively supercoiled regions, suggesting a mechanism of AID targetingin vivo. During transcription the DNA sequences upstream of the elongating RNA polymerase are negatively supercoiled, and this transient change in DNA topology may allow AID to access both DNA strands.
Meager genetic variability of the human malaria agent
Plasmodium vivax
Authors: Leclerc M. C. , Durand P. , Gauthier C. , Patot S. , Billotte N. , Menegon M. , Severini C. , Ayala F. J. , Renaud F.
Published: August 2004

Malaria is a major human parasitic disease caused by four species of
Plasmodium
protozoa.
Plasmodium vivax
, the most widespread, affects millions of people across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America. We have studied the genetic variability of 13 microsatellite loci in 108 samples from 8 localities in Asia, Africa, South America, and New Guinea. Only one locus is polymorphic; nine are completely monomorphic, and the remaining three are monomorphic in all but one or two populations, which have a rare second allele. In contrast,
Plasmodium falciparum
displays extensive microsatellite polymorphism within and among populations. We further have analyzed, in 96 samples from the same 8 localities, 8 tandem repeats (TRs) located on a 100-kb contiguous chromosome segment described as highly polymorphic. Each locus exhibits 2-10 alleles in the whole sample but little intrapopulation polymorphism (1-5 alleles with a prevailing allele in most cases). Eight microsatellite loci monomorphic in
P. vivax
are polymorphic in three of five
Plasmodium
species related to
P. vivax
(two to seven individuals sampled).
Plasmodium simium
, a parasite of New World monkeys, is genetically indistinguishable from
P. vivax
. At 13 microsatellite loci and at 7 of the 8 TRs, both species share the same (or most common) allele. Scarce microsatellite polymorphism may reflect selective sweeps or population bottlenecks in recent evolutionary history of
P. vivax
; the differential variability of the TRs may reflect selective processes acting on particular regions of the genome. We infer that the world expansion of
P. vivax
as a human parasite occurred recently, perhaps <10,000 years ago.
Chromosome healing through terminal deletions generated by
de novo
telomere additions in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Putnam Christopher D. , Pennaneach Vincent , Kolodner Richard D.
Published: August 2004

Broken chromosomes healed by
de novo
addition of a telomere are a major class of genome rearrangements seen in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and similar to rearrangements seen in human tumors. We have analyzed the sequences of 534 independent
de novo
telomere additions within a 12-kb region of chromosome V. The distribution of events mirrored that of four-base sequences consisting of the GG, GT, and TG dinucleotides, suggesting that
de novo
telomere additions occur at short regions of homology to the telomerase guide RNA. These chromosomal sequences restrict potential registrations of the added telomere sequence. The first 11 nucleotides of the addition sequences fell into common families that included 91% of the breakpoints. The observed registrations suggest that the 3′ end of the TLC1 guide RNA is involved in annealing but not as a template for synthesis. Some families of added sequences can be accounted for by one cycle of annealing and extension, whereas others require a minimum of two. The same pattern emerges for sequences added onto the most common addition sequence, indicating that
de novo
telomeres are added and extended by the same process. Together, these data indicate that annealing is central to telomerase registration, which limits telomere heterogeneity and resolves the problem of synthesizing Rap1 binding sites by a nonprocessive telomerase with a low-complexity guide RNA sequence.
Prototypic T cell receptor and CD4-like coreceptor are expressed by lymphocytes in the agnathan sea lamprey
Authors: Pancer Zeev , Mayer Werner E. , Klein Jan , Cooper Max D.
Published: August 2004

All jawed vertebrates have highly diverse lymphocyte receptors, which allow discrimination between self and nonself antigens as well as the recognition of potential pathogens. Key elements of the anticipatory recombinatorial immune system in jawed vertebrates are theTCR, Ig, andMHCgenes, but their ancestral genes have not been found in more basal vertebrates. In this study, we extended our analysis of the transcriptome of lymphocyte-like cells in the lamprey to identify theTCR-likeandCD4-likegenes. The structural features of these genes and their preferential expression in lymphocytes make them attractive candidates for ancestralTCRandCD4genes. TheTCR-likegene contains both V (variable) and J (joining) sequences in its first exon and exists as a single-copy gene that is invariant. Thus, theTCR-likegene cannot account for the receptor diversity that is required for the immune responses reported for lamprey, but it could have been easily modified to serve as an evolutionary precursor of modernTCRandIggenes.
Problems of Rationality
Authors: Davidson Donald
Published: August 2004

Applies Davidson's Unified Theory of thought, meaning, and action to three families of problems involving various aspects of rationality, some degree of which Davidson's theory of radical interpretation attributes to any creature, which can be said to have a mind. These problems are the nature and our understanding of value judgements, the adequacy conditions for attributing mental states to a being, and the problem of irrationality.

The first four chapters apply Davidson's thesis that our interpretations of another person's mental states are a source of objectivity to value judgements: such judgements, Davidson argues in this section, are as objective as any judgement about the mind can be. Chs 5 to 10 develop Davidson's Unified Theory for interpreting thought, meaning, and action, the primary concern of this section being the specification of the minimal conditions for attributing mental states to an object or creature. Chs 11 to 14 deal primarily with the problems raised by those cognitive states and actions that seem to violate, in a fundamental way, the constraints of rationality. Since Davidson regards the constraints of rationality to be amongst the necessary conditions for both mind and interpretation, irrational thoughts, and actions pose a particular problem for his Unified Theory. The final four chapters attempt to remove the apparent contradiction.
Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination
Authors: Buchanan Allen
Published: August 2004

This book articulates a systematic vision of an international legal system grounded in the commitment to justice for all persons. It provides a probing exploration of the moral issues involved in disputes about secession, ethno‐national conflict, ‘the right of self‐determination of peoples’, human rights, and the legitimacy of the international legal system itself. The author advances vigorous criticisms of the central dogmas of international relations and international law, arguing that the international legal system should make justice, not simply peace, among states a primary goal, and rejecting the view that it is permissible for a state to conduct its foreign policies exclusively according to what is in the ‘national interest’. He also shows that the only alternatives are not rigid adherence to existing international law or lawless chaos in which the world's one superpower pursues its own interests without constraints. This book not only criticizes the existing international legal order, but also offers morally defensible and practicable principles for reforming it. After a Synopsis and Introduction, which discusses the idea of a moral theory of international law, the book has four parts: I: Justice (3 chapters); II: Legitimacy (3 chapters); III: Self‐Determination (2 chapters); and IV: Reform (2 chapters). The book is one of the titles in the Oxford Political Theory Series.
The Divine Lawmaker
Authors: Foster John
Published: August 2004

In our experience so far, the universe has worked in remarkably regular ways, and these regularities call for explanation. One way of accounting for them would be to suppose that things have been kept regular by laws of nature, construed as forms of natural necessity, and if we can make sense of there being such laws, this mode of explanation is the most plausible one. Another attractive feature of it is that, if it is accepted, it points the way to a solution to the problem of induction; for, assuming that the relevant laws are uniform across space and time, we know that the way things turn out in the unexamined cases, will conform, in the nomologically relevant respects, to the way they have turned out in the examined cases. If nomological explanations are excluded, the only alternative way of accounting for the regularities, with any prospect of acceptability, would be theistic. Can we, then, make sense of there being laws of the relevant sort? Only, I think, by construing a law as what is created by the causal imposing of a regularity on the universe as a regularity. But the only plausible account of such causal imposing would be theistic. So, whatever explanatory role, if any, we assign to laws, there is a strong case for the acceptance of theism. Once theism is accepted, there are further reasons for insisting that the God it postulates imposes regularities on the universe in a law‐creating way.
[18F]altanserin Binding to Human 5HT2A Receptors is Unaltered after Citalopram and Pindolol Challenge
Authors: Pinborg Lars H. , Adams Karen H. , Yndgaard Stig , Hasselbalch Steen G. , Holm Søren , Kristiansen Heidi , Paulson Olaf B. , Knudsen Gitte M.
Published: August 2004

The aim of the present study was to develop an experimental paradigm for the study of serotonergic neurotransmission in humans using positron emission tomography and the 5-HT2A selective radioligand [18F]altanserin. [18F]altanserin studies were conducted in seven subjects using the bolus/infusion approach designed for attaining steady state in blood and brain 2 hours after the initial [18F]altanserin administration. Three hours after commencement of radiotracer administration, 0.25 mg/kg of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram (Lundbeck, Valby, Denmark), was administered to all subjects as a constant infusion for 20 minutes. To reduce 5-HT1A–mediated autoinhibition of cortical 5-HT release, four of the seven subjects were pretreated with the partial 5-HT1A agonist pindolol for 3 days at an increasing oral dose (25 mg on the day of scanning). In each subject, the baseline condition (120 to 180 minutes) was compared with the stimulated condition (195 to 300 minutes). Despite a pronounced increase in plasma prolactin and two subjects reporting hot flushes compatible with an 5-HT–induced adverse effect, cortical [18F]altanserin binding was insensitive to the citalopram challenge, even after pindolol pretreatment. The biochemical and cellular events possibly affecting the unsuccessful translation of the citalopram/pindolol challenge into a change in 5-HT2A receptor binding of [18F]altanserin are discussed.
Fluorometric Determination of Glucose Utilization in Neurons in Vitro and in Vivo
Authors: Itoh Yoshiaki , Abe Takato , Takaoka Rie , Tanahashi Norio
Published: August 2004

Glucose is the major energy source the adult brain utilizes under physiologic conditions. Recent findings, however, have suggested that neurons obtain most of their energy from the oxidation of extracellular lactate derived from astroglial metabolism of glucose transported into the brain from the blood. In the present studies we have used 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-NBDG), a fluorescent analogue of 2-deoxyglucose, which is often used to trace glucose utilization in neural tissues, to examine glucose metabolism in neurons in vitro and in vivo. Cultured neurons and astroglia were incubated with 2-NBDG for up to 15 minutes, and nonmetabolized 2-NBDG was washed out. We found that fluorescence intensity increased linearly with incubation time in both neurons and astroglia, indicating that both types of brain cells could utilize glucose as their energy source in vitro. To determine if the same were true in vivo, Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intravenously with a pulse bolus of 2-NBDG and decapitated 45 minutes later. Examination of brain sections demonstrated that phosphorylated 2-NBDG accumulated in hippocampal neurons and cerebellar Purkinje cells, indicating that neurons can utilize glucose in vivo as energy source.
Mitochondria Consume Energy and Compromise Cellular Membrane Potential by Reversing ATP Synthetase Activity during Focal Ischemia in Rats
Authors: Takeda Yoshimasa , Pérez-Pinzón Miguel A. , Ginsberg Myron D. , Sick Thomas J.
Published: August 2004

The direction of the chemical reaction of ATP synthetase is reversible. The present study was designed to determine whether mitochondria produce or consume ATP during ischemia. For this purpose, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were measured in vivo at the site of a direct current (DC) electrode using a potentiometric dye, 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1), and a rat model of focal ischemia. Two μL of dye (control group) or dye with oligomycin, an ATP synthetase inhibitor (oligomycin group), was injected into the parieto-temporal cortex through the DC electrode. With the initiation of ischemia, a decrease in mitochondrial potential was observed within 20 seconds in the oligomycin group (earlier than the onset of DC deflection, P = 0.02). In contrast, in the control group, mitochondrial potential was maintained at 91 ± 5% of the pre-ischemia level for 118 ± 38 seconds before showing full depolarization simultaneously with DC deflection. During the period of ischemia, the mitochondrial potential was higher in the control group (66 ± 9%) than in the oligomycin group (46 ± 8%, P < = 0.0002), whereas DC potential was lower in the control group (–18 ± 3) than in the oligomycin group (–15 ± 2 mV, P = 0.04). These observations suggest that mitochondria consume ATP during ischemia by reversing ATP synthetase activity, which compromises cellular membrane potential by consuming ATP.
Selective Uptake of [14C]2-Deoxyglucose by Neurons and Astrocytes: High-Resolution Microautoradiographic Imaging by Cellular 14C-Trajectography Combined with Immunohistochemistry
Authors: Nehlig Astrid , Wittendorp-Rechenmann Elisabeth , Dao Lam Chang
Published: August 2004

At the moment, there is no direct in vivo evidence of the relative amount of glucose taken up and metabolized by glial cells and neurons, respectively. Therefore, we developed a specific high cellular resolution β-trajectory approach that allows recording and identification of individual tracks of electrons emitted during disintegrations of 14C. We used [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2DG), which is an analog of glucose and is not metabolized further than the first phosphorylation by hexokinase; this property allows localization of the tracer within the cell type where it is phosphorylated. The present technical approach associated a method of cellular trajectography mainly characterized by the high thickness of the emulsion (15 μm), which permits following of the trajectory of individual electrons. This technique was improved to preserve the in vivo label of diffusible compounds such as 2DG and 2DG-6P and associated with immunohistochemical detection of neurons and astrocytes. β-Track counting of labeled compounds was performed in 5 μm glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)- and microtubule-associated protein (MAP)2-immunolabeled paraffin adjacent sections. Of 3,075 counted β-tracks, 53.0% were localized in astrocytes on GFAP-labeled sections and 60.1% in neurons on MAP2-labeled sections. These data represent the first in vivo evidence of the compartmentation of uptake and metabolism of glucose in neurons and astrocytes.
Relationship between Flow-Metabolism Uncoupling and Evolving Axonal Injury after Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Chen Szu-Fu , Richards Hugh K. , Smielewski Piotr , Johnström Peter , Salvador Raymond , Pickard John D. , Harris Neil G.
Published: August 2004

Blood flow-metabolism uncoupling is a well-documented phenomenon after traumatic brain injury, but little is known about the direct consequences for white matter. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the topographic interrelationship between local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) and glucose metabolism (LCMRglc) after controlled cortical impact injury and to determine the degree of correspondence with the evolving axonal injury. LCMRglc and LCBF measurements were obtained at 3 hours in the same rat from 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 14C-iodoantipyrine coregistered autoradiographic images, and compared to the density of damaged axonal profiles in adjacent sections and in an additional group at 24 hours using beta-amyloid precursor protein (ß-APP) immunohistochemistry. LCBF was significantly reduced over the ipsilateral hemisphere by 48 ± 15% compared with sham-controls, whereas LCMRglc was unaffected, apart from foci of elevated LCMRglc in the contusion margin. Flow-metabolism was uncoupled, indicated by a significant 2-fold elevation in the LCMRglc/LCBF ratio within most ipsilateral structures. There was a significant increase in ß-APP-stained axons from 3 to 24 hours, which was negatively correlated with LCBF and positively correlated with the LCMRglc/LCBF ratio at 3 hours in the cingulum and corpus callosum. Our study indicates a possible dependence of axonal outcome on flow-metabolism in the acute injury stage.
In Vivo Measurement of Glucose Utilization in Rats using a β-Microprobe: Direct Comparison with Autoradiography
Authors: Millet Philippe , Sallanon Marcelle Moulin , Petit Jean-Marie , Charnay Yves , Vallet Philippe , Morel Christian , Cespuglio Raymond , Magistretti Pierre J. , Ibáñez Vicente
Published: August 2004

A new β-microprobe (βP) has been used to locally measure the time–concentration curve of a radiolabeled substance. The βP, analogous to positron emission tomography methodology, is useful for in vivo animal studies because it can acquire time–concentration curves with high temporal and spatial resolution. Using [18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose and βP, we evaluated the reliability of the biologic parameters and we compared this method with the [14C]2-deoxy-d-glucose autoradiography. βP time–concentration curves in three regions of the brain were obtained from 24 rats. Four kinetic parameters (K1-k4) were estimated from 60-minute experimental periods using a three-compartment model. Best fits were obtained when the vascular fraction (Fv) was estimated simultaneously with the four kinetic parameters (K1-k4). The mean estimated Fv values were about 5.5% for the frontal cortex regions and 8.0% for the cerebellum. Correlation coefficients higher than 0.830 were observed between regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (rCMRglc) values obtained by βP and autoradiography. In addition, the βP-derived input function was similar to that obtained by manual sampling. Our findings show that reliable rCMRglc values can be obtained using βP.
Bumetanide Inhibition of the Blood-Brain Barrier Na-K-Cl Cotransporter Reduces Edema Formation in the Rat Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Model of Stroke
Authors: O'Donnell Martha E. , Tran Lien , Lam Tina I. , Liu Xiao Bo , Anderson Steven E.
Published: August 2004

Increased transport of Na+ across an intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) participates in edema formation during the early hours of cerebral ischemia. In previous studies, the authors showed that the BBB Na-K-Cl cotransporter is stimulated by factors present during ischemia, suggesting that the cotransporter may contribute to the increased brain Na+ uptake in edema. The present study was conducted to determine (1) whether the Na-K-Cl cotransporter is located in the luminal membrane of the BBB, and (2) whether inhibition of the BBB cotransporter reduces brain edema formation. Perfusion-fixed rat brains were examined for cotransporter distribution by immunoelectron microscopy. Cerebral edema was evaluated in rats subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging and calculation of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC). The immunoelectron microscopy studies revealed a predominant (80%) luminal membrane distribution of the cotransporter. Magnetic resonance imaging studies showed ADC ratios (ipsilateral MCAO/contralateral control) ranging from 0.577 to 0.637 in cortex and striatum, indicating substantial edema formation. Intravenous bumetanide (7.6–30.4 mg/kg) given immediately before occlusion attenuated the decrease in ADC ratios for both cortex and striatum (by 40–67%), indicating reduced edema formation. Bumetanide also reduced infarct size, determined by TTC staining. These findings suggest that a luminal BBB Na-K-Cl cotransporter contributes to edema formation during cerebral ischemia.
The Neurotoxicity of Tissue Plasminogen Activator?
Authors: Kaur Jaspreet , Zhao Zonghang , Klein Gary M. , Lo Eng H. , Buchan Alastair M.
Published: August 2004

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a fibrin specific activator for the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, stimulates thrombolysis and rescues ischemic brain by restoring blood flow. However, emerging data suggests that under some conditions, both tPA and plasmin, which are broad spectrum protease enzymes, are potentially neurotoxic if they reach the extracellular space. Animal models suggest that in severe ischemia with injury to the blood brain barrier (BBB) there is injury attributed to the protease effects of this exogenous tPA. Besides clot lysis per se, tPA may have pleiotropic actions in the brain, including direct vasoactivity, cleaveage of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) NR1 subunit, amplification of intracellular Ca++ conductance, and activation of other extracellular proteases from the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family, e.g. MMP-9. These effects may increase excitotoxicity, further damage the BBB, and worsen edema and cerebral hemorrhage. If tPA is effective and reverses ischemia promptly, the BBB remains intact and exogenous tPA remains within the vascular space. If tPA is ineffective and ischemia is prolonged, there is the risk that exogenous tPA will injure both the neurovascular unit and the brain. Methods of neuroprotection, which prevent tPA toxicity or additional mechanical means to open cerebral vessels, are now needed.
Effective management of food safety and quality
Authors: Manning L. , Baines R.N.
Published: August 2004

Global food supply is developing within a commercial environment with an aim to source ever‐cheaper food, i.e. to move production to the least cost producer. Quality management systems are designed primarily to ensure compliance with third party and retailer standards. Food safety management systems principally control the specific food safety hazards associated with the product and ensure compliance with food safety legislation. This paper, seeks to identify the issues for an organization if their management system is focused primarily on minimizing quality costs rather than producing safe, wholesome food.
Packaging and purchase decisions
Authors: Silayoi Pinya , Speece Mark
Published: August 2004

The importance of packaging design as a vehicle for communication and branding is growing in competitive markets for packaged food products. This research utilized a focus group methodology to understand consumer behavior toward such products and how packaging elements can affect buying decisions. Visual package elements play a major role, representing the product for many consumers, especially in low involvement, and when they are rushed. Most focus group participants say they use label information, but they would like it if simplified. The challenge for researchers is to integrate packaging into an effective purchasing decision model, by understanding packaging elements as important marketing communications tools. Propositions for future research are proposed which will help in developing better understanding of consumer response to packaging elements.
Increasing retail concentration
Authors: Hollingsworth Andrew
Published: August 2004

This paper examines the impact of the Competition Commission's report on the competitiveness of the UK food retail sector. Although the report found little evidence of monopolistic behaviour, the findings indicated both significance of buyer concentration and need for voluntary regulation. Recent developments are examined along with current research perspectives. This evidence suggests that not only will buyer power continue to concentrate in the hands of the major retail players but also further concentration and consolidation in the food retail sector will continue to take place. The implications of these developments on the food supply chain are considered in regard to areas for immediate future concern.
Cross‐cultural conflict and expatriate manager adjustment
Authors: Jassawalla Avan , Truglia Ciara , Garvey Jennifer
Published: August 2004

A key reason for the return of expatriates before the official end of their foreign assignment is the uncertainty and frustration resulting from poor cross‐cultural adaptation. The literature provides this general, normative view without much to say about the interpersonal conflict expatriates experience in the workplace abroad caused by cultural differences. Our exploratory study finds that conflicts with co‐workers in host countries occur frequently causing high stress and discomfort, and provides three specific sources of conflict as recounted by sample managers. The implications of our findings include: selecting expatriate managers with high emotional intelligence, providing extensive pre‐departure cultural training that consists not only of cultural facts but also interpersonal skills such as active listening, conflict management, and ethical reasoning, utilizing sensitivity training techniques to better prepare managers for new situations, and sending the expatriate on one or two pre‐sojourn visits to familiarize themselves with the host culture and workplace norms even before the actual expatriate assignment begins. An additional implication is training the host‐country workers, particularly those who will work most closely with the expatriate manager, on home country cultural beliefs and workplace norms. We aim to stimulate managerial thinking and further research on the workplace conflicts that challenge expatriates managers.
An assessment of various approaches for evaluating project strategic benefits
Authors: Lefley Frank
Published: August 2004

Capital projects can be complex and offer strategical benefits that are difficult to quantify in financial terms and, as a result, are often left out of the appraisal process altogether. This paper highlights the inadequacy of the financial appraisal models to capture many of these strategic benefits, and reviews various approaches and strategic models currently used in practice. It argues the case for the adoption of a management team approach, focusing on judgmental values, to the identification and evaluation of a project's strategic benefits. The paper concludes by looking at the strategic index (SI) which was developed to identify and evaluate project strategic benefits. The procedure to arrive at the SI has been designed to extract “accurate” judgmental values and to formalise, in a structured way, what would otherwise be an unstructured and complex problem, linking project selection to business strategy. This procedure, to some extent, adopts a “systems thinking” type of process of inquiry, making use of experience‐based knowledge.
International advertising strategy
Authors: Melewar T.C. , Vemmervik Claes
Published: August 2004

This paper reviews and critiques the standardization debate in international advertising strategy. First, the paper identifies the standardization, adaptation and compromise schools of advertising including their advantages and disadvantages and then presents some of the contingency models with special focus on variables related to products, customer segments and organization. Then, a number of deficiencies in the academic literature as a whole are presented. The conclusion is that the preferred school of advertising is the compromise school, but that the continuum perspective is of little use to practitioners as they want to know what variables determine the position on the standardization continuum in their sector and whether the level of standardization is increasing or decreasing.
The differentiating function of modern forms of leadership
Authors: Torpman Jan
Published: August 2004

According to recent developments in decision‐making theory organizational decisions are governed by organizational values and identities according to a logic of appropriateness rather than calculative and preference‐driven rationality. Similarly, leadership theory has developed from ideas about leadership as an exchange between superiors and subordinates (transactional leadership) to ideas about symbolic manipulation of organizational values and identities (transformational leadership). In this paper, it is shown how the combination of organizational and personal identities in decision‐making and leadership can cause decision‐making problems. Where individuals are encouraged as organizational members to identify with the organization, and thus, be motivated beyond a perspective of give and take, an overlap between individual and organizational identities should be expected. Also discussed how individual decision‐makers' insufficient understanding of organizational decision‐premises may lead to the faulty replacement of organizational identities with individual values and identities.
Toward global competitive advantage
Authors: Ma Hao
Published: August 2004

This paper advances an integrative framework on the determinants of competitive advantage in global competition. It coalesces the disparate array of literature on competitive advantage in international management and strategic management. The integrative framework hinges on four general categories of factors – creation and innovation, competition, cooperation, and co‐option – and three generic types of competitive advantages – ownership‐based, access‐based, and proficiency‐based. Specific determinants of competitive advantage are juxtaposed and presented within the proposed framework. Such a framework is expected to enhance out understanding of global competitive advantage.
Leadership in the context of culture
Authors: Shahin Amany I. , Wright Peter L.
Published: August 2004

Most leadership theories are North American in origin. These theories may not be appropriate to be applied on a worldwide basis, especially in cultures, which differ in significant respects from the American culture. This study investigates the suitability of applying Bass and Avolio's transformational/transactional leadership model in a Middle Eastern country such as Egypt. A questionnaire based on Bass and Avolio's multifactor leadership questionnaire, with additional questions which were believed to reflect Egyptian culture, was administered to managers and subordinates in ten Egyptian investment banks. Usable responses were obtained from 70 managers and 173 subordinates. Factor analysis of the data revealed a factor structure, which differed in significant respects from that found on the basis of research in the USA, providing strong support for the argument that adjustment and modification of Bass and Avolio's model of leadership are required in different cultures.
Towards knowledge leadership
Authors: Viitala Riitta
Published: August 2004

This paper seeks some answers to the question “What should leaders actually do in their units if they want to support learning which contributes to the capability of the organization”. This study represents one step in conceptualising and empirically examining knowledge leadership. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. As a result of a qualitative study hypothetical ideal model emerged, on the basis of which an instrument of evaluation was created. By means of this it was possible to verify the ideal model with respect to the empirical material and study the implementation of the phenomenon in practice. Factor analysis showed that the most central dimensions of knowledge management are orienteering learning, creating climate that supports learning, supporting learning process at group and individual level, and being a role model. Furthermore, it is explained how knowledge management is manifested in the activity of the leaders.
Optical fibre design using evolutionary strategies
Authors: Manos Steven , Poladian Leon
Published: August 2004

The design of optical fibres for applications where many performance targets have to be met simultaneously is a non‐trivial process. An evolutionary strategy (ES) combined with an algorithm to model the appropriate fibre parameters was used to design an optical fibre suitable for long haul high bandwidth communications. The ES code was developed using an object oriented approach and a parallel version was also incorporated. This allowed for the rapid implementation and subsequent design of fibres with properties of interest. Design constraints arising from the fibre manufacturing process were incorporated.
Pullout capacity of spatial anchors
Authors: Frgić Lidija , Marović Pavao , Tor Krešimir
Published: August 2004

This paper discusses the pullout capacity of spatial anchors in soil under applied vertical force. In field tests, the pullout forces were gradually increased and the ground surface displacements measured in two profiles perpendicular to each other. The laboratory and field tests were performed for several embedment depths and anchor diameter ratios in the same sand and under the same conditions. The anchor pulling was also laboratory‐tested so that the vertical anchor displacements were given and the corresponding force intensity measured. The finite element method was used for the pullout force computation in test cases. The relations between displacements and pullout forces obtained by the laboratory tests, field tests and numerical computations were statistically analysed. Owing to gradual convergence of pullout forces towards the limit value, the exponential function was adopted as an approximation curve. The two obtained constants of the function represent the significant mechanical characteristics. The first is limit pullout force and the second gives the total stiffness of the soil mechanical system.
A study on the dependency of the interface forces on the FE discretization in nonconvex‐nonsmooth frictional contact problems
Authors: Mistakidis E.S. , Politis N.P.
Published: August 2004

In this paper, the effect of the FE discretization density on the results of both convex and nonconvex‐nonsmooth frictional contact and adhesive contact interface problems is investigated. The tool for this study is a variational formulation leading to an iterative method for the numerical solution of the arising nonconvex‐nonsmooth optimization problems. Various cases of monotone and nonmonotone interface laws are considered and interesting results are obtained.
Optimal number and placements of piezoelectric patch actuators in structural active vibration control
Authors: Hua Ning Hao
Published: August 2004

This paper presents an optimal design method of number and placements of piezoelectric patch actuators in active vibration control of a plate. Eigenvalue distribution of energy correlative matrix of control input force is applied to determine optimal number of the required actuators. Genetic algorithms (GAs) using active vibration control effects, which are taken as the objective function, are adopted to search optimal placements of actuators. The results show that disturbance exerted on a plate is a key factor of determining optimal number and placements of actuators in active structural vibration control, and a global and efficient optimization solution of multiple actuator placements can be obtained using GAs.
Social factors that impact women's practice of breast self‐examination
Authors: London Patricia A. , Flannery Daniele D.
Published: August 2004

The purpose of the qualitative study was to understand how social factors might help or hinder the training transfer process. Specifically, this qualitative research looked at the meanings a group of women attached to social factors that might influence their practice of breast self‐exam. Implications for transfer of training are suggested.
Managerial career anchors in a changing business environment
Authors: Kniveton Bromley H.
Published: August 2004

Trainers need to consider changes in working practices, which, it is argued, influence managers' perceptions of their careers. A total of 540 managers were interviewed, and a questionnaire was used to measure the relative importance of individual career anchors. It was found that younger managers were more orientated towards their own skills and what they could contribute, whereas older managers were more inclined to be aware of the limitations of their role in the organisation. It was stressed that the difference between the perception of their careers of the younger and older managers is something which the trainer needs to consider. Also significant to the trainer was how similar male and female managers were in their perceptions of their career anchors.
The cooperation of small and middle‐sized companies with universities in Turkey
Authors: Dalyan Figen
Published: August 2004

Higher education institutions are the places from where the societies base the information, deliver and apply it. Moreover, it is the place where the people who are required to bring innovations with required abilities, skills and attitudes are trained. Forming a network between the small and middle sized companies (SMSC) and higher education institutions in Turkey might present some opportunities which are not easily available for economy, society and higher education. However, to implement such a social structure the government and some of the institutions need to have some changes in their attitudes. This study has aimed to develop some solutions for the problems and incompetency of higher education and the SMSC in Turkey. The project named “Acquiring Enterprising Skills Project” can be started in one region at first, and then it can be applied throughout the country by having coordination between the institutions. That kind of coordination might be a solution for the students in higher education to have some experience related to the sector in their major, and it might be a solution for the SMSC for the problems related to creativity, research and development planning, management, manufacturing, marketing, efficiency, effectiveness, and experts.
Knowledge system for dropout prevention
Authors: Kapeliuk Adi , Reich Yoram , Bar‐Lev Roni
Published: August 2004

About 9 per cent of the students in Israel drop out of school. Attendance officers, who are appointed to enforce education attendance laws, and other decision makers have to deal with many dropout cases with limited resources, leading to sub optimal or even wrong solutions. In contrast, creative, successful solutions adopted by one attendance officer, are not shared by others, since there is no system (manual or computational) that accumulates knowledge. In this work, we present a knowledge management model, developed for supporting attendance officers, that is based on problem solving according to precedents. The model was tested in lab settings with 12 attendance officers, each solving 6 problems, and was found to have remarkable potential for improving attendance officers' work and their understanding and perception of their work. The system developed is easy to use and can be easily deployed in real settings.
The things that count: negative perceptions of the teaching environment among university academics
Authors: Leveson Lynne
Published: August 2004

Studies have highlighted the influence of how students perceive their learning environment in shaping their attitudes to learning, their approach to learning and ultimately with the quality of their learning outcomes. Although far less extensively researched, it appears that how academics perceive their teaching environment influences both what and how they teach. The nature and effect of these perceptions has important implications for the recruitment and retention of key personnel and for the quality of teaching, learning and campus work life in general. This paper reports the results of a study that investigates the perceptions of a group of Australian and New Zealand academics of their work environment. The aim of the study is to identify those factors perceived as negatively affecting teaching, the key themes underlying these factors and the relationships between perceptions and choice of teaching approach. The results and their implications for the quality of university teaching are discussed.
A study of Web‐based learning (WBL) environment in Malaysia
Authors: Poon Wai‐Ching , Lock‐Teng Low Kevin , Gun‐Fie Yong David
Published: August 2004

The advance of online technology and instructional delivery such as Web‐based learning (WBL) has heralded new changes in education. Students using the WBL environment in various courses at eight universities in Malaysia were surveyed. Results showed that five main factors influence the effectiveness of the online learning process: students' behavior, characteristics of lecturers, interactive application, technology or system, and the institutions. Results indicated that students' grades are highly correlated with student perception, self‐efficacy and interactivity. The WBL learners do not outperform traditional learners. There is also a need to improve the quality of WBL due to differences in adaptation styles of learners in the process.
The making and remaking of organization context
Authors: Dillard Jesse F. , Rigsby John T. , Goodman Carrie
Published: August 2004

Institutional theory is becoming one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in organization theory and is increasingly being applied in accounting research to study the practice of accounting in organizations. However, most institutional theory research has adequately theorized neither the institutionalization process through which change takes place nor the socio‐political context of the institutional formations. We propose a social theory based framework for grounding and expanding institutional theory to more fully articulate institutionalization processes. Specifically, we incorporate institutional theory and structuration theory and draw on the work of Max Weber in developing a framework of the context and the processes associated with creating, adopting and discarding institutional practices. We propose that the expanded framework depicts the socio‐economic and political context better and more directly addresses the dynamics of enacting, embedding and changing organizational features and processes. Expanding the focus of the institutional theory based accounting research can facilitate a more comprehensive representation of accounting as the object of institutional practices as well as provide a better articulation of the role of accounting in the institutionalization process.
Postsocial relations
Authors: Lowe Alan
Published: August 2004

This paper discusses the impact and influences of the growth of postsocial relations on accounting practice. Aspects of the growth of knowledge cultures, which have been argued to impact social and organizational arrangements, are discussed. Extending this view to accounting, we see accountants forming a distinctive knowledge culture with their own unique rules of how knowledge is constituted. These rules are embedded in accounting systems and practices. This paper suggests the need to further develop a research program that seeks to investigate accounting practice in local settings. The discussion in the paper is based on views which posit the growth of intimate links with epistemic objects within organizations and society. This paper argues that such ideas lead to an increasing tendency for us to experience the changes in societal relations and social arrangements as a compression of time and space. The paper relates these ideas to developments in the accounting research literature.
Comprehensive machine cell/part family formation using genetic algorithms
Authors: Zolfaghari Saeed , Liang Ming
Published: August 2004

The solution quality of a comprehensive machine/part grouping problem, where the processing times, lot sizes and machine capacities are considered, may not be properly evaluated using a binary performance measure. This paper suggests a generalized grouping efficacy index which has been compared favorably with two binary performance measures. A genetic algorithm using the generalized performance measure as the objective is developed to solve the comprehensive grouping problems. The algorithm has been tested using a number of reference problems with processing times being randomly assigned to all operations. The effects of three major genetic parameters (population size, mutation rate and the number of crossover points) have also been examined. The results indicate that, when the computational time is fixed, larger population size and lower mutation rate tend to improve solution quality while the number of crossover points has no significant impact on the final solution.
An application of design of experiments for optimization of plastic injection molding processes
Authors: Dowlatshahi Shad
Published: August 2004

Making improvements in products or in processes can be one of the most challenging tasks confronting an organization. This paper uses design of experiment (DOE) to identify causes of defects associated with plastic injection molding processes at the early phases of designing processes and operations. A detailed eight‐phase methodology is offered through which an identification of defects and effective solutions for their removal could be done. The paper also shows how the parameters of the problem could be established and how DOE could be applied to achieve the stated objectives by using the results of only 18 and ten DOE test runs. The results of the initial experiments are subjected to a verification procedure to determine their viability and accuracy. As a result of this experiment, the company was able to make the changes needed to reduce the cycle time required to produce products and thus, increase productivity while maintaining high quality standards. In conclusion, an assessment of the results is provided and the necessary conditions and prerequisites for the effective utilization of the methodology are presented.