bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A probe into the facilities maintenance data of a hotel
Authors: Lai Joseph HK , Yik Francis WH
Published: April 2011

The performance of facilities in buildings has profound influence on end-user satisfaction. This, in turn, would affect the buildings’ income and hence the level of resources available for maintaining their facilities. Probing into the computerised maintenance management data of a quality hotel, the study reported here identified a strongly positive correlation between the facilities’ downtime and the quantity of maintenance work orders. Work efficiency, which measures the effectiveness of the hotel’s maintenance workforce, was found to decline with increasing utilisation levels of the workers. Scrutinising the utilisation and efficiency levels of the workers enabled a review of their workloads and performances. The benchmarking curves developed based on the downtimes of the hotel’s facilities can help measure the quality of maintenance works. Further research works are needed to study the effects of low and moderate occupancy rates on maintenance demand, the utilisation and efficiency levels of workers in performing preventive maintenance works, and the availabilities of unreliable facilities and those which are hard to maintain.

Practical applications: It has been shown how the data stored in a computerised maintenance management system can be analysed to examine the demand for facilities maintenance, the effectiveness of a maintenance workforce and the performance of facilities. The study findings are useful for facilities management (FM) practitioners. Pursuing more studies of this kind would make further contributions to performance evaluation and benchmarking in the FM field.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management in Family-Controlled Companies
Authors: Prencipe Annalisa , Bar-Yosef Sasson
Published: April 2011

The corporate governance literature advances the idea that certain aspects of a board of directors’ structure improve the monitoring of managerial decisions. Among these decisions are a manager’s policies about managing earnings. Prior studies have shown that earnings management in widely held public companies is less prevalent when there is a high level of board independence. However, there is less evidence regarding the effectiveness of board independence on earnings management in family-controlled companies. This issue is particularly interesting as such companies are susceptible to various types of agency concerns. It is the purpose of this study to shed light on the earnings management issue in family-controlled companies characterized by potentially lower board independence and a higher risk of collusion. In this study, board independence is estimated by two parameters: (1) proportion of independent directors on the board; and (2) lack of chief executive officer (CEO)–board chairman duality function.

Our empirical results provide evidence that the impact of board independence on earnings management is indeed weaker in family-controlled companies. The same result also holds for the lack of CEO– board chairman duality function. Such effects become stronger in cases in which the CEO is a member of the controlling family.
The Torpedo Effect
Authors: Payne Jeff L. , Thomas Wayne B.
Published: April 2011

General evidence indicates that managers manage earnings at three common earnings thresholds: analyst forecasts, prior period earnings, and zero earnings. We examine one market-based motivation suggested for this behavior. If managers perceive the market penalty for barely missing an earnings threshold to be disproportionately high (i.e., a torpedo effect), they may use discretion to manage earnings upward to meet the earnings threshold. This market-based incentive would explain the evidence in favor of earnings management at earnings thresholds. To test the existence of a torpedo effect, we employ a comprehensive model that measures the market’s reaction to reported earnings that barely miss earnings thresholds. This model controls for the level of unexpected earnings and several other firm characteristics known to affect the relation between returns and earnings. Overall, we conclude that there is little evidence of a torpedo effect. This conclusion holds for both low-growth and high-growth firms and is unaffected by the firm’s history of meeting the threshold. Our paper dispels some commonly held beliefs about the market’s response to earnings thresholds.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management in the Pre– and Post–Sarbanes-Oxley Act Regimes
Authors: Hossain Mahmud , Mitra Santanu , Rezaee Zabihollah , Sarath Bharat
Published: April 2011

Backdating stock options, a practice that retroactively adjusts stock option grant dates to lower the exercise price, has raised governance, legal, accounting, tax, and auditing concerns. The practice of backdating options generally is believed to be a result of both ineffective corporate governance and management opportunism. Both of these factors have been linked to a higher level of discretionary accruals adjustments. This study examines the accruals-based earnings management patterns for a group of firms that were implicated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for backdating stock options with a matched control group of nonimplicated firms for a time period surrounding the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002. Both the univariate and multivariate analyses show that in the pre-SOX years, the sample of implicated firms managed abnormal accruals at a significantly greater level than the matched group of nonimplicated firms. The differential pattern of accruals management across these two groups becomes insignificant in the post-SOX period. Our result also suggests that the effect of SOX on mitigating the level of accruals management is substantially greater for the implicated companies than for the nonimplicated companies. The difference in the effect of SOX on the two groups of firms persists even after controlling for the differences in their governance and internal control effectiveness. We, therefore, suggest that SOX had effects on management’s reporting choices beyond those resulting from improvements in governance and internal control over financial reporting.
Equity Incentives and Earnings Management
Authors: Cheng Qiang , Warfield Terry , Ye Minlei
Published: April 2011

We examine the relationship between equity incentives and earnings management in the banking industry. By focusing on this regulated industry and using industry-specific earnings management proxies, we provide evidence on the impact of regulation on earnings management arising from chief executive officers’ equity incentives. We find that bank managers with high equity incentives are more likely to manage earnings, but only when capital ratios are closer to the minimums required by regulators. This finding indicates that, in the banking industry, potential regulatory intervention induces, rather than mitigates, earnings management arising from equity incentives.
Losses, Dividend Reductions, and Market Reaction Associated with Past Earnings and Dividends Patterns
Authors: Charitou Andreas , Lambertides Neophytos , Theodoulou Giorgos
Published: April 2011

This paper examines investors’ reactions to dividend reductions or omissions conditional on past earnings and dividend patterns for a sample of eighty-two U.S. firms that incurred an annual loss. We document that the market reaction for firms with long patterns of past earnings and dividend payouts is significantly more negative than for firms with less-established past earnings and dividends records. Our results can be explained by the following line of reasoning. First, consistent with DeAngelo, DeAngelo, and Skinner (1992) , a loss following a long stream of earnings and dividend payments represents an unreliable indicator of future earnings. Thus, established firms have higher loss reliability than less-established firms. Second, because current earnings and dividend policy are a substitute source of means of forecasting future earnings, lower loss reliability increases the information content of dividend reductions. Therefore, given the presence of a loss, the longer the stream of prior earnings and dividend payments, (1) the lower the loss reliability and (2) the more reliably dividend cuts are perceived as an indication that earnings difficulties will persist in the future.
To Cheat or Not to Cheat
Authors: Stanley Brooke W. , Sharma Vikram I.
Published: April 2011

Two different bodies of literature suggest contradictory relations between the likelihood that a firm misreports its financial statement and the use of debt in its capital structure. We test these relations using three different measures of misreporting and find that the results differ depending upon the materiality of misreporting. For relatively less (more) material misreporting, we find the likelihood of misreporting is positively related (unrelated) to bank borrowing. These results suggest that bank monitoring is insufficient to deter or detect misreporting and that bank debt may even provide incentives for managers to misreport, consistent with the “debt covenant hypothesis.”
A Spatial Propensity Score Matching Evaluation of the Social Impacts of Sugarcane Growing on Municipalities in Brazil
Authors: Chagas André Luis Squarize , Toneto Rudinei , Azzoni Carlos Roberto
Published: April 2011

The expansion of sugarcane growing in Brazil, spurred particularly by increased demand for ethanol, has triggered the need to evaluate the economic, social, and environmental impacts of this process, both on the country as a whole and on the growing regions. Even though the balance of costs and benefits is positive from an overall standpoint, this may not be so in specific producing regions, due to negative externalities. The objective of this paper is to estimate the effect of growing sugarcane on the human development index (HDI) and its sub-indices in cane producing regions. In the literature on matching effects, this is interpreted as the effect of the treatment on the treated. Location effects are controlled by spatial econometric techniques, giving rise to the spatial propensity score matching model. The authors analyze 424 minimum comparable areas (MCAs) in the treatment group, compared with 907 MCAs in the control group. The results suggest that the presence of sugarcane growing in these areas is not relevant to determine their social conditions, whether for better or worse. It is thus likely that public policies, especially those focused directly on improving education, health, and income generation/distribution, have much more noticeable effects on the municipal HDI.
Neighborhood and Efficiency in Manufacturing in Brazilian Regions
Authors: Schettini Daniela , Azzoni Carlos R. , Paez Antonio
Published: April 2011

This paper analyzes the geography of regional competitiveness in manufacturing in Brazil. The authors estimate stochastic frontiers to calculate regional efficiency of representative firms in 137 regions in the period 2000–2006, in four sectors defined by technological intensity. The efficiency results are analyzed using Markov Spatial Transition Matrices to provide insights into the transition of regions between efficiency levels, considering their local spatial context. The results indicate that geography plays an important role in manufacturing competitiveness. In particular, regions with more competitive neighbors are more likely to improve their relative efficiency (pull effect) over time, and regions with less competitive neighbors are more likely to lose relative efficiency (drag effect). The authors find that the pull effect is stronger than the drag effect.
Investigating the effectiveness of individualized feedback to rating behavior — a longitudinal study
Authors: Knoch Ute
Published: April 2011

The effectiveness of individualized feedback on rater behavior has been investigated in several previous studies (e.g. Elder, Knoch, Barkhuizen, & von Randow, 2005; Lunt, Morton, & Wigglesworth, 1994; O’Sullivan & Rignall, 2007; Wigglesworth, 1993). The findings of these studies are somewhat inconclusive. However, all of these studies investigated the value of such feedback on a one-off basis, and it is thus not clear how raters use this type of feedback over several administrations of a test. Furthermore, previous research has focused only on one language skill at a time, and we do not know if raters can incorporate the feedback in a similar way when rating speaking and writing. This study tracks the rating behavior of 19 raters assessing a large-scale English for specific purposes (ESP) assessment for the health professions over eight administrations. After each administration, raters received detailed performance profiles of their rating behavior which were generated using many-faceted Rasch measurement. Raters also completed a questionnaire and a subset of raters were interviewed to ascertain their views on the effectiveness of this feedback. The findings showed that the raters were rating no better when receiving the feedback than when they had not received feedback and neither speaking nor writing raters were able to incorporate the feedback more successfully. Although the raters were generally positive about the success of the feedback, there was no relationship between their perceptions of the feedback and the success of the feedback.
Psycholinguistic word information in second language oral discourse
Authors: Salsbury Tom , Crossley Scott A. , McNamara Danielle S.
Published: April 2011

This study uses word information scores from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Psycholinguistic Database to analyse word development in the spontaneous speech data of six adult learners of English as a second language (L2) in a one-year longitudinal study. In contrast to broad measures of lexical development, such as word frequency and lexical diversity, this study analyses L2 learners’ depth of word knowledge as measured by psycholinguistic values for concreteness, imagability, meaningfulness, and familiarity. Repeated measure ANOVAs yielded significant differences over time for concreteness, imagability, and meaningfulness, where the temporal intervals act as the independent variable, and the MRC values function as the dependent variables. Non-significant results were found for familiarity scores. The results provide evidence that learners’ productive vocabularies become more abstract, less context dependent, and more tightly associated over time. This indicates a deeper knowledge of second language vocabulary and has important implications for how vocabulary knowledge can be measured in future studies of L2 lexical development.
Identification of Bartonella henselae in 2 Cats With Pyogranulomatous Myocarditis and Diaphragmatic Myositis
Authors: Varanat M. , Broadhurst J. , Linder K. E. , Maggi R. G. , Breitschwerdt E. B.
Published: April 2011

Most cats infected with Bartonella henselae remain outwardly healthy carriers for years; however, self-limiting fever, transient anemia, neurologic dysfunction, lymphadenopathy, reproductive disorders, aortic valvular endocarditis, and neutrophilic myocarditis have been described in experimentally or naturally infected cats. Two cats in a North Carolina shelter died with pyogranulomatous myocarditis and diaphragmatic myositis. Bacteria were visualized in the lesions by Warthin-Starry silver impregnation and by B. henselae immunohistochemistry. B. henselae DNA was amplified and sequenced from the heart of 1 cat and from multiple tissue samples, including heart and diaphragm, from the second cat. This study supports a potential association between B. henselae and what has been historically described as “transmissible myocarditis and diaphragmitis” of undetermined cause in cats.
Glomerulonephropathy in Aged Captive Key Largo Woodrats (Neotoma floridana smalli)
Authors: Terrell S. P. , Origgi F. C. , Agnew D.
Published: April 2011

A retrospective review of mortality records of Key Largo woodrats ( Neotoma floridana smalli) in a captive breeding program revealed chronic renal disease in 5 of 6 woodrats older than 4 years of age. Two of the 5 woodrats with chronic renal disease also had clinical evidence of diabetes mellitus. Kidneys from all 5 woodrats were examined via light microscopy, histochemical staining, immunohistochemical staining, and transmission electron microscopy. The dietary histories of the affected animals were examined as well. The most striking histopathologic abnormality in the affected kidneys was the presence of large protein casts within cortical and medullary tubules in combination with lesions of membranous glomerulopathy and glomerulosclerosis. Transmission electron microscopy revealed thickening and undulation of the tubular and glomerular mesangial basement membranes with the variable presence of electron-dense deposits within the capillary endothelial basement membrane. Patchy glomerular immunoreactivity for IgG was noted in 2 cases, but IgA and IgM immunoreactivity were not present. The pathologic changes in the kidneys of the Key Largo woodrats mirrored many of the features of chronic progressive nephropathy commonly diagnosed in laboratory rats. Woodrats in the captive population were fed an ad libitum high-protein diet similar to diets that have been shown in laboratory rats to exacerbate the development and progression of chronic progressive nephropathy. It is concluded that Key Largo woodrats develop glomerulonephropathy with features similar to chronic progressive nephropathy described in laboratory rats. Age, concomitant disease, and dietary factors may contribute to the development and severity of this potentially age-limiting disease in Key Largo woodrats.
Is Tougher Better? The Impact of Physical Prison Conditions on Inmate Violence
Authors: Bierie David M.
Published: April 2011

Physical conditions of prisons have been at the center of long-standing debates in correctional policy and research. Many argue prisons should be unpleasant to deter future offending and motivate prosocial change among inmates. Others believe harsh conditions inhibit effective treatment and, perhaps, make offenders worse. Little progress in these debates has emerged, primarily because few studies exist that have tested propositions coming from either camp. This study draws on survey data collected from a random sample of staff at each of the 114 federal prisons operating in 2007. Staff perceptions of noise, clutter, dilapidation, and privacy were combined to reflect physical conditions of each prison (aggregated to the prison level). Operational data measuring serious violence was used to create a count of serious assaults at each prison over the same time period referenced in the staff survey. Utilizing a Poisson framework, the data showed that poor physical conditions of prisons correspond to significantly higher rates of serious violence. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.
Resistance to the Mainlandization of Criminal Justice Practices
Authors: Lo T. Wing
Published: April 2011

This article examines the political and legal barriers to introducing restorative justice (RJ) in Hong Kong. It argues that the processes involved in RJ may be in conflict with the rule of law, which is regarded by the citizens of Hong Kong as sacrosanct in their resistance to the “mainlandization” of criminal justice practices after China resumed sovereignty of Hong Kong. It is argued that, because it could admit such potentially harmful Chinese criminal justice concepts as “rule by the people,” “absence of the presumption of innocence,” “leniency for self-confession and severity for resistance,” and “toeing the party line,” RJ would be devoid of any restorative substance and could breach the principles of due process.
Unpacking Escalation
Authors: Braithwaite Alex , Lemke Douglas
Published: April 2011

Past studies vary widely in how they measure conflict escalation. The use of different measures of escalation is understandable because theories about escalation do not specify how the concept should be measured. But the use of different measures of escalation hinders cumulation. We contribute to the literature on conflict escalation by comparing a variety of measures of escalation. We demonstrate how few robust relationships there are across different measures of escalation. Importantly, though, we find a consistent influence of territory on escalatory processes which is insensitive to how escalation is measured.
Bias and the Effectiveness of Third-Party Conflict Management Mechanisms
Authors: Gent Stephen E. , Shannon Megan
Published: April 2011

To uncover the relationship between bias and effective conflict resolution, we explore the bias of third parties and the techniques they employ in the diplomatic management of river, maritime, and territorial claims. We find that bias increases the likelihood that a third party will engage in unobtrusive techniques like good offices and decreases its propensity to pursue involved mechanisms like arbitration. Additionally, bias is inversely related to the range of issues addressed at a settlement attempt. As such, unbiased third parties are more effective because they are used for the management techniques that have the most potential to resolve conflicts.
California’s Public Sector Pension Plans in Perspective
Authors: Kilgour John G.
Published: April 2011

The recession of 2001 caused funding problems for public sector pension plans in California and throughout the United States. By 2007, they had largely recovered only to be devastated by the Great Recession that began in the fourth quarter of 2008, the effects of which are still with us. Matters have been exacerbated and complicated by the adoption of Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s Statement 45, which requires that other postemployment benefits (OPEBs), mainly retiree health care obligations, be included in financial statements. Pension plans are prefunded. OPEBs are not. For this and other reasons, the two should be addressed separately. Although there are problems, California’s public sector pension plans are in better shape than one would gather from what has been reported by the media. OPEBs are a larger and more difficult problem.
Post-Fordist Urbanism in France’s Poorest City: Gentrification as Local Capitalist Strategy
Authors: Rousseau Max
Published: April 2011

Gentrification is currently perceived by many critical scholars as a global urban strategy. However, cities differ in their attractiveness for the globalized actors often described as the main force behind this process. The question of the origin of the capital fuelling gentrification in unattractive cities appears therefore crucial. Drawing on the case of Roubaix, an example of the ‘successful’ politics of gentrification in a French ‘repulsive’ city, I will show that it is indeed local capital which starts the process. In this perspective inspired by both the regulation and the Lefebvrian theories of urbanization, the spread of gentrification in declining cities appears less the result of a top-down project driven by the key players of the globalized real estate market, than of a bottom-up project resulting from the needs of local capitalists to find a new way of realizing profits after the collapse of industrial production. In terms of urban politics, the implications are huge.
Redefining participation? On the positioning of children in Swedish welfare benefits appeals
Authors: Fernqvist Stina
Published: April 2011

This article deals with the representation of children in the Swedish welfare state, and particularly how children and parents living in economic hardship are positioned in issues regarding financial aid. According to Article 12 in the UNCRC, children have a right to be heard ‘in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child’. However, children are not participants in processes concerning welfare benefits, despite the effect that the outcome of these processes may have on children’s everyday life. Using welfare benefits appeals as a starting point, the article argues that the impact of the centrality of work discourse in Swedish welfare policy further emphasizes children’s position as passive and non-participants in the welfare discourse.
Psychoacoustic modelling of vehicle side mirror power-fold actuator noise characteristics
Authors: Wang X , Subic A
Published: April 2011

A study of vehicle side mirror power-fold actuator noise characteristic was undertaken, which seeks to correlate subjective evaluation with objective measurements as a basis for development of a product sound quality control algorithm. Psychoacoustic metrics were extracted from the product sound measurements and analysed for manufacturing quality assessment. Two approaches were explored in this study; one is a multiple metric sequential pass-through gate approach and the other is the least square fit regression approach, where measured relevant psychoacoustic metrics are modelled against subjective rating data provided by product sound quality evaluation experts. The ‘gate’ approach using sound pressure level, roughness, and tonality was successfully implemented to segregate bad power-fold actuators from good ones in terms of sound quality. A non-linear, two metric regression algorithm assessing what is a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ actuator, was then developed and validated through comparison with a linear eight metric regression algorithm. Based on correlation of objective measurement and subjective evaluation results for given product samples, the diagnostic methodology developed in this research is applicable to other products for noise diagnostics and quality control.
Reference data on uplift forces for an alarm system to prevent an accident of a container crane due to windblast
Authors: Han D S , Han G J
Published: April 2011

This study is conducted to provide the reference data for an alarm system to prevent an overturning of a container crane under wind loads. Two methods, namely FSI (fluid–structure interaction) analysis and wind tunnel test, are adopted in this investigation. In order to evaluate the effect of wind load on the stability of the crane, a 50-ton class container crane, widely used in container terminals, is adopted for an analytic model, and 19 values are considered for wind direction as a design parameter. First, the wind tunnel test for the reduced-scale container crane model is performed according to the wind direction using an Eiffel-type atmospheric boundary-layer wind tunnel. Next, FSI analysis for a full-scale container crane is conducted using ANSYS and CFX. Then, the uplift force obtained from FSI analysis is compared with that yielded by the wind tunnel test. Finally, the reference data on the uplift forces for an alarm system are suggested to prevent an accident of a container crane due to windblast.
Energy Harvester with a Dynamic Magnifier
Authors: Aldraihem O. , Baz A.
Published: April 2011

Conventional energy harvester typically consists of a piezoelectric element, which is sandwiched between a proof mass and a base subjected to sinusoidal excitation. The resulting relative motion between the proof mass and the base produces a mechanical strain in the piezoelectric element, which is converted into electrical power by virtue of the direct piezoelectric effect. In this study, harvester is provided with a dynamic magnifier consisting of a spring-mass system which is placed between the piezoelectric element and the moving base. The main function of the dynamic magnifier, as the name implies, is to magnify the strain experienced by the piezo-element in order to amplify the electrical power output of the harvester. With proper selection of the design parameters of the magnifier, the harvested power can be dramatically enhanced and the effective bandwidth of the harvester can be improved. The theory governing the operation of this class of energy harvesters with dynamic magnifier (EHDM) is developed using the Lagrangian dynamics approach. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the performance characteristics of the EHDM in comparison with the conventional energy harvesters. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of the EHDM as a simple and effective means for enhancing the magnitude and spectral characteristics of conventional harvesters.
Restorying the Self
Authors: Lau Ursula , van Niekerk Ashley
Published: April 2011

The results of this exploratory study reflect a shift from public health studies that aim to examine the risk and prevalence of burn injury, toward eliciting survivors’ subjective meaning-making processes beyond the injury event. We drew on a narrative framework to explore how young survivors’ experiences of burn injury led to reconstructions of self and shifts in thinking about others and the world. Although participants’ narratives revealed elements of heightened self-awareness, need for acceptance, and desire for recognition, these stood alongside counter narratives denoting positive, transformative, and resilient aspects of healing that reflected a rebirth of the self, life having purpose, and psychospiritual growth. A multidimensional and relational framework for resilience acknowledges the “deficient,” but also recognizes the pathways to growth, healing, meaning, and purpose. This shift toward person-centered meanings has value in informing interventions beyond the immediate “wound care,” toward the survivors’ lifelong (re)negotiation of identity, appearance, psychological adjustment, and social reintegration.
Occupational Overuse Syndrome
Authors: Jaye Chrystal , Fitzgerald Ruth
Published: April 2011

In this article we examine the moral ambiguities expressed by New Zealand health professionals regarding their clients and patients who have occupational overuse syndrome (OOS). Workers with OOS were described as being hard working and dedicated, but also undisciplined in their work and personal lives. The goal of rehabilitation in such cases is a return to full work duties and to this end, health professionals represent the disciplinary and normalizing technologies of the neoliberal state which, in New Zealand, provides financial support and treatment for injured workers. According to the health professionals in this study, the disciplinary technologies exercised through rehabilitation require that clients and patients internalize key values associated with the rhetoric of healthism; primarily self-discipline, self-control, self-denial, and willpower. These underpin successful rehabilitation and ongoing management of OOS, and at the same time represent the central values of the neoliberal capitalist workplace.
Convicted Driving-While-Impaired Offenders’ Views on Effectiveness of Sanctions and Treatment
Authors: Lapham Sandra , England-Kennedy Elizabeth
Published: April 2011

In this article we analyze qualitative data from a multiple-method, longitudinal study drawn from 15-year follow-up interviews with a subsample of 82 individuals arrested for driving while intoxicated in a southwestern state (1989–1995). We explore reactions to the arrest and court-mandated sanctions, including legal punishments, mandated interventions, and/or participation in programs aimed at reducing recidivism. Key findings include experiencing certain negative emotional reactions to the arrest, reactions to being jailed, experiencing other court-related sanctions as deterring driving-while-intoxicated behavior, and generally negative opinions regarding court-mandated interventions. We discuss interviewees’ complex perspectives on treatment and program participation and their effects on lessening recidivism, and we offer suggestions for reducing recidivism based on our findings.
Career Interests and Self-Estimated Abilities of Young Adults With Disabilities
Authors: Turner Sherri , Unkefer Lesley Craig , Cichy Bryan Ervin , Peper Christine , Juang Ju-Ping
Published: April 2011

The purpose of this study was to ascertain vocational interests and self-estimated work-relevant abilities of young adults with disabilities. Results showed that young adults with both low incidence and high incidence disabilities have a wide range of interests and self-estimated work-relevant abilities that are comparable to those in the general population. However, in this sample, less than 50% were employed in jobs that matched their Holland Theme interest/ability profiles. Suggestions for both employers and counselors to assist young adults with disabilities to work in employment that is satisfying and congruent with their vocational personalities are offered.
Examining the Impact of Gender on the Factor Structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory—Revised
Authors: Anestis Joye C. , Caron Kelly M. , Carbonell Joyce L.
Published: April 2011

Research on the factor structure of psychopathy has yielded mixed results, supporting anywhere from one to three factors. Additionally, most of this research has used all-male samples, and the possibility of structural invariance across gender has not been examined. Using a mixed-gender sample of 360 undergraduates, the factor structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory—Revised was examined using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group analysis. One-, two-, and three-factor models were tested and compared with each other. When males and females were combined, none of the three models provided adequate fit to the data. Multiple group analyses revealed partial invariance across gender for all three models. Model comparison criteria supported use of both the one- and two-factor models, taking into account variable factor structure across gender. The importance of considering structural differences based on biological sex when assessing psychopathic traits is discussed.
Typical bearing-fault rating using force measurements: application to real data
Authors: Slavič Janko , Brković Aleksandar , Boltežar Miha
Published: April 2011

In contrast to the commonly used acceleration measurement, this research discusses the use of force measurements to identify bearing faults. A force sensor is fixed between the rigid surroundings and the bearing to measure all of the reactive forces due to the vibration excitation. Using a force measurement, systematically prepared samples with the five typical faults that can occur during the assembly process (axial, radial, bending moment, contamination and shield defect) were investigated. The samples were prepared with low, medium and high fault ratings. The force measurement, with its relatively simple signal processing based on an envelope detection, was shown to be successful in correctly identifying both the fault rating and the fault type. The presented approach was successfully applied to high-series assembly production and is relatively easy to apply to similar applications.
Tackling the Sustainability Dilemma: A Holistic Approach to Preparing Students for the Professional Organization
Authors: Mabry Sibylle
Published: April 2011

Increased knowledge of business sustainability as the basis of a holistic approach to value creation has inspired many managers to integrate ecological and social stewardship into their strategic business innovation plans. However, the coverage of sustainability issues in business courses remains small at many universities. This article illustrates how business communication students can become cognitively, behaviorally, and emotionally involved in the analysis and evaluation of the complex sustainability paradigm via an assignment focusing on sustainability. The approach integrates several levels of learning, stretching students’ cognitive skills and enhancing the emotional competencies and behavioral skills needed to enter high-level business jobs.
Material tailoring and universal relations for axisymmetric deformations of functionally graded rubberlike cylinders and spheres
Authors: Batra R.C.
Published: April 2011

We find the spatial variation of material parameters for pressurized cylinders and spheres composed of either an incompressible Hookean, neo-Hookean, or Mooney—Rivlin material so that during their axisymmetric deformations either the in-plane shear stress or the hoop stress has a desired spatial variation. It is shown that for a cylinder and a sphere made of an incompressible Hookean material, the shear modulus must be a linear function of the radius r for the hoop stress to be uniform through the thickness. For the in-plane shear stress to be constant through the cylinder (sphere) thickness, the shear modulus must be proportional to r2 ( r3). For finite deformations of cylinders and spheres composed of either neo-Hookean or Mooney—Rivlin materials, the through-the-thickness variation of the material parameters is also determined, for either the in-plane shear stress or the hoop stress, to have a prespecified variation. We note that a constant hoop stress eliminates stress concentration near the innermost surface of a thick cylinder and a thick sphere. A universal relation holds for a general class of materials irrespective of values of material parameters. Here, for axisymmetric deformations, we have derived expressions for the average hoop stress and the average in-plane shear stress, in terms of external tractions and the inner and the outer radii of a cylinder and a sphere, that hold for their elastic and inelastic deformations and for all (compressible and incompressible) materials.
On the derivation of constitutive relations for Cosserat continuum description of structural elements and materials with microstructure
Authors: Riahi A. , Curran J.H.
Published: April 2011

In this paper we discuss the mechanics of the Cosserat continuum and its relevance to the description of structural elements and materials with microstructure. It shows how the standard beam and plate formulations can be derived as reduced forms of the generalized Cosserat continuum. Furthermore, the Cosserat description of materials with microstructure and the procedure to determine the constitutive equations for such materials are described.
Home Health Care Nursing Visit Intensity and Heart Failure Patient Outcomes
Authors: Riggs Jennifer S. , Madigan Elizabeth A. , Fortinsky Richard H.
Published: April 2011

This study is a secondary analysis of data for 107 home health care heart failure patients. The authors investigate the impact of patient characteristics and nursing visit intensity on change in activities of daily living (ADL) status and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) status and improvement/stabilization of dyspnea. Prior hospital stay (ß = .38, p = .001) and nursing visit intensity (ß = –.39, p = .001) predict improvement in ADL status. The model for change in IADL status is not significant. Patients with more than two comorbidities (OR = 6.5, p = .04) and patients who received higher nursing visit intensity (OR = 7.0, p = .04) are more likely to have improved/stabilized dyspnea at home care discharge.
Parental and Professional Beliefs on the Treatment and Management of ADHD
Authors: Dryer Rachel , Kiernan Michael J. , Tyson Graham A.
Published: April 2011

Objective: This study examined parental and professional beliefs about the efficacy of various treatment strategies for ADHD. Method: Parents of children with and without ADHD and seven medical and nonmedical professional groups ( N = 673) completed a questionnaire examining their beliefs about the efficacy of various treatment regimes. Results: Principle component analysis identified four factors—school-based interventions, medical and allied health interventions, parent interventions, and nontraditional interventions. Although there were some group differences in the level of endorsement for these factors, there was a high degree of concordance between the groups. The school-based interventions factor was the most highly endorsed, whereas the nontraditional interventions factor was the least endorsed by the sample as a whole. Conclusion: The results suggest that the low level of interdisciplinary interaction that has been reported in the literature is not due to differences in beliefs about the efficacy of various treatment strategies for ADHD.
Examining the Dimensionality of ADHD Symptomatology in Young Adults Using Factor Analysis and Outcome Prediction
Authors: McKee Tara E.
Published: April 2011

Objective: Current diagnostic criteria specify that ADHD involves difficulties with inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. Researchers using factor analysis have consistently found support for an inattention factor in both children and adults. Findings have been mixed regarding whether hyperactivity and impulsivity reflect one or two dimensions. To date, no study has examined the merits of separating hyperactivity and impulsivity factors to predict socioemotional and academic outcomes in young adults. Method: The current study examined self-reported ADHD symptomatology data from 1,096 college students. Subsets of the sample completed a variety of outcome measures. Results: The prediction of outcomes provided support that complemented confirmatory factor analysis for the separation of the hyperactivity and impulsivity constructs. Impulsivity uniquely predicted more outcomes than hyperactivity alone. Conclusion: Results were consistent with the conceptualization of ADHD as primarily a disorder of behavioral inhibition. Future research using alternative outcomes and clinical populations should be conducted.
Behavioral and Cardiovascular Responses to Frustration During Simulated Driving Tasks in Young Adults With and Without Attention Disorder Symptoms
Authors: Oliver Michele L. , Nigg Joel T. , Cassavaugh Nicholas D. , Backs Richard W.
Published: April 2011

Objective:

The present study examined the role of negative emotions on driving performance in relation to ADHD, by comparing young adults scoring high on measures of ADHD ( n = 20) with a control group ( n = 22).

Method:

The authors used cardiorespiratory physiological measures, simulated driving behavior, and self-report to examine how participants with high and low ADHD symptoms responded to frustration and to determine how frustration affected simulated driving performance.

Results:

Groups did not differ in operational driving skills, but participants with high ADHD symptoms reported more frustration and exhibited more impairment at the tactical level of driving performance than the controls. There was significant suppression of respiratory sinus arrhythmia from resting baseline during tasks, but it did not differ between groups during driving.

Conclusion:

This article proposes that remedial driver training for ADHD populations should focus more on the control of negative emotions rather than on attention or fundamental driving skills. (J. of Att. Dis. 2012; 16(6) 478-490)
Time Out of Mind
Authors: Carelli Maria G. , Wiberg Britt
Published: April 2011

Objective:

ADHD is often associated with difficulties in planning and time management. In this study, the authors examined the hypothesis that these functional problems in ADHD reflect systematic biases in temporal orientation.

Method:

To test this hypothesis, adults with ADHD (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 60) completed the Swedish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (S-ZTPI).

Results:

Although a majority of the ADHD participants were tested under stimulant medication, they showed significant differences in all the six subscales of the S-ZTPI. Logistic regression analysis, with age, education, depression, and response inhibition as covariates, showed that the Future Positive Scale was the primary predictor of ADHD status.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that ADHD is associated with systematic biases in habitual time orientation and that these differences may contribute to functional problems in ADHD.
Is the Recall of Verbal–Spatial Information From Working Memory Affected by Symptoms of ADHD?
Authors: Caterino Linda C. , Verdi Michael P.
Published: April 2011

Ojective: The Kulhavy model for text learning using organized spatial displays proposes that learning will be increased when participants view visual images prior to related text. In contrast to previous studies, this study also included students who exhibited symptoms of ADHD. Method: Participants were presented with either a map-text or text-map condition. Results: The map-text condition led to a significantly higher performance than the text-map condition, overall. However, students who endorsed more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity–impulsivity scored more poorly when asked to recall text facts, text features, and map features and were less able to correctly place map features on a reconstructed map than were students who endorsed fewer symptoms. Conclusion: The results of the study support the Kulhavy model for typical students; however, the benefit of viewing a display prior to text was not seen for students with ADHD symptoms, thus supporting previous studies that have demonstrated that ADHD appears to negatively affect operations that occur in working memory.
Tools Used to Evaluate Written Medicine and Health Information
Authors: Luk Alice , Aslani Parisa
Published: April 2011

This study aims to identify and review tools used to evaluate consumer-oriented written medicine (WMI) and health (WHI) information from a document and user perspective. Articles that met the following inclusion criteria were reviewed: studies evaluating readability, presentation, suitability, quality of WMI/WHI. A total of 152 articles were identified, of which 64 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Fifty-nine original studies used evaluation tools and 5 reviewed a specific group of tools. Sixteen detailed the development or validation of an instrument. Fifteen studies evaluated WMI and 28 evaluated WHI. Twenty-three evaluation instruments were identified. Of the seven readability tests, SMOG was predominantly used (12 of 43 studies). Eight tools measured health literacy, with REALM being the most popular instrument (7 of 43). SAM was the most commonly used presentation tool (12 of 43 studies). Many tools are available to evaluate WMI and WHI. However, the majority are researcher focused. Most evaluate readability and presentation, revealing a gap in valid and reliable tools for assessing quality of information, and those that can be used by consumers.
Sexual Health Information Seeking Online
Authors: Magee Joshua C. , Bigelow Louisa , DeHaan Samantha , Mustanski Brian S.
Published: April 2011

The current study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the positive and negative aspects of Internet use for sexual health information among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young people. A diverse community sample of 32 LGBT young people (aged 16-24 years) completed qualitative interviews focusing on how, where, and when LGBT young people use the Internet for sexual health information. Results indicate that although many participants seek facts and statistics about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV online, few conduct searches about broader aspects of sexual health. Participants reported that fear about becoming infected with STIs/HIV is a common motivator of searches and noted a number of reasons for not using online sexual health information, including stigma associated with being observed accessing LGBT or HIV information. Together, the results revealed not only significant interest in online sexual health information but also concerns about the perceived limitations of this promising method of sexual health promotion.
Young People and the Future
Authors: Woodman Dan
Published: April 2011

Young people’s temporal orientation is now a major focus of youth studies. A central research question in this area is whether or not young people treat their futures as ‘choice biographies’ to be planned as a personal project. In this article I suggest that this focus has emerged in part from a misreading of contemporary sociological theory and I attempt to widen the focus of inquiry. Drawing on a qualitative interview with 50 young people in Australia aged 18 to 20, I highlight two significant elements of temporal orientation obscured by a focus on planning versus not planning. First, that young people mix multiple temporal orientations and strategies, of varying degrees of discursive explicitness, concurrently and as such can be present and future oriented at the same time. Second, that thinking about and shaping the future and enjoying, and coping in, the present are not individual pursuits but shaped collectively with significant others.