bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High Performance Computing of Possible Minds
Authors: Ziesche Soenke , Yampolskiy Roman V.
Published: April 2017

It has been shown that the space of possible minds is vast, actually infinite. Intellectology is a new field of study, which examines in more detail features of possible minds. Among the many open and unexplored questions in this field is the following: “Which activities can minds perform during their lifetime?” This question is very broad, thus our contribution here addresses the sub-question “Which non-boring activities can minds perform?” This issue is ethically relevant for human minds if the predicted significant extension of our lifetime materializes and we are then potentially challenged how to spend this additional time. The space of potential non-boring activities has been called “fun space.” We analyze the relation between various types of minds and the portion of the fun space, which is accessible for them. As a novel result, we demonstrate that human minds can experience two types of fun when transforming information to knowledge: novelty fun and process fun.
Privacy Enhanced Cloud-Based Recommendation Service for Implicit Discovery of Relevant Support Groups in Healthcare Social Networks
Authors: Elmisery Ahmed M. , Sertovic Mirela
Published: April 2017

Recommending support-groups in healthcare social networks is the problem of detecting for each patient his/her membership to one support-group of relevant patients. The patients in each support-group share some relevant preferences which guarantee that the support-group as a whole satisfies some desired properties of similarity. As a result, forming these support-groups requires the availability of personal data of different patients. This is a crucial requirement for different recommender services. With the increasing trend of service providers to collect a large volume of personal data regarding their end-users, presumably to better serve them. However, a significant part of the data that is typically collected is not essential to the service being offered, or to the completion of the services it was presumably released for. Gathering such unnecessary data can be seen as a privacy threat, and storing it exposes the end-users to further unavoidable risks. In this paper, a privacy enhanced cloud-based recommendation service is proposed for the implicit discovery of appropriate support groups in healthcare social network. A fog based middleware (FMCP) was introduced that runs at patients' sides and allows exchanging of their information to facilities recommending and creating support-groups without disclosing their real preferences to other parties. The membership of patients in various support groups allows receiving highly appropriate and reliable healthcare-related advices. The system utilizes two protocols to attain this goal. Experiments were performed on real dataset.
Applying Benefits Management to the Implementation of a Copy Point
Authors: Madeira Bartolomeu , Gomes Jorge , Romão Mário
Published: April 2017

We live in a macroeconomic period which is impacted by major technological changes. Organizations continue to invest heavily in new Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT) as a vehicle to increase productivity and add value to their business. Investment in IS/IT is not only acquiring technology, but above all investing in change. Difficulties in justifying investments in IS/IT are often the cause for uncertainty regarding expected benefits and are often identified as being one of the most critical management issues. In the literature, it is common to find reports about IS/IT investments that failed to achieve the expected results and benefits. Benefits Management approach (BM) tries to overcome this gap through a management process cycle that enhances the potential benefits from the planned use of IS/IT. In the authors' case study, BM was applied to an IS/IT initiative that radically changed the way an internal printing process is carried out, with the added advantage of producing greater environmental and economic sustainability. This study also shows that the application of BM can contribute to increasing the degree of benefits realization and value from investments in IS/IT initiatives.
Feature Engineering for Credit Risk Evaluation in Online P2P Lending
Authors: Wang Shuxia , Fu Bin , Liu Hongzhi , Jiang Zhengshen , Wu Zhonghai , Hsu D. Frank
Published: April 2017

The rise of online P2P lending, as a novel economic lending model, brings new opportunities and challenges for the research of credit risk evaluation. This paper aims to mine information from different data sources to improve the performance of credit risk evaluation models. Be-sides the personal financial and demographic data used in traditional models, the authors collect in-formation from (1) text description, (2) social network and (3) macro-economic data. They de-sign methods to extract features from unstructured data. To avoid the curse of dimensionality caused by too many features and identify the key factors in credit risk, the authors remove the irrelevant and redundant features by feature selection. Using the data provided by Prosper.com, one of the biggest P2P lending platforms in the world, they show that: (1) it can achieve better performance, measured by both AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) and classification accuracy, by fusion of information from different data sources; (2) it requires only ten features from different data sources to get better performance.
The Governance Effects of Korea's Leading E-Government Websites
Authors: Schopf James C.
Published: April 2017

While abundant research has demonstrated that E-government reduces corruption and improves bureaucratic productivity, few studies have isolated the distinct effects of different types of E-government programs on rates of corruption and different measures of bureaucratic performance. This paper employs regression analysis to examine the governance effects of a wide range of innovative, Korean E-government websites, rated by the UN as the world's best from 2010 to 2014. Whereas business oriented E-government programs most greatly improved regulatory quality, citizen service oriented E-government most strongly affected government effectiveness. The Korean government E-tax program was most effective at combating the severe developmental obstacles of corruption and bribery. Nations pursuing development would best be served, therefore, by adopting the particular e-government program which best addresses their most pressing governance need.
A Physiological Approach to Prolonged Recovery From Sport-Related Concussion
Authors: Leddy John , Baker John G. , Haider Mohammad Nadir , Hinds Andrea , Willer Barry
Published: April 2017

Management of the athlete with postconcussion syndrome (PCS) is challenging because of the nonspecificity of PCS symptoms. Ongoing symptoms reflect prolonged concussion pathophysiology or conditions such as migraine headaches, depression or anxiety, chronic pain, cervical injury, visual dysfunction, vestibular dysfunction, or some combination of these. In this paper, we focus on the physiological signs of concussion to help narrow the differential diagnosis of PCS in athletes. The physiological effects of exercise on concussion are especially important for athletes. Some athletes with PCS have exercise intolerance that may result from altered control of cerebral blood flow. Systematic evaluation of exercise tolerance combined with a physical examination of the neurologic, visual, cervical, and vestibular systems can in many cases identify one or more treatable postconcussion disorders.
A Multifactorial Approach to Sport-Related Concussion Prevention and Education: Application of the Socioecological Framework
Authors: Register-Mihalik Johna , Baugh Christine , Kroshus Emily , Y. Kerr Zachary , Valovich McLeod Tamara C.
Published: April 2017

Objective:

To offer an overview of sport-related concussion (SRC) prevention and education strategies in the context of the socioecological framework (SEF). Athletic trainers (ATs) will understand the many factors that interact to influence SRC prevention and the implications of these interactions for effective SRC education.

Background:

Concussion is a complex injury that is challenging to identify and manage, particularly when athletes fail to disclose symptoms to their health care providers. Education is 1 strategy for increasing disclosure. However, limited information addresses how ATs can integrate the many factors that may influence the effectiveness of SRC education into their specific settings. Public health models provide an example through the SEF, which highlights the interplay among various levels of society and sport that can facilitate SRC prevention strategies, including education.

Description:

For ATs to develop appropriate SRC prevention strategies, a framework for application is needed. A growing body of information concerning SRC prevention indicates that knowledge alone is insufficient to change concussion-related behaviors. The SEF allows this information to be considered at levels such as policy and societal, community, interpersonal (relationships), and intrapersonal (athlete). The use of such a framework will facilitate more comprehensive SRC prevention efforts that can be applied in all athletic training practice settings.

Clinical Applications:

Athletic trainers can use this information as they plan SRC prevention strategies in their specific settings. This approach will aid in addressing the layers of complexity that exist when developing a concussion-management policy and plan.
Acute Responses of Strength and Running Mechanics to Increasing and Decreasing Pain in Patients With Patellofemoral Pain
Authors: Bazett-Jones David M. , Huddleston Wendy , Cobb Stephen , O'Connor Kristian , Earl-Boehm Jennifer E.
Published: April 2017

Context: 

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is typically exacerbated by repetitive activities that load the patellofemoral joint, such as running. Understanding the mediating effects of changes in pain in individuals with PFP might inform injury progression, rehabilitation, or both.

Objective: 

To investigate the effects of changing pain on muscular strength and running biomechanics in those with PFP.

Design: 

Crossover study.

Setting: 

University research laboratory.

Patients or Other Participants: 

Seventeen participants (10 men, 7 women) with PFP.

Intervention(s): 

Each participant completed knee pain-reducing and pain-inducing protocols in random order. The pain-reducing protocol consisted of 15 minutes of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) around the patella. The pain-inducing protocol was sets of 20 repeated single-legged squats (RSLS). Participants completed RSLS sets until either their pain was within at least 1 cm of their pain during an exhaustive run or they reached 10 sets.

Main Outcome Measure(s): 

Pain, isometric hip and trunk strength, and running mechanics were assessed before and after the protocols. Dependent variables were pain, normalized strength (abduction, extension, external rotation, lateral trunk flexion), and peak lower extremity kinematics and kinetics in all planes. Pain scores were analyzed using a Friedman test. Strength and mechanical variables were analyzed using repeated-measures analyses of variance. The α level was set at P < .05.

Results: 

Pain was decreased after the TENS (pretest: 3.10 ± 1.95, posttest: 1.89 ± 2.33) and increased after the RSLS (baseline: 3.10 ± 1.95, posttest: 4.38 ± 2.40) protocols (each P < .05). The RSLS protocol resulted in a decrease in hip-extension strength (baseline: 0.355 ± 0.08 kg/kg, posttest: 0.309 ± 0.09 kg/kg; P < .001). Peak plantar-flexion angle was decreased after RSLS (baseline: −13.97° ± 6.41°, posttest: −12.84° ± 6.45°; P = .003). Peak hip-extension (pretest: −2.31 ± 0.46) and hip-abduction (pretest: −2.02 ± 0.35) moments decreased after both the TENS (extension: −2.15 ± 0.48 Nm/kg, P = .015; abduction: −1.91 ± 0.33 Nm/kg, P = .015) and RSLS (extension: −2.18 ± 0.52 Nm/kg, P = .003; abduction: −1.87 ± 0.36 Nm/kg, P = .039) protocols.

Conclusions: 

This study presents a novel and effective method of increasing pain in persons with PFP. Functionally increased pain after RSLS coincides with reduced hip-extensor muscle strength and decreased plantar-flexion angle during running. The TENS treatment decreased pain during running in those with PFP but failed to influence strength. Hip moments were reduced by both protocols, which may demonstrate that acute increases or decreases in pain cause runners to change their mechanics.
Words in linear groups, random walks, automata and P-recursiveness
Authors: Garrabrant Scott , Pak Igor
Published: April 2017

Let

S

be a generating set of a finitely generated group

G = \langle S \rangle

. Denote by

a_n

the number of words in

S

of length

n

that are equal to 1. We show that the
cogrowth sequence

\{a_n\}

is not always P-recursive. This is done by developing new combinatorial tools and using known results in computability and probability on groups.
The role of the gamma function shape parameter in determining differences between condensation rates in bin and bulk microphysics schemes
Authors: Igel Adele L. , van den Heever Susan C.
Published: April 2017

Abstract. The condensation and evaporation rates predicted by bin and bulk microphysics schemes in the same model framework are compared in a statistical way using simulations of non-precipitating shallow cumulus clouds. Despite other fundamental disparities between the bin and bulk condensation parameterizations, the differences in condensation rates are predominantly explained by accounting for the width of the cloud droplet size distributions simulated by the bin scheme. While the bin scheme does not always predict a cloud droplet size distribution that is well represented by a gamma distribution function (which is assumed by bulk schemes), this fact appears to be of secondary importance for explaining why the two schemes predict different condensation and evaporation rates. The width of the cloud droplet size is not well constrained by observations, and thus it is difficult to know how to appropriately specify it in bulk microphysics schemes. However, this study shows that enhancing our observations of this width and its behavior in clouds is important for accurately predicting condensation and evaporation rates.
Annual variation in event-scale precipitation δ2H at Barrow, AK, reflects vapor source region
Authors: Putman Annie L. , Feng Xiahong , Sonder Leslie J. , Posmentier Eric S.
Published: April 2017

Abstract. In this study, precipitation isotopic variations at Barrow, AK, USA, are linked to conditions at the moisture source region, along the transport path, and at the precipitation site. Seventy precipitation events between January 2009 and March 2013 were analyzed for δ2H and deuterium excess. For each precipitation event, vapor source regions were identified with the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) air parcel tracking program in back-cast mode. The results show that the vapor source region migrated annually, with the most distal (proximal) and southerly (northerly) vapor source regions occurring during the winter (summer). This may be related to equatorial expansion and poleward contraction of the polar circulation cell and the extent of Arctic sea ice cover. Annual cycles of vapor source region latitude and δ2H in precipitation were in phase; depleted (enriched) δ2H values were associated with winter (summer) and distal (proximal) vapor source regions. Precipitation δ2H responded to variation in vapor source region as reflected by significant correlations between δ2H with the following three parameters: (1) total cooling between lifted condensation level (LCL) and precipitating cloud at Barrow, ΔTcool, (2) meteorological conditions at the evaporation site quantified by 2 m dew point, Td, and (3) whether the vapor transport path crossed the Brooks and/or Alaskan ranges, expressed as a Boolean variable, mtn. These three variables explained 54 % of the variance (p<0. 001) in precipitation δ2H with a sensitivity of −3.51 ± 0.55 ‰ °C−1 (p<0. 001) to ΔTcool, 3.23 ± 0.83 ‰ °C−1 (p<0. 001) to Td, and −32.11 ± 11.04 ‰ (p = 0. 0049) depletion when mtn is true. The magnitude of each effect on isotopic composition also varied with vapor source region proximity. For storms with proximal vapor source regions (where ΔTcool <7 °C), ΔTcool explained 3 % of the variance in δ2H, Td alone accounted for 43 %, while mtn explained 2 %. For storms with distal vapor sources (ΔTcool > 7°C), ΔTcool explained 22 %, Td explained only 1 %, and mtn explained 18 %. The deuterium excess annual cycle lagged by 2–3 months during the δ2H cycle, so the direct correlation between the two variables is weak. Vapor source region relative humidity with respect to the sea surface temperature, hss, explained 34 % of variance in deuterium excess, (−0.395 ± 0.067 ‰ %−1, p<0. 001). The patterns in our data suggest that on an annual scale, isotopic ratios of precipitation at Barrow may respond to changes in the southerly extent of the polar circulation cell, a relationship that may be applicable to interpretation of long-term climate change records like ice cores.
Dynamic data transmission technology for expendable current profiler based on low-voltage differential signaling
Authors: Li Shuhan , Zhang Qisheng , Zhao Xiao , Liu Shenghui , Yuan Zhenzhong , Zhang Xinyue
Published: April 2017

Abstract. A dynamic data transmission technology for expendable current profilers is proposed in this paper. Two parallel varnished wires are employed as the data transmission medium. By testing the transmission properties of the varnished wires, a baseband transmission system is studied and designed. Modified low-voltage differential signaling is adopted as the physical layer for data transmission. The data transmission protocol is modified and optimized in accordance with the RS 232 protocol, and the Manchester code is superimposed. According to the results of indoor and marine tests, the data transmission distance of the designed system, which employs a 0.1 mm diameter varnished wire, extends to 2 km with high efficiency and accuracy for data transmission, exhibiting excellent performance. Moreover, this data transmission technology could be used for other expendable marine-environment parametric measuring instruments such as an expendable bathythermograph and an expendable conductivity temperature depth profiler.
The double high tide at Port Ellen: Doodson's criterion revisited
Authors: Byrne Hannah A. M. , Green J. A. Mattias , Bowers David G.
Published: April 2017

Abstract. Doodson proposed a criterion to predict the occurrence of double high (or double low) waters when a higher frequency tidal harmonic is added to the semi-diurnal tide. If the phasing of the harmonic is optimal, the condition for a double high water can be written bn2/a > 1 where b is the amplitude of the higher harmonic, a is the amplitude of the semi-diurnal tide and n is the ratio of their frequencies. Here we expand this criterion to allow for (i) a phase difference φ between the semi-diurnal tide and the harmonic and (ii) the fact that the double high water will disappear in the event that b/a becomes large enough for the higher harmonic to be the dominant component of the tide. This can happen, for example, at places or times where the semi-diurnal tide is very small. The revised parameter is br2/a, where r is a number generally less than n, although equal to n when φ = 0. The theory predicts that a double high tide will form when this parameter exceeds 1 and then disappear when it exceeds a value of order n2 and the higher harmonic becomes dominant. We test these predictions against observations at Port Ellen in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. For most of the data set, the largest harmonic of the semi-diurnal tide is the 6th diurnal component, for which n = 3.The principal lunar and solar semi-diurnal tides are about equal at Port Ellen and so the semi-diurnal tide becomes very small twice a month at neap tides. A double high water forms when br2/a first exceeds a minimum value of about 1.5 as neap tides are approached and then disappears as br2/a then exceeds a second limiting value of about 10 at neap tides in agreement with the revised criterion.
Nuevos activismos sociales en la era digital: de las masas al "crowd"
Authors: Gil Moreno Elena
Published: April 2017

¿Son las nuevas formas de activismo social distintas a las de hace dos décadas? ¿Cómo ha influido el uso de la tecnología en la conformación de los nuevos y novísimos movimientos sociales? ¿Es el crowd el paradigma de una nueva masa empoderada y protagonista de su propio cambio social? Son sólo algunas de las preguntas que nos debemos hacer para analizar el contexto social en el que nos encontramos en la actualidad. El momento de cambio social al que estamos asistiendo favorece el cuestionamiento de viejos conocimientos y el replanteamiento de algunos conceptos que estaban fuertemente anclados en las ciencias sociales. Utilizar el fenómeno del crowdfunding como medio para explicar los cambios que están sucediendo es un simple ejercicio de visualización de estos cambios sociales; nos permite salir de la abstracción en la que estamos inmersos para poder profundizar en el nuevo paradigma de activismo mediado por las nuevas tecnologías.
Country-level variables and imagined national communities within EU-15 countries
Authors: Ruiz Jiménez Antonia María , Ferri Fuentevilla Elena , Navarro Ardoy Luis
Published: April 2017

This study analyses to what extent there are similarities and differences between EU-15 countries with regard to their citizens’ national identities; as well as the influence of country-level variables on identity patterns within clusters of countries.  It uses different quantitative techniques and the European Values Study 2008 data release. First, clusters of countries are formed using identity variables. Next, country-level variables dealing with economic performance, politics, history and ethnic-cultural traits are operationalized and tested through categorical regression and discriminant analysis.  Results confirm that there are clusters of countries with particular configurations of identity patterns and that country-level variables influence identity.
Nuevas técnicas de control sobre el trabajo del conocimiento: un intento por complementar la noción de poder de los "Critical Management Studies (CMS)"
Authors: Ruiz Herrero Jesús Antonio
Published: April 2017

Los Estudios Críticos sobre la Gestión (ECG), o Critical Management Studies (CMS) en inglés, renovaron de modo meritorio el estudio de las organizaciones y del trabajo al introducir en él los conceptos de Foucault y las influencias del construccionismo. Sus investigaciones han enfatizado especialmente cómo las organizaciones modernas seducen a sus integrantes y construyen la identidad de estos en correspondencia con los objetivos de aquellas. Tomando el testigo de los ECG, veremos qué mecanismos característicos de control, y que favorecen el rendimiento de la fuerza laboral, pueblan hoy algunas empresas y sectores punteros que explotan intensivamente el conocimiento de sus empleados.  Aun sin negar que la construcción de las identidades sea algo que se emplee en tales empresas, trataremos de desentrañar otros resortes a los que recurren unos mecanismos de control novedosos y especialmente adaptados a empleados altamente cualificados que han de ser productivos y creativos en la elaboración de la información para dotar a las mercancías complejas que producen de ciertas características y eliminar de ellas ciertos errores y problemas. Tras ello propondremos otro modelo de poder que se perfila en estos ámbitos (biopolítico) y que se diferencia del disciplinario, trabajado en mayor medida por los ECG.  Nuestras conclusiones se apoyan en dos estudios de caso: uno en el sector TIC y otro en las empresas de animación, en los que realizamos hasta cuarenta entrevistas, aunque también recurrimos a otros materiales.
Estudios críticos de la gestión: estudios culturales de los conflictos en el mundo del trabajo
Authors: Fernández Rodríguez Carlos Jesús
Published: April 2017

Este artículo tiene dos objetivos principales. Por una parte, realizar una valoración de las principales aportaciones del movimiento de los Critical Management Studies (CMS) en el ámbito de las ciencias sociales, cuando se cumplen ya más de dos décadas desde su emergencia en el Reino Unido. Los CMS representan una corriente alternativa a las teorías organizacionales ortodoxas que se enseñan en las escuelas de negocios; frente a estas, pretende introducir a los estudiantes a análisis más críticos y profundos del mundo organizacional, de forma que estos se familiaricen con otros marcos teóricos que les permitan revisar su visión del mundo empresarial. En este sentido, se discutirá el legado de esta escuela y se reflexionará acerca de la dirección en que está reorientando su agenda investigadora, en un contexto de fuerte crisis económica y de cambios importantes en la gobernanza universitaria. Por otra parte, el texto va a realizar una reflexión adicional sobre el impacto que dicho movimiento ha tenido en el ámbito académico español, discutiendo las limitaciones para un proyecto de estas características en el marco organizacional y empresarial español.
Hermite interpolant multiscaling functions for numerical solution of the convection diffusion equations
Authors: Ashpazzadeh Elmira , Lakestani Mehrdad
Published: April 2017

A numerical technique based on the Hermite interpolant multiscaling functions is presented for the solution of Convection-diusion equations. The operational matrices of derivative, integration and product are presented for multiscaling functions and are utilized to reduce the solution of linear Convection-diusion equation to the solution of algebraic equations. Because of sparsity of these matrices, this method is computationally very attractive and reduces the CPU time and computer memory. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the new technique.
On upper and lower faintly i-continuous multifunctions
Authors: Arivzhagi C. , Rajesh N.
Published: April 2017

The aim of this paper is to introduce and study upper and lower faintly I-continuous multifunctions as a generalization of upper and lower I-continuous multifunctions, respectively.
The Order of minimal realization of Jordan canonical form systems
Authors: Pirbazari Kameleh Nassiri , Azari Mehdi
Published: April 2017

This paper presents a new method based on controllability and observability of Jordan canonical form systems useful in determining the order of minimal realization. Since any standard system is equivalent to a Jordan canonical form system, this method is applicable to any standard system.
Rotational hypersurfaces with $L_r$-pointwise 1-type Gauss map
Authors: Mohammadpouri Akram
Published: April 2017

In this paper, we study hypersurfaces in $\E^{n+1}$ which Gauss map $G$ satisfies the equation $L_rG = f(G + C)$ for a smooth function $f$ and a constant vector $C$, where $L_r$ is the linearized operator of the $(r + 1)$th mean curvature of the hypersurface, i.e., $L_r(f)=tr(P_r\circ\nabla^2f)$ for $f\in \mathcal{C}^\infty(M)$, where $P_r$ is the $r$th Newton transformation, $\nabla^2f$ is the Hessian of $f$, $L_rG=(L_rG_1,\ldots,L_rG_{n+1}), G=(G_1,\ldots,G_{n+1})$. We show that a rational hypersurface of revolution in a Euclidean space $\E^{n+1}$ has $L_r$-pointwise 1-type Gauss map of the second kind if and only if it is a right n-cone.
A note on Bertrand curves of constant precession
Authors: Yildirim Yilmaz Munevver
Published: April 2017

In this paper we define Bertrand curves of constant precession with a new approach and obtain their characterizations by using a moving alternative frame.
On applying weighted seed techniques to GMRES algorithm for solving multiple linear systems
Authors: Elbouyahyaoui Lakhdar , Heyouni Mohammed
Published: April 2017

In the present paper, we are concerned by weighted Arnoldi like methods for solving large and sparse linear systems that have different right-hand sides but have the same coefficient matrix. We first give detailed descriptions of the weighted Gram-Schmidt process and of a Ruhe variant of the weighted block Arnoldi algorithm. We also establish some theoretical results that links the iterates of the weighted block Arnoldi process to those of the non weighted one. Then, to accelerate the convergence of the classical restarted block and seed GMRES methods, we introduce the weighted restarted block and seed GMRES methods. Numerical experiments that are done with different matrices coming from the Matrix Market repository or from the university of Florida sparse matrix collection are reported at the end of this work in order to compare the performance and show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Externalities of Colleagues’ Human Capital Accumulation and Individual Wages: Empirical Evidence from the Malaysian Service Sector
Authors: Mohamed Noor Noor Fazlin , Zakariya Zainizam , Rambeli@Ramli Norimah , Abdul Razak Azila
Published: April 2017

The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which colleagues’ human capital accumulation (education, work experience and training) had an impact on individuals’ earnings in the service sector in Malaysia. The study employed data from the 2007 Productivity Investment Climate Survey (PICS) and the colleagues’ human capital accumulation was measured using information from both workers and employers survey. Random Effect (RE) was used to estimate the effects of these factors on wages. Findings from the RE showed that only co-workers’ education had a positive and significant impact on individual wages. One year of colleagues’ additional schooling will increase the individuals’ earnings between 2.8 and 4.7 percent a year. Women experience a higher wage premium than that of men (4.7 against 3.5 percent). In addition, educational dispersion between respondents and workplaces also had a significant impact on earnings as it increases workers’ earnings between 2 and 3.7 percent for every additional increase of one standard deviation of the educational dispersion. These positive effects can be interpreted as the existence of positive spillovers or externalities of the education of colleagues at the workplace as it can enhance productivity of other employees in the same organization.
The Impact of Organizational Culture, Leadership, Job Satisfaction and Trust towards Lecture’s Organizational Commitment of the Private Universities in Serang Regency Indonesia
Authors: Yusuf Furtasan Ali
Published: April 2017

The objective of this research is to study the direct impact of organizational culture, leadership, job satisfaction and trust towards organizational commitment of the Lecture the Private Universities in Serang Regency, Banten Province Indonesia. This research used the quantitative approach with survey method. The samples of this research were lectures selected randomly. The data were obtained by spreading questionnaire and analyzed with path analysis. The results of the research concluded: that (1) organizational culture had a direct effect on lecturer’s organizational commitment,(2) organizational culture had a direct effect on lecturer’s job satisfaction, (3) organizational culture had a direct effect on lecturer’s trust, (4) leadership had a direct effect on lecturer’s organizational commitment,  (5) leadership had a direct effect on lecturer’s job satisfaction, (6) leadership had a direct effect on lecture’s trust, (7) job satisfaction had a direct effect on lecture’s commitment organizational, (8) trust had a direct effect on lecture’s commitment organizational. As implication of this research finding is that to improve lecture’s commitment organizational, the organizational culture, leadership, job satisfaction and trust must be take into consideration.
The Impact of Employee Empowerment on the Success of Organizational Change: A Study in Privatized Enterprises in Jordan
Authors: Al-Asoufi Batool Bader , Akhorshaideh Abdelhakim Oqlah
Published: April 2017

The purpose of this study is to examining the Impact of employee empowerment on the success of organizational change, within the privatized enterprises in Jordan, also the study examined four significant factors which influence the success the employee empowerment process those are (Talent Management, Leadership Styles, Employee Training, Rewards) and their impacts on the success of organizational change. A total of (143) questionnaires has been distributed, it was returned constituting approximately (99%) from those distributed to targeted samples in each of Electricity Distribution Company and Jordan Phosphate Mines Company.The data were tested using simple and multiple regression tests to examine the study hypotheses. The findings showed that there is a significant impact of employee empowerment on the success of organizational change, also there is significant impact of employee empowerment factors (Talent Management, Leadership Styles, Employee Training, Rewards) on the success of organizational change. Also, the results showed the importance of providing sufficient information about the nature of change and its positive impact to raising the level of readiness for it and reducing the resistance.Keywords: Empowerment, Organizational Change, Enterprises, Jordan
Systemic Challenges Facing Public Procurement Policy Development in Tanzania: An Institutional Analysis
Authors: Mohamed Bakari Maligwa
Published: April 2017

Public procurement policy is vital for effective, efficient, economic, and transparent functioning of the public procurement system. Policy development is a political decision making platform. This paper tries to do an institutional analysis dwelling on the identification of the relevant systemic challenges and the related issues facing public procurement policy development in Tanzania. The paper utilises institutional and Delphi policy analyses to analyse systemic challenges facing public procurement policy development. Data for this paper were collected through Delphi in-depth interviews and documentary reviews and analysis. Data analysis were done by thematic and Delphi policy analyses. Analyses of data and evidences show that, Tanzania has been evidenced to have no public procurement policy. The public procurement policy development process has been halted for at least four years since 2012 due systemic challenges. The identified and analysed relevant systemic challenges facing public procurement policy development, inter alia, were: neglected politics and lack of political willingness; unrealistic policy process model; failure to achieve the desired qualities of policy development and difficult in achieving the policy qualities and therefore failure to make progress; and incoherent and incomplete institutional and structural changes that led to the emergence of new institutional and structural challenges.
Effect on Brand Loyalty in Mobile Phone Purchasing (A Case Study In Bahawalpur, Pakistan)
Authors: Wasif Rasheed Hafiz Muhammad , Anser Muhammad Khalid
Published: April 2017

Brands are the key to sales increase in consumer markets. They make a relationship between the consumers and the company. Brand loyalty is a consumer’s preference to purchase a particular product or service at first or repeatedly in a competitive market. The general purpose of this study is to investigate the factors leading to brand loyalty in service sector. Specifically, we are concerned to observe the factors affecting brand loyalty in mobile phone purchasing in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The sample size of 150 is taken through convenient sampling method. The survey method is used to collect the data from the respondents through self-administered questionnaire. The regression analysis approved the significant positive relationship of the proposed factors with brand loyalty.
The Relevance of the Social Control Theory in Explaining Crime among African American Families
Authors: Daramola Ayodeji , Osho Gbolahan S
Published: April 2017

Today, criminologists, especially, Black criminologists, are thoroughly perplexed by the same problem of disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) most especially of Blacks in both the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Are African Americans more criminally minded than other races or ethnic groups? Do African Americans actually commit more crimes than others? These are the questions that the different deviant theories have tried to answer. The concept of social bonding arose from social control theory, which suggests that attachment to family and school, commitment to conventional pathways of achievements and beliefs in the legitimacy of social order are primary and important elements of establishing a social bond (Hirschi, 1969). In expounding his social control theory, Hirschi listed the elements of the bond as attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Does it mean that African Americans commit more crimes than other racial and ethnic groups? Or are African Americans genetically wired to be criminogenic? Is the society or the environment to blame for the perceived higher rate of crime among African Americans? Or are the criminal justice system, the judicial system, and the juvenile justice system, all together racially biased against Blacks, especially, Black males? Even though Hirschi (1969) did not mention attachment to religious beliefs as part of social control, but for the African American families, the church could play a significant role in helping to cement the bond of adolescents to their families. Any study of the African American family is not complete without the church. According to Work (1900), in all social study of the Negro, the church must be considered, for it is one of the greatest factors in his social life.
A comparative syntax of internally-headed relative clauses in Gur
Authors: Hiraiwa Ken , Akanlig-Pare George , Atintono Samuel , Bodomo Adams , Essizewa Komlan , Hudu Fusheini
Published: April 2017

Gur (or Mabia) languages which are spoken in West Africa have so-called internally-headed relative clauses (IHRCs), but they have not received serious attention in syntactic and typological research on IHRCs. In this article, building on detailed first-hand data, we describe the syntax and semantics of IHRCs in five Gur languages: Buli, Dagaare, Dagbani, Gurene, and Kabiyé. It is demonstrated that their IHRCs refute the syntactic and semantic generalizations proposed in the literature (Gorbet 1976; Cole 1987; Grosu 2002; Watanabe 1991; 2004). We also compare IHRCs in Gur and Japanese and argue that the existing semantic typology of IHRCs must be reconsidered, showing that properties of two types of IHRCs—restrictive and maximalizing IHRCS—do not necessarily show predicated correlations.This article is part of the special collection: Internally-headed Relative Clauses
Exploring Planning Decisions and Interactive Decisions in EFL Teaching Practice——A Multi-case Study of 2 Chinese EFL Teachers and 2 Native English Teachers
Authors: Zhang Youwen
Published: April 2017

An empirical examination of two categories of teachers’ planning decisions and interactive decisions was implemented to gain an overall understanding of the teachers’ concerns with lesson plan, lesson framework and processing teaching tasks. And the investigation was intended to understand how these data affected their pedagogical decisions and the underlying factors affecting their planning and instructions. It can be identified that these interactive decisions all four teachers made were almost consistent with their planning decisions, though discrepancy between them may exist, and that a sound planning would positively boost teachers’ soft power of decision making in their teaching practice.
Simulating Corporate Income Tax Reform Proposals with a Dynamic CGE Model
Authors: Bhattarai Keshab , Haughton Jonathan , Head Michael , Tuerck David G
Published: April 2017

Opinion leaders and policy makers in the United States have turned their focus to the corporate income tax, which now has the highest statutory rate in the developed world. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model (the “NCPA-DCGE Model”), we simulate alternative policies for reducing the U.S. corporate income tax.  We find that reductions in the corporate income tax rate result in significant positive impacts on output, investment, capital formation, employment, and household well-being (for almost all deciles). All of the hypothesized reforms also result in a more-streamlined public sector. These results are plausible insofar as the DCGE model from which they are obtained is parameterized by plausible elasticity assumptions, and incorporates the adjustments in prices, output, employment and investment that result from changes in tax policy.
Dose Underwriter Credit and its Guiding Function Have Impact on IPO Break in China?
Authors: Xu Chang
Published: April 2017

Underwriters’ pricing behavior is partially unreasonable in China, and the overreaction of investors can easily lead to IPO break. The paper explores datum of listed companies between 2009 and 2016 in A share market and establishes Logistic Regression Model, aimed to pro how Underwriter Credit and Investor Sentiment affecting IPO break. Conclusions are as follows: overpricing of new shares will make IPO break easier; Underwriters Credit have opposite effect on IPO break; Investor Sentiment has negative relationship with IPO break significantly; underwriters can guide Investor Sentiment by credit weekly, in order to lower the probability of IPO break.
From Latent Tuberculosis Infection to Tuberculosis. News in Diagnostics (QuantiFERON-Plus)
Authors: BORKOWSKA DAGMARA I. , NAPIÓRKOWSKA AGNIESZKA M. , BRZEZIŃSKA SYLWIA A. , KOZIŃSKA MONIKA , ZABOST ANNA T. , AUGUSTYNOWICZ-KOPEĆ EWA M.
Published: April 2017

It is estimated that one third of the world’s population have latent tuberculosis infection and that this is a significant reservoir for future tuberculosis cases. Most cases occur within two years following initial infection. The identification of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection is difficult due to the lack of an ideal diagnostic assay and incomplete understanding of latent infection. Currently, there are three tests: the oldest tuberculin skin test, T-SPOT.TB and the latest QuantiFERON-Plus for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The interpretation of the test results must be used in the conjunction with a patient’s epidemiological history, risk assessment, current clinical status, radiography and microbiological methods to ensure accurate diagnosis.
Application of Metagenomic Analyses in Dentistry as a Novel Strategy Enabling Complex Insight into Microbial Diversity of the Oral Cavity
Authors: BURCZYNSKA ALEKSANDRA , DZIEWIT LUKASZ , DECEWICZ PRZEMYSLAW , STRUZYCKA IZABELA , WROBLEWSKA MARTA
Published: April 2017

The composition of the oral microbiome in healthy individuals is complex and dynamic, and depends on many factors, such as anatomical location in the oral cavity, diet, oral hygiene habits or host immune responses. It is estimated at present that worldwide about 2 billion people suffer from diseases of the oral cavity, mainly periodontal disease and dental caries. Importantly, the oral microflora involved in local infections may spread and cause systemic, even life-threatening infections. In search for etiological agents of infections in dentistry, traditional approaches are not sufficient, as about 50% of oral bacteria are not cultivable. Instead, metagenomic analyses are particularly useful for studies of the complex oral microbiome – both in healthy individuals, and in patients with oral and dental diseases. In this paper we review the current and future applications of metagenomic studies in evaluation of both the composition of the oral microbiome as well as its potential pathogenic role in infections in dentistry.
Isolation and Characterization of Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria from Mushroom Residues and their Effect on Tomato Plant Growth Promotion
Authors: ZHANG JIAN , WANG PENGCHENG , FANG LING , ZHANG QI-AN , YAN CONGSHENG , CHEN JINGYI
Published: April 2017

Phosphorus is a major essential macronutrient for plant growth, and most of the phosphorus in soil remains in insoluble form. Highly efficient phosphate-solubilizing bacteria can be used to increase phosphorus in the plant rhizosphere. In this study, 13 isolates were obtained from waste mushroom residues, which were composed of cotton seed hulls, corn cob, biogas residues, and wood flour. NBRIP solid medium was used for isolation according to the dissolved phosphorus halo. Eight isolates produced indole acetic acid (61.5%), and six isolates produced siderophores (46.2%). Three highest phosphate-dissolving bacterial isolates, namely, M01, M04, and M11, were evaluated for their beneficial effects on the early growth of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L. Wanza 15). Strains M01, M04, and M11 significantly increased the shoot dry weight by 30.5%, 32.6%, and 26.2%, and root dry weight by 27.1%, 33.1%, and 25.6%, respectively. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons and phylogenetic positions, strains M01 and M04 belonged to the genus Acinetobacter, and strain M11 belonged to the genus Ochrobactrum. The findings suggest that waste mushroom residues are a potential resource of plant growth-promoting bacteria exhibiting satisfactory phosphate-solubilizing for sustainable agriculture.
A. Chadwick Thornhill. The Chosen People: Election, Paul, and Second Temple Judaism
Authors: Staples Jason A.
Published: April 2017

No abstract is available.
Unfair competition governs the interaction of pCPI-17 with myosin phosphatase (PP1-MYPT1)
Authors: Filter Joshua J , Williams Byron C , Eto Masumi , Shalloway David , Goldberg Michael L
Published: April 2017

The small phosphoprotein pCPI-17 inhibits myosin light-chain phosphatase (MLCP). Current models postulate that during muscle relaxation, phosphatases other than MLCP dephosphorylate and inactivate pCPI-17 to restore MLCP activity. We show here that such hypotheses are insufficient to account for the observed rapidity of pCPI-17 inactivation in mammalian smooth muscles. Instead, MLCP itself is the critical enzyme for pCPI-17 dephosphorylation. We call the mutual sequestration mechanism through which pCPI-17 and MLCP interact inhibition by unfair competition: MLCP protects pCPI-17 from other phosphatases, while pCPI-17 blocks other substrates from MLCP’s active site. MLCP dephosphorylates pCPI-17 at a slow rate that is, nonetheless, both sufficient and necessary to explain the speed of pCPI-17 dephosphorylation and the consequent MLCP activation during muscle relaxation.