bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lithium in Tap Water and Suicide Mortality in Japan
Authors: Sugawara Norio , Yasui-Furukori Norio , Ishii Nobuyoshi , Iwata Noboru , Terao Takeshi
Published: November 2013

Lithium has been used as a mood-stabilizing drug in people with mood disorders. Previous studies have shown that natural levels of lithium in drinking water may protect against suicide. This study evaluated the association between lithium levels in tap water and the suicide standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in 40 municipalities of Aomori prefecture, which has the highest levels of suicide mortality rate in Japan. Lithium levels in the tap water supplies of each municipality were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. After adjusting for confounders, a statistical trend toward significance was found for the relationship between lithium levels and the average SMR among females. These findings indicate that natural levels of lithium in drinking water might have a protective effect on the risk of suicide among females. Future research is warranted to confirm this association.
Impediments to Comprehensive Research on Climate Change and Health
Authors: McMichael Anthony
Published: November 2013

During every climatic era Life on Earth is constrained by a limited range of climatic conditions, outside which thriving and then surviving becomes difficult. This applies at both planetary and organism (species) levels. Further, many causal influences of climate change on human health entail changes—often disruptive, sometimes irreversible—in complex system functioning. Understanding the diverse health risks from climate change, and their influence pathways, presents a challenge to environmental health researchers whose prior work has been in a more definable, specific and quantitative milieu. Extension of the research agenda and conceptual framework to assess present and future health risks from climate change may be constrained by three factors: (i) lack of historically-informed understanding of population-health sensitivity to climatic changes; (ii) an instinctual ‘epidemiologising’ tendency to choose research topics amenable to conventional epidemiological analysis and risk estimation; and (iii) under-confidence in relation to interdisciplinary collaborative scenario-based modeling of future health risks. These constraints must be recognized and remedied. And environmental researchers must argue for heightened public attention to today’s macro-environmental threats to present and future population health—emphasising the ecological dimension of these determinants of long-term health that apply to whole populations and communities, not just to individuals and social groupings.
A Combination of Alkaloids and Triterpenes of Alstonia scholaris (Linn.) R. Br. Leaves Enhances Immunomodulatory Activity in C57BL/6 Mice and Induces Apoptosis in the A549 Cell Line
Authors: Feng Liang , Chen Yan , Yuan Ling , Liu Xuan , Gu Jun-Fei , Zhang Ming-Hua , Wang Ying
Published: November 2013

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the induction of apoptosis and the immunomodulatory activities of alkaloids and triterpenes of Alstonia scholaris (Linn.) R. Br. leaves (ASL). Importantly, their possible synergistic properties were also explored in this study. Human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 and Lewis tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice were used for the evaluation of their activities. A MTT assay was used to determine the proliferation inhibition in A549 cells. Annexin-V/PI double staining as well as flow cytometry was performed to detect apoptosis and cell cycle status. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to determine the levels of inflammatory mediators interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in serum. Furthermore, western blot analysis was applied to evaluate the expressions of proteins associated with cell death. Alkaloids or triterpenes showed a high anti-proliferative activity in A549 cells, with IC50 values of 14.4 µg/mL and 9.3 µg/mL, respectively. The alkaloids and triterpenes combination could significantly inhibit tumor growth in tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice, compared with alkaloids or triterpenes alone (7.5, 15, 30 g raw material/kg). The immune organs indexes including spleen index and thymus index were increased remarkably by the combination of alkaloids and triterpenes, whereas the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were up-regulated significantly. Moreover, Annexin-V/PI double staining and flow cytometry showed that the combination of alkaloids and triterpenes (1, 2 and 3 mg raw material/kg) could induce apoptosis and cause S cell cycle arrest in A549 cells. Western blot analysis also showed that their combination (2 mg raw material/kg) significantly down-regulated Bcl-2 expression and pro-casp8 level, whereas it remarkably increased the level of cleaved caspase-8 leading to apoptosis in A549 cells. These observations provide preliminary evidence that both alkaloids and triterpenes possess immune regulation and induction apoptosis activities. Their combination has a stronger activity than that of either class alone. Our findings suggested that these components might be beneficial for the prevention and treatment of NSCLC through a significant synergy effect.
Synthesis of a Versatile Building Block Combining Cyclen-derivative DO3A with a Polyamine via a Rigid Spacer
Authors: Drahoš Bohuslav , Trávníček Zdeněk
Published: November 2013

The five-step synthesis of a polydentate building block combining a cyclen-based macrocycle (DO3A) with N-(2-aminoethyl)propane-1,3-diamine, which are linked through the xylylen moiety as a rigid C-spacer is described. These two molecular parts were coupled by subsequent bromine atom substitution in 1,4-bis(bromomethyl)benzene. First, N-(2-aminoethyl)propane-1,3-diamine was protected by phthaloyl moieties and then it was reacted with 1,4-bis(bromomethyl)benzene to form (2-phthalimidoethyl)(3-phthalimido-prop-1-yl)(4-bromomethylbenzyl)amine (2). This compound underwent a substitution reaction with DO3A in the form of its tert-butyl esters leading to the intermediate 1-{4-[(2-phthalimidoethyl)(3-phthalimidoprop-1-yl)aminomethyl]phenylmethyl}-4,7,10-tris(t-butoxy-carbonylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (3). The phthaloyl as well as the t-butyl protecting groups were removed in the next two reaction steps to form the final product 1-{4-[(2-aminoethyl)(3-aminoprop-1-yl)aminomethyl]phenylmethyl}-4,7,10-tris(carboxy-methyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (5). The intermediates 1–4 as well as the final product 5 were characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, and multinuclear (1H and 13C) and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The final product 5 could serve as a potential building block in subsequent syntheses of binuclear complexes of lanthanides and/or transition metals.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Relation to Functional Disabilities
Authors: Oberlin Breanna , Tangney Christy , Gustashaw Kristin , Rasmussen Heather
Published: November 2013

This study was designed to assess whether symptoms, functional measures, and reported disabilities were associated with vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency when defined in three ways. Participants, aged 60 or more years of age, in 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) were categorized in relation to three previously used definitions of B12 deficiency: (1) serum B12 < 148 pmol/L; (2) serum B12 < 200 pmol/L and serum homocysteine > 20 μmol/L; and (3) serum B12 < 258 pmol/L or serum methylmalonic acid > 0.21 μmol/L. Functional measures of peripheral neuropathy, balance, cognitive function, gait speed, along with self-reported disability (including activities of daily living) were examined with standardized instruments by trained NHANES interviewers and technicians. Individuals identified as B12 deficient by definition 2 were more likely to manifest peripheral neuropathy OR (odds) (95% confidence intervals), p value: 9.70 (2.24, 42.07), 0.004 and report greater total disability, 19.61 (6.22, 61.86) 0.0001 after adjustments for age, sex, race, serum creatinine, and ferritin concentrations, smoking, diabetes, and peripheral artery disease. Smaller, but significantly increased, odds of peripheral neuropathy and total disability were also observed when definition 3 was applied. Functional measures and reported disabilities were associated with B12 deficiency definitions that include B12 biomarkers (homocysteine or methylmalonic acid). Further study of these definitions is needed to alert clinicians of possible subclinical B12 deficiency because functional decline amongst older adults may be correctable if the individual is B12 replete.
Charging Neutral Cues with Aggressive Meaning through Violent Video Game Play
Authors: Busching Robert , Krahé Barbara
Published: November 2013

When playing violent video games, aggressive actions are performed against the background of an originally neutral environment, and associations are formed between cues related to violence and contextual features. This experiment examined the hypothesis that neutral contextual features of a virtual environment become associated with aggressive meaning and acquire the function of primes for aggressive cognitions. Seventy-six participants were assigned to one of two violent video game conditions that varied in context (ship vs. city environment) or a control condition. Afterwards, they completed a Lexical Decision Task to measure the accessibility of aggressive cognitions in which they were primed either with ship-related or city-related words. As predicted, participants who had played the violent game in the ship environment had shorter reaction times for aggressive words following the ship primes than the city primes, whereas participants in the city condition responded faster to the aggressive words following the city primes compared to the ship primes. No parallel effect was observed for the non-aggressive targets. The findings indicate that the associations between violent and neutral cognitions learned during violent game play facilitate the accessibility of aggressive cognitions.
Les images olfactives et gustatives du discours poétique des anciens Mexicains
Authors: Sautron Marie
Published: November 2013

RESUMEN- Plantas y animales ocupan un lugar eminente en el discurso poético náhuatl prehispánico. Plantas aromáticas, semilla, raíces, flores comestibles o pescados, crustáceos, y animales de todo tipo apreciados por su carne suculenta eran acomodados en la cocina tradicional mexicana y por lo tanto entraban en el régimen alimenticio del hombre del antiguo México. Son motivos frecuentes en los cantos en lengua náhuatl. Pero es forzoso anotar que se vinculan muy poco con la culinaria ; el poeta concede poca importancia a las virtudes nutritivas y gustativas de esos productos de la tierra y la naturaleza. Los considera principalmente como una utilería poética, instrumentos metafóricos, excluyendo así sus cualidades en materia de sabor y olor.
Ciencias, lengua y proyecto americanista desde Europa. Cartas de un bogotano a un porteño en el siglo XIX
Authors: Angulo Felipe
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACT- For 19th century Latin American élites, France appeared as one of the most important cultural centres. This article intends to analyse the correspondence between the Colombian Ezequiel Uricoechea, living in Paris, with the Argentine José María Gutiérrez. These letters were written between 1871-1877 and deal with the cultural exchanges inside Hispano America as well as those concerning this cultural area and Europe.
D'un réel-merveilleux anamorphique : le décor mythique de l'Histoire chez Alejo Carpentier
Authors: Teulière Gérard
Published: November 2013

RESUMEN- La dimensión mítica que informa a la obra de Alejo Carpentier, y más específicamente a El reino de este Mundo, tiene que buscarse, más que a través de relatos mitológicos o de las conotaciones mágico-religiosas que la recorren, en estructuras del imaginario que la narración reconstruye, de manera subyacente, con extraordinaria coherencia semántica. El mito subsume así no sólo a diversas formas de la imaginación material y del pensamiento mágico o iniciático, sino también una visión de la Historia que oscila entre la fatalidad del Eterno Retorno y el imperativo revolucionario de realizar en el Tiempo una redención imposible.
«Verdugos», «delfines» y «favoritos» en la novela de la dictadura
Authors: Camacho Delgado José Manuel
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACT- The «dictatorship novel» has been studied through different approaches, giving special attention to its main character : the dictator. In this article we study the importance of a key character of the repressive system : the executioner. Sometimes becoming the «dauphin» or the «favourite», he accomplishes his task in the dark side of power, as a zealous functionary, in order to maintain law and order. Writers such as Asturias, García Márquez and Vargas Llosa, who have treated the theme of power in very different ways, have used archetypes drawn from hagiographie literature, the saint and the martyr, reversing their original meaning to build up their own characters. The executioners are exterminating angels, evil's apostles, shadow's saints working endlessly not for Heaven's kingdom but for Hell's. That is the part played by Miguel Cara de Angel in El Señor Presidente (1946), by José Ignacio Sáenz de la Barra in El otoño del patriarca (1975) and by Johnny Abbes Garcia in La fiesta del chivo (2000).
El fechado dudoso de El Espejo de Agua a la luz de la tentativa poética francesa de Vicente Huidobro. ¿Un extravío del anhelo de originalidad radical?
Authors: Rojas Waldo
Published: November 2013

En plena época de las vanguardias estéticas, el poeta chileno Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948), movido por el empeño de probar su anterioridad en el descubrimiento de un nuevo lenguaje poético, publicó en Madrid, con fecha de 1918, su poemario El Espejo de Agua, presentado entonces como la reedición de un libro homónimo aparecido supuestamente en Buenos Aires en 1916, poco antes de su llegada a Francia. Puesta muy pronto en entredicho por sus adversarios literarios, pero sostenida sin cejar a lo largo de toda su vida por el autor, esta datación, defendida por algunos críticos, ha seguido siendo objeto de controversias. Junto con proponer una reflexión sobre las motivaciones menos flagrantes que pudieron inducir a Huidobro a incurrir en tal mistificación, Waldo Rojas presenta aquí los puntos esenciales de aquellos debates y el estado actual de la cuestión, desarrollando nuevos argumentos personales y aportando pruebas documentales decisivas en contra de la posibilidad de la supuesta edición princeps.
L'exil des poètes hispano-mexicains : dénis et sarcasmes de Gerardo Deniz
Authors: Sicot Bernard
Published: November 2013

Scarcely known among the Spanish scholars in France, Gerardo Deniz (Juan Almela Castell's pen name) is, in Mexico, one of the great contemporary poetic voices, original and sarcastic. Born in Madrid (1943), and son of a republican exile (Juan Almela Meliá), Deniz is usually considered as one of the Hispano-Mexicans, but, unlike the others, speaks very little about exile. When he does, in prose or in verse, it's under the cover of humour, irony and sarcasm, in texts against the general trend where he displays his contempt of the politically correct and his refusal of heart breaking lyricism.
Subcultura musical: el narcocorrido comercial y el narcocorrido por encargo
Authors: Simonett Helena
Published: November 2013

Bien que l'état de Sinaloa, situé au Nord-Ouest du Mexique, ait une longue tradition de production et de trafic de drogue, les corridos sur le trafic illégal sont un phénomène relativement récent. Commercialisés et diffusés par des mass-media, les narcocorridos non seulement souffrent d'une falsification commerciale de la figure du trafiquant ou narco, mais aussi succombent au pouvoir hégémonique de l'industrie culturelle.
La formación de investigadores y la investigación científica desde el punto de vista de los becarios de investigación
Authors: González de la Fe Teresa , Pérez Yruela Manuel , Fernández Esquinas Manuel
Published: November 2013

En este trabajo se presenta una parte de los resultados de la investigación sobre la formación de investigadores en España, realizada mediante una encuesta postal a los becarios de investigación españoles. En el cuestionario se incluyeron preguntas destinadas a recoger el punto de vista de los beneficiarios de las becas respecto a las motivaciones para acceder a las mismas y los diversos aspectos relacionados con el proceso de formación. Después de exponer brevemente las principales características de los becarios, se atiende a las motivaciones para optar a las becas y a las opiniones sobre las becas de investigación y la actividad científica. Posteriormente, se consideran diversos aspectos de la experiencia de ser becario: las condiciones en que se ha desarrollado la beca y los problemas y deficiencias principales que, desde el punto de vista de los becarios, caracterizan al sistema español de formación de investigadores. Por último, se considera el grado de satisfacción respecto a la experiencia de ser becario. En todos los casos se consideran las diferencias entre los becarios de distintas áreas de la ciencia y los destinos de realización de la beca. Toda esta información constituye una evaluación, realizada por los propios becarios, del sistema de becas y de las condiciones en que se lleva a cabo el trabajo científico.
Anarquismo y neomalthusianismo: la revista Generación Consciente (1923-1928)
Authors: Navarro Navarro Francisco Javier
Published: November 2013

El análisis de la historia de las relaciones entre el anarquismo español y el movimiento neomalthusiano es el principal objetivo de este artículo. Se centra especialmente en el estudio de una conocida publicación libertaria de los años 20: Generación Consciente (Alcoi y Valencia, 1923-1928), que resultó esencial en el proceso de asimilación y difusión por parte del movimiento anarquista español de las nuevas ideas en torno al neomalthusianismo, la eugenesia y la reforma sexual. Generación Consciente —revista eminentemente cultural y científica— realizó un formidable esfuerzo de divulgación popular de la teoría y la práctica del control de natalidad, desde sus postulados libertarios de búsqueda de una vida digna, armónica y feliz para el proletariado. El ideal de la «maternidad consciente» era el principio inspirador de una campaña desarrollada por los principales colaboradores de la revista, entre los que se contaban también importantes médicos y científicos no vinculados al movimiento libertario, como es el caso de Luis Jiménez de Asúa, Gregorio Marañón o César Juarros.
En torno a G. I. Taylor, los fluidos y Cambridge
Authors: García Valverde Manuel
Published: November 2013

No disponible.
Las bibliotecas, un instrumento al servicio de la investigación
Authors: García Maza Julia
Published: November 2013

Partiendo de las coordenadas en que se ubica el sistema de I+D desde nuestro ingreso en la Unión Europea, se hace un análisis de los desafíos (institucional, cooperativo y tecnológico) que tienen planteados las bibliotecas al servicio de la investigación, así como del lugar que ocupan en dicho sistema, viendo las necesidades de las futuras bibliotecas y las exigencias requeridas a los nuevos bibliotecarios.
Ingeniería y controversia social: hacia una nueva forma de diseño de sistemas técnicos
Authors: Todt Oliver
Published: November 2013

Para asegurar la aceptación de nuevos sistemas y productos técnicos por parte de la sociedad actual, hay que plantearse cambios fundamentales en el proceso de diseño de estos sistemas técnicos. Las actuales controversias acerca de la tecnología se podrían aprovechar para introducir discursos organizados y planificados en el proceso de diseño como uno de sus aspectos más básicos.
Así los diferentes puntos de vista acerca de las tecnologías podrían ser discutidos desde el principio con el fin de llegar a soluciones prácticas que darían como resultado una mejora de la aceptabilidad de los sistemas técnicos. Usuarios y los grupos potencialmente afectados por el sistema participarían junto con los diseñadores en la toma de decisiones a lo largo de todo el proceso de diseño para encontrar soluciones aceptables para todos los involucrados, desde los puntos de vista sociales y ecológicos así como técnicos y económicos.
¿Cómo se inventa una «ciencia del significado»?
Authors: Blanco Martín Carlos J.
Published: November 2013

En este trabajo hacemos un apretado recorrido en la historia del cognitivismo, con especial atención a la psicología computacional y a la inteligencia artificial (I.A.). Las ideas de símbolo, representación y significado pretenden reunir una serie de ciencias y técnicas, sobre los supuestos escombros de la tradición conductista.
Inconmensurabilidad semántica y progreso científico
Authors: Vázquez Juan
Published: November 2013

En la primera parte del trabajo se hace una presentación de las nociones de «inconmensurabilidad», tal como han sido formuladas por Feyerabend y Kuhn; y en la segunda parte, después de analizar los presupuestos semánticos con los que indudablemente han ido asociadas, se presenta un modelo alternativo de análisis semántico de la ‘inconmensurabilidad’, que permite desligarla de las nociones de «incomunicabilidad» e «incomparabilidad» interteóricas. Con ese propósito se hace uso de una doble noción de objeto formulada por C. S. Peirce, en sus Collected Papers, y por E. Husserl, en el parágrafo 131 de las Ideas.
Límites de la tecnología
Authors: Niiniluoto Ilkka
Published: November 2013

El desarrollo tecnológico presenta una dimensión social y cultural que trasciende su faceta económica, de modo que debería estar limitado, controlado y dirigido de alguna manera. Al reflexionar aquí sobre las bases teóricas de la política tecnológica, el primer punto de apoyo es la diferencia conceptual entre ciencia y tecnología. A este respecto, la tecnología, en mayor medida que la ciencia, está siempre bajo el influjo de valores sociales, y es preciso pensar los procedimientos de decisión que permitan a los ciudadanos participar en la valoración y control del cambio tecnológico. Para tratar estos límites de la tecnología, conviene resaltar que el progreso tecnológico debería basarse en la verdad científica objetiva acerca de las propiedades fácticas y las capacidades de los instrumentos así como en los valores éticos humanísticos que conciernen a los objetivos deseables y a las funciones de los instrumentos. De esta forma, la tecnología debería ser capaz de satisfacer su importante promesa de aumentar la libertad humana positiva.
Juan de Mairena en Srebrenica
Authors: Sánchez J. Jorge
Published: November 2013

Dos hilos impulsan estas líneas: la reflexión sobre uno de los acontecimientos cruciales de este fin de siglo en Europa, la masacre de Srebrenica, y la necesidad de contribuir a la tarea colectiva de reconstruir una tradición filosófica en lengua castellana más allá de las clásicas distinciones de géneros. Ambos propósitos confluirían, metonímica y metafóricamente, en un nombre, Machado, y una obra, el Juan de Mairena. Los textos del apócrifo del poeta, tan próximo en algunos momentos al pensamiento de Lévinas o Heidegger, pueden contribuir a articular un examen crítico, insertado en una tradición, sobre ese símbolo de nuestra época.
Definición de vida y universalización de la biología
Authors: Moreno Álvaro , Fernández Julio
Published: November 2013

El intento de universalizar la biología a partir de las tesis funcionalistas de la «vida artificial» es criticado como incompatible con las propias características peculiares de la organización biológica de la vida terrestre. Como argumentamos, la lógica de esta organización está profundamente imbricada en una materialidad específica, y ello es, en última instancia, consecuencia de la profunda recursividad entre los niveles dinámico e informacional, fundamentales en todos los sistemas vivos conocidos. En consecuencia, lo que cabe esperar es que sea precisamente esta imbricación entre forma y materialidad la característica universal de la vida.
Ismos y vanguardias del siglo XX
Authors: Rocamora Carmen
Published: November 2013

Recogemos en este artículo la eclosión de los movimientos pictóricos que ha tenido lugar en los últimos años, tratando de estudiar con lenguaje ameno y didáctico las causas filosófico-culturales que los motivaron. Nuestra meta es captar al lector, para evitar que se sitúe en la incomprensión y el menosprecio ante lo que desconoce, y el método empleado es la combinación de rasgos y caracteres, introduciendo episodios, anécdotas, perfiles extravagantes... Y así, a través de las luchas, los fracasos y los sueños de estos artistas, llegar a su conocimiento, a su triunfo final y a la valoración de su entusiasmo.
La teoría cuántica de la gravedad y la física de partículas elementales
Authors: Álvarez Vázquez Enrique
Published: November 2013

Pocos temas dentro de la FAE son tan controvertidos como el de la necesidad de estudiar efectos cuánticos de la gravitación. En este artículo se intenta argumentar su necesidad, así como se reflexiona sobre el papel de la especulación en la investigación científica.
Las relaciones de la FAE con el resto de la física
Authors: González-Arroyo Antonio
Published: November 2013

Es difícil para los científicos de una disciplina tener una perspectiva adecuada sobre los de otras disciplinas, o sobre la ciencia, en general. En este artículo se intenta precisamente adquirir una cierta panorámica, y contemplar la FAE dentro del panorama de la física contemporánea.
Los inicios de la Física de Altas Energías en España
Authors: Pascual de Sans Pedro
Published: November 2013

En este artículo se relatan, de forma resumida, los «años heroicos» (de mediados de los sesenta a mediados de los setenta), en los que todo era mucho más difícil en España, pero en los que un entusiasta grupo de pioneros consiguió poner las bases para el futuro desarrollo de la Física de Altas Energías en España (especialmente en su vertiente teórica). El autor es uno de los fundadores del Grupo Interuniversitario de Física Teórica (GIFT), de papel decisivo en esa coyuntura.
Causalidad y conciencia
Authors: Lapiedra Ramón
Published: November 2013

Se interpreta la Mecánica Cuántica y en particular el experimento mental del «gato de Schrodinger» adoptando un punto de vista «realista cuántico». Con ello la reducción del paquete de ondas viene asociada a la amplificación macroscópica de las transiciones cuánticas, y sólo subsidiariamente al proceso de medida en cuanto éste implica necesariamente una de tales amplificaciones. Dichas amplificaciones son relativamente incausadas y esta acausación relativa invade el acaecer universal y en particular la vida y la conciencia. La conciencia no pude ser simulada, pues, por un ordenador, el cual opera de acuerdo con las instrucciones de un programa definido previamente, con capacidad de aprendizaje o sin él. La conciencia, en cambio, crea continuamente nueva realidad, dentro de ciertos límites, y el propio mundo está creándose parcialmente a sí mismo en todo momento.
The Antecedents and Consequences of Strategic HRM in Malaysian and Philippine SMEs
Authors: Galang Maria Carmen , Osman Intan
Published: November 2013

From a survey of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia and the Philippines, the authors find that the adoption of strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) is at best at a moderate level. The adoption of strategic HRM by SMEs in both Malaysia and the Philippines is predicted from the positive effect of legal and regulatory requirements, the importance of business environment challenges, and the strategic role of the HR professional. Furthermore, regression analysis shows that in both countries, SMEs with strategic human resource management have better organizational performance in terms of human resource outcomes, operational outcomes, and financial outcomes, but the impact is larger in the Philippine SMEs. This study adds empirical evidence currently available from a small set of countries, mostly in North America and Europe. The authors end this chapter with implications for policy makers and HR practitioners and provide recommendations for future research.
Managing Human Resources in Family Businesses
Authors: Gutiérrez-Broncano Santiago , Rubio-Andrés Mercedes , Estévez Pedro Jiménez
Published: November 2013

Although a lot of research has been carried out in the field of family businesses in recent years, not much of it has focused on human resource management. After compiling the major studies, both negative aspects (e.g. nepotism) and positive ones (e.g. employee commitment) have been identified. Therefore, the authors propose high-performance human resources practices to reduce the negative impact of family in business and boost the positive effects, increase their human capital, and achieve a competitive advantage in this field. Finally, the authors provide key insights for practitioners, family business owners, and managers, and they propose future research directions.
Intergenerational Transition in a Small Family Business
Authors: Mari Carlo , Meglio Olimpia
Published: November 2013

Family businesses constitute the key infrastructure of wealth creation across the globe. One of the most important human-resource challenges they face is intergenerational transition, an issue that has received considerable attention from scholars in various countries. Despite this great interest, academics are still attempting to understand the phenomenon and provide effective managerial guidance on how family businesses can make it to the second generation. This chapter seeks to contribute to family business research by offering a more nuanced understanding of intergenerational transition that builds on a conceptualization of the phenomenon as a process rather than the prevailing view of it as an instantaneous event. In order to capture the processual nature of intergenerational transition, evidence is presented from a field study carried out in a small Italian family business that was the arena of three different intergenerational transitions taking place at different time periods. The evidence gathered suggests that the process is shaped by interaction of the different parties involved, who renegotiate their roles as it unfolds, with various factors playing a part.
Placing SMEs at the Forefront of SHRM Literature
Authors: Bendickson Josh , Liguori Eric W. , Muldoon Jeffrey , Newport Lindsay N. , Weaver K. Mark
Published: November 2013

High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) provide firms with resources to improve employee- and firm-level outcomes. While recent literature in this field begins to explore the role and benefits of HPWPs in Small- to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), much remains unknown. To address this deficiency, the authors explore the dominant HPWPs used by SMEs, demonstrating that in some U.S. firms SMEs are just as human resource savvy as their larger counterparts. Ultimately, they both advance the SHRM literature and provide a better understanding of the common HPWPs (e.g., compensation, training, development, etc.) used by U.S. SMEs.
Self-Managing Teams in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)
Authors: Rubio-Andrés Mercedes , Gutiérrez-Broncano Santiago , Varona-Castillo Luis
Published: November 2013

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are looking for a sustainable and profitable business concept. They use a human resource model according to the situation and establish a democratic system with flexible work, focusing on responsibility and initiative and increasing the self-control of the team´s members. Self-managing teams have been used more and more in recent years in the business environment. They are relatively autonomous work groups whose members share responsibility and leadership to accomplish their independent tasks. Their objective is to develop a type of collective knowledge that requires the pooling of individual knowledge. Their characteristics include independent, autonomous decision making, shared responsibility, and shared leadership. Sometimes, self-managing teams are also responsible for personnel decisions within the team, such as working hours, the selection and contracting of members, dismissal, and even determining salaries. In sum, the authors propose self-managing teams (such as High Performance Practices) as a good human resource management in small and medium enterprises and show how they can help to create organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage in SMEs.
Innovation Strategies in SME
Authors: Baporikar Neeta
Published: November 2013

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in a country's economic development. The current trend of economic growth and rapid industrial development has made many countries open up their economies to the world. In conjunction, governments the world over are devoting and designing SME development plans to assist the SMEs in meeting new business challenges in the competitive global business environment. The focus of this chapter is identifying and analyzing innovation strategies in SMEs, drivers of innovation in SMEs from global perspective, and understanding the need of effective HRM to drive innovation. This will help in getting an idea about the competitiveness facing SMEs in the global business environment since challenges of SMEs in a globalized market together with economic turmoil is the reality. Further, two mini-cases reflecting SME innovation strategies are provided for better understanding.
Hierarchies and Holdings
Authors: Oliveira Teresa Carla , Holland Stuart , Fontes da Costa João , Lira de Carvalho Francisco Edinaldo
Published: November 2013

This chapter proposes that key features of New Public Management (NPM) in complex public service organisations, such as teaching hospitals, are less new than a reversal to Weberian hierarchy, Fordist concern with throughput rather than quality, Taylorist standardised performance criteria, and Foucauldian surveillance. While this judgement is severe, it illustrates that such management models combined with market or quasi-market criteria have been dysfunctional in the UK in near trebling administrative costs, demotivating health professionals, and in the view of their professional associations, risk destroying the principles of a national health service. It proposes that those concerned to counter this could draw on more plural modes of management in public sector institutions such as holding companies as a model for reforms in hospital organisation, which could enable a degree of relative autonomy for individual services and units similar to that typical of small- to medium-sized firms. It distinguishes organisational logic as the basis for economic efficiency from operational logic as the basis for social efficiency in terms of psychological wellbeing of both health professionals and patients. It submits that doctors as managers of staff in different services and units need relative autonomy for effective implementation of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at operational levels to be able to enhance purposeful engagement and vocational commitment to health as public service as well to enable psychological contracting into change. Informed by a case study within a socio-cognitive approach in a major European teaching hospital, it then draws implications concerning the merits of a holding company model for hospital organisation.
Internationalization Services for Small and Medium Enterprises
Authors: Buggea Enrico , Castiglione Roberto , Cerquitelli Tania , Grosso Lorenzo , Rontini Giacomo , Scolari Arianna , Xiang Lei
Published: November 2013

To be successful exporters, SMEs have to penetrate foreign markets rapidly, at low cost, maintaining control of core technologies and products, while adapting product features to local customer requirements and preferences. Entrepreneurs have to find and evaluate potential partners, overcoming differences in business cultures and their ignorance of foreign accounting rules. Internationalization has deep and relevant implications in effective human resources management. In fact, the expansion of the firms allows the creation of new job opportunities both in the home country and abroad. This process could be seen as a solution, or better as mitigation, for the current problem of unemployment that our society has to face in this period of crisis. SMEs need to be supported in their expansion abroad. In Italy, public and private agencies provide services to achieve this. The aim of this chapter is to analyze how they operate, what services they provide, and how much they support enterprises. As a case study, the authors examine services provided by Chinese agencies because China is one of the most active countries in international markets. Italian and Chinese agencies are compared focusing on the existing standard services provided and their customization according to specific domain needs. Finally, the authors present a global view of today’s scenario to define future directions of current internationalized services.
Designing Quality Blended Courses
Authors: Grincewicz Amy M.
Published: November 2013

Over the last few years, a growing number of courses have been incorporating online elements into traditional face-to-face instruction. This movement has led to the emergence of a blended teaching and learning approach, which, in turn, has increased the need to discuss the educational benefits and underlying challenges of this type of instructional delivery. When developing a blended course, a number of important principles should be kept in mind to ensure the effectiveness of the course. Effective blended design takes into consideration the differences between face-to-face and online learning and incorporates different learning and teaching strategies. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss designing a quality blended course. This chapter discusses designing activities to encourage interaction, motivation, and engagement within a blended course that can be used in the online components. In addition, how to structure a blended course and benefits of working with a development team are discussed.
Student-Driven Education with Flipped Learning and 20-Time
Authors: Driscoll Thomas F. , Petty Katherine A.
Published: November 2013

Educators from a wide-range of K-12 settings have begun implementing a variation of blended instruction commonly referred to as flipped learning. This typically refers to shifting direct instruction online through screencast videos, therefore enabling more authentic and collaborative classroom experiences. Some suggest that not only is the direct instruction flipped, but also the ownership of learning from the teacher to the student. An example of how Flipped Learning opens up opportunities for personalized, inquiry-based learning is the emergence of 20-Time. These 20-Time projects, largely influenced by research on cognition and emerging business world practices, aim to foster creativity and higher-order thinking by tapping into students’ intrinsic motivations. Flipped learning and 20-Time projects are emerging as innovative and practical ways for K-12 educators to develop and implement effective, student-centered blended learning environments.
Flipping the College Classroom
Authors: Hughes Heather
Published: November 2013

“Flipping the classroom” is a pedagogical strategy that replaces the standard lecture-in-class format with opportunities for students to review, discuss, and investigate course content with the instructor in class. There are many ways that a classroom can be flipped, but the underlying premise is that students review lecture materials outside of class and then come to class prepared to participate in instructor-guided learning activities. This chapter provides an introduction to participatory learning and technologies, along with instructional design strategies for flipping the college classroom.
Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education to Blended Learning Environments
Authors: Babb Stephanie , Stewart Cindy , Johnson Ruth
Published: November 2013

Hybrid courses are a blend of traditional and online courses. Chickering and Gamson (1987) identified Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education; these principles have been repeatedly tested in online and traditional courses, and shown to be effective at meeting learning outcomes. In order to apply the seven principles to hybrid courses, instructors should: encourage contact and communication between themselves and the students; provide multiple opportunities for interactions between students; create well-designed student-presented projects and assignments that require participation, engagement, and feedback; provide prompt feedback on both assignments and inquiries; establish both deadlines and expectations for time spent on learning assessments; communicate high expectations for the course through a well-designed syllabus, challenging assignments, and praise for excellent performance; and allow students autonomy in assignment topics.
A Blended Approach to Canadian First Nations Education
Authors: Vaughan Norman , Auger Neepin , Sacher Martin , Sacher Mavis
Published: November 2013

This chapter describes a research study that investigated how a blended approach to Canadian First Nations education could be used to foster student engagement and success. The study examined the SCcyber E-Learning Community program through the lens of the Seven Principles of Effective Teaching (Chickering & Gamson, 1999). Data was collected via an online survey, interviews, and site visits. The study participants indicated that the deliberate and intentional integration of mentors at local learning centers with online teachers, who provide synchronous tutorials through the use of a Web-based learning management system and conferencing tool, was the key to academic success.
Creating Dialogical Spaces in Blended Environments
Authors: Ross Kristin C.
Published: November 2013

This chapter presents a case study of two English literature courses (one graduate course taught in the Spring 2010 semester and one undergraduate course in the Fall 2011 semester) at Troy University’s Dothan, AL, campus analyzing student engagement in relation to the learning environment. Both of these courses presented challenges in facilitating classroom discussion inhibited by the physical design of the learning space. To compensate for these physical limitations, both courses incorporated blended learning. One course was moved outdoors, thereby blending the traditional classroom with a non-traditional learning space, while the other incorporated a blended learning approach that used an online discussion board. Although such “relocations” of the learning space overcame initial barriers to student engagement and success, even the blended approach suggests that further research and investment in classroom design would improve student engagement in both traditional and blended classes by promoting dialogism in the classroom.
A Blended Course to Teach Graphical Programming Using LabVIEW
Authors: Uğurlu Yücel
Published: November 2013

In this chapter, the authors introduce a blended learning approach where LabVIEW, an e-learning environment, was integrated into a traditional graphical programming course for engineering students to teach advanced topics and to increase the programming skills of the students. In this course, the students were required to design projects using technology. The students designed small projects and frequently accessed the e-learning system to build real-world applications. The projects that students designed stimulated them to use the e-learning system. The impact of blended learning was evaluated on the basis of student surveys and certification test results. Experimental studies show that blended learning produced higher results in the students’ self-assessment and certification test.
Blended Learning Support for Undergraduate Students’ Research and Writing Skills Development
Authors: Yoshida Asako
Published: November 2013

In this exploratory study, a subject librarian and a writing instructor investigated the potential of designing blended learning around research paper assignments in the context of two foundational courses in the Faculty of Human Ecology at the University of Manitoba, Canada. The objective was to explore alternative, more embedded learning support for undergraduate students. The significance of blended learning support was situated in the broader literature of the teaching and learning practices in higher education. In this case study, descriptions of blended learning support for facilitating student learning, and of the main barrier to its implementation are provided. Based on what was learned in the exploratory study, the chapter provides working guidelines for designing and developing blended learning support, mainly drawing from Butler and Cartier’s (2004) research on academic engagement.
Design and Development of Hybrid Stir Casting Process
Authors: Kamboj Abhishek , Kumar Sudhir , Singh Hari
Published: November 2013

The widespread adoption of particulate metal matrix composites (MMCs) for engineering applications has been hindered by the high cost of producing components of complex shape. Casting technology may be the key to overcoming this problem with stir casting. But the problem arises with stir casting is wettability and porosity. To overcome the problem of porosity a hybrid casting process is needed. So, hybrid stir casting process was developed to produce a silicon carbide particulate aluminum alloy composite. In this paper, the authors have discussed the various parts like Muffle Furnace, Thermocouple, Electric motor Impeller & Stirrer, Crucible, Vacuum pump, Nitrogen gas, and Lifting mechanism of the Hybrid Stir Casting process.
An Efficient VBA Spreadsheet Algorithm and Model for the System Optimum Traffic Assignment
Authors: Hong Jae-Dong , Xie Yuanchang , Jeong Ki-Young
Published: November 2013

The traffic assignment involves assigning traffic to a transportation network consisting of highways, arterials, or transit routes. To obtain an optimal traffic assignment scheme, a mathematical program (MP) should be formulated and solved. The process of formulating an MP requires identifying all possible paths connecting each origin-to-destination pair through the network, since the number of those paths turns out to be the number of the decision variables. Consequently, formulating and solving such an MP is difficult due to the large number of the decision variables and constraints. For that reason, practitioners prefer heuristics for a large-scale transportation network. In this paper, the authors suggest a new and efficient way of formulating an MP and develop a Microsoft Excel model with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to find the optimal assignment scheme for the traffic assignment problem. The developed Excel model with VBA can be easily expanded to a large-scale transportation network.
Use of Simulated Annealing for Adaptive Control System
Authors: Dao Tran Trong , Zelinka Ivan , Duy Vo Hoang
Published: November 2013

This work deals with using a method of artificial intelligence, mainly the generic probabilistic meta-algorithm can be used in such a difficult task which is analyzed and control of dynamical systems. Simulated annealing (SA) is used in this investigation. The adaptive control system was used in simulations with optimization by Simulated Annealing and the results are presented in graphs.
Hybridization of Biogeography-Based
Authors: Roy Provas Kumar , Mandal Dharmadas
Published: November 2013

The aim of this paper is to evaluate a hybrid biogeography-based optimization approach based on the hybridization of biogeography-based optimization with differential evolution to solve the optimal power flow problem. The proposed method combines the exploration of differential evolution with the exploitation of biogeography-based optimization effectively to generate the promising candidate solutions. Simulation experiments are carried on standard 26-bus and IEEE 30-bus systems to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approach. Results demonstrated that the proposed approach converged to promising solutions in terms of quality and convergence rate when compared with the original biogeography-based optimization and other population based optimization techniques like simple genetic algorithm, mixed integer genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization and craziness based particle swarm optimization.