bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Separating the natural and anthropogenic air‐sea flux of CO2: The Indian Ocean
Authors: Hall Timothy M. , Primeau Francois W.
Published: December 2004

We estimate the natural and anthropogenic components of the air‐sea flux of CO2 in the Indian Ocean. The increase in atmospheric CO2 driven by human activity has caused the air‐sea CO2 disequilibrium, and consequently the flux, to increase significantly over the industrial era. We estimate the flux in the year 1780 to be approximately 0.2 Gt/yr, increasing by 0.26 Gt/yr to 0.5 Gt/yr in 2000. The estimate of the natural (preindustrial) flux is highly sensitive to uncertainties in modern‐day CO2 disequilibrium measurements. By contrast, the estimate of the anthropogenic flux is only weakly sensitive to these measurements.
Role of variation in vertical profiles of relative humidity on retrieval of humidity from AMSU‐B data
Authors: Jethva Hiren , Srinivasan J.
Published: December 2004

In this paper, we have compared the relative humidity (RH) retrieved from 183 GHz channel brightness temperature (BT) of AMSU‐B (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit‐B) with those obtained from radiosondes in the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX (Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment) and in the Arabian Sea during ARMEX (Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment). The NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) radiative transfer (RT) model has been used to obtain the relationship between layer‐averaged RH and BT. With the present RT model, it has been found that the linear dependence of natural logarithm of layer‐averaged RH on BT is valid, if the profile of humidity is invariant. However, the relative humidity profiles obtained during BOBMEX and ARMEX experiments showed a large variability in the vertical profiles of humidity in middle and upper troposphere. In such situation, the relation between layer‐averaged RH and BT was found to be linear.
Impact of rooting depth and soil hydraulic properties on the transpiration peak of an evergreen forest in northern Thailand in the late dry season
Authors: Tanaka Katsunori , Takizawa Hideki , Kume Tomonori , Xu Jianqing , Tantasirin Chatchai , Suzuki Masakazu
Published: December 2004

Previous research showed that transpiration in an evergreen broad‐leaved forest in northern Thailand (18°48′N, 98°54′E) peaked at the end of the dry season. However, rooting depth limitations on soil water use were not investigated. This study examined the impact of rooting depth and soil hydraulic properties on transpiration using a newly developed soil plant air continuum model. The soil texture at the site was classified as silty sand from the measured relationship between the volumetric soil water content and soil water potential at 0.1‐m depths. To effectively simulate heat pulse velocity variation corresponding to dry season transpiration and annual discharge, a rooting depth of 4–5 m was needed, assuming a silty sand soil texture under unsaturated conditions. This value is less than the reported maximum rooting depth of trees and is considered reasonable. A penetration test showed that soil became harder at depths of 4–5 m. The model results suggest that a shallower rooting depth is sufficient to maintain the late dry season transpiration peak if other soil textures with lower hydraulic conductivity are assumed. By contrast, the late dry season transpiration peak could not be maintained under unsaturated conditions if a sandy soil texture with high hydraulic conductivity was assumed, even with a rooting depth of 12 m.
Asian chemical outflow to the Pacific in late spring observed during the PEACE‐B aircraft mission
Authors: Oshima N. , Koike M. , Nakamura H. , Kondo Y. , Takegawa N. , Miyazaki Y. , Blake D. R. , Shirai T. , Kita K. , Kawakami S. , Ogawa T.
Published: December 2004

The Pacific Exploration of Asian Continental Emission phase B (PEACE‐B) aircraft mission was conducted over the western Pacific during April–May 2002. During several flights, large enhancements of CO greater than 200 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) were observed at altitudes between 5 and 10 km. In this paper, we describe vertical transport mechanisms over east Asia that were responsible for these enhancements, using the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) meteorological data and infrared cloud data obtained by the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS)‐5. A case study for the highest CO event shows that it was likely due to vertical transport of pollutants caused by deep cumulus convection along a quasi‐stationary frontal zone, which was formed over central China (around the Yangtze River at 30°N). In the mean meteorological field during the PEACE‐B period, the warm, moist low‐level southerlies converged into the frontal zone, sustaining cross‐frontal temperature and moisture contrasts. Along the frontal zone, the mean vertical motion was distinctively upward, and a subtropical jet aloft was found to transport uplifted air parcels efficiently into the western Pacific. In this study, criteria to identify deep convection are defined using both the ECMWF and GMS data. The results show that convective activity, which was generally high below the subtropical jet, played an important role in producing updrafts over central China. The convective transport resulted mainly from a limited number of episodes, each of which followed the development of a weak cyclonic disturbance. Back trajectories of air parcels sampled at altitudes between 4 and 13 km on board the aircraft during PEACE‐B show that among the air parcels originating from the 800‐hPa level or below, 69% were likely to have undergone convective uplifting. In addition to convection, sloping isentropes often observed along the quasi‐stationary jet axis yielded persistent slow quasi‐adiabatic uplifting of air over the Far East, which was occasionally intensified with a classical warm conveyor belt (WCB) airstream on the passage of migratory cyclonic disturbances. Meteorological conditions during PEACE‐B were thus favorable for the uplifting of boundary layer air influenced by anthropogenic emissions over central China. These results are consistent with the relatively high levels of Halon 1211 (CF2ClBr), a good tracer of Chinese anthropogenic emissions, observed in the air parcels that were likely uplifted in the frontal zone.
The noble gas xenon induces pharmacological preconditioning in the rat heart in vivo via induction of PKC‐ɛ and p38 MAPK
Authors: Weber Nina C , Toma Octavian , Wolter Jessica I , Obal Detlef , Müllenheim Jost , Preckel Benedikt , Schlack Wolfgang
Published: December 2004

Xenon is an anesthetic with minimal hemodynamic side effects, making it an ideal agent for cardiocompromised patients. We investigated if xenon induces pharmacological preconditioning (PC) of the rat heart and elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms.

For infarct size measurements, anesthetized rats were subjected to 25 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by 120 min of reperfusion. Rats received either the anesthetic gas xenon, the volatile anesthetic isoflurane or as positive control ischemic preconditioning (IPC) during three 5‐min periods before 25‐min ischemia. Control animals remained untreated for 45 min. To investigate the involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK), rats were pretreated with the PKC inhibitor calphostin C (0.1 mg kg−1) or the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 (1 mg kg−1). Additional hearts were excised for Western blot and immunohistochemistry.

Infarct size was reduced from 50.9±16.7% in controls to 28.1±10.3% in xenon, 28.6±9.9% in isoflurane and to 28.5±5.4% in IPC hearts. Both, calphostin C and SB203580, abolished the observed cardioprotection after xenon and isoflurane administration but not after IPC. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot assay revealed an increased phosphorylation and translocation of PKC‐ɛ in xenon treated hearts. This effect could be blocked by calphostin C but not by SB203580. Moreover, the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was induced by xenon and this effect was blocked by calphostin C.

In summary, we demonstrate that xenon induces cardioprotection by PC and that activation of PKC‐ɛ and its downstream target p38 MAPK are central molecular mechanisms involved. Thus, the results of the present study may contribute to elucidate the beneficial cardioprotective effects of this anesthetic gas.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2005) 144, 123–132. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706063
UMP kinase fromStreptococcus pneumoniae: evidence for co-operative ATP binding and allosteric regulation
Authors: FASSY Florence , KREBS Odile , LOWINSKI Maryse , FERRARI Paul , WINTER Jacques , COLLARD-DUTILLEUL Véronique , SALAHBEY HOCINI Khadidja
Published: December 2004

UMP kinase catalyses the phosphorylation of UMP by ATP to yield UDP and ADP. In prokaryotes, the reaction is carried out by a hexameric enzyme, activated by GTP and inhibited by UTP. In the present study, Streptococcus pneumoniae UMP kinase was studied as a target for antibacterial research and its interest was confirmed by the demonstration of the essentiality of the gene for cell growth. In the presence of MnCl2 or MgCl2, the saturation kinetics of recombinant purified UMP kinase was hyperbolic for UMP (Km=0.1 mM) and sigmoidal for ATP (the substrate concentration at half-saturation S0.5=9.4±0.7 mM and n=1.9±0.1 in the presence of MgCl2). GTP increased the affinity for ATP and decreased the Hill coefficient (n). UTP decreased the affinity for ATP and only slightly increased the Hill coefficient. The kcat (175±13 s−1 in the presence of MgCl2) was not affected by the addition of GTP or UTP, whose binding site was shown to be different from the active site. The hydrodynamic radius of the protein similarly decreased in the presence of ATP or GTP. There was a shift in the pH dependence of the activity when the ATP concentration was switched from low to high. These results support the hypothesis of an allosteric transition from a conformation with low affinity for ATP to a form with high affinity, which would be induced by the presence of ATP or GTP.
Comparative analysis of topoisomerase IB inhibition and DNA intercalation by flavonoids and similar compounds: structural determinates of activity
Authors: WEBB Michael R. , EBELER Susan E.
Published: December 2004

Flavonoids and other polyphenolic compounds have been shown to inhibit human topoisomerase IB (topo I) through both inhibition of relaxation activity and through stabilization of the cleavable complex (poisoning). Some flavonoids have also been shown to intercalate DNA, and an association of topoisomerase inhibition with intercalation has been noted. We surveyed 34 polyphenolic compounds, primarily flavonoid glycones and aglycones, for their ability to inhibit topo I and to intercalate DNA using an in vitro gel electrophoresis method. We show that the most potent topo I poisons are the flavones and flavonols, and that these generally, but not always, are found to be DNA intercalators. There was no clear correlation, however, of topo-I-poisoning activity with the degree of DNA unwinding. Surprisingly, both DNA intercalation and topo I poisoning were shown to occur with some flavone glycones, including the C-glycosylflavone orientin. Inhibition of relaxation activity by flavonoids was found to be difficult to quantify and was most likely to be due to non-specific inhibition through flavonoid aggregation. As part of a structure–activity analysis, we also investigated the acid–base chemistry of flavonoids and determined that many flavonoids show acid–base activity with a pKa in the physiological pH region. For this reason, subtle pH changes can have significant effects on solution activity of flavonoids and their concomitant biological activity. In addition, these effects may be complicated by pH-dependent aggregation and oxidative degradation. Finally, we develop a simple model for the intercalation of flavonoids into DNA and discuss possible consequences of intercalation and topoisomerase inhibition on a number of cellular processes.
Mutations in the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ca toxin demonstrate the role of domains II and III in specificity towards Spodoptera exigua larvae
Authors: HERRERO Salvador , GONZÁLEZ-CABRERA Joel , FERRÉ Juan , BAKKER Petra L. , de MAAGD Ruud A.
Published: December 2004

Several mutants of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ca toxin affected with regard to specific activity towards Spodoptera exigua were studied. Alanine was used to replace single residues in loops 2 and 3 of domain II (mutant pPB19) and to replace residues 541–544 in domain III (mutant pPB20). Additionally, a Cry1Ca mutant combining all mutations was constructed (mutant pPB21). Toxicity assays showed a marked decrease in toxicity against S. exigua for all mutants, while they retained their activity against Manduca sexta, confirming the importance of these residues in determining insect specificity. Parameters for binding to the specific receptors in BBMV (brush border membrane vesicles) of S. exigua were determined for all toxins. Compared with Cry1Ca, the affinity of mutant pPB19 was slightly affected (2-fold lower), whereas the affinity of the mutants with an altered domain III (pPB20 and pPB21) was approx. 8-fold lower. Activation of Cry1Ca protoxin by incubation with S. exigua or M. sexta BBMV revealed the transient formation of an oligomeric form of Cry1Ca. The presence of this oligomeric form was tested in the activation of the different Cry1Ca mutants, and we found that those mutated in domain II (pPB19 and pPB21) could not generate the oligomeric form when activated by S. exigua BBMV. In contrast, when oligomerization was tested using BBMV prepared from M. sexta, all of the Cry1Ca mutants showed the formation of a similar oligomeric form as did the wild-type toxin. Our results show how modification of insect specificity can be achieved by manipulation of different parts of the toxin structure involved in different steps of the mode of action of B. thuringiensis toxins.
Structure of the complex between the cytosolic chaperonin CCT and phosducin-like protein
Authors: Martín-Benito Jaime , Bertrand Sara , Hu Ting , Ludtke Paul J. , McLaughlin Joseph N. , Willardson Barry M. , Carrascosa José L. , Valpuesta José M.
Published: December 2004

The three-dimensional structure of the complex formed between the cytosolic chaperonin CCT (chaperonin containing TCP-1) and phosducin (Pdc)-like protein (PhLP), a regulator of CCT activity, has been solved by cryoelectron microscopy. Binding of PhLP to CCT occurs through only one of the chaperonin rings, and the protein does not occupy the central folding cavity but rather sits above it through interactions with two regions on opposite sides of the ring. This causes the apical domains of the CCT subunits to close in, thus excluding access to the folding cavity. The atomic model of PhLP generated from several atomic structures of the homologous Pdc fits very well with the mass of the complex attributable to PhLP and predicts the involvement of several sequences of PhLP in CCT binding. Binding experiments performed with PhLP/Pdc chimeric proteins, taking advantage of the fact that Pdc does not interact with CCT, confirm that both the N- and C-terminal domains of PhLP are involved in CCT binding and that several regions suggested by the docking experiment are indeed critical in the interaction with the cytosolic chaperonin.
RNA interference acts as a natural antiviral response to O'nyong-nyong virus (
Alphavirus
; Togaviridae) infection of
Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Keene Kimberly M. , Foy Brian D. , Sanchez-Vargas Irma , Beaty Barry J. , Blair Carol D. , Olson Ken E.
Published: December 2004

RNA interference (RNAi) is triggered in eukaryotic organisms by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), and it destroys any mRNA that has sequence identity with the dsRNA trigger. The RNAi pathway in
Anopheles gambiae
can be silenced by transfecting cells with dsRNA derived from exon sequence of the
A. gambiae Argonaute2
(
AgAgo2
) gene. We hypothesized that RNAi may also act as an antagonist to alphavirus replication in
A. gambiae
because RNA viruses form dsRNA during replication. Silencing
AgAgo2
expression would make
A. gambiae
mosquitoes more permissive to virus infection. To determine whether RNAi conditions the vector competence of
A. gambiae
for O'nyong-nyong virus (ONNV), we engineered a genetically modified ONNV that expresses enhanced GFP (eGFP) as a marker. After intrathoracic injection, ONNV-eGFP slowly spread to other
A. gambiae
tissues over a 9-day incubation period. Mosquitoes were then coinjected with virus and either control β-
galactosidase
dsRNA (dsβgal; note that “ds” is used as a prefix to indicate the dsRNA derived from a given gene throughout) or ONNV dsnsP3. Treatment with dsnsP3 inhibited virus spread significantly, as determined by eGFP expression patterns. ONNV-eGFP titers from mosquitoes coinjected with dsnsP3 were significantly lower at 3 and 6 days after injection than in mosquitoes coinjected with dsβgal. Mosquitoes were then coinjected with ONNV-eGFP and dsAgAgo2. Mosquitoes coinjected with virus and
AgAgo2
dsRNA displayed widespread eGFP expression and virus titers 16-fold higher than dsβgal controls after 3 or 6 days after injection. These observations provide direct evidence that RNAi is an antagonist of ONNV replication in
A. gambiae
, and they suggest that the innate immune response conditions vector competence.
Heterogeneous evolutionary processes affect
R
gene diversity in natural populations of
Solanum pimpinellifolium
Authors: Caicedo Ana L. , Schaal Barbara A.
Published: December 2004

Resistance (
R
) genes of plants are responsible for pathogen recognition and encode proteins that trigger a cascade of responses when a pathogen invades a plant.
R
genes are assumed to be under strong selection, but there is limited knowledge of the processes affecting
R
gene diversity in the wild. In this study, DNA sequence variation of
Cf-2
homologs was surveyed in populations of
Solanum pimpinellifolium
, a wild relative of the cultivated tomato. The
Cf-2
locus is involved in resistance to strains of the fungus
Cladosporium fulvum
. At least 26 different
Cf-2
homologs were detected in natural populations of
S. pimpinellifolium
. These homologs differ by single base pair substitutions as well as indels in regions coding for leucine-rich repeats. Molecular population genetic analyses suggest that natural selection has acted heterogeneously on
Cf-2
homologs, with selection against amino acid substitutions occurring in the 5′ portion of the genes, and possible restricted positive selection in the 3′ end. Balancing selection may have maintained haplotypes at the 5′ end of the genes. Limited sequence exchange between genes has also contributed to sequence variation.
S. pimpinellifolium
individuals differ in the number of
Cf-2
homologs they contain, obscuring the relationships of orthology and paralogy. This survey of
Cf-2
variation in
S. pimpinellifolium
illustrates the wealth of
R
gene diversity that exists in wild plant populations, as well as the complexity of interacting genetic and evolutionary processes that generate such diversity.
Transport of
Drosophila
fragile X mental retardation protein-containing ribonucleoprotein granules by kinesin-1 and cytoplasmic dynein
Authors: Ling Shuo-Chien , Fahrner Peter S. , Greenough William T. , Gelfand Vladimir I.
Published: December 2004

Transport and translation of mRNA are tightly coupled to ensure strict temporal and spatial expression of nascent proteins. Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) has been shown to be involved in translational regulation and is found in ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules that travel along dendrites of neurons. In this study, GFP-tagged
Drosophila
homologue of FMRP (dFMR) was used to visualize RNP granule movement in
Drosophila
S2 cells. GFP-dFMR form granules that contain both endogenous dFMR and mRNA. Live fluorescence microscopy revealed that dFMR-containing RNP granules move bidirectionally in thin processes formed by S2 cells in the presence of cytochalasin D. Knocking down the heavy chains of either kinesin-1 (kinesin heavy chain) or cytoplasmic dynein (dynein heavy chain) by RNA interference blocks the movement of the dFMR granules. In contrast, knockdown of kinesin light chain (KLC), which is typically necessary for movement of membrane organelles by kinesin-1, had no effect on the dFMR granule translocation. In immunoprecipitation assays, dFMR associates with both kinesin heavy chain and dynein heavy chain, but not KLC. Based on these findings, we conclude that dFMR-containing RNP granules are moved by both kinesin-1 and cytoplasmic dynein and that KLC is not essential and is likely missing from RNP-transporting kinesin-1.
In silico
study of amyloid β-protein folding and oligomerization
Authors: Urbanc B. , Cruz L. , Yun S. , Buldyrev S. V. , Bitan G. , Teplow D. B. , Stanley H. E.
Published: December 2004

Experimental findings suggest that oligomeric forms of the amyloid β protein (Aβ) play a critical role in Alzheimer's disease. Thus, elucidating their structure and the mechanisms of their formation is critical for developing therapeutic agents. We use discrete molecular dynamics simulations and a four-bead protein model to study oligomerization of two predominant alloforms, Aβ40 and Aβ42, at the atomic level. The four-bead model incorporates backbone hydrogen-bond interactions and amino acid-specific interactions mediated through hydrophobic and hydrophilic elements of the side chains. During the simulations we observe monomer folding and aggregation of monomers into oligomers of variable sizes. Aβ40 forms significantly more dimers than Aβ42, whereas pentamers are significantly more abundant in Aβ42 relative to Aβ40. Structure analysis reveals a turn centered at Gly-37–Gly-38 that is present in a folded Aβ42 monomer but not in a folded Aβ40 monomer and is associated with the first contacts that form during monomer folding. Our results suggest that this turn plays an important role in Aβ42 pentamer formation. Aβ pentamers have a globular structure comprising hydrophobic residues within the pentamer's core and hydrophilic N-terminal residues at the surface of the pentamer. The N termini of Aβ40 pentamers are more spatially restricted than Aβ42 pentamers. Aβ40 pentamers form a β-strand structure involving Ala-2–Phe-4, which is absent in Aβ42 pentamers. These structural differences imply a different degree of hydrophobic core exposure between pentamers of the two alloforms, with the hydrophobic core of the Aβ42 pentamer being more exposed and thus more prone to form larger oligomers.
Organic carbon biogeochemistry of Lake Superior
Authors: Cotner James B. , Biddanda Bopaiah A. , Makino Wataru , Stets Edward
Published: December 2004

We examined the organic carbon budget for the Earth's largest lake, Lake Superior, in the Laurentian Great Lakes. This is a unique, ultra-oligotrophic system with many features similar to the oligotrophic oceanic gyres, such as dominance of microbial biomass and dissolved organic carbon in biogeochemical processes. Photo-autotrophy is the dominant source of reduced organic matter in the lake. Areal rates of primary production are among the lowest measured in any aquatic system, and are likely a result of cold water temperatures and low nutrient concentrations in the lake. Allochthonous riverine organic carbon inputs were estimated at about 10 percent of photo-autotrophic production. Atmospheric carbon deposition has not been measured to any significant extent but we estimate it at 0.16 to 0.41 Tg yr−1. All together, allochthonous carbon sources provide 13 to 19 percent of photo-autotrophic production. The main loss of organic matter in the lake is through respiration in the water column. Respiration is double all estimated organic carbon sources combined and therefore sources are likely underestimated. Few measurements of photo-autotrophic carbon production have been made and none recently. Nonetheless, most of the production and fluxes in this system pass through the large dissolved organic carbon pool (more than 10 times as large as the particulate organic carbon pool), which is mediated by heterotrophic and autotrophic picoplanktonic microbial flora. Improved understanding of dissolved organic carbon pools and dynamics is critical for constraining carbon flux in ultra-oligotrophic Lake Superior.
Sade's Footnotes
Authors: Phillips John
Published: December 2004

Focusing upon the use of the footnote in
Histoire de Juliette
, this article builds upon earlier work on Sade's footnotes, notably by Andreas Pfersmann and Lucienne Frappier-Mazur, and draws upon the narratological perspectives of Gérard Genette and the Derridean theory of the supplement, to examine how the note provides authorial support for the discourse of the main text, and so may be said to form an integral part of it, rather than a mere peripheral element. As the only site from which the author can regularly interrupt Juliette's first-person narrative to address the reader directly, I argue that the note facilitates the construction of an authorial voice, aimed at the intellectual (rather than physical) seduction of the reader, a voice which depends for its effects on parodic humour and rhetorical persuasion. Such persuasion depends in turn on the construction of a believable world in which
libertine
ideas and values hold sway. This believable world, which the footnotes play such a crucial role in creating, nevertheless belongs to the imaginary and not the real. I conclude that Sade's marginally located footnote occupies centre stage in the drama of authorial desire repeatedly and obsessively re-enacted in the imaginary of his text.
REVEILING THE WOMAN: PASSION, PRESENCE, AND INTERTEXTUALITY IN MICHEL LEIRIS'S
FOURBIS
Authors: Hand Seán
Published: December 2004

The article recalls how woman is the primary signifier of Leiris’s desire for presence before examining the most powerful example of this effect: namely the account given, in the closing chapter of
Fourbis
, ‘Vois! Déjà l’ange...’, of Leiris’s relationship with an Algerian prostitute called Khadidja, while he was stationed as a soldier in North Africa during the ’drôle de guerre’. The article shows how the colonial situation is intertextually recast and obscured; it draws on Nerval, European modernism, opera and numerous classical references, as well as on Leiris’s own ethnographic writing. The conclusion points up how the multiplication and erasure of Khadidja as an object of desire rhythmically confirm the consuming presence of Leiris as a passionate subject.
Consideration of the origin of Herbert Simon's theory of “satisficing” (1933‐1947)
Authors: Brown Reva
Published: December 2004

Herbert Simon's major contribution to decision‐making theory is the concept of “satisficing”. This was first posited in Administrative Behavior, published in 1947, and the book, concerned as it was with establishing a scientific approach to administrative theory, puts forward an adjustment of then‐current economic theory, which viewed administrative choice as a process of maximising. While, over the ensuing decades, Simon adjusted his definitions of both “economic man” and of “satisficing” in several subsequent publications, the original exposition of these was a major contribution to the area of administrative theory. An attempt has been made here to explore what circumstances might have led Simon into putting forward the concept of “satisficing”.
Examining the theoretical inspirations of a management guru
Authors: Kiessling Timothy S. , Glenn Richey R.
Published: December 2004

This manuscript discusses the contributions of Peter F. Drucker and the seminal influences on his logic made by the Austrian School of Economics. According to our research, Drucker focused on four critical elements of the Austrian School: an interdisciplinary approach and philosophical sophistication; the vision of market competition as an endless dynamic process (creative destruction, entrepreneurship); the firm as a social entity and as a depository of knowledge; and the role of the government. The research also suggests that Peter Drucker's prolific legacy has significantly influenced modern management theory and practice through its grounding in Austrian School logic.
Income effects from labor market training programs in Sweden during the 1980s and 1990s
Authors: Andrén Thomas , Gustafsson Björn
Published: December 2004

This article estimates a control function estimator with training effect modelled as a random coefficient, partitioned into an observed and unobserved component. The article analyzes the earnings effect of participating in labor market training programs for three cohorts during the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. It separates the analysis between Swedish and foreign‐born to identify differences in their responses to training. The results indicate that there is positive sorting in training: slightly positive effects for both groups but somewhat larger for the foreign‐born. Further, consistent with results from several previous studies, the article finds that being young often means no positive pay‐off from training, and the same is found for persons with only a primary education. In conflict with earlier studies, the article finds that males have a better pay‐off from training than females. Rewards from training are higher for foreign‐ than for native‐born and rewards among the former vary by place of birth and how long they have been in the country.
Succession management practices in Australian organizations
Authors: Taylor Tracy , McGraw Peter
Published: December 2004

In order to assess the current usage of succession management programs in Australian‐based organizations, and gain information on the characteristics and perceived effectiveness of such programs, a national research study was undertaken. A total of 711 human resource management professionals from a range of organizations across the country answered the questionnaire, a response rate of 59 percent. Succession management programs were present in less than half of the respondent's organizations. Furthermore, these programs were generally less than five years old. The prime imperatives for introducing succession management programs were reported as the desire to improve business results, and the need for new skill requirements in the business. A relationship between organization size, industry and type and the likelihood to use succession management was found. Common perceptions concerning the characteristics of effective succession management programs were also identified and are described in the paper. In brief, these are: high level involvement by the chief executive officer; senior management support; line management involvement in identifying candidates; developmental assignments as part of the process; and succession management linked to business strategies.
Operational factors as determinants of expatriate and repatriate success
Authors: Morgan Leslie O. , Nie Winter , Young Scott T.
Published: December 2004

Global business frequently requires the expatriation and repatriation of managers and skilled workers. Previous research has focused on cultural and demographic factors that lead to success with this process. This study goes beyond the cultural and demographic issues to examine implications of operational and technology‐related factors, including use of standard practices, degree of technical sophistication of operations, and technical orientation of the employee. Our results indicate that the technical sophistication of operations abroad, use of standard practices at home, technical orientation of the individual, and increased responsibility and promotion all positively contribute to expatriate satisfaction. Repatriate satisfaction is primarily influenced by difficulty in finding a suitable position upon relocation home. The technical orientation of the individual, in turn, has important implications for repatriation success. This research identifies important new operational and technology‐related factors that should be considered by global firms in management of their internationally located operations.
The role of project target clarity in an uncertain project environment
Authors: Hong Paul , Nahm Abraham Y. , Doll William J.
Published: December 2004

Product development is recognized as cross‐functional teamwork that has become important in the fast‐paced, globally competitive environment. Despite an extant body of knowledge on the importance of fuzzy front‐end planning and functions of goals in the management literature, the impact of uncertain project environment and goal setting mechanisms in front‐end planning is not fully understood. Product development literature presents numerous case studies or conceptual papers that emphasize the importance of upfront planning and a need for team building; however, large‐scale empirical studies are rare. This paper presents a model linking uncertain project environment, project target clarity, teamwork and its outcome measures (i.e. a product's value to customer and time to market). The data were analyzed from 205 product development projects of firms from the USA and Canada. Valid and reliable instruments were developed to assess the nature and impact of inter‐relationships of these variables. Results from structural model tests indicate that uncertain project environment influences the nature of project targets which in turn affects the level of teamwork. Teamwork is an important process outcome for enhancing value to customer and time to market. Management implications are discussed as well.
Exeunt omnes: transition and exit when work life is dysfunctional
Authors: Ullmann John E.
Published: December 2004

Conditions and terms of work in the United States have seen a decades‐long decline, making a steady and progressive work life increasingly difficult to achieve. The reasons include the ascendant conservative opposition to the social safety net and job security, competitive pressures due to globalization and most of all, the decline of US manufacturing. It resulted in the loss of millions of middle skill jobs, the eclipse of much of heavy industry and, as science and technology were increasingly pre‐empted by the military sector, a lag in commercial product innovation. Rising productivity is often cited as an offset, but the measures used are shown to be largely spurious and irrelevant, reflecting the explosion of overhead in the “information age” and rising need to respond to complications elsewhere in society. There are more constructive alternatives like infrastructure renewal, but these are now nowhere in prospect.
Interlending and document supply: a review of the recent literature – 50
Authors: McGrath Mike
Published: December 2004

Reviews 156 journals and some electronic lists and newsletters for issues relevant to interlending and document supply. The review deals with: scholarly communication, copyright, the British Library, e‐books, remote document supply, site licensing, search engines, open access, e‐journal usage and institutional repositories.
Identifying online publications – how to find a needle in a haystack: a German view
Authors: Ball Rafael , Plott Cornelia
Published: December 2004

Postmodern society is characterized by information overload. In the scientific and academic sector alone there are more than 100,000 journals and 80,000 new books published each year, also a vast number of electronic documents. There are about 170 million hosts on the WWW, with an estimated 500 million sites. The number of serious scientific documents published solely in an electronic form is increasing constantly. It is becoming more difficult to identify relevant information and documents, so there is a need for a unique and permanent identifier for electronic documents. Although it is possible to identify print products unambiguously according to a uniform world‐wide standard (ISBN, ISSN), this is not yet the case for electronic documents. At the moment, the internet address (URL) is frequently used to cite and retrieve the documents. However, URLs may change and the publications then frequently simply disappear. Clear and permanent identification systems are therefore necessary so that online publications can be cited, retrieved and used. Libraries in particular are very interested in a unique and permanent identifier for electronic documents. Two different systems, the uniform resource name (URN) and the digital object identifier (DOI), are presented as examples of ways in which electronic publications can be identified.
Spatial information technology in flood early warning systems: an overview of theory, application and latest developments in Malaysia
Authors: Billa Lawal , Mansor Shattri , Rodzi Mahmud Ahmad
Published: December 2004

Malaysia experiences a major flood event every three years due to the adverse effects of two monsoon seasons a year. Floods have thus become the most significant natural disaster in the country in terms of the population affected, frequency, aerial extent, financial cost and the disruption to socio‐economic activities. Many previous flood control measures have had different levels of success but have generally had little effect in reducing the problem. However, it is now understood that it is neither possible nor desirable to control floods completely. Spatial information technology is thus being increasingly recognized as the most effective approach to flood disaster management. This paper reviews the spatial information technology in flood disaster management and its application in Malaysia. Some flood forecasting systems are discussed, along with their shortcomings. The paper discusses the framework of a proposed flood early warning system for the Langat river basin that operationally couples real‐time NOAA‐AVHRR data for quantitative precipitation forecasting with hydrologically oriented GIS and a MIKE11 hydrodynamic model.
Intellectual capital – defining key performance indicators for organizational knowledge assets
Authors: Marr Bernard , Schiuma Gianni , Neely Andy
Published: December 2004

Measuring intellectual capital is on the agenda of most 21st century organisations. This paper takes a knowledge‐based view of the firm and discusses the importance of measuring organizational knowledge assets. Knowledge assets underpin capabilities and core competencies of any organisation. Therefore, they play a key strategic role and need to be measured. This paper reviews the existing approaches for measuring knowledge based assets and then introduces the knowledge asset map which integrates existing approaches in order to achieve comprehensiveness. The paper then introduces the knowledge asset dashboard to clarify the important actor/infrastructure relationship, which elucidates the dynamic nature of these assets. Finally, the paper suggests to visualise the value pathways of knowledge assets before designing strategic key performance indicators which can then be used to test the assumed causal relationships. This will enable organisations to manage and report these key value drivers in today's economy.
Proposed analysis of performance measurement for a production system
Authors: Gaik Chin H'ng , Zameri Mat Saman Muhamad
Published: December 2004

Hitherto, very few performance measures have been constructed for selecting the right production system. Before a new, advanced manufacturing system (e.g. Just In Time and Flexible Manufacturing System) is implemented in a company, it is of paramount importance that extensive analysis should be done to ensure that the ladder is lying against the right wall. Currently, the selection of a production system is mostly centred on perceptions or mere judgments from experience. Hence, a quantitative form of selection would be more convincing, as it will show and compare the degree of advantage between each manufacturing system in numbers and percentages. This paper discusses the authors’ attempt to formulate a performance measure that could quantitatively analyse and select the best production system for a company. A questionnaire survey has been carried out in a multinational company in Johore, Malaysia and the results are used to formulate the performance measure. Reliability tests on the instrument and correlation tests on the six identified manufacturing outputs were performed. Tests of significance were also done on the outputs used.
The invisible theatre of radio drama
Authors: Stanton William
Published: December 2004

A radio play is a transitory and invisible performance that may take place, as Martin Esslin has suggested, 'in a field of internal vision' ('The Mind as a Stage', Theatre Quarterly, 1:3, 1971, 7). I am interested both in theory and, as a writer of radio drama, in the nature of this vision and its relations to dreams and the unconscious; which brings us pretty rapidly to Freud and issues raised by some poststructural reworkings of his thought. This leads me to some questions about the adequacy of such theory.
Organizing the Unorganizable: Unions, NGOs, and Indonesian Migrant Labour
Authors: Ford Michele
Published: December 2004

There has been little engagement between the organized labour and labour migration literatures. Studies of organized labour movements in Asia have traditionally focused on trade unions that organize workers in factories, in offices, and on the plantations of the countries in which those unions are based, or on international cooperation between such unions. Studies of migrant labour, on the other hand, have tended to emphasize the demographic features of labour migration flows, or the experiences of migrant workers in either their country of origin or their host society. Yet, with the help of local and international non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), migrant workers from countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia are beginning to organize both at home and abroad. This article examines the emergence and operation of both migrant labour NGOs and migrant labour associations from a labour movement perspective. It focuses on the schism between the literature on labour migration, in which descriptions of migrant labour NGOs most often appear, and the literature on organized labour, which has generally ignored both the increasing significance of temporary overseas labour migration and the role of non‐union bodies in the organization of labour. Examples from Indonesia and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (herinafter Hong Kong) are used to argue that the experiences of migrant labour NGOs and migrant labour associations should be taken more seriously by trade unions and by the scholars who study them.
Nationality Matters: SARS and Foreign Domestic Workers' Rights in Taiwan Province of China
Authors: Loveband Anne
Published: December 2004

Taiwan suffered the third largest national outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during the first half of 2003. A crisis often illuminates issues of power and control, and the SARS crisis highlighted important patterns in Taiwan's utilization of foreign labour in general and foreign domestic labour in particular. Firstly, inequalities between Taiwanese citizens and non‐Taiwanese migrant domestic workers were both magnified and illuminated at the level of nation and at the level of household in terms of confinement. Secondly, the generalization and intensification of existing patterns of abuse resulted in this abuse coming to light in the public arena. Notably, these issues only became known when they were brought to the attention of both the public and the state, and this occurred largely through the actions of Filipina domestic workers via the media and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). The reason that such issues could be brought into the open for public debate was a matter of nationality. Importantly, the epidemic served to articulate the issue of the differential access of migrant domestic workers to information about their rights and the range of factors that facilitate or impede such access.

This paper explores the centrality of issues of nationality to understanding the migration experiences of Indonesian and Filipina domestic workers in Taiwan by considering how SARS played out for them in terms of their occupational location, their national background, their access to support and information networks regarding rights, and their official representation. The paper seeks to expand our understanding of the experiences of migrant domestic workers in Taiwan by means of my research on Indonesian domestic workers. However, I would argue that this case study is not just an empirical curiosity but that it is instructive in a broader theoretical sense. Understanding the nationality issue stands at the core of understanding the diversity of experiences of migrant domestic workers in any given geographic and temporal location. If we combine this factor together with the key variables of the relationship to the state and the relationship to the employer, as Bridget Anderson (2000) suggests, we move closer to a more incisive and less reductionist understanding of the factors which shape the living and working conditions of migrant domestic workers.
The Trafficking of Migrant Workers: What are the Links Between Labour Trafficking and Corruption?
Authors: Richards Kathy
Published: December 2004

Trafficking in human beings, including the trafficking of persons for migrant labour exploitation is a violation of human rights. Yet what is often neglected in deliberations on the situation of trafficked migrant workers is the existence of the overarching discourse of universal human rights protecting all workers, regardless of situation, exploitation, or legal status. International human rights standards do offer protection to migrant workers that ought to be more widely applied. Yet there remains reluctance by states to offer trafficked migrant workers little more than scant protection for fundamental rights.

Attempting to locate and describe the subject of labour trafficking is currently conducted at the peril of simplifying the issues to a few basic and inadequate descriptions. While it is speculated that the worker subjected to labour trafficking is multifaceted, distinct features are largely unknown. The limitations in drawing conclusions are primarily due to a lack of data on the number and circumstances of trafficked migrant workers.

This paper will also analyse how and where corruption oils the wheels of trafficking networks. It is suggested that a symbiotic relationship between corruption and trafficking exists, a relationship that both increases risks for migrant workers and facilitates the processes of trafficking of people for labour exploitation. Consequently it should be crucial that any analysis of labour trafficking allocates significant resources to identifying the particulars of a possible relationship between trafficking and corruption. However, to the detriment of holistic strategies to understand and combat labour trafficking, corruption is yet to be named and targeted in most anti‐trafficking statistical research or policy studies. This paper concludes with a summary of three sets of recommendations on approaches to address labour trafficking, and in part address the corruption that intersects with labour trafficking.