bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Technology Choice and Market Structure: strategic aspects of flexible manufacturing
Authors: Norman George , Thisse Jacques‐François
Published: September 2010

This paper shows that the adoption of flexible manufacturing techniques by firms leads to a tougher price regime. However, consumers may not benefit since the tougher regime deters entry. Flexible manufacturing’s ability to deter entry is moderated by two factors: non‐prohibitive costs of re‐anchoring flexible manufacturing processes and the possibility that entrants choose to produce niche products using designated technologies rather than adopt flexible manufacturing. Market preemption that deters entry will be characterized by excessive product variety. Alternatively, flexible manufacturers may prefer to accommodate entry by small‐scale, niche firms. Moreover, ownership matters in determining equilibrium product configurations.
Technological Progress and the Chamberlin Effect
Authors: Sällström Susanna
Published: September 2010

A monopolist’s incentive to invest in cost‐reducing technological inventions may be detrimental to product quality. In a model with variable cost of quality and heterogeneous consumers there is a possibility of quality reductions when new technology makes larger scale production feasible. The effect on quality depends crucially on the number of varieties produced by the monopolist. If he produces just one variety, quality will be reduced, whereas if he produces two varieties quality reductions only appear for more efficient means of producing the high quality good.
Market Power, Scale Economies and Productivity: Estimates from a Panel of Establishment Data
Authors: Klette Tor Jakob
Published: September 2010

This paper presents a new econometric framework that permits simultaneous estimation of price‐cost margins, scale economies and productivity from a panel of establishment data. The model contains only a few, economically interesting parameters to be estimated, but it is nevertheless consistent with a flexible (translog) underlying technology, quasi‐fixed capital and the presence of persistent differences in productivity between establishments. The framework is applied to study market power, scale economies and productivity differences in a number of manufacturing industries in Norway. The results reveal statistically significant, but quite small, margins between price and marginal costs in most manufacturing industries.
Investment dynamics in markets with endogenous demand
Authors: Vettas Nikolaos
Published: September 2010

I examine entry into markets where demand is an increasing function of past sales because of learning, networks, or fashion. Demand is initially unknown (with firms learning in Bayesian fashion) and grows endogenously over time. The competitive expansion path and the efficient/monopoly solution differ not only with respect to levels (the market’s investment is too low), but also time patterns: externalities contribute to S‐shaped diffusion. There is also path‐dependence: small initial differences may determine whether the market will grow or not open. Policy arguments for subsidizing entry into new markets, especially in infant export industries, are examined.
Auctions on the Internet: What’s Being Auctioned, and How?
Authors: Lucking‐Reiley David
Published: September 2010

This paper is an economist’s guide to auctions on the Internet. It traces the development of online auctions since 1993, and presents data from a comprehensive study of 142 different Internet auction sites. The results describe the transaction volumes, the types of auction mechanisms used, the types of goods auctioned, and the business models employed at the various sites. These new electronic‐commerce institutions raise interesting questions for the economic theory of auctions, such as predicting the types of goods to be sold at auction, examining the incentive effects of varying auctioneer fee structures, and identifying the optimal auction formats for online sellers.
Discriminatory Dealing with Downstream Competitors: Evidence from the Cellular Industry
Authors: Reiffen David , Schumann Laurence , Ward Michael R.
Published: September 2010

One concern about regulated monopolies entering unregulated vertically‐related markets is that they will discriminate against competitors of their unregulated affiliates. However, prohibiting regulated monopolies from offering related goods may preclude production by the most efficient provider. We take advantage of variation across geographic cellular phone markets in the US to examine the effect of integration on output, quality and prices. We find some evidence consistent with efficiencies (greater concentration of lines to users is associated with greater output and higher quality) and some consistent with discrimination (greater interconnection facility ownership concentration is associated with lower output and quality).
The Antitrust Implications of Capacity Reallocation by a Dominant Firm
Authors: Gale Ian , O’Brien Daniel P.
Published: September 2010

When a firm acquires rival firms in one market, and moves their capacity to another market, should antitrust authorities be concerned? We address this question by studying a multi‐stage game. A dominant firm has the opportunity to acquire fringe firms that operate in the same market. Then, the dominant firm has the opportunity to move capacity from that market to a second market. The model is motivated by a series of acquisitions in the Specialized Mobile Radio industry aimed at establishing a new cellular carrier. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the dominant firm to acquire too little capacity relative to the social optimum. The results shed light on the Consent Decree negotiated in US v. Motorola Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc., 1994.
The Role of Incentives for Opening Monopoly Markets: Comparing GTE and BOC Cooperation with Local Entrants
Authors: Mini Federico
Published: September 2010

While the 1996 Telecommunications Act requires all incumbent local telephone companies to cooperate with local entrants, section 271 of the Act provides the Bell companies but not GTE additional incentives to cooperate. Using an original data set, I compare the negotiations of AT&T, as a local entrant, with GTE and with the Bell companies in states where both operate. My results suggest that the differential incentives matter: The Bells accommodate entry more than does GTE, as evidenced in quicker agreements, less litigation, and more favorable prices offered for network access. Consistent with this, there is more entry into Bell territories.
Prices and Price Dispersion on the Web: Evidence from the Online Book Industry
Authors: Clay Karen , Krishnan Ramayya , Wolff Eric
Published: September 2010

Using data collected between August, 1999, and January, 2000, covering 399 books, we examine pricing by thirty‐two online United States‐based bookstores. At the aggregate level, we find that both advertising and competitive structure had the predicted effects. More competition led to lower prices and to lower price dispersion. Holding competitive structure constant, more widely advertised items also had lower prices. At the firm level, we observe considerable heterogeneity in behavior. Firms had differentiated (or attempted to differentiate) on dimensions such as brand, price, and selection.
Spillovers and the growth of local industries
Authors: Forni Mario , Paba Sergio
Published: September 2010

In this paper we investigate the nature and directions of inter‐industry dynamic linkages across Italian manufacturing sectors. We perform a very disaggregated analysis in order to identify, for each 3‐digit industry, which composition of industrial activity is more conducive to growth. We find that diversity matters for growth, but each industry needs its own diversity. We provide some evidence of clustering of industries based on dynamic externalities. We find that many spillovers occur within input‐output relationships. They often originate in downstream sectors favouring the growth of upstream industries. Lastly, the importance of spillovers does not depend on the technological intensity of the industry.
The Impact of Divestment on Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from a Panel of UK Companies
Authors: Haynes Michelle , Thompson Steve , Wright Mike
Published: September 2010

It has widely been suggested that during the 1980s many diversified firms narrowed the scope of their activities by refocusing on core businesses, primarily through divestment activity. This study examines the impact of divestment on firm performance, using an unbalanced panel of 132 UK quoted companies over the period 1985 to 1993. The results suggest that divestment has a positive, significant and substantial effect in raising the profitability of the vendor company. We find limited support for the view that the benefit from divestment is greater for larger and/or more diversified firms and firms operating with weak governance arrangements.
Access Pricing under Competition: An Application to Cellular Networks
Authors: Wright Julian
Published: September 2010

A new class of access pricing problems is analyzed in which upstream firms compete for customers and access to these customers is required by downstream markets. Using fixed–to–cellular calls as an example, a model is presented which shows that the determination of cellular termination charges is quite different to standard access pricing problems. Competition between cellular firms leads to access prices being set either at, or above, the monopoly level. Applications are given for other market settings, including the termination of long–distance calls on competing local exchange networks and the setting of interchange fees in payment systems.
Cost–raising Strategies in a Symmetric, Dynamic Duopoly
Authors: Mason Robin
Published: September 2010

This paper provides a characterization of the set of dynamic models in which symmetric duopolists have incentives to raise a common cost. The advantage of the dynamic analysis over existing static models is that it extends the conditions (restrictive in static models) under which symmetric cost raising is profitable. The model is illustrated by standard examples from industrial organization: quantity and price adjustment, and learning–by–doing.
Retail Strategies on the Web: Price and Non–price Competition in the Online Book Industry
Authors: Clay Karen , Krishnan Ramayya , Wolff Eric , Fernandes Danny
Published: September 2010

Two conflicting predictions have emerged regarding the effect of low–cost information on price. The first states that all Internet retailers will charge the same low price for mass produced goods. The second states that Internet retailers will differentiate to avoid intense price competition. Using data collected in April 1999 on the prices of 107 books in thirteen online and two physical bookstores, we find similar average prices online and in physical stores and substantial price dispersion online. Analysis of product differentiation yields no clear results. The substantial premium charged by Amazon provides indirect evidence of product differentiation.
Why Focus? A Study Of Intra‐Industry Focus Effects
Authors: Siggelkow Nicolaj
Published: September 2010

In an intra‐industry setting, firm‐focus is found to be positively correlated with the ability of firms to produce high‐value products, while the overall effect of focus on firm performance is negative due to missed demand externalities generated by a broad product offering. In particular, it is shown that U.S. mutual funds that belong to more focused fund providers outperform similar funds offered by more diversified providers. An explanation based on alignment among a provider's activities is consistent with this result. Cash inflows into fund providers—a measure related to fund provider profitability—is, however, negatively correlated with focus in fund offerings.
Further Tests of Static Oligopoly Models: Whiskey, 1882–1898
Authors: Clay Karen , Troesken Werner
Published: September 2010

Using data from the turn‐of‐the‐century whiskey industry, we conduct tests of the NEIO methodology similar to those conducted by Genesove and Mullin [1998]. Like Genesove and Mullin, we find that the NEIO methodology appears to perform reasonably well for low levels of market power. Conduct is somewhat overestimated, with estimates ranging from 0.17 to 0.35 as compared to direct estimates of 0.09. Cost parameters are generally underestimated. Estimates of conduct and remaining cost parameters improve significantly, however, with additional information on cost. Estimates improve further if conduct is allowed to have two regimes, which are identified based on historical evidence.
Exclusive Contracts And Market Power: Evidence From Ocean Shipping
Authors: Marín Pedro L. , Sicotte Richard
Published: September 2010

There is a substantial theoretical literature on the potential effects of loyalty contracts, but relatively little empirical work. We employ the event study methodology to examine the competitive effects of exclusionary contracts in the ocean shipping industry, where they were the subject of an extended legal and political struggle. We find that some of the most important events in this conflict caused significant changes in shipping firms' stock returns, indicating exclusive contracts increased their profits. We then examine the effect of these events on net exporting industries' stock returns, and provide evidence that these contracts contributed to carriers' market power.
Humanism and the language of music treatises
Authors: Holford‐Strevens L
Published: September 2010

The style and technical vocabulary of late‐medieval music theory were reasonably settled; they owed little to ancient models, which did not furnish an adequate terminology, and the wider frame of intellectual reference was scholastic. This theoretical language came under challenge from humanistic pressure to write according to classical canons of diction. The first glimmerings of humanism appear in an early fifteenth‐century treatise that uses Greek pitch‐names, not without strain, in discussing plainchant; another response is that of Johannes Tinctoris, who reserved his classicism for non‐technical writings and passages, but even there used technical language when he needed it; others attempt a classical style, but without eschewing unclassical technicalities such as the incorrectly formed verb imperficere. The aspirations and limitations of classicism are demonstrated through the pseudo‐antique vocabulary created by Paulus Cortesius; its increasing power is traced over four decades through the writings of Franchinus Gaffurius. Nevertheless sixteenth‐century theorists, even the humanist Glareanus, combine a classical style and frame of reference with traditional terminology, but introduce individual classicism such as commissura, which means three different things in three different authors. Progress from this dead end could be made only in the vernacular.
Mutuality as background music in women's lived experience of mental health and depression
Authors: HEDELIN B. , JONSSON I.
Published: September 2010

Mental health problems, especially depression, have turned into an extensive public health problem, affecting women in particular. The aim of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of mental health phenomena through elderly women's lived experiences of mental health and depression. The phenomenological approach was chosen for collecting experience‐based and person‐centred descriptions from 21 women, focusing on mental health and depression. The interviews were analysed using Giorgi's phenomenological descriptive method. Mutuality in their relationships with themselves and others emerged as a major element in the women's experience of mental health and depression. When the women's existence and value were confirmed in relation to themselves and others, mental health appeared as an ascending spiral. When the women's value and self‐esteem in relation to themselves and others were violated, the result was a descending spiral. Metaphorically speaking, ‘mutuality’ provided the ‘background music’ to the women's lives. Being a skilled professional psychiatric nurse means making the best use of mutuality as a creative power in the nurse–patient relationship. This means that the nurse must be aware that her/his attitude, appearance and behaviour are interpreted as a confirmation of the patient's worthiness or worthlessness.
The Role of Threat in Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action and Its Beneficiaries1
Authors: Renfro C. Lausanne , Duran Anne , Stephan Walter G. , Clason Dennis L.
Published: September 2010

This set of two studies employed the integrated threat theory to examine attitudes toward affirmative action (AA). The first study found that opposition to the policy of AA was predicted by realistic threats, symbolic threats, and personal relevance; while attitudes toward the beneficiaries of AA were predicted by three of the four threat variables (symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes), and in‐group identity. The second study replicated and expanded on the first study and found that the effects of several individual‐difference variables (racism, anti‐Black affect, and political conservatism) on opposition to AA were mediated by three of the threats in the integrated threat theory (realistic threats, symbolic threats, and negative stereotypes). The implications of the results are discussed.
The Impact of Contextual Self‐Ratings and Observer Ratings of Personality on the Personality–Performance Relationship1
Authors: Small Erika Engel , Diefendorff James M.
Published: September 2010

This study examined 2 possible ways of increasing the predictive validity of personality measures: using observer (i.e., supervisor and coworker) ratings and work‐specific self‐ratings of Big Five personality factors. Results indicated that among general self‐ratings of Big Five personality dimensions, Conscientiousness was the best predictor of in‐role performance, and Agreeableness and Emotional Stability were the best predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Observer ratings of personality accounted for incremental variance in job performance (in‐role performance and OCB) beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings. However, contrary to our expectations, work‐specific (i.e., contextual) self‐ratings of personality generally did not account for incremental variance in job performance beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings.
Social Support, Social Undermining, and Coping in Underemployed and Unemployed Persons
Authors: Creed Peter A. , Moore Kelli
Published: September 2010

Participants (94 unemployed, 77 underemployed) were administered scales tapping social support, social undermining, coping, and distress. We hypothesised that the unemployed would exhibit less social support but more social undermining and distress than the underemployed; females would report more social support but less social undermining; social support would better predict coping than social undermining; social undermining would better predict distress than social support. The unemployed reported less social support, more distress, and poorer coping. Males reported less social support and more emotion‐focused coping. Social support significantly predicted distress and coping. No group or gender differences were identified for social undermining, which did not predict distress or coping. We discuss the role of social undermining and distress in the unemployed.
Morality Information, Performance Information, and the Distinction Between Trust and Confidence1
Authors: Earle Timothy C. , Siegrist Michael
Published: September 2010

A series of 3 studies explored the efficacy of a dual‐mode model of cooperation based on trust and confidence, the TCC model. The TCC model is founded on the distinction between morality‐relevant information and performance‐relevant information, with the former dominating—controlling the interpretation of—the latter in a variety of judgment contexts. According to the TCC model, trust is based on judgments of value similarity derived from morality‐relevant information, and confidence is based on judgments of past performance derived from performance‐relevant information. Results from all 3 studies supported the relations depicted in the TCC model, showing that judgments of trust dominated judgments of past performance and of confidence.
Exporting Social Psychology: Effects of Attractiveness on Perceptions of Entrepreneurs, Their Ideas for New Products, and Their Financial Success1
Authors: Baron Robert A. , Markman Gideon D. , Bollinger Mandy
Published: September 2010

Entrepreneurship researchers have recently drawn heavily on the theories and findings of social psychology. The present research sought to add to this growing literature by investigating effects of entrepreneurs' attractiveness. In Study 1, participants read descriptions of ideas for new products accompanied by photos of the entrepreneurs who ostensibly invented them; the entrepreneurs were either attractive or unattractive. Both entrepreneurs and their ideas for new products were rated more favorably when the entrepreneurs were attractive than unattractive. In Study 2, entrepreneurs were shown (on videotape) making actual presentations of their ideas to potential investors. Results indicated that the more attractive the entrepreneurs, were, the more favorably both they and their ideas were rated by persons who watched the tapes. In Study 3, entrepreneurs' attractiveness was found to be positively related to their actual financial success.
The Relationship Between Facial Contact With a Pillow and Mood
Authors: Sigall Harold , Johnson Mark
Published: September 2010

Three studies examined the relationship between facial contact with a pillow and mood. In the first, 414 undergraduates described their face and body positions when sleeping and upon awakening, and their moods upon awakening. Results indicated that more negative moods were associated with increased facial contact with pillows. Then, 2 experiments manipulated participants' face and body positions while they lay down and listened to affectively neutral prose passages and musical selections. Participants evaluated the passages and music. Results of both experiments showed that increased facial contact with a pillow led to more negative evaluations. It is argued that these findings reflect effects of facial contact on mood, and are consistent with the facial feedback hypothesis. Possible alternative explanations are considered.
Personality and the Perception of Transformational Leadership: The Impact of Extraversion, Neuroticism, Personal Need for Structure, and Occupational Self‐Efficacy1
Authors: Felfe Jörg , Schyns Birgit
Published: September 2010

This experimental study examined the influence of followers' personal characteristics on their perception of leadership. Participants were 175 students who self‐rated several personality scales (extraversion, neuroticism, personal need for structure, and occupational self‐efficacy) at Time 1. Two weeks later, participants were divided into two groups and were presented a vignette about a transformational or a nontransformational leader. Subsequently, respondents were asked to rate the described leader's behavior on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Results revealed that followers high in extraversion tended to perceive more transformational leadership, and showed a more positive evaluation of transformational leadership than did followers with low extraversion. Moreover, perceived transformational leadership predicted the acceptance of a leader, but followers' personality traits did not moderate the relationship between perceived transformational leadership and acceptance.
Geodemographic Differences in Knowledge About the Restaurant Tipping Norm
Authors: Lynn Michael
Published: September 2010

A national telephone survey indicated that knowledge about the restaurant tipping norm is greater among people who are White, in their 40 s to 60 s, highly educated, wealthy, living in metropolitan areas, and living in the Northeast than among their counterparts. These findings support the idea that differential familiarity with tipping norms underlies geodemographic differences in tipping behavior. An educational campaign promoting the 15‐20% restaurant tipping norm is needed to reduce geodemographic differences in tipping and to increase the willingness of waiters and waitresses to serve all customers equally.
Concrete Construction Employees: When Does Procedural Fairness Shape Self‐Evaluations?1
Authors: Smith Heather J. , Thomas Timothy R. , Tyler Tom R.
Published: September 2010

According to the group value model, group authorities and procedures communicate symbolic information to people about whether the group respects them. Employees for a concrete construction company completed a questionnaire about their work experiences in either English or Spanish. Among employees who identified more strongly with the concrete construction company, the quality of supervisor treatment predicted employees' feelings of respect and personal self‐efficacy. Further, for employees who identified with the company, feeling respected by their colleagues mediated the relationship between fair treatment by a supervisor and self‐efficacy. Even when the working context encourages short‐term and instrumental goals, these results suggest that employees who identify with the company care about fair treatment because of the self‐relevant information it communicates to them.
Trust and Acceptance in Response to References to Group Membership: Minority and Majority Perspectives on Cross‐Group Interactions1
Authors: Tropp Linda R. , Stout Amanda M. , Boatswain Chenelle , Wright Stephen C. , Pettigrew Thomas F.
Published: September 2010

This research examined anticipated feelings of trust and acceptance in cross‐group interactions among members of ethnic minority and majority groups, depending on whether an out‐group member referred to their group membership. In Study 1, Asian, Latino, and White participants read scenarios describing interactions between them and an in‐group member, an out‐group member, or an out‐group member who referred to their group membership. Participants from each group responded more negatively toward interactions with out‐group members when they referred to group membership. These findings were replicated in Study 2 with samples of Black and White participants, also showing that anticipated prejudice partially mediated the effects of out‐group members' references to group membership on feelings of trust and acceptance. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of facilitating intergroup communication and conversations about group differences.
The Interacting Effects of Accountability and Individual Differences on Rater Response to a Performance‐Rating Task
Authors: Mero Neal P. , Guidice Rebecca M. , Anna Alexandra L.
Published: September 2010

We examine the effects of conscientiousness and public self‐consciousness in moderating responses to accountability for 137 participants took part in a managerial simulation over a 2‐week period. In addition to responding to complex information and decision tasks, participants observed 48 vignettes depicting individual performance for four subordinates on three performance dimensions and subsequently rated that performance. Results show that participants higher in conscientiousness and public self‐consciousness perceived a greater need to justify their decisions than those lower in the trait. Public self‐consciousness also moderated the relationship between perceived need to justify the rating and participant anxiety about that justification requirement. Subsequent tests of mediation using structural equation modeling found support for partial mediating models and overall model fit improved when personality was considered.
Justice in Teams: The Context Sensitivity of Justice Rules Across Individual and Team Contexts1
Authors: Colquitt Jason A. , Jackson Christine L.
Published: September 2010

Two empirical studies investigated the context sensitivity of various rules for fostering organizational justice using hypothetical vignettes. Study 1 compared the importance of distributive justice rules (equity, equality, need) and procedural justice rules (process control, decision control, consistency, correctability, accuracy, bias suppression, ethicality) across individual and team contexts. The results showed that team contexts enhanced the importance of equality, consistency, and decision control. Study 2 compared the importance of procedural justice rules across different types of teams. The results showed that the accuracy rule was more important in small teams, while the consistency and bias suppression rules were more important in diverse teams. The importance of other rules, including interpersonal and informational justice, did not vary across the experimental conditions.
Looking Good and Lying to Do It: Deception as an Impression Management Strategy in Job Interviews
Authors: Weiss Brent , Feldman Robert S.
Published: September 2010

The present study investigated job applicants' use of deception. The study examined applicants' deception on written applications, as well as in a job interview; whether individuals would lie to conform to job requirements; and whether extraversion and self‐monitoring are related to lying. Fifty‐nine candidates completed an application and interview. After the interview, candidates were informed that they were actually participating in an experiment. They then watched a videotape of their interview and indicated any lies they told. As hypothesized, it was found that applicants lied both on the job applications and during the interview, primarily to appear to conform to job requirements. Furthermore, candidate extraversion was positively correlated with number of lies told, although self‐monitoring was unrelated to lying.
Stereotyping the Stereotypic: When Individuals Match Social Stereotypes
Authors: Madon Stephanie , Guyll M\x , Hilbert Sarah J. , Kyriakatos Erica , Vogel David L.
Published: September 2010

This research examines how attention and accuracy motivation moderate stereotyping in person perception. Hypotheses were derived from the stereotype validity model, which proposes that perceivers are more likely to use a stereotype as the basis of their impressions when they believe that the generalized beliefs contained within it are valid for the particular target whom they are judging. Consistent with the model's predictions, high attention and high accuracy motivation produced stronger label effects when a target's individuating information matched a stereotype's content. Also consistent with the model's predictions, the opposite pattern was found when a target's individuating information did not match a stereotype's content. Under conditions of a poor match, high accuracy motivation produced weaker label effects. The authors discuss these findings with respect to accuracy and bias in the impression‐formation process.
Rational Choice, Deterrence, and Theoretical Integration
Authors: Ward David A. , Stafford Mark C. , Gray Louis N.
Published: September 2010

The old version of rational choice theory is that people engage in conscious and deliberate cost–benefit analysis such that they maximize the values and minimize the costs of their actions. The new version of rational choice theory is that people intuit the values and costs of an action; but because they are imperfect processors of information, they pursue what they perceive as most satisfying. The possibility that legal punishments deter is consistent with the new version of rational choice theory, which can be used to integrate deterrence with other criminological theories, such as strain and social learning. An integrated theory of deterrence is presented and tested with experimental data.
Professionalism and Helping: Harmonious or Discordant Concepts? An Attribution Theory Perspective
Authors: Drach‐Zahavy Anat , Somech Anit
Published: September 2010

In examining whether a leader's professionalism implies more or fewer helping behaviors for followers, this study designed a model integrating attributional theory explanations with professionalism to predict helping behaviors. Four distinct helping behaviors were conceptualized: supporting, motivating, referral, and rejection. Qualitative methods used in the study consisted of content analysis of interviews with 12 superiors at healthcare organizations concerning their means of helping staff, and the circumstances. Quantitative data were gathered by an experimental design in which four case studies were presented to each of 171 healthcare superiors, who were asked to deal with a distressed staff nurse whose stability and controllability of the distress were rated either high or low. Superiors' professionalism was assessed. Results indicated that the relationship between professionalism and helping was complex, and critically dependent upon the type of helping behaviors provided, the help provider's professionalism, and attributions of the help seeker's controllability and stability. The qualitative and quantitative results favor attribution explanations, and imply that highly professional superiors provide higher levels of supporting, motivating, and rejecting helping behaviors as means to maintain professionalism of staff.
Team Sports Players' Observed Aggresion as a Function of Gender, Competitive Level, and Sport Type
Authors: Coulomb‐Cabagno Geneviève , Rascle Olivier
Published: September 2010

This study aims at examining observed aggression in team sports as a function of gender, competitive level, and sport type. It was hypothesized that (a) male players display more aggressive behaviors than female players, (b) aggressive behaviors increase when competitive level rises, and (c) gender difference in observed aggression is depending on sport type. One hundred and eighty games, equally shared among males and females, soccer and handball, and departmental, regional, and national competitive levels were recorded on videotapes and observed using a grid to differ instrumental from hostile aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that male players always display more aggressive behaviors than female players, whatever the sport, the competitive level or the nature of the observed aggression; instrumental aggressive behaviors increase and hostile aggressive behaviors decrease when competitive level rises; and the gender difference appears larger in handball than in soccer.
Racial Tolerance and Reactions to Diversity Information in Job Advertisements1
Authors: Brown Douglas J. , Cober Richard T. , Keeping Lisa M. , Levy Paul E.
Published: September 2010

The present paper reports the results from two investigations that examined the degree to which racial tolerance influences Caucasians' attraction to organizations. In Study 1, 280 Caucasian job seekers rated the extent to which various organizational features would influence their interest in an organization. Findings suggested that (a) racial tolerance was related to the importance placed on organizational diversity, but not other factors (e.g., pay), and (b) that racial tolerance predicted the importance placed on organizational diversity above and beyond other relevant individual differences. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining whether the diversity values expressed in job advertisements affect Caucasians' perceptions of organizational image and subsequent job pursuit intentions. The results of Study 2 indicated that racial tolerance was significantly related to organizational perceptions and pursuit intentions when strong diversity values were communicated in a job advertisement.
The comparative morphology of the wings and axillae of selected Heteroptera
Authors: Betts C. R.
Published: September 2010

The wings of selected species are here treated as functional deformable aerofoils and their morphology described with this in mind. A novel type of non‐tubular vein structure in the forewing and hindwing membranes, a ‘channel vein’, is described. The presence of small, cuticular membrane thickenings in the hindwing is recorded and their possible functions are discussed.

A comparative account of the structure and musculature of the axillae is presented with a view in particular to clarifying some of the associated terminology.

A mechanism for wing folding is described and previously unrecorded adaptations for this purpose seen inNotonectaare described and discussed.
Maternal reproduction and health in the Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti)
Authors: SPINAGE C. A.
Published: September 2010

This study attempts to identify influences contributing to maternal and neonatal insufficiency with reference to the high neonatal and calf mortality common to wild tropical ungulates. Fiftyfour post‐pubertal female Grant's gazelle (Guzellu grunti) were collected and autopsied in northern Tanzania, East Africa. Ovulation was equal between right and left ovaries, but 81.25 % of corporu luteu were on the left, while implantation had a preference for the right of 83 %. The corpus luteurn is transient, regressing after the foetus has attained about I % of its weight at term. The gross uterine changes suggest a highly efficient animal, producing a dispro‐ portionately large foetus for maternal size, with a high number of placentomes of efficient design. Uterine fluids decline from 57.1 % of total uterine weight at about 50 % of gestation time, to 11 at 95 % of gestation time. Foetal growth rate was similar to that of other investigated bovids, but the near‐term foetus represented 70–80 % of the total uterine weight compared to the 60 % proposed as normal by other workers. Lactation ceased when foetal weight was an estimated 5.4 to 7.5 months. Weight of the mammary gland was positively correlated with the percentage intake of graze, and the gland apparently produced more milk in the wet season. The adrenal glands of non‐pregnant animals were significantly large, and this was attributed to lactational stress. Blood RBC, Hb, PCV and WBC values compared with average values given by other workers, and with those for sheep and goats. Reference is made to the apparent occurrence of fatty livers related to lactational stress. Gluconeogenesis offered no clues in the small samples investigated as to its role in neonatal survival. Rumen fill was 17.8 % lower in animals with foetuses > 3000 g. Maternal kidney and omentum fat deposits appeared influenced both by food availability and by the reproductive cycle. Body weight also was significantly heavier in the dry season, and highest in animals with foetuses > 3000 g. Dates of conception and birth were calculated from foetal brain weight as well as body weight and crown‐rump length, and the mean of the three predictors taken. This gave peak births in June, at the onset of the dry season when food requirements of lactation are sub‐optimal in availability; and the survival of calves suggests a high mortality in the first 1–2 months after birth. But the species appears better adapted to a dry environment, and the inference drawn is that graze is of less value than browse in maintaining maternal fitness, but is of greater importance to lactation.
A taxonomic revision of cuscuses allied to Phalanger orientalis (Marsupialia: Phalangeridae)
Authors: MENZIES J. I. , PERNETTA J. C.
Published: September 2010

A computer‐assisted discriminant analysis programme using a set of metric skull characters in a large number of specimens of cuscuses of the Phulnnger orientalis group was used to distinguish between species and subspecies. Non‐metric characters were used to support conclusions.

Results indicated that several taxa which had customarily been included in the widespread species orientalis were not closely related to that species. The programme also identified the components of the long‐haired mountain cuscus group and we show that the holotype of one species, vestitus, appears to be unrelated to the widespread species with which it has been associated since Tate's revision of 1945. Finally we were able to demonstrate the presence of 10 distinct species in the orientalis group (of which one is described as new) and 12 subspecies (of which three are described as new).

The same suite of metric and non‐metric characters allowed construction of dendrograms indicating possible relationships between the various sub‐groups and their component species. We speculate on the evolution of this group of cuscuses in New Guinea and their spread to other islands in the region.

We recount what is known about cuscus biology and provide means for identification.
Clinicopathological significance of sentinel node biopsy in Japanese patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma
Authors: NORO Sachiko , YAMAZAKI Naoya , NAKANISHI Yukihiro , YAMAMOTO Akifumi , SASAJIMA Yuko , KAWANA Seiji
Published: September 2010

Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for malignant melanoma began to be performed in our department in 1997. A total of 121 patients underwent SNB. Sentinel node (SN) were identified in 39 (83.0%) of the 47 cases in which the blue dye method alone was used, and in 71 (95.9%) of the 74 cases by combination of dye, radioisotope, and γ probe methods. The excised SN was cut through its longest meridian, and the cut surfaces were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and examined for the presence (SN+) or absence (SN−) of melanoma cells. If no melanoma cells were detected, serial sections were prepared and examined by sequential staining with HE, for S‐100 protein, with HE, for HMB‐45, with HE, and for Melan‐A. In this study minute metastasis (SNm+) was defined as tumor cells newly identified in the immunostained section. The thickness of tumors ranged 0–38.0 mm, and their mean thickness was 4.5 mm. There were 39 SN+ cases (39/110 [39 + 71]; 35.5%) and seven SNm+ cases (7/110 [39 + 71]; 6.4%). The 5‐year survival rate was significantly higher in the SN− group than in the SN+ group and SNm+ group combined (P = 0.0002). The survival rate of the SNm+ group was not significantly different from that of the SN+ group (P = 0.3848). The 5‐year survival rate of the SN+ group and SNm+ group combined was significantly higher than that of the group with clinically unequivocal metastatic nodes (P = 0.0001). Accurate SNB results will provide important prognostic information for Japanese patients with melanoma.
Connective tissue growth factor enhances the migration of gastric cancer through downregulation of E‐cadherin via the NF‐κB pathway
Authors: Mao Zhengfa , Ma Xiaoyan , Rong Yefei , Cui Lei , Wang Xuqing , Wu Wenchuan , Zhang Jianxin , Jin Dayong
Published: September 2010

Local invasion and distant metastasis are difficult problems for surgical intervention and treatment in gastric cancer. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) was considered to have an important role in this process. In this study, we demonstrated that expression of CTGF was significantly upregulated in clinical tissue samples of gastric carcinoma (GC) samples. Forced expression of CTGF in AGS GC cells promoted their migration in culture and significantly increased tumor metastasis in nude mice, whereas RNA interference‐mediated knockdown of CTGF in GC cells significantly inhibited cell migration in vitro. We disclose that CTGF downregulated the expression of E‐cadherin through activation of the nuclear factor‐κappa B (NF‐κB) pathway. The effects of CTGF in GC cells were abolished by dominant negative IκappaB. Collectively, these data reported here demonstrate CTGF could modulate the NF‐κappaB pathway and perhaps be a promising therapeutic target for gastric cancer invasion and metastasis. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 104–110)
SMYD3 interacts with HTLV‐1 Tax and regulates subcellular localization of Tax
Authors: Yamamoto Keiyu , Ishida Takaomi , Nakano Kazumi , Yamagishi Makoto , Yamochi Tadanori , Tanaka Yuetsu , Furukawa Yoichi , Nakamura Yusuke , Watanabe Toshiki
Published: September 2010

HTLV‐1 Tax deregulates signal transduction pathways, transcription of genes, and cell cycle regulation of host cells, which is mainly mediated by its protein–protein interactions with host cellular factors. We previously reported an interaction of Tax with a histone methyltransferase (HMTase), SUV39H1. As the interaction was mediated by the SUV39H1 SET domain that is shared among HMTases, we examined the possibility of Tax interaction with another HMTase, SMYD3, which methylates histone H3 lysine 4 and activates transcription of genes, and studied the functional effects. Expression of endogenous SMYD3 in T cell lines and primary T cells was confirmed by immunoblotting analysis. Co‐immuno‐precipitaion assays and in vitro pull‐down assay indicated interaction between Tax and SMYD3. The interaction was largely dependent on the C‐terminal 180 amino acids of SMYD3, whereas the interacting domain of Tax was not clearly defined, although the N‐terminal 108 amino acids were dispensable for the interaction. In the cotransfected cells, colocalization of Tax and SMYD3 was indicated in the cytoplasm or nuclei. Studies using mutants of Tax and SMYD3 suggested that SMYD3 dominates the subcellular localization of Tax. Reporter gene assays showed that nuclear factor‐κB activation promoted by cytoplasmic Tax was enhanced by the presence of SMYD3, and attenuated by shRNA‐mediated knockdown of SMYD3, suggesting an increased level of Tax localization in the cytoplasm by SMYD3. Our study revealed for the first time Tax–SMYD3 direct interaction, as well as apparent tethering of Tax by SMYD3, influencing the subcellular localization of Tax. Results suggested that SMYD3‐mediated nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of Tax provides one base for the pleiotropic effects of Tax, which are mediated by the interaction of cellular proteins localized in the cytoplasm or nucleus. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 260–266)
Electronic health records: which practices have them, and how are clinicians using them?
Authors: Simon Steven R. , McCarthy Madeline L. , Kaushal Rainu , Jenter Chelsea A. , Volk Lynn A. , Poon Eric G. , Yee Kevin C. , Orav E. John , Williams Deborah H. , Bates David W.
Published: September 2010

Background  Limited data exist to estimate the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in ambulatory care practices in the United States.

Methods  We surveyed a stratified random sample of 1829 office practices in Massachusetts in 2005. The one‐page survey measured use of health information technology, plans for EHR adoption and perceived barriers to adoption.

Results  A total of 847 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 46%. Overall, 18% of office practices reported having an EHR. Primary‐care‐only and mixed practices reported similar adoption rates (23% and 25%, respectively, P = 0.70). The adoption rate in specialty practices (14%) was lower compared with both primary‐care‐only (P < 0.01) and mixed (P < 0.05) practices. The number of clinicians in the practice strongly correlated with EHR adoption (P < 0.001), with fewer small practices adopting EHRs. Among practices that have EHRs with laboratory and radiology result retrieval capabilities, at least 87% of practices report that a majority of their clinicians actively use these functionalities, while 74% of practices with electronic decision support report that the majority of clinicians actively use it. Among the practices without an EHR, 13% plan to implement one within the next 12 months, 24% within the next 1–2 years, 11% within the next 3–5 years, and 52% reported having no plans to implement an EHR in the foreseeable future. The most frequently reported barrier to implementation was lack of adequate funding (42%).

Conclusions  Overall, fewer than 1 in 5 medical practices in Massachusetts have an EHR. Even among adopters, though, doctor usage of EHR functions varied considerably by functionality and across practices. Many clinicians are not actively using functionalities that are necessary to improve health care quality and patient safety. Furthermore, among practices that do not have EHRs, more than half have no plan for adoption. Inadequate funding remains an important barrier to EHR adoption in ambulatory care practices in the United States.