bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teachers' Attitudes toward Merit Pay: Examining Conventional Wisdom
Authors: Ballou Dale , Podgursky Michael
Published: June 2015

This examination of data from the 1987–88 Schools and Staffing Survey challenges the common supposition that most teachers oppose merit pay. The authors find that teachers in districts that use merit pay do not seem demoralized by the system or hostile toward it, and teachers of disadvantaged and low-achieving students are generally supportive of merit pay. Private school teachers favor merit pay more than do public school teachers, a difference that may reflect differences in management in the two sectors and a more entrepreneurial spirit among staff in private schools.
Is Unemployment Insurance Addictive? Evidence from the Benefit Durations of Repeat Users
Authors: Corak Miles
Published: June 2015

The author finds evidence that the past occurrence of a spell of insured unemployment lengthens the duration of future spells. Descriptive statistics from Canadian administrative data covering mid-1971 to early 1990 suggest that unemployment insurance (UI) claimants tend to spend a longer and longer time collecting benefits with each additional claim they make. This finding contradicts the implication of static neoclassical models that successive UI spells should be of the same length. The author hypothesizes that the stigma attached to receiving unemployment benefits erodes with each new UI claim an individual files.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act: Effects on Notice Provision
Authors: Addison John T. , Blackburn McKinley L.
Published: June 2015

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) of 1988 requires that covered firms provide affected employees with 60 days' advance notice of plant closings and large-scale layoffs. The authors use data from the three most recent Displaced Worker Surveys to compare the extent of notice under voluntary (1983–88) and mandatory (1989–91) notice regimes. They find that the legislation has had at most a small impact on the provision of notice of the length stipulated under the Act. This non-event is at least partially due to the liberal firm-size and layoff thresholds for determining coverage under WARN.
Recent Developments in Social Policy in the New European Union
Authors: Addison John T. , Siebert W. Stanley
Published: June 2015

This paper assesses the recent progress and future direction of labor policy in the European Community, now the European Union. The authors show that most of the mandates foreshadowed under the December 1989 Community Social Charter have now been enacted into law. They analyze the possible costs, as well as the benefits, of these firstphase mandates and show the link between these adjustment costs and the Community's policy of providing subsidies to its poorer member states. They also demonstrate how the new Treaty on European Union, agreed to at Maastricht in December 1991, has increased the scope for Community-level labor market regulation.
Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Theoryand Evidence
Authors: Monheit Alan C. , Cooper Philip F.
Published: June 2015

It is widely hypothesized that health insurance deters job mobility because of imperfections in the labor and health insurance markets. This paper describes the nature of the welfare loss attributable to such “job-lock” and reviews several studies that empirically test the job-lock hypothesis. The authors find that estimates of the magnitude and importance of job-lock vary. Studies that support the job-lock hypothesis typically report a 20% to 40% reduction in mobility rates, depending on worker marital status and gender. Their own estimates suggest that although job-lock is present in the labor market, the proportion of workers affected and the magnitude of the welfare loss are less than generally supposed.
Union De-Recognition and Declining Union Density in Britain
Authors: Beaumont Phillip B. , Harris Richard I. D.
Published: June 2015

In Britain, where there are no representation elections and management's recognition of unions is entirely voluntary, a substantial decline in union density since 1979 has been in part attributed to increased instances of union de-recognition by management. This study examines the relationship between union density and union de-recognition at the individual establishment level through an analysis of the panel data set contained in the 1990 national Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. The results indicate that between 1984 and 1990, union recognition was lost in less than 10% of establishments in the sample; changes in union status were closely related to changes in union density; and changes in union density, in turn, resulted from extrinsic and organizational changes, such as increased competition and changes in company size.
Changes in the Structure and Quality of Jobs in the United States: Effects by Race and Gender, 1973–1990
Authors: Gittleman Maury B. , Howell David R.
Published: June 2015

Using 17 measures of job quality from the 1980 Census, the Current Population Survey, and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, the authors perform a cluster analysis that groups 621 jobs covering 94% of the work force into six job categories (termed “contours”), a job classification closely resembling those suggested by labor market segmentation theory. The distribution of employment over the period 1973–90 shifted sharply away from the two middle-quality contours toward the two highest-quality contours. The two lowest-quality contours show no decline in employment share in the 1980s. The declining relative position of employed black and Hispanic men stems from both a worsening job mix relative to white men and a sharp drop in the quality of low-skill jobs. Female workers experienced both a greater shift away from jobs in the lower-quality contours and higher real earnings growth within each job contour than male workers.
Changes in Women's Majors from Entrance to Graduation at Women's and Coeducational Colleges
Authors: Solnick Sara J.
Published: June 2015

Using data on the anticipated and final majors of 1700 students at eight women's colleges and 818 female students at seven coed colleges, the author tests whether women at single-sex institutions were more likely than their counterparts at coed schools to remain in traditionally male-dominated subjects and whether they were more likely to shift from traditionally female-dominated subjects. Depending on how broadly “female-dominated majors” is defined, 40% to 75% of women at women's colleges who began in such majors shifted to neutral or male-dominated fields during their college careers, compared to only about 25% of women at coed schools. Approximately 22% of women at both types of school left male-dominated majors.
The Effects of Automobile Strikes on the Stock Value of Steel Suppliers
Authors: Persons Obeua S.
Published: June 2015

This analysis of stock market data for the years 1965–90 indicates that upon announcements of automobile strikes, steel suppliers experienced statistically significant negative returns, about equal to the negative returns experienced by the struck automobile producers. Significantly larger negative interindustry effects were associated with large multi-plant strikes than with smaller one-plant strikes, and the negative effects were significantly greater in the later years of the sample period, a time of relatively weak financial condition, than in the earlier years, a time of stronger financial condition. The author concludes that researchers and policy-makers evaluating the private and social costs of strikes should consider adverse effects on the profitability not only of the struck industries, but also of linked industries, and should take into account the important roles of strike size and industry financial health.
The Wage Effects of Cumulative Job Mobility
Authors: Keith Kristen , McWilliams Abagail
Published: June 2015

This analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth shows that cumulative job mobility had statistically significant effects on wages in the years 1979–88. The direction of the wage effects (positive or negative) and their magnitude varied depending on the type of cumulative mobility examined: employee-initiated versus employer-initiated separations, economic versus family-related quits, layoffs versus discharges. The results also indicate that although men and women had different mobility histories—men, for example, had been discharged more often than women, and women had quit for family-related reasons more often than men—the wage effects of each type of cumulative mobility (economic quits, family-related quits, layoffs, and discharges) were similar for men and women.
Earnings Profiles of Department Heads: Comparing Cross-Section and Panel Models
Authors: Ragan James F. , Rehman Qazi Najeeb
Published: June 2015

Academics who become department heads suffer declining research skills because of time spent performing administrative tasks, and this skill depreciation slows future wage growth. This study examines Kansas State University faculty who served as department heads during the period 1965–92. Cross-section estimates of the compensation for serving as department head are biased upward because of a correlation between unmeasured productivity characteristics and selection as department head. To correct for this bias, the authors reestimate earnings equations using a panel model that incorporates personal fixed effects. Although the average department head in the sample received a wage premium of 12%, the premium for past administrative service had completely disappeared for the typical former head. Another finding is that skill depreciation was most severe and wage growth most adversely affected in the sciences. As compensation, department heads in the sciences received a larger initial administrative premium than did other department heads.
Racial Differences in Access to High-Paying Jobs and the Wage Gap between Black and White Women
Authors: Anderson Deborah , Shapiro David
Published: June 2015

The authors examine the role that racial differences in access to high-paying occupations played in determining the racial wage gap in the 1980s. Analyzing data on black and white women aged 34–44 from the National Longitudinal Surveys for 1968–88, they estimate the effects of human capital characteristics and discrimination on segregation into high- and low-wage jobs by race. They find that differences in workers' measured characteristics explain little of either the observed occupational segregation by race or the racial wage gap in 1988. Further analysis suggests that several changes in the wage structure for women during the 1980s, notably a widening of occupational wage differentials and an increase in the returns to education, abetted direct discrimination in enlarging the racial wage gap among women.
The Employment Effects of Wage Discrimination against Black Men
Authors: Baldwin Marjorie L. , Johnson William G.
Published: June 2015

When labor supply curves are upward-sloping, wage discrimination against black men reduces not only their relative wages, but also their relative employment rates. Using data from the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation, the authors estimate wage discrimination against black men and, for the first time, quantify the effects of that discrimination on the employment of black and white men. They find that 62% of the difference in offer wages to black and white men, and 67% of the difference in their observed wages, cannot be attributed to differences in productivity. Assuming that the unexplained wage differential is attributable entirely to employer discrimination, then the disincentive effects of wage discrimination reduced the relative employment rate of black men from 89% to 82% of white men's employment rate. Thus, wage discrimination and its employment effects resulted in a substantial transfer of resources from blacks to whites in 1984.
The Impact of 1970s Repatriates from Africa on the Portuguese Labor Market
Authors: Carrington William J. , De Lima Pedro J. F.
Published: June 2015

This paper examines the labor market effect of the retornados who immigrated to Portugal from Angola and Mozambique in the mid-1970s following Portugal's loss of its African colonies. The retornados increased the Portuguese labor force by roughly 10% in just three years. Two analyses suggest contrasting conclusions. First, comparisons of Portugal with Spain and France indicate that any adverse effect of the retornados was quantitatively swamped by the Europe-wide downturn in labor market conditions in the 1970s. Second, comparisons between districts within Portugal indicate that the retornados may have had a strong adverse effect on Portuguese wages, suggesting that immigration may be considerably more harmful than previous case studies have concluded. The authors, however, regard the results of the within-Portugal analysis as less reliable than those of the comparison across countries.
The Effects of Employer-Provided Health Insurance on Worker Mobility
Authors: Buchmueller Thomas C. , Valletta Robert G.
Published: June 2015

The authors use data from the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to investigate whether employer-provided health insurance reduced worker mobility (a phenomenon termed “job-lock”). The SIPP provides Information on variables—particularly pension receipt, job tenure, and spouse job change—that were omitted from previous studies and are, the authors argue, key to the estimation of well-defined mobility models. For dual-earner married men and women, the authors estimate a model that accounts for the interaction between husbands' and wives' job change decisions. For both married and single individuals, the results provide fairly strong evidence of job-lock among women, but only weak indications of job-lock among men. The authors speculate that this finding reflects higher health care use by women than by men.
Are “Involuntary” Part-Time Workers Indeed Involuntary?
Authors: Stratton Leslie S.
Published: June 2015

Theoretically, those classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as involuntary part-time workers are individuals who would like to work full-time but have been unable to obtain full-time employment. To empirically test the accuracy of that definition, the author employs simple probit models of employment preferences and employment opportunities estimated with data from the March 1990 Current Population Survey. The results confirm that those classified as involuntary part-time workers were indeed employed part-time “involuntarily.” Furthermore, those classified as involuntary part-time workers in 1990 were at least 50% more likely to be in the full-time labor force in 1991 than were those who were classified as voluntary part-time workers in 1990.
“Who Gets What” from Minimum Wage Hikes: A Re-Estimation of Card and Krueger's Distributional Analysis in Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage
Authors: Burkhauser Richard V. , Couch Kenneth A. , Wittenburg David C.
Published: June 2015

I've studied the arguments and the evidence for and against a minimum wage increase. I believe that the weight of the evidence is that a modest increase does not cost jobs, and may even lure people into the job market. But the most important thing is, you can't make a living on $4.25 an hour.

President Clinton, State of the Union Address, 1995
Planning for Change: Determinants of Innovation in U.S. National Unions
Authors: Delaney John T. , Jarley Paul , Fiorito Jack
Published: June 2015

Although it is commonly argued that unions need to innovate in order to grow and achieve success, little is known about the characteristics of unions that facilitate or hinder innovation. The authors of this study develop a model of union innovation and test it using data collected from many sources, including a 1990 survey of 275 officials and staff members from 111 American national unions. The results suggest that certain union characteristics, such as environmental monitoring (systematic monitoring by the union of developments that could affect it) and rationalization (good structuring and management of administrative activities), are positively associated with innovative behavior. In addition, there is a positive relationship between innovation and the heterogeneity of a union's members.
Linkages between Industrialization Strategies and Industrial Relations/Human Resource Policies: Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India
Authors: Kuruvilla Sarosh
Published: June 2015

The case studies of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India presented in this paper support the author's contention that a country's industrialization strategy for economic development profoundly influences its industrial relations (IR) and human resources (HR) policy goals. The author finds that import substitution industrialization was associated with IR/HR policy goals of pluralism and stability, while a low-cost export-oriented industrialization strategy was associated with IR/HR policy goals of cost containment and union suppression. In countries that moved from a low-cost export-oriented strategy to a higher value added export-oriented strategy, the focus of IR/HR policy goals shifted from cost containment to work force flexibility and skills development. The four countries diverged, however, in the specific institutions and arrangements they adopted to meet national IR/HR policy goals, due to different political choices made by dominant actors and different institutional industrial relations histories.
Union Wage Determination in Canadian and U.S. Manufacturing, 1964–1990: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Budd John W.
Published: June 2015

The author analyzes nominal and real wage changes in unionized manufacturing firms in Canada and the United States over the years 1964–90. He finds more differences between the countries' patterns of wage determination in the years 1964–79 than have commonly been recognized. In the 1980s, the nominal wage determination structure changed more sharply in the United States than in Canada. Real wage determination changed little in the United States before 1986, while after 1986 observed real wage growth was significantly smaller than what would have been predicted based on patterns of bargaining in earlier years. In Canada, real wages in the 1980s were significantly higher than they would have been if the previous patterns of wage determination had persisted. Both the nominal and real wage change results suggest that unions in U.S. manufacturing fared poorly in wage bargaining in the 1980s by comparison with their Canadian counterparts.
Employer Size and Labor Turnover: The Role of Pensions
Authors: Even William E. , MacPherson David A.
Published: June 2015

The well-documented lower labor turnover in large firms than in smaller firms has been cited as evidence that large firms pay workers above their opportunity wage. This study investigates whether the relationship between firm size and turnover can instead be accounted for in part by size-related differences in the availability, portability, or generosity of pension plans. Analyzing extensive data for the years 1973–93, the authors find that pension coverage was associated with a greater reduction in worker turnover in large firms than in small firms. They also find that when appropriate controls for worker characteristics are employed, there is virtually no association between firm size and labor turnover for workers not covered by a pension.
Matching and Mobility in the Market for Australian Rules Football Coaches
Authors: Borland Jeff , Lye Jenny
Published: June 2015

This study examines matching effects as a determinant of mobility in the market for Australian Rules football coaches between 1931 and 1994. Among other results, the authors find direct evidence of a coach-team match-specific effect on team performance. One implication is that two teams might both significantly improve their performance by switching coaches, depending on the specific team and coach characteristics.
The Role of Union Strategies in NLRB Certification Elections
Authors: Bronfenbrenner Kate
Published: June 2015

Analyzing 1986–87 data from 261 NLRB certification election campaigns, the author finds that union tactic variables explain more of the variance in election outcomes than any other group of variables, including employer tactics, bargaining unit demographics, organizer background, election background, employer characteristics, and election environment. The results suggest that unions can significantly improve the probability of winning an election by using a rank-and-file intensive organizing strategy. This strategy includes a reliance on person-to-person contact; an emphasis on union democracy and representative participation; the building of support for the first contract during the organizing drive; the use of escalating pressure tactics; and an emphasis on dignity, justice, and fairness rather than on bread-and-butter issues.
Unions, Employers' Associations, and Wage-Setting Institutions in Northern and Central Europe, 1950–1992
Authors: Wallerstein Michael , Golden Miriam , Lange Peter
Published: June 2015

The eight countries examined in this study—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—have long been viewed as exemplifying “corporatist” industrial relations systems, in which union coverage is high, unions are influential and commonly have strong ties to political parties, and collective bargaining is institutionalized and relatively centralized. Many observers have recently argued that such corporatist bargaining institutions are everywhere being undermined by changes in the global economy. The authors, using data from a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, test whether changes in patterns of wage-setting in the private sector are consistent with that claim. Although they find some signs that corporatist wage-setting institutions are in decline, they also find offsetting signs of the resiliency of such institutions. Overall, the evidence does not indicate that wage-setting in the private sector is undergoing a general process of decentralization in these eight countries.
Ergonomics, Employee Involvement, and the Toyota Production System: A Case Study of Nummi'S 1993 Model Introduction
Authors: Adler Paul S. , Goldoftas Barbara , Levine David I.
Published: June 2015

New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) is a GM-Toyota joint venture that has been lauded by some for achieving performance based on high employee involvement, and criticized by others for intensifying work and harming workers. In 1993, OSHA cited NUMMI for paying insufficient attention to ergonomic issues during the introduction of a new car model. The authors analyze the origins of NUMMI's ergonomic problems and the responses of the company, union, and regulators. They also discuss a more ergonomically successful model introduction two years later. This case suggests that although employee involvement does not eliminate all divergence of interests between management and workers, it can change the terms of that divergence. When management reliance on employee involvement is complemented by strong employee voice and strong regulators, managers may find it in their interest to improve safety as a means of maintaining high employee commitment and thereby improving business performance.
Mandatory Notice and the Jobless Durations of Displaced Workers
Authors: Friesen Jane
Published: June 2015

Using Canadian Displaced Workers Survey data for 1981–86, the author studies the effect of Canadian advance notice laws on displaced workers' jobless durations. By considering statutory notice requirements, rather than actual notice provision, the author is able to avoid the problems associated with the endogeneity of notice that have characterized previous studies of this question. So-called group notice laws, which apply to large-scale layoffs, reduced the jobless durations of plant closure victims, but individual notice laws, which apply to all layoffs in some jurisdictions but only small-scale layoffs in others, had little effect. One possible explanation for this difference is that workers who lose their jobs while their plant remains open may have stronger expectations of being rehired than do other displaced workers, and may therefore delay job search with or without notice.
Delayed Formal on-the-job Training
Authors: Loewenstein Mark A. , Spletzer James R.
Published: June 2015

The fact that an employer and employee incur a loss when a trained worker changes jobs provides an incentive for on-the-job training to be selectively provided to workers who are less likely to change jobs. Consequently, if there is belated information about employees' future mobility, it may be optimal to delay training, even if doing so means forgoing the returns to training during the early part of the employment relationship. The training literature, however, assumes that training is concentrated at the beginning of the employment relationship. The authors of this paper examine the relationship between tenure and the probability of ever having received training using data from the Current Population Survey and the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth. Their findings indicate that delayed formal training is the norm rather than the exception.
Short-Term Employment Transitions of Women in the Israeli Labor Force
Authors: Stier Haya
Published: June 2015

Using data on Jewish Israeli women aged 25 to 55, the author examines patterns and determinants of women's transitions among four employment categories: regular full-time employment, reduced-hours full-time employment, part-time employment, and non-employment. Israeli women are not trapped in part-time employment. Departures from reduced-hour and part-time employment occur at higher rates than departures from full-time jobs. Women who have just given birth have an increased likelihood of moving from full-time employment to reduced-hour or part-time employment. Women in female-type occupations and those in “peripheral” jobs (jobs outside core industries) are more likely than other women to reduce their work hours or exit the labor force. The author argues that although part-time work is a valuable short-term option for many women, in the long run it preserves labor market institutions that are disadvantageous to women.
Spanish Unions: Institutional Legacy and Responsiveness to Economic and Industrial Change
Authors: Hamann Kerstin
Published: June 2015

Using empirical data drawn from multiple sources, including interview material, the author examines Spanish trade unions' responses to the reorganization of Spain's economy and changes in the structure of industrial production in the 1980s and 1990s. She argues that Spanish unions, though not in a strong position compared to unions in other Western European countries, avoided a crisis situation by designing flexible strategies and redefining some aspects of Spain's industrial relations institutions. This quick adjustment was possible, the author argues, because the organizations, institutions, and strategies requiring change were not deeply ingrained, given the short history of democratic politics in Spain.
Minimum Wages and Poverty
Authors: Addison John T. , Blackburn McKinleyl
Published: June 2015

The principal justification for minimum wage legislation has been the claim that it would improve the economic condition of low-wage workers. Most previous analyses of the distributional effects of minimum wages have been based on simulation exercises employing restrictive assumptions that guarantee the conclusion that an increase in the minimum wage reduces poverty. In contrast, the authors of this paper adopt a more flexible “reduced-form” approach that links increases in both federal and state minima to contemporaneous changes in poverty rates. For the period 1983–96, they find indications of a poverty-reducing effect of minimum wages among teenagers and older junior high school dropouts.
Methods of Pay and Earnings: A Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Parent Daniel
Published: June 2015

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1988–90), the author investigates the relationship between methods of pay, including piece rates and bonuses, and the level and variance of wages. Among men, piece rate workers earned a premium compared to other workers, but the evidence on bonuses is mixed. The author finds evidence that female piece rate workers earned more than other female workers once a control variable for the presence of dependents is interacted with the piece rate variable. With controls for the wage effects of schooling and experience, unobserved worker productivity is found to have accounted for most of the wage variance among both male and female piece rate workers; wage variance among workers not having explicit pay for performance schemes, in contrast, was predominantly due to other factors.
Occupational Attainment and Gender Earnings Differentials in Mexico
Authors: Brown Cynthia J. , Pagán José A. , Rodríguez-Oreggia Eduardo
Published: June 2015

Women earned about 20.8% less than men in Mexico in 1987, a difference that increased to 22.0% by 1993. Using 1987–93 data from Mexico's National Urban Employment Survey, the authors study the role of occupational attainment in this wage differential. Most of the 1987–93 increase in the gender log monthly earnings gap, they find, can be explained by relative chnges in human capital endowments; wage coefficient changes would have slightly reduced the gap, all else equal. The increasing male-female earnings differential was tempered by a substantial decline in gender differences in occupational attainment from 1987 to 1993. Most of the male-female differences in earnings in both 1987 and 1993 can be explained by differences in rewards to individual endowments rather than gender differences in endowments.
Does High School Employment Affect High School Academic Performance?
Authors: Oettinger Gerald S.
Published: June 2015

This paper analyzes how school year employment affected high school academic performance among a sample of young people surveyed between 1979 and 1983. Regular employment at modest weekly hours was associated with higher grades within each grade level, but between-grade transitions into and out of employment were accompanied by very slight performance declines and gains, respectively. While the average effect of school year employment was quite small, extensive school year employment had a large, statistically significant negative impact on the academic performance of racial minorities. Summer employment did not affect grades, suggesting that school year employment affected grades by “crowding out” study time.
Power Versus Affiliation in Political Ideology
Authors: Fetterman Adam K. , Boyd Ryan L. , Robinson Michael D.
Published: June 2015

Posited motivational differences between liberals and conservatives have historically been controversial. This motivational interface has recently been bridged, but the vast majority of studies have used self-reports of values or motivation. Instead, the present four studies investigated whether two classic social motive themes—power and affiliation—vary by political ideology in objective linguistic analysis terms. Study 1 found that posts to liberal chat rooms scored higher in standardized affiliation than power, whereas the reverse was true of posts to conservative chat rooms. Study 2 replicated this pattern in the context of materials posted to liberal versus conservative political news websites. Studies 3 and 4, finally, replicated a similar interactive (ideology by motive type) pattern in State of the State and State of the Union addresses. Differences in political ideology, these results suggest, are marked by, and likely reflective of, mind-sets favoring affiliation (liberal) or power (conservative).
Re-examining the Growth Machine Ideology of Cities
Authors: Yung Esther H. K. , Chan Edwin H. W.
Published: June 2015

This article aims to examine (1) what impact growth machine ideology has on historic conservation and vice versa, (2) how heritage conservation effort’s institutional arrangements affect the composition and operation of growth coalitions, and (3) the impact of public concern on manipulating the growth machine ideology. This study looks at the conservation of two cases in Hong Kong, both of which have extremely high land value, to examine the complex interplay between built heritage and growth machine politics. The study also reveals how growth coalitions extend beyond formal institutional arrangements and how public concerns also greatly shape and determine the role of heritage conservation in contributing to growth in urban politics. This study provides a deeper understanding of the shifting value of heritage in cities where the growth machine thesis is espoused and examines how it is reframed by different actors.
Serum and urinary cystatin C in cats with feline immunodeficiency virus infection and cats with hyperthyroidism
Authors: Ghys Liesbeth FE , Paepe Dominique , Taffin Elien RL , Vandermeulen Eva , Duchateau Luc , Smets Pascale MY , Delanghe Joris , Daminet Sylvie
Published: June 2015

Objectives

The objective of this study was to investigate serum cystatin C (sCysC) and urinary cystatin C (uCysC) in cats with hyperthyroidism and cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).

Methods

Thirty cats with FIV, 26 hyperthyroid cats and 28 healthy cats were included. sCysC and uCysC:creatinine (uCysC/uCr) ratio were measured with a human particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay, previously validated for feline CysC measurement. Routine renal variables (serum creatinine [sCr], urine specific gravity, urinary protein:creatinine ratio [UPC]) were also measured in the three groups.

Results

Cats with hyperthyroidism had significantly higher sCysC and higher uCysC/uCr ratio, lower sCr and a higher UPC than healthy cats. Cats with FIV infection did not show a significantly higher sCysC concentration but had a significantly higher sCr and UPC than healthy cats. uCysC could be detected in only four of them.

Conclusions and relevance

This study demonstrated that sCysC is increased in cats with hyperthyroidism, in contrast with sCr, but not in cats with FIV. Many hyperthyroid cats, but only four cats with FIV, had an elevated uCysC/uCr ratio. Further studies may reveal if uCysC might be a valuable marker for tubular dysfunction in cats.
Two TRPV1 receptor antagonists are effective in two different experimental models of migraine
Authors: Meents Jannis E , Hoffmann Jan , Chaplan Sandra R , Neeb Lars , Schuh-Hofer Sigrid , Wickenden Alan , Reuter Uwe
Published: June 2015

Background

The capsaicin and heat responsive ion channel TRPV1 is expressed on trigeminal nociceptive neurons and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of migraine attacks. Here we investigate the efficacy of two TRPV1 channel antagonists in blocking trigeminal activation using two in vivo models of migraine.

Methods

Male Sprague–Dawley rats were used to study the effects of the TRPV1 antagonists JNJ-38893777 and JNJ-17203212 on trigeminal activation. Expression of the immediate early gene c-fos was measured following intracisternal application of inflammatory soup. In a second model, CGRP release into the external jugular vein was determined following injection of capsaicin into the carotid artery.

Results

Inflammatory up-regulation of c-fos in the trigeminal brain stem complex was dose-dependently and significantly reduced by both TRPV1 antagonists. Capsaicin-induced CGRP release was attenuated by JNJ-38893777 only in higher dosage. JNJ-17203212 was effective in all doses and fully abolished CGRP release in a time and dose-dependent manner.

Conclusion

Our results describe two TRPV1 antagonists that are effective in two in vivo models of migraine. These results suggest that TRPV1 may play a role in the pathophysiological mechanisms, which are relevant to migraine.
Designing challenge questions for location‐based authentication systems: a real‐life study
Authors: Albayram Yusuf , Hasan Khan Mohammad Maifi , Bamis Athanasios , Kentros Sotirios , Nguyen Nhan , Jiang Ruhua
Published: June 2015

Online service providers often use challenge questions (a.k.a. knowledge‐based authentication) to facilitate resetting of passwords or to provide an extra layer of security for authentication. While prior schemes explored both static and dynamic challenge questions to improve security, they do not systematically investigate the problem of designing challenge questions and its effect on user recall performance. Interestingly, as answering different styles of questions may require different amount of cognitive effort and evoke different reactions among users, we argue that the style of challenge questions itself can have a significant effect on user recall performance and usability of such systems. To address this void and investigate the effect of question types on user performance, this paper explores location‐based challenge question generation schemes where different types of questions are generated based on users’ locations tracked by smartphones and presented to users. For evaluation, we deployed our location tracking application on users’ smartphones and conducted two real‐life studies using four different kinds of challenge questions. Each study was approximately 30 days long and had 14 and 15 users respectively. Our findings suggest that the question type can have a significant effect on user performance. Finally, as individual users may vary in terms of performance and recall rate, we investigate and present a Bayesian classifier based authentication algorithm that can authenticate legitimate users with high accuracy by leveraging individual response patterns while reducing the success rate of adversaries.
Combined association of physical activity and diet with C-reactive protein among smokers
Authors: Loprinzi Paul D. , Walker Jerome F.
Published: June 2015

Background

In the general population, both physical activity and dietary behavior are independently associated with less systemic inflammation, with this relationship less examined among smokers. To our knowledge, no study has examined the combined association of both physical activity and dietary behavior on systemic inflammation among daily smokers, which was the purpose of this study.

Methods

Data from the 2003–2006 NHANES were employed. 810 adult smokers provided C-reactive protein data (CRP; a marker of inflammation), and sufficient physical activity (accelerometry) and dietary data (healthy eating index).

Results

The fully adjusted model showed that participants meeting physical activity guidelines and eating a healthy diet (β = −0.34, p = 0.03) had lower CRP levels when compared to those not engaging in these health behaviors, but only having one health behavior was not a significant predictor of CRP (β = −0.19, p = 0.14).

Conclusions

Smokers engaging in regular physical activity while consuming a healthy diet demonstrate lower CRP levels than their counterparts. When taken together, these behaviors may mitigate inflammation associated with various chronic diseases, which is of particular importance as very few smokers successfully quit smoking.
Methods considerations for nystagmography
Authors: Blakley Brian W. , Chan Laura
Published: June 2015

Objectives

1. To assess the reproducibility of eye movement velocity measurement using two methods: traditional electro-oculography (EOG) and infrared video-oculography (VOG) and, 2. Determine whether the normal values for unilateral weakness and bilateral reduction of caloric responses vary according to method employed.

Background

Vestibular testing frequently involves measurement of eye movements. EOG has been the standard method for decades, but VOG and other methods have recently become popular. The assumption has been that all methods measure eye movements equally and accurately but this assumption has not been validated. In this paper we examine this assumption.

Methods

Eye movements were recorded simultaneously with commercially available EOG and VOG methods to evaluate differences in results for nineteen normal subjects undergoing caloric tests with warm and cold water. Examination of the records permitted identification and simultaneous measurement of 840 nystagmus beats.

Results

EOG and VOG measurements were correlated but the correlation was not strong (Spearman rho = 0.529, p < 0.01). Eye velocities recorded by the VOG system were greater than that for the EOG system. The mean VOG/EOG ratio was 1.71. Normal values used at our centre were adjusted to accommodate the use of video technology to account for the differences in sensitivity between EOG and VOG methods.

Conclusion

The traditional EOG-based normal value for bilateral reduction of caloric response, 30 degree per second (d/s) based on traditional EOG measurements should be revised to 50 d/s for modern VOG testing in our lab. Normal values for vestibular testing may need to be re-evaluated when new technology is introduced. Each lab should verify normal values for their own methods and equipment.
Effects of reductive stripping of reactive dyes on the quality of cotton fabric
Authors: Uddin Mohammad Gias , Islam Md. Mazedul , Islam Md. Rashedul
Published: June 2015

Some common problems of textile dyeing industries include uneven or faulty dyeing and formation of color patches on the fabric surface during dyeing and downstream processing of textiles materials. Such problems in the finished quality of fabric are generally tackled through a chemical stripping process which is a common practice in dyeing industries for the deep shade batches. However, reactive dyes cannot be stripped satisfactorily from cellulosic materials due to the formation of co-valent bonds between dye and fiber. This research was undertaken using 2.5% and 5% bi-hetero reactive dyes on pretreated cotton fabric and dye stripping was carried out in alkali reductive stripping process. The aim of the work was to investigate the effects of dye stripping on the quality of cotton fabric. Strength loss, weight loss, pilling resistance and absorbency of stripped fabric were calculated. Though with the increase of concentration of stripping chemicals and temperature, stripping percentages were improved; processing damage to the fabric such as losses in strength, weight and pilling resistance ratings was found. In contrast, increased fabric absorbency was found due to stripping. This is explained that during stripping, alkaline solution as an intracrystalline swelling agent is effective in loosening the crystalline region of cotton in addition to the amorphous region. Stripping agent can also attack such crystalline region. As a result, cotton fiber can release maximum number of hydroxyl groups which previously formed covalent bonds. This is the reason behind the stripped fabric having more water absorbency.
Vector-acoustic reverse time migration of Volve ocean-bottom cable data set without up/down decomposed wavefields
Authors: Ravasi Matteo , Vasconcelos Ivan , Curtis Andrew , Kritski Alexander
Published: June 2015

Methods for wavefield injection are commonly used to extrapolate seismic data in reverse time migration (RTM). Injecting a single component of the acoustic field, for example, pressure, leads to ambiguity in the direction of propagation. Each recorded wavefront is propagated both upward and downward, and spurious (or ghost) reflectors are created alongside real reflectors in the subsurface image. Thus, wavefield separation based on the combination of pressure and particle velocity data is generally performed prior to imaging to extract only the upgoing field from multicomponent seabed or towed marine seismic recordings. By instead combining vector-acoustic (VA) data with monopole- and dipole-type propagators in the extrapolation of shot or receiver gathers, we show that wavefield separation (or deghosting) can instead be performed “on-the-fly” at limited additional cost. This strategy was successfully applied to a line of a North Sea ocean-bottom cable data set, acquired over the Volve field. We then evaluate additional advantages over standard RTM with decomposed fields such as improved handling of the directivity information contained in the acquired VA data for clearer shallow sections and better focused space-lag common image gathers, and imaging of the downgoing component without the need for additional finite-difference modeling via mirror migration. Finally, we prove the robustness of our method with respect to sparse and irregular receiver sampling.
Analysis of ER-mitochondria contacts by correlative fluorescence microscopy and soft X-ray tomography of mammalian cells
Authors: Elgass Kirstin D. , Smith Elizabeth A. , LeGros Mark A. , Larabell Carolyn A. , Ryan Michael T.
Published: June 2015

Mitochondrial fission is important for organelle transport, quality control and apoptosis. Changes to the fission process can manifest itself in a wide variety of neurological diseases. In mammals, mitochondrial fission is executed by the GTPase dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) that oligomerizes around mitochondria and constricts the organelle. The mitochondrial outer membrane proteins Mff, MiD49 and MiD51 are involved in mitochondrial fission by recruiting Drp1 from the cytosol to the organelle surface. In addition, ER tubules have been shown to wrap around and constrict mitochondria prior to a fission event. Up to now, the presence of MiD49/51 at ER-mitochondrial division (ERMD) foci has not been established. Here we incorporate confocal live cell imaging with novel correlative cryogenic fluorescence microscopy and soft x-ray tomography to link MiD49/51 and ER involvement in mitochondrial fission. We gain further insight into this complex process and characterize the 3D structure of ER-mitochondria contact sites.
Wertschöpfungspartnerschaften in der Immobilienprojektentwicklung
Authors: Meyer Kevin , Pfnür Andreas
Published: June 2015

Dieser Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit partnerschaftliche Organisationsmodelle bei der Projektentwickung, wie sie in grundsätzlich ähnlicher Form bei ÖPPs allerdings in einem anderen Handlungsrahmen schon seit über einem Jahrzehnt zur Anwendung kommen, zur Reduzierung von Ineffizienzen bei der Immobilienbeschaffung privatwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen beitragen kann und was die Erfolgsdeterminanten dieser alternativen Beschaffungsvariante sind. Hierzu wurden zwei Pilotprojekte, wissenschaftlich begleitet und mit einem Mix aus qualitativen und quantitativen Methoden wirkungsanalytisch untersucht. Aus der empirischen Analyse geht hervor, dass in beiden Pilotprojekten durch die Wertschöpfungspartnerschaften die Effizienz der Projektentwicklung erheblich erhöht werden konnte. Höheres Vertrauen und größere Motivation der Projektbeteiligten haben positive Einflüsse auf die Bereitschaft, Informationen und Wissen zur Optimierung des Projekterfolges auszutauschen. Auffallend sind allerdings die unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen dieser Einflussfaktoren in beiden Pilotprojekten. Die Ursache für die unterschiedlichen Vertrauensverhältnisse und den entsprechend ungleichverteilten Effekte liegt vor allem in den abweichenden vertraglichen Strukturen innerhalb der Projekte. Der Beitrag zeigt theoretisch konzeptionelle sowie anhand der Fallstudien, wie sich unterschiedliche Projektstrukturen auf die Zusammenarbeit auswirken. Da es sich im empirischen Teil vom Forschungsansatz her um Fallstudien handelt, ist die Allgemeingültigkeit der Ergebnisse naturgemäß limitiert.