bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative study of China and USA's colleges entrepreneurship education from an international perspective
Authors: Lili Zhang 
Published: September 2011

PurposeEntrepreneurship in most cases can provide new products and services to the market and play an active role in an industry. Nowadays, colleges entrepreneurship education is becoming more of a “business incubator” for future entrepreneurship. This paper reviews the relative literature with entrepreneurship education in China and USA's colleges, aims to identify Chinese colleges' issues, then develops suggestions of Chinese colleges' entrepreneurship education and illustrated its future trends.Design/methodology/approachIt revealed the theoretical framework of American main entrepreneurship education modes, analyzing three representative entrepreneurship modes in American colleges, its spirit, capability of innovation, entrepreneurship ability contribute to the basic frame of entrepreneurship education in American colleges, then by comparative research between American and Chinese colleges.FindingsThis paper is based on discussing the differences between US and Chinese colleges with entrepreneurship education as well as the enlightenment. Meanwhile, it was pointed out the disadvantages relating to our colleges' entrepreneurship education and its future trends.Originality/valueBy introducing the entrepreneurship modes of US colleges and analyzing the modes together with Chinese colleges entrepreneurship education, it draws out the conclusion to carry out practical activities and establish a good entrepreneurship environment, to strengthen teacher training in entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial consultant team building and to deploy entrepreneurship research.
Entrepreneurship education and employment performance
Authors: Li Zheng , Liu Yang 
Published: September 2011

PurposeCollege graduates' unemployment problems have gradually become a social problem. This paper aims to find out whether entrepreneurship education can promote employment and improve job satisfaction by finding the impact of entrepreneurship education on increasing employment performance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper surveys the undergraduates who graduated by 2010 from Jilin University and attained their entrepreneurship and employment performance value. The paper draws a conclusion by making correlation analysis.FindingsThe results showed that entrepreneurship has a positive impact effect on the employment performance. It is confirmed entrepreneurship education has a positive effect on employment.Originality/valueThe paper made a link between the entrepreneurship research and the employment study, and provided a theoretical underpinning to the concept of “Encouraging entrepreneurship to drive employment”. This also provided the rationality and necessity of entrepreneurship education.
The future roles of STPs in green growth of China
Authors: Zhou Chunyan 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe public‐university‐government triple helix for sustainable development has been proposed, through introducing a new element (public) into the triple helix model while retaining the balance between economic growth and eco‐system development (Etzkowitz and Zhou). This study aims to explore the future roles and influences of science and technology parks (STPs) on green growth in China, which is now releasing about six billion tons of CO2 a year (Maplecroft) as GDP keeps over an 8 percent growth rate.Design/methodology/approachThe regular research methodology in social sciences is taken including data collections, interviews, and some investigation to construct the theoretical conception and findings.FindingsEconomic growth and environmental sustainability are not in conflict, but are mutually promoting. The green growth approach seeks to create an economic framework which opens up increased opportunities for maximizing the eco‐efficiency, such as sharing and transferring knowledge and technologies for eco‐efficient production processes, for renewable resource use and for integrated natural resources management as well as for creating new job opportunities.Practical implicationsThe theme of the paper lies in that a triple helix must be built in order to achieve sustainable development (green growth). The triple helix embodies a couple of objectives of the innovation for economic growth and sustainable development‐triple helix twin. Its most important practical implication is to balance economic growth and sustainability and achieve green growth. STPs' roles should be emphasized.Originality/valueUniversity‐public‐government triple helix for sustainability is a creative development of triple helix study, which is based on the study in university‐industry‐government triple helix for innovation. The paper uses the idea originally to explore how to get green growth in China though the roles of science parks.
Reforms and accounting system changes
Authors: Johanne Pettersen Inger , Nyland Kari 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the process of the accounting system change as a part of a larger reform initiative taking place in Norway. The research context is the national network of hospital enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses an archival‐based case approach of official documents (between 2000 and 2009) to study the formal layers of accounting practices.FindingsThe accrual accounting information signalled major management control problems, but the hospital owner, the state, did not take action to solve these problems during this period. The contracts between the state and hospital enterprises were characterised as principal‐agent relationships. However, different accounting techniques were mixed in the contracts between the parties, indicating hybridisation of accounting systems.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors did not study the perceptions and practices of key actors and this is a limitation of the study.Practical implicationsThe findings are likely to be useful for practitioners and researchers to gain knowledge on the implementation of management reforms in public sector service organisations.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to our understanding of the diverse processes within which public sector reforms are taking place. The main contribution is a discussion of the diversity in accounting system changes.
What determines ABC success in mature sites?
Authors: Byrne Suzanne 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine ABC success determinants in mature ABC sites.Design/methodology/approachThe study surveys 65 managers of service and manufacturing organizations using ABC.FindingsThe stepwise regression results indicate that top management support is the key determinant of ABC success in mature ABC sites.Research limitations/implicationsThis research shows that top management support continues to be critical to ongoing ABC success. Past research has shown that top management support is critical in the early stages of ABC adoption and if withdrawn is a major cause of ABC implementation failure. Despite the technical benefits of ABC adoption the extent of change, the resource commitment and the management of conflict and power means that careful consideration of the determinants of success is crucial. Many researchers have examined this at initial implementation or have confounded their results by not distinguishing the stage of adoption. Very few have researched beyond the initial implementation to examine what factors continue to ensure ABC success once fully integrated. Other determinants examined were resource adequacy, education, performance improvement and reward link, and competition intensity.Practical implicationsPractically any ABC adoption needs to secure top management support from inception through to routinisation and integration.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is in the way ABC success is measured and that the sites examined are only mature adoption sites. By examining only “mature” ABC sites the differences in the stages of implementation are not confounded in the results.
Does voluntary corporate citizenship pay? An examination of the UN Global Compact
Authors: Barros Kimbro Marinilka , Cao Zhiyan 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe UN Global Compact (GC) is the world's largest voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. Signatory companies voluntarily agree to abide by the GC ten principles and explicitly declare compliance with social and human rights, environmental protection, and anti‐corruption practices. Participants commit to CSR and are required to publish a yearly report called Communication on Progress (COP). If firms fail to provide a COP for one year they are labeled “non‐communicating”, and for two years they are “delisted” from the GC. In 2006, the first list of non‐communicating and delisted firms was announced. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent by which being a signatory company – that reports COP – reduces information risk, and thus leads to better market returns, lower cost of debt, and lower cost of equity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors studied the period from the launch of the GC until the first list of non‐communicating firms was made public, investigating the extent by which being a signatory company – that reports COP – reduces information risk, and thus leads to better market returns, lower cost of debt, and lower cost of equity.FindingsThe results suggest that communicating (reporting) firms have statistically significant higher market valuation – lower book to market – than companies that initially agree to participate in the GC but that do not comply with the reporting requirement. Communicating firms also have statistically significant higher ROA, lower cost of debt, lower cost of equity, and lower beta indicating better performance and less risk. The authors also find some evidence that non‐communicating firms might be “free riding” and could have joined the GC to improve their corporate image.Originality/valueThe paper provides evidence of the value of CSR reporting. It is not enough to disclose compliance with CSR, but it is also necessary to account for this through some sort of formal mechanism such as a CSR report. Voluntary disclosures and narrative statements in annual reports will continue to have questionable information content, but standards of environmental reporting, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, not only improve the way in which social and environmental performance is measured, but they also provide evidence of compliance. This paper also presents evidence of the value of voluntary initiatives such as the GC when these initiatives are supported by formal reporting and when accountability/enforcement measures are in place.
Sustainability in businesses, corporate social responsibility, and accounting standards
Authors: Akisik Orhan , Gal Graham 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accounting, in 53 developed and emerging economies over the period 1997‐2008.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting using ordinary least squares estimation technique for country‐level panel data.FindingsThe results of the analyses provide evidence that sustainable development is strongly related to CSR and accounting standards, even after controlling for a variety of macroeconomic variables such as inflation, foreign direct investment, and unemployment. Moreover, the authors find that sustainable development is strongly and positively associated with customer satisfaction and the availability of senior managers.Practical implicationsConclusions that have been drawn are important for a large group of stakeholders such as investors, companies' managers, employees, customers, suppliers, governmental and private regulatory agencies, and the general public, indicating that socially responsible firms and good accounting standards are likely to contribute to sustainable development in businesses in developed and emerging countries.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first country‐level study of its kind that attempts to explore the association of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting standards.
Behavioural resistance against a protozoan parasite in the monarch butterfly
Authors: Lefèvre Thierry , Chiang Allen , Kelavkar Mangala , Li Hui , Li James , de Castillejo Carlos Lopez Fernandez , Oliver Lindsay , Potini Yamini , Hunter Mark D. , de Roode Jacobus C. 
Published: September 2011

Summary1. As parasites can dramatically reduce the fitness of their hosts, there should be strong selection for hosts to evolve and maintain defence mechanisms against their parasites. One way in which hosts may protect themselves against parasitism is through altered behaviours, but such defences have been much less studied than other forms of parasite resistance.2. We studied whether monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippusL.) use altered behaviours to protect themselves and their offspring against the protozoan parasiteOphryocystis elektroscirrha(McLaughlin & Myers (1970),Journal of Protozoology,17, p. 300). In particular, we studied whether (i) monarch larvae can avoid contact with infectious parasite spores; (ii) infected larvae preferentially consume therapeutic food plants when given a choice or increase the intake of such plants in the absence of choice; and (iii) infected female butterflies preferentially lay their eggs on medicinal plants that make their offspring less sick.3. We found that monarch larvae were unable to avoid infectious parasite spores. Larvae were also not able to preferentially feed on therapeutic food plants or increase the ingestion of such plants. However, infected female butterflies preferentially laid their eggs on food plants that reduce parasite growth in their offspring.4. Our results suggest that animals may use altered behaviours as a protection against parasites and that such behaviours may be limited to a single stage in the host–parasite life cycle. Our results also suggest that animals may use altered behaviours to protect their offspring instead of themselves. Thus, our study indicates that an inclusive fitness approach should be adopted to study behavioural defences against parasites.
Evaluating the demographic buffering hypothesis with vital rates estimated for Weddell seals from 30 years of mark–recapture data
Authors: Rotella Jay J. , Link William A. , Chambert Thierry , Stauffer Glenn E. , Garrott Robert A. 
Published: September 2011

Summary1. Life‐history theory predicts that those vital rates that make larger contributions to population growth rate ought to be more strongly buffered against environmental variability than are those that are less important. Despite the importance of the theory for predicting demographic responses to changes in the environment, it is not yet known how pervasive demographic buffering is in animal populations because the validity of most existing studies has been called into question because of methodological deficiencies.2. We tested for demographic buffering in the southern‐most breeding mammal population in the world using data collected from 5558 known‐age female Weddell seals over 30 years. We first estimated all vital rates simultaneously with mark–recapture analysis and then estimated process variance and covariance in those rates using a hierarchical Bayesian approach. We next calculated the population growth rate’s sensitivity to changes in each of the vital rates and tested for evidence of demographic buffering by comparing properly scaled values of sensitivity and process variance in vital rates.3. We found evidence of positive process covariance between vital rates, which indicates that all vital rates are affected in the same direction by changes in annual environment. Despite the positive correlations, we found strong evidence that demographic buffering occurred through reductions in variation in the vital rates to which population growth rate was most sensitive. Process variation in vital rates was inversely related to sensitivity measures such that variation was greatest in breeding probabilities, intermediate for survival rates of young animals and lowest for survival rates of older animals.4. Our work contributes to a small but growing set of studies that have used rigorous methods on long‐term, detailed data to investigate demographic responses to environmental variation. The information from these studies improves our understanding of life‐history evolution in stochastic environments and provides useful information for predicting population responses to future environmental change. Our results for an Antarctic apex predator also provide useful baselines from a marine ecosystem when its top‐ and middle‐trophic levels were not substantially impacted by human activity.
Concentrating on Governance
Authors: KADYRZHANOVA DALIDA , RHODES‐KROPF MATTHEW 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTThis paper develops a novel trade‐off view of corporate governance. Using a model that integrates agency costs and bargaining benefits of management‐friendly provisions, we identify the economic determinants of the resulting trade‐offs for shareholder value. Consistent with the theory, our empirical analysis shows that provisions that allow managers to delay takeovers have significant bargaining effects and a positive relation with shareholder value in concentrated industries. By contrast, non‐delay provisions have an unambiguously negative relation with value, particularly in concentrated industries. Our analysis suggests that there are governance trade‐offs for shareholders and that industry concentration is an important determinant of their severity.
Motivating Innovation
Authors: MANSO GUSTAVO 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTMotivating innovation is important in many incentive problems. This paper shows that the optimal innovation‐motivating incentive scheme exhibits substantial tolerance (or even reward) for early failure and reward for long‐term success. Moreover, commitment to a long‐term compensation plan, job security, and timely feedback on performance are essential to motivate innovation. In the context of managerial compensation, the optimal innovation‐motivating incentive scheme can be implemented via a combination of stock options with long vesting periods, option repricing, golden parachutes, and managerial entrenchment.
Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria and the Bacterial Community Response in Gulf of Mexico Beach Sands Impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Authors: Kostka Joel E. , Prakash Om , Overholt Will A. , Green Stefan J. , Freyer Gina , Canion Andy , Delgardio Jonathan , Norton Nikita , Hazen Terry C. , Huettel Markus 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACT

A significant portion of oil from the recent Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was transported to the shoreline, where it may have severe ecological and economic consequences. The objectives of this study were (i) to identify and characterize predominant oil-degrading taxa that may be used as model hydrocarbon degraders or as microbial indicators of contamination and (ii) to characterize the
in situ
response of indigenous bacterial communities to oil contamination in beach ecosystems. This study was conducted at municipal Pensacola Beach, FL, where chemical analysis revealed weathered oil petroleum hydrocarbon (C
8
to C
40
) concentrations ranging from 3.1 to 4,500 mg kg
−1
in beach sands. A total of 24 bacterial strains from 14 genera were isolated from oiled beach sands and confirmed as oil-degrading microorganisms. Isolated bacterial strains were primarily
Gammaproteobacteria
, including representatives of genera with known oil degraders (
Alcanivora
x,
Marinobacter
,
Pseudomonas
, and
Acinetobacter
). Sequence libraries generated from oiled sands revealed phylotypes that showed high sequence identity (up to 99%) to rRNA gene sequences from the oil-degrading bacterial isolates. The abundance of bacterial SSU rRNA gene sequences was ∼10-fold higher in oiled (0.44 × 10
7
to 10.2 × 10
7
copies g
−1
) versus clean (0.024 × 10
7
to 1.4 × 10
7
copies g
−1
) sand. Community analysis revealed a distinct response to oil contamination, and SSU rRNA gene abundance derived from the genus
Alcanivorax
showed the largest increase in relative abundance in contaminated samples. We conclude that oil contamination from the DH spill had a profound impact on the abundance and community composition of indigenous bacteria in Gulf beach sands, and our evidence points to members of the
Gammaproteobacteria
(
Alcanivorax
,
Marinobacter
) and
Alphaproteobacteria
(
Rhodobacteraceae
) as key players in oil degradation there.
Broad-Host-Range Plasmids from Agricultural Soils Have IncP-1 Backbones with Diverse Accessory Genes
Authors: Sen Diya , Van der Auwera Geraldine A. , Rogers Linda M. , Thomas Christopher M. , Brown Celeste J. , Top Eva M. 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACT

Broad-host-range plasmids are known to spread genes between distinct phylogenetic groups of bacteria. These genes often code for resistances to antibiotics and heavy metals or degradation of pollutants. Although some broad-host-range plasmids have been extensively studied, their evolutionary history and genetic diversity remain largely unknown. The goal of this study was to analyze and compare the genomes of 12 broad-host-range plasmids that were previously isolated from Norwegian soils by exogenous plasmid isolation and that encode mercury resistance. Complete nucleotide sequencing followed by phylogenetic analyses based on the relaxase gene
traI
showed that all the plasmids belong to one of two subgroups (β and ε) of the well-studied incompatibility group IncP-1. A diverse array of accessory genes was found to be involved in resistance to antimicrobials (streptomycin, spectinomycin, and sulfonamides), degradation of herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxypropionic acid), and a putative new catabolic pathway. Intramolecular transposition of insertion sequences followed by deletion was found to contribute to the diversity of some of these plasmids. The previous observation that the insertion sites of a Tn
501
-related element are identical in four IncP-1β plasmids (pJP4, pB10, R906, and R772) was further extended to three more IncP-1β plasmids (pAKD15, pAKD18, and pAKD29). We proposed a hypothesis for the evolution of these Tn
501
-bearing IncP-1β plasmids that predicts recent diversification followed by worldwide spread. Our study increases the available collection of complete IncP-1 plasmid genome sequences by 50% and will aid future studies to enhance our understanding of the evolution and function of this important plasmid family.