bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
What do midwifery mentors need? Priorities and impact of experience and qualification
Authors: Fisher Margaret , Webb Christine 
Published: September 2010

AbstractMentoring is a feature of most professional education programmes, although its purpose may vary. In some cases, a mentor performs solely a supporting role, while in others it may include assessment of practice competence. The aim of this study was to explore and prioritize the needs of midwifery mentors and investigate any relationship between these and duration of experience and/or level of qualification. A two‐stage cross‐sectional correlational study of 82 mentors was carried out in a maternity unit in the southwest of England. Content, univariate and bivariate analysis of the data were performed. The focus group identified 15 needs which formed the basis of the subsequent questionnaire. Overall ranking showed that ‘guidance’ and ‘frequent shifts’ were important to all mentors. Of least importance were ‘choice in allocation’ and ‘involvement in selection’. Statistically significant findings emerged relating to mentors’ academic level of qualification, background of direct entry or Registered Nurse, length of experience and place of work. The programme followed by the students also had an impact. Some of the conclusions were that mentors need more overt recognition of their role, breaks between students and consideration of their area of work and the type of student allocated. Tutors need to offer increased availability, support, guidance and feedback. Students should have frequent shifts rostered with their mentor and be encouraged to provide feedback. A ‘mentor pyramid of needs’ was developed which could be used by educators and managers to audit and prioritize mentor support. The findings of the study are of particular relevance in the context of recent regulatory body standards.
Non‐audit Service Fees and Audit Quality: The Impact of Auditor Specialization
Authors: LIM CHEE‐YEOW , TAN HUN‐TONG 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTWe posit that the effect of non‐audit fees on audit quality is conditional on auditor industry specialization. Industry specialist auditors are more likely than nonspecialists to be concerned about reputation losses and litigation exposure, and to benefit from knowledge spillovers from the provision of non‐audit services. We find evidence that audit quality measured by increased propensity to issue going‐concern opinion, increased propensity to miss analysts' forecasts, as well as higher earnings‐response coefficients increases with the level of non‐audit services acquired from industry specialist auditors compared to nonspecialist auditors.
REGULAR(IZED) HEDGE FUND CLONES
Authors: Giamouridis Daniel , Paterlini Sandra 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThis article addresses the problem of portfolio construction in the context of efficient hedge fund investments replication. We propose a modification to the standard Sharpe “style analysis” by introducing a constraint on the asset weights 1‐norm and 2‐norm. This constraint regularizes the optimization problem, allows efficient selection of relevant factor's and has significant effects on the stability of the resulting asset mix and the risk–return characteristics of the replicating portfolio. The empirical results suggest that the norm‐constrained replicating portfolios exhibit significant correlations with their benchmarks, often higher than 0.9; have a fraction, which is about half to two‐thirds, of active positions relative to those determined through the standard method; and are obtained with turnover, which is in some instances about one‐fourth of that for the standard method.
DEBT FORGIVENESS AND STOCK PRICE REACTION OF LENDING BANKS: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM JAPAN
Authors: Isagawa Nobuyuki , Yamaguchi Satoru , Yamashita Tadayasu 
Published: September 2010

Abstract We provide a simple model for analyzing how debt forgiveness affects the stock price of a lending bank. Our model shows that although debt forgiveness increases shareholder wealth of a bank in healthy financial condition, it decreases shareholder wealth of a bank in unhealthy financial condition. We empirically investigate the announcement effect of debt forgiveness on bank stock prices in Japanese markets. On average, lending banks experience a significant negative announcement effect with respect to debt forgiveness. Consistent with the prediction of the model, we find a negative relation between the announcement effect and the net bad loan ratio as a proxy of the unhealthiness of the financial condition of the bank.
STATE DEPENDENCY OF BANK STOCK REACTION TO FEDERAL FUNDS RATE TARGET CHANGES
Authors: Yin Haiyan , Yang Jiawen , Handorf William C. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractWe investigate the effects of changes in the federal funds target rate on bank stock returns through an event‐study analysis. We examine the state dependency of such effects and focus on the surprise elements of policy changes derived from the federal funds futures market. Although we confirm an inverse relation between bank stock returns and changes in the federal funds target rate previously supported in the literature, we find that bank stock returns only respond to surprise or unexpected changes in the federal funds target rate. We also find that such responses are conditional on the context in which policy changes take place.
Community Assessment: A Church Community and the Parish Nurse
Authors: Swinney Jean , Anson‐Wonkka Cecilia , Maki Elizabeth , Corneau Jeannette 
Published: September 2010

In central Massachusetts a large urban parish asked the University of Massachusetts, Amherst School of Nursing to conduct a community assessment for the church and newly employed parish nurse. The aims of the assessment were: to determine the health status of parishioners, identify their perceived health needs and perceived barriers in meeting those needs, and to assist the church and parish nurse in developing a health program for their faith community.Findings of the assessment are based on questionnaire and focus group data. Four hundred and twenty‐one questionnaires were completed, and six focus groups were held to validate the data. Results showed most parishioners felt they were in good health (93%), believed faith and spiritual beliefs were important in maintaining health and well‐being (91%), and thought that the church should play a role in helping parishioners meet their health needs (70%). In addition, focus group discussions revealed a need for respite care for primary caretakers of the ill and elderly, and health education programs for their teen and elderly populations. In conclusion, parishioners were positive and articulated support of the parish nurse and activities designed to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of their community.
Disparities in Smoking Behaviors Among Those With and Without Disabilities From 2001 to 2005
Authors: Becker Heather , Brown Adama 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACT Objectives:Past research has suggested smoking disparities among individuals with disabling conditions. We contrasted smoking behaviors of those with and without disabilities from 2001 to 2005.Design:Descriptive correlational study.Sample:Telephone interviews were conducted in all states with noninstitutionalized adults. Half were female; most were Anglo (70.5%) and had at least a high school education (90%). Their average age was 45 years. Approximately 19% of the sample reported being disabled.Measurement:We analyzed 4 years of data from the population‐based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.Results:While individuals with disabilities were more likely to report ever having smoked than nondisabled respondents, current smoking behaviors were more similar in the 2 groups, and the difference was not statistically significant when demographic factors were included in the model. Smoking behavior decreased somewhat for nondisabled persons between 2001 and 2005, but remained fairly constant for those with disabilities. However, those with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to have attempted to quit smoking in all years.Conclusions:Findings underscore the importance of smoking cessation programs tailored to people with disabilities. The role of the public health nurse in addressing smoking cessation at the individual, system, and community level is discussed.
“Public Health Investigation”: Focus Group Study of a Regional Infectious Disease Exercise
Authors: Ablah Elizabeth , Nickels Debbie , Hodle Amanda , Wolfe Deborah J. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACT
Background: Local health departments and public health nurses are crucial in surveillance and response during public health emergencies. Simulated exercises are useful to train personnel and test emergency preparedness plans, but these exercises can be inconvenient or unrealistic. To address these drawbacks, “Public Health Investigation” (PHI), a multicounty, electronic infectious disease exercise, was created.Methods: After the 4‐week PHI exercise, 6 separate focus groups and 1 regional focus group were conducted with participating health departments to explore perceptions of whether the format was useful, how to improve future exercises, and how well exercise objectives were met.Results: Counties reported improvements in all exercise objectives, especially surge capacity and coordination between counties. Small health departments requested state assistance with risk communication. Existing protocols and procedures were reported as helpful. Suggested improvements to the exercise format included a shorter, 3‐week exercise, interviews with mock patients, pertinent scene information provided with scene questions, instruction on technology used, and clarifications to the “Rules of the Game.”Conclusions: Participants indicated that the format of the PHI exercise was successful in addressing exercise objectives. Increased regional collaboration may be the greatest strength of an exercise of this format.
A Tale of Two Border Cities: Community Context, Ethnicity, and Homicide*
Authors: Martinez Ramiro , Stowell Jacob I. , Cancino Jeffrey M. 
Published: September 2010

Objective. Using Poisson‐based negative binomial regression, we estimate the effect of neighborhood factors on homicides in two cities (San Antonio, Texas and San Diego, California) that have large Mexican‐origin populations.Methods. Three independent data sources (official homicide police reports, medical examiner records, and the U.S. Census) are used to construct the dependent homicide, and independent neighborhood, variables. Census tracts represent the unit of analysis, which serve as a proxy for neighborhoods. Given the spatial nature of the data, spatial estimation procedures were also modeled.Results. Spatial proximity to violence, neighborhood disadvantage, and affluence (in San Antonio) consistently buffered homicide across neighborhoods, even in heavily populated Latino neighborhoods.Conclusions. Spatial embeddedness and neighborhood characteristics are important for improving our understanding about ethnic neighborhood variations in levels of violence. Comparative approaches across places, namely, Latino‐dominated cities, can yield considerable insight into how the local context intersects race/ethnicity and violent crime.
The Association of Suicide Rates with Individual‐Level Suicide Attitudes: A Cross‐National Analysis*
Authors: Stack Steven , Kposowa Augustine J. 
Published: September 2010

Objective.Research on the predictors of individual‐level attitudes toward suicide has neglected the possible role of contextual‐level predictors. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by assessing the association between suicide rates and the attitudes of individuals. Based on social learning theory, it is argued that persons socialized in nations with relatively high rates of suicide are more likely to be exposed to suicidal role models, which provide positive definitions of suicide.Methods.Data refer to 40,873 adults in 31 nations, and are taken from the World Health Organization and World Values Surveys. Given the bi‐level nature of the data, hierarchical linear modeling techniques (HLM) are utilized. Additional predictor variables are incorporated from previous research and include religious participation and political orientation from social learning theory, marital status and life satisfaction from control theory, and basic demographics such as age and gender.Results.The results of the HLM indicate that controlling for individual‐level predictors, as well as other Level 2 variables, persons residing in nations with relatively high suicide rates are more approving of suicide than their counterparts. The model was replicated for the prediction of support for euthanasia. A social learning perspective was further supported by results linking 1970 suicide rates with suicide acceptability among older adults in 1990.Conclusion.National suicide rates are predictive of individual‐level suicide acceptability. However, the main predictors of suicide acceptability included a measure from social learning theory, religiosity, and a neglected measure of control theory, life satisfaction.
Gerrymandering on Georgia's Mind: The Effects of Redistricting on Vote Choice in the 2006 Midterm Election*
Authors: Hood M. V. , McKee Seth C. 
Published: September 2010

Objective. We make use of individual‐level survey data from the 2006 midterm election in order to determine the degree to which redistricting affected the vote choice of whites residing in Georgia Congressional Districts 8 and 12.Methods. A multivariate probit model was used to assess the probability of voting for the GOP House candidate among voters represented by the same incumbent before and after redistricting versus voters who had been newly drawn into one of these districts.Results. Despite a national tide that favored the Democratic Party in the 2006 elections, redrawn whites were more likely to vote for the Republican challengers in the districts surveyed.Conclusions. Our findings indicate that redistricting can be used to dampen the incumbency advantage. In addition, the findings of this research also speak to the continuing Republican realignment of white voters in the Deep South and to the recognition that the effects of redistricting are dependent on political context.
Welfare Reform and Asset Accumulation: Asset Limit Changes, Financial Assets, and Vehicle Ownership*
Authors: Nam Yunju 
Published: September 2010

Objective. Over the past decade, federal and state governments have substantially liberalized asset limits in welfare. This article examines whether this policy change promotes asset accumulation among the target population of actual and potential welfare recipients.Methods. Utilizing household data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics as well as state data, this study employs a difference‐in‐difference approach in order to determine whether state asset limits affect the target population's financial and vehicle asset accumulation. This study develops a new policy measure that considers the time period following the adoption of liberalized asset limits.Results. Analysis results suggest that increased asset limits may have successfully encouraged the target population's asset accumulation. The earlier a state raised its asset limit, the more likely welfare recipients were to accumulate financial assets and to possess bank accounts.Conclusion. It is recommended to liberalize asset eligibility rules to promote long‐term economic advancement of poor households.
Racial Differences in Public Confidence in Education: 1974–2002*
Authors: Klugman Joshua , Xu Jun 
Published: September 2010

Objective.This article examines the black‐white gap in confidence in education in the United States and how the gap has changed over time.Method.The study uses ordinal logit regression on General Social Surveys (1974–2002).Results.Whites have less confidence in education, partly because whites tend to have higher levels of education, income, and conservatism, and are more likely to be affiliated with the Republican Party and evangelical denominations. The black‐white gap is largest at lower levels of education, and disappears among college graduates. The gap shrinks during Republican control of the presidency in the United States, and widens during Democratic control.Conclusion.The black‐white gap in confidence is not due solely to individual factors, but also to the larger political context and to the groups' different relationships to the institution of education.
Starting Behind: A Comparative Analysis of the Academic Standing of Students Entering Charter Schools*
Authors: Garcia David R. , McIlroy Lee , Barber Rebecca T. 
Published: September 2010

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to assess if students enter charter schools at an academic disadvantage compared to students who make other types of school‐choice decisions, such as transferring between district schools, from a charter to a district school, or staying in the same school. We assess the demographic and academic characteristics of students prior to choosing to attend a charter school in comparison to students who made other types of school‐choice decisions and broaden the operational definition of a “disadvantaged” student when exploring differences between charter and district students to include academic achievement prior to entering a school.Methods. The analysis is conducted with student‐level panel data and a progressive series of ANCOVA models that were estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. This methodology allows for a comparison of the mean differences in academic achievement among students who made different types of school‐choice decisions while controlling for student‐level covariates.Results. Students who transferred from district to charter schools had the lowest levels of prior academic achievement compared to students who made other types of choice decisions.Conclusions. When Arizona charter authorizers face the deluge of renewal decisions that are approaching, the quality of education available to the next generation of charter school students is at stake. Renewal decisions will impact what choices are available going forward and, given the comparative academic disadvantage of charter school students prior to entering, those decisions should take into consideration the starting point for students entering charter schools.
Testing Alternative Theories of Bureaucratic Corruption in Less Developed Countries*
Authors: Halim Nafisa 
Published: September 2010

Objective. Recent studies offer myriad explanations for why bureaucratic corruption is more pervasive in certain countries than others. However, relatively little empirical work has been done comparing competing explanations of bureaucratic corruption. In this article, I test informal, formal, and cultural control explanations against one another in an effort to understand cross‐national variation in bureaucratic corruption.Methods. Using cross‐sectional and longitudinal data, this article tests the hypotheses with ordinary least squares (OLS), tobit, ordered probit, and fixed‐ and random‐effects models.Results. Democracy, strong judiciaries, and parliamentary democracy in particular reduce the prevalence of bureaucratic corruption.Conclusions. This study proposes that electoral accountability and judicial efficacy produce “good” politicians, and “good” politicians monitor bureaucrats well enough to reduce bureaucratic corruption. Future research should attempt to create a direct measure of the quality of politicians variable.
The Policy Consequences of Political Corruption: Evidence from State Environmental Programs*
Authors: Woods Neal D. 
Published: September 2010

Objective. This study assesses the effect of political corruption on state environmental policy.Method. OLS regression analyses are used to determine if political corruption affects the strength of state environmental programs.Results. The results suggest that political corruption serves to systematically weaken state environmental programs. The effect of corruption is similar in magnitude to conventional explanations of environmental program strength, such as public environmentalism and state wealth. Its impact is particularly pronounced in states with strong organized manufacturing interests.Conclusion. Political corruption may systematically bias the substance of public policy.
Infection with Leishmania infantum Inhibits Actinomycin D‐Induced Apoptosis of Human Monocytic Cell Line U‐937
Authors: LISI SABRINA , SISTO MARGHERITA , ACQUAFREDDA ANGELA , SPINELLI ROSA , SCHIAVONE MARIA ANGELA , MITOLO VINCENZO , BRANDONISIO OLGA , PANARO MARIA ANTONIETTA 
Published: September 2010

Abstract. Modulation of host cell apoptosis has been observed in many bacterial, protozoal, and viral infections. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of viscerotropic Leishmania (L.) infantum infection on actinomycin D‐induced apoptosis of the human monocytic cell line U‐937. Cells were infected with L. infantum promastigotes or treated with the surface molecule lipophosphoglycan (LPG) or with parasite‐free supernatant of Leishmania culture medium and submitted to action of actinomycin D as the apoptosis‐inducing agent. Actinomycin D‐induced apoptosis in U‐937 cells was inhibited in the presence of both viable L. infantum promastigotes and soluble factors contained in Leishmania culture medium or purified LPG. Leishmania infantum affected the survival of U‐937 cells via a mechanism involving inhibition of caspase‐3 activation. Furthermore, protein kinase C δ (PKC δ) cleavage was increased in actinomycin D‐treated U‐937 cells and was inhibited by the addition of LPG. Thus, inhibition of the PKC‐mediated pathways by LPG can be implicated in the enhanced survival of the parasites.These results support the claim that promastigotes of L. infantum, as well as its surface molecule, LPG, which is in part released in the culture medium, inhibit macrophage apoptosis, thus allowing intracellular parasite survival and replication.
In Vitro Evaluation of Screws and Suture Anchors in Metaphyseal Bone of the Canine Tibia
Authors: Robb Julie L. , Cook James L. , Carson William 
Published: September 2010

Objective— To compare ease of insertion, load to failure, and mode of failure of cortical and cancellous screws, BoneBiter™, IMEX™, and TwinFix™ suture anchors in canine metaphyseal tibial bone.Study Design— Experimental biomechanical study.Animals— Canine cadaveric tibias.Methods— One investigator inserted all anchors and subjectively evaluated ease of placement. Anchor systems were loaded to failure along axis of insertion with audio–video recording to determine failure mode.Results— BoneBiter™ was the most difficult anchor to insert successfully. Mean±SD loads to failure were cancellous screw (711±193 N), IMEX™ 4.7 mm 18 g wire (661±163 N), IMEX™ 4.0 mm 18 g wire (661±165 N), cortical screw (635±184 N), BoneBiter™#5 Kevlar suture (393± 109 N), and TwinFix™ 5.0 mm #2 polyester (267±73 N). No significant differences were noted among the cortical screw, cancellous screw, IMEX™ 4.7 and 4.0 mm, all of which were significantly (P<.001) greater than BoneBiter™ and TwinFix™. Failure modes were pullout of bone, suture–wire breakage, eyelet breakage, or no failure to 1000 N: screws (18,0,0,2), IMEX™ (18,1,1,0), BoneBiter™ (2,8,0,0), and TwinFix™ (0,10,0,0).Conclusions— Fixation devices were user friendly, with the exception of BoneBiter™. Mode of failure is dependent on suture material and anchor design. Cortical and cancellous screws, and IMEX™ anchors with 18 g wire have significantly greater load to failure compared with BoneBiter™ and TwinFix™ suture anchors.Clinical Relevance— Based on load to failure, ease of use, design characteristics, and cost, IMEX™ anchors may have advantages over other comparable soft tissue fixation devices.