bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Some benefits of migrants' return visits to Ghana
Authors: Asiedu Alex 
Published: January 2005

AbstractThis paper explores some of the benefits associated with expatriates' temporary return visits to Ghana. These return trips to one's place of origin or birth, commonly referred to as ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR) tourism, represent one of the major outcomes of the migration–tourism nexus. The benefits assessed in this study relate to donations, expenditures and investments made in Ghana by these visiting expatriates. Using two data‐sets derived from newspaper content analyses on donations made in Ghana by visiting non‐resident Ghanaians, and the other a questionnaire interview schedule organised in the United Kingdom for resident Ghanaians on their expenditure and investment outlays during their most recent visit, a number of pertinent issues are investigated. Some of these issues relate to the quantity, timing and beneficiaries of donations, as well as their spatial distribution and their potential for poverty alleviation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SimBritain: a spatial microsimulation approach to population dynamics
Authors: Ballas Dimitris , Clarke Graham , Dorling Danny , Eyre Heather , Thomas Bethan , Rossiter David 
Published: January 2005

AbstractIn this paper we present an account of a 3‐year research project that is aimed at dynamically simulating urban and regional populations in Britain. In the context of this project we are using data from the 1991 UK Census Small Area Statistics (SAS) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), in order to dynamically simulate the entire population of Britain into 2021 at the small area level. This paper discusses the structure, aims and objectives of SimBritain and presents some preliminary results. Firstly, alternative spatial microsimulation strategies are discussed and their advantages and drawbacks are outlined. Next, the difficulties in calibrating and validating dynamic microsimulation models such as SimBritain are highlighted and ways to tackle these difficulties are explored. The paper then presents some model outputs that highlight the geographical variation of a wide range of socio‐economic variables through the 1990s. Moreover, in light of these outputs, the paper discusses the potential of SimBritain for policy analysis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spectroscopic properties of merocyanine J‐aggregate in LB films
Authors: Yamaguchi Atsushi , Kometani Noritsugu , Yonezawa Yoshiro 
Published: January 2005

AbstractLangmuir–Blodgett (LB) films incorporating unsymmetrical merocyanine dyes; MC(X) (X = O, S, Se), have been fabricated. The J‐aggregates of MC(S) and MC(Se) are characterized by a sharp J‐band and resonance fluorescence. The MC(O) aggregate has a broad absorption band and is non‐fluorescent. We have examined the formation of mixed J‐aggregates in the MC(X)/MC(Y) assemblies (X, Y = O, S, Se). It has been found that a homogeneous aggregate of amalgamation type (HA‐aggregate) is formed in the MC(S)/ MC(Se) assembly. The mixed J‐aggregate in the MC(O)/MC(S) and the MC(O)/MC(Se) assemblies are classified into a mosaic (M‐)aggregate in a wide sense. Despite of similar molecular structure of MC(O) with both MC(S) and MC(Se), the growth of the MC(O) aggregate with a help of the J‐aggregate of MC(S) or MC(Se) as a template may hinder the homogeneous mixing of dye molecules. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Improvement of X‐ray diffraction geometries of water physisorbed in zeolites on the basis of periodic Hartree–Fock calculations
Authors: Larin A. V. , Trubnikov D. N. , Vercauteren D. P. 
Published: January 2005

AbstractImprovements to the experimental X‐ray diffraction (XRD) coordinates of water adsorbed in three cationic zeolites as well as to the coordinates of the framework atoms is suggested on the basis of periodic DFT (PDFT) and Hartree–Fock (PHF) calculations. After an initial optimization of either the water coordinates solely or the water/zeolite framework coordinates with the minimal STO‐3G basis set, a scaling procedure is proposed to improve the water OH bond lengths and HOH angle up to a higher quality basis set level. It is followed by a discussion on the similarity of the hydrogen bond characteristics between water clusters and the adsorbed state. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005
Three‐query PCPs with perfect completeness over non‐Boolean domains
Authors: Engebretsen Lars , Holmerin Jonas 
Published: January 2005

AbstractWe study non‐Boolean PCPs that have perfect completeness and query three positions in the proof. For the case when the proof consists of values from a domain of sizedfor some integer constantd≥ 2, we construct a nonadaptive PCP with perfect completeness and soundnessd−1+d−2+ ϵ, for any constant ϵ > 0, and an adaptive PCP with perfect completeness and soundnessd−1+ ϵ, for any constant ϵ > 0. The latter PCP can be converted into a nonadaptive PCP with perfect completeness and soundnessd−1+ ϵ, for any constant ϵ > 0, where four positions are read from the proof. These results match the best known constructions for the cased= 2 and our proofs also show that the particular predicates we use in our PCPs are nonapproximable beyond the random assignment threshold. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2005
Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy. By Vanessa L. Fong. [Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 242 pp. £29.95. ISBN 0-8047-4961-2.]
Authors: Kallgren Joyce K. 
Published: January 2005

This is an ethnographic study, conducted in Dalian between June 1997 and 2002, of a sample of singleton urban youths and their families. The author interviewed high school boys and girls and their families about their hopes for college and the elite jobs expected upon graduation. Given that Fong (now an assistant professor in the Harvard School of Education) was then a graduate student at Harvard, home of some of the most respected anthropology and sociology faculty whose careers began with survey projects such as this, there are understandingly high hopes for this book (the revised product of her dissertation). Although the footprint of the dissertation (in style and, to some extent, in theory) remains to distract the China specialist occasionally, the book is fascinating and, as book editors often say, “a good read.”Over the last 20 years, there have been a number of studies by Chinese and foreign scholars on the establishment, provision, effectiveness and consequences of the so-called single child family (SCF) policy. This controversial policy, subject to different interpretations and more effective in urban China than in rural areas, seems well established. The generation of young people now coming of age includes the so-called singletons. Fong has contributed to our understanding of their situation by her use of the term “only hope,” by which she means these children are the only hope for a growing number of aging, city-dwelling parents, who are without jobs or welfare protection, and thus facing a bleak future.
Understanding the Political Culture of Hong Kong: The Paradox of Activism and Depoliticization. By Lamwai-Man. [Armonk, NY and London: M.E. Sharpe, 2004. xi +291 pp. $72.95. ISBN: 0-7656-1313-1.]
Authors: Ku Agnes S. 
Published: January 2005

Buttressed by local scholarship, the conventional understanding of Hong Kong's political culture has long dwelt on the notions of apathy and indifference. Understanding the Political Culture of Hong Kong advances an interesting and provocative thesis to refute the conventional claim by taking readers through a historical journey of Hong Kong's major conflict events between 1949 and 1979. The author ambitiously seeks to engage in a critical evaluation of the conventional theses, especially that by Siu-kai Lau in the 1980s. Lau's idea of utilitarian familism, which is much cited in Hong Kong studies, provides an explanation of political apathy that locates the causes in the wider culture as well as in weak state-society relations. Questioning Lau's thesis on strong methodological, conceptual and empirical grounds, the author aims to present an alternative reading of Hong Kong politics, which she captures well in the subtitle: the paradox of activism and depoliticization.Contrary to Lau, the author argues that political participation was neither minimal nor simply utilitarian. She broadens the conception of political participation to include political acts targeted at the local government, the Chinese government and private institutions; discursive activities through the press; and politically relevant activities via social organizations and social movements. Using a multiple-case interpretive approach, she draws on 13 events as case studies and analyses them in terms of their scale, intensity, publicity, significance and ideological claims. The author maintains that all of the events were “impressive” and were “part of larger movements that persisted over a number of decades and that were sustained by the particular nature of society and politics at that time” (p. 229). These testify to the existence of significant levels of political activism. Adding a twist to her argument, the author further maintains that a culture of depoliticization existed side by side with political activism, which functioned to check left-wing activism in the context of Cold War and Chinese politics.
Expression of Cry1Ac protein in cry1Ac/CpTI transgenic rice and its resistance in different developmental stages to Chilo suppressalis
Authors: Yong-Jun Zhang , Hong-Ying Zhao , Kong-Ming Wu , Kui-Jun Zhao , Yu-Fa Peng , Yu-Yuan Guo 
Published: January 2005

AbstractThe expression patterns of Cry1Ac protein and the resistance to striped stem borer Chilo suppressalis (Walker) of cry1Ac/CpTI transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) were investigated by ELISA and laboratory bioassay. ELISA results showed that Cry1Ac protein could be detected in all organs during the development process of cry1Ac/CpTI transgenic rice. The content of Cry1Ac protein varied markedly in different tissues at different stages: it was higher in the earlier stage than in the later stage. The highest level of Cry1Ac protein in terminal leaves of the main stem was found at the jointing stage. Thereafter, it decreased at the booting stage, and a gradual reduction to the lowest level was recorded from the flowering to the filling stage, before a slight increase was shown at the maturing stage. In addition, higher concentrations of this protein were detected in the main stem at the seedling, jointing and flowering stages than at other stages. Relatively lower levels of Cry1Ac protein were found in seeds. The results from laboratory bioassay showed high resistance of terminal leaves of the main stem in all developmental stages to C. suppressalis larvae. Corrected mortality values of C. suppressalis at 4 days after feeding on the detached leaves of cry1Ac/CpTI transgenic rice reached 90% before the filling stage and decreased to nearly 60% after the filling stage. Interestingly, results of whole plant bioassay coincided with those obtained in the detached leaf bioassay. The tendency of larval morality in the detached leaf bioassay and whole plant bioassay was consistent with that of Cry1Ac protein content in the different growing periods and organs.
Relationship between calcium and ABA in ethylene synthesis in tomato fruit
Authors: Ben-Zhong Zhu , Shao-Chong Wei , Yun-Bo Luo 
Published: January 2005

AbstractThe influence of calcium and ABA on ethylene biosynthesis was investigated at different stages and patterns of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumcv. Lichun) fruit to analyse the relationship between calcium and ABA in relation to the ethylene biosynthesis system. The ethylene production of discs excised from mature green tomato fruits increased rapidly with 100 μmol/l ABA or 100 mmol/l calcium treatment. The increase with the two treatments combined was more than that after application of a single chemical, which suggests that these two chemicals could play synergistic roles in the ethylene synthesis of mature green tomato fruits. It was also found that application of the calcium chelator EGTA inhibited ethylene synthesis, and the production of ethylene after application of EGTA plus ABA was higher than that after treatment with EGTA alone. However, the effect changed when immature fruits were treated with these chemicals. ABA inhibited ethylene synthesis obviously and calcium still promoted it. When we treated immature fruit discs with both calcium and ABA simultaneously, ethylene production was more than that of ABA and less than that of calcium, which indicates that ABA and calcium play agonistic roles in ethylene biosynthesis of the immature tomato fruit discs. Furthermore, ethylene release from transgenic antisense ACS immature tomato fruit discs with application of both calcium and ABA was inhibited markedly, but was stimulated when the mature fruits were treated with ABA and calcium. All of these data suggest that there are different relationships between calcium and ABA in the ethylene synthesis system in different patterns and stages of tomato fruit ripening.
Isolation and regeneration of protoplasts fromPenicillium digitatum
Authors: Ai-Huan Song , Hong-Ye Li , Xiao-Hong Liu 
Published: January 2005

AbstractThe effects of some factors on the isolation of protoplasts fromPenicillium digitatumwere studied, including the appropriate material (young mycelia and generating spores), the concentrations of enzyme and osmotic pressure stabilizers, reaction time and reaction temperature. Results demonstrated that germinating spores were an ideal material resource for the isolation ofP. digitatumprotoplasts. Highest yield and quality ofP. digitatumprotoplasts were obtained by shaking germinating spores suspended in a solution of 10 mg/ml Lywallzyme™ dissolved in 0.7 M NaCl as osmotic pressure stabilizer at 80 rev/min and 30°C for 3.0–3.5 h. The regeneration rate of the isolated protoplasts was as high as 24.9% on double-layer Czapek medium containing 0.7 M NaCl. Additionally, observation of the protoplast release pattern showed that the protoplasts ofP. digitatumwere released primarily from the hyphal apex and occasionally from the subapical or original sites of germinating tubes. The protoplasts ofP. digitatumwere regenerated in a direct manner of either yeast-like cell development or mycelium formation.
Factors affecting organisational creativity and innovativeness in Egyptian business organisations: an empirical investigation
Authors: Mostafa Mohamed 
Published: January 2005

PurposeThe overall purpose of this research is to further our understanding of how managers in Egypt perceive creativity and innovativeness. The paper also examines the construct validity of two measures of creativity and creativity barriers in order to gain further insights into the factors stimulating or hindering creativity in Egypt.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 170 managers was used to achieve the research purpose. Based on the upper‐echelon perspective, the sample slightly favours high‐level managers. Respondents completed a 77‐item instrument designed to assess stimulants‐to‐creativity in the organisational workplace. A 17‐item barriers‐to‐creativity instrument was also used to assess barriers to creativity in Egypt's organisations.FindingsThe study detected a statistically significant difference in attitudes towards organisational creativity based on the managers’ functional areas in the organisation. The study also shows that the greater the education of the manager, the more he or she is likely to adopt creative and innovative activities. Using thet‐test procedure, no generation gap was detected in the managers’ attitudes towards organisational creativity. Finally, the study showed that male managers have significantly favourable attitudes towards creativity compared with their female counterparts.Originality/valueThis study has provided some insights into the factors associated with organisational creativity and creativity barriers in an Arab, non‐Western context. The more is known of how managers perceive creativity, the more quickly and efficiently creativity can be stimulated, thereby allowing other global players to capitalise on opportunities for innovation and partnering that will emerge as markets open in the Middle East.
Social capital and gender in the workplace
Authors: Timberlake Sharon 
Published: January 2005

PurposeSocial capital has been widely accepted as an important asset for creating and maintaining healthy communities, robust organizations and vibrant civil societies. This paper explores the relevance of social capital to management development in the workplace and, more specifically, the importance of gender in the formation of social capital and the distribution of its benefits.Design/methodology/approachThe pertinent scholarly literature is reviewed to explore the role of social capital in organizational behavior and its relationship to gender.FindingsAlthough the numbers of women entering the workplace have risen steadily in the last half century and strides have been made in attaining economic parity with men, statistics reveal that women continue to lag behind men in career advancement and in levels of compensation and achieved status. It is argued in the literature that women are hindered in their efforts to achieve career advancement and its associated benefits due to their inability to access social capital, a valuable organizational commodity and source of the knowledge, resources, and networks that are essential for career development and maturation.Originality/valueThis review reveals that untold benefits and rewards may be generated once workplaces are democratized and equalized so that women – and men – may contribute equally to the growth and development of private and public sector organizations. However, few practical solutions are included, as the available literature only cursorily addresses possible remedies.
Internal evaluation of a management‐development initiative: a public‐sector case
Authors: Seppänen‐Järvelä Riitta 
Published: January 2005

PurposeThe central concern of this paper is to analyze how a management‐development (MD) program can be promoted through internal evaluation. The aim of this article is, through an evaluation experience, to study the usability of internal process‐oriented evaluation in the context of a public‐sector professional organization.Design/methodology/approachA case from a public‐sector professional organization is used as an example to demonstrate the idea of evaluative development orientation, which is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings in fostering organizational change and learning in one's own organization. It is a holistic approach, which consists of continuous scanning of emerging effects and systematic monitoring and documentation of the process of the program.FindingsDevelops the idea of using internal process‐oriented evaluation as a method to promote the organizational development initiative. Points out some lessons learned with regard to the following main themes: managing data, managing role variety, and managing organizational politics.Originality/valueEvaluative interest in MD has been mainly focused on consequences of individual concern in skills learned or the impact on career development. The connections to the strategy, capacity building or motivation of the organization have been weak and the development effort itself has been taken as a “black box”: the understanding of what the outcomes are outcomes of has been inadequate.
The critical success factors in the client‐consulting relationship
Authors: Appelbaum Steven H. , Steed Anthony J. 
Published: January 2005

PurposeThe primary intent of this study is to examine recent projects involving external management consultants at a North American telecommunications firm, from the employees’ point of view, to measure the extent to which the aforementioned “critical success factors” were perceived as being evident. A secondary purpose was to examine which, if any, of these factors differ between more or less successful consulting projects with a view to building a model to predict employees’ perceptions of the level of the projects’ success. A third objective was to gather employee opinions on the use of management consultancy and other factors that might contribute to the success of consulting projects.Design/methodology/approachA total of 102 employees responded to a questionnaire consisting of 59 questions. A model including six independent variables was able to predict overall rating of project success, with an adjusted R2=0.68, F=27.81 (p<0.0001). The significant variables, in order of importance, were: the solution took into account one's internal state of readiness; the project included prototyping new solutions; the project deliverables were clear; the consultant partnered with the project team throughout; the consultant was professional; and the consultant understood the sense of urgency.FindingsSubstantial differences were seen on most measures between projects judged “successful” and projects judged “not successful”. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that many of the success factors suggested in the literature, and proposed under “an ideal client‐consultant engagement”, were judged as being present in management consulting projects at the telecommunications firm, to one degree or another. General opinions of management consultants were mixed and somewhat negative. Employees at the telecommunications organization do not agree with the traditional benefits of management consultants promoted by the industry.Originality/valueThe results of this study support the anecdotal and theoretical models, in particular those emphasizing the importance of process issues, the client‐consulting relationship and their impact on project outcome.
Coaching professionalism and provider size
Authors: Ahern Geoffrey 
Published: January 2005

PurposeThis article opens up for debate a new perspective on professional quality in externally supplied coaching.Design/methodology/approachThree provider size‐types are taken in turn and interpreted in relation to characteristic quality issues.FindingsProfessional quality characteristically varies with different types of coaching provider. Three primary provider types are identified: large conglomerates (often multinational); the solo market where coaches work as individuals; and the specialised coaching team or “boutique”. Provider size is suggested to be the key quality‐related variable distinguishing these three types. Professional quality is specified inclusively through identifying the factors currently in the coaching quality debate. This allows a menu of factors to be considered non‐judgementally in relation to the provider types.Practical implicationsThe article suggests how the characteristic size pluses can be realised and the minuses avoided.Originality/valueProvider size does not seem to have been debated before as a key variable in coaching quality.