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Kinds of Corporations Terms modified by Corporations Selected AbstractsORGANIZATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT: KNOWLEDGE WORKERS IN LARGE CORPORATIONS*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 6 2002TAM YEUK-MUI MAY Previous discussion of knowledge work and workers tends to overlook the importance of contextual knowledge in shaping the organizational form of knowledge workers who are employees in large corporations. This paper proposes a model to understand the way knowledge base and organizational form are related to the work commitment, effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. The model is derived from (1) a critical examination of the market model of knowledge work organization, and (2) the results of empirical research conducted in two large corporations. We argue that contextual knowledge is important in the relationships between the corporation and knowledge workers. A dualistic model and an enclave organizational form are suggested to examine the relationships between the commitment, work effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. We noted from our empirical cases that enclave-like work teams enhanced the expertise and job autonomy of knowledge workers vis-à-vis management. These work teams together with the performance-based pay system, however, led to unmet job expectations including limited employee influence over decision-making and careers, and communication gaps with senior management. Under these circumstances, and in contrast to the impact of occupational commitment, organizational commitment did not contribute to work effort. The study highlights the importance of management's strategy in shaping the organizational form of knowledge work. The paper concludes by noting general implications of our study for the management of expertise and for further research. [source] Myocardial Perfusion As Assessed by Positron Emission Tomography During Long-Term Mechanical Circulatory SupportCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 2 2006George V. Letsou MD Although mechanical circulatory support (MCS) can improve myocardial function in patients with advanced heart failure, its effects on relative myocardial perfusion are unclear. Using positron emission tomographic imaging techniques, the authors assessed relative myocardial perfusion in patients with ischemic or idiopathic cardiomyopathy who were receiving chronic MCS with a left ventricular assist device (pulsatile HeartMate [n=2] [Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA] or nonpulsatile Jarvik 2000 [n=4] [Jarvik Heart, Inc., New York, NY]). Relative myocardial perfusion was compared at lower and higher levels of MCS (50 vs. 100,110 ejections/min for the HeartMate and 8000 vs. 12,000 rpm for the Jarvik 2000). The size and severity of perfusion defects at rest and after dipyridamole stress were measured objectively and subjectively by computer algorithms and visual inspection, respectively. Relative myocardial perfusion increased >5% from baseline in only one of six patients when MCS was increased. No change in relative myocardial perfusion of >5% was seen in any of the other five patients, even after subsequent dipyridamole stress positron emission tomographic imaging. These pilot study findings suggest that the decreased metabolic requirements induced by ventricular unloading correspondingly decreased blood flow requirements to physiologically inactive myocardium. [source] Re-embedding the Corporation?CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2007Comparative perspectives on corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, employment relations First page of article [source] Commentary: Fractional Resurfacing: A Step in ProgressDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 10 2010MARY CHRISTIAN-REED MD Mary Christian-Reed, MD, is a luminary for the Palomar Corporation. [source] The Knot of Contracts: The Corporate Geography of Legacy CostsECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2008Ashby H. B. Monk Abstract Burdensome past commitments are threatening a concentrated group of industries and communities, predominantly in the U.S. Midwest. Beginning with the bankruptcy of Delphi Corporation, this article documents the crisis for "old-economy firms" with significant legacy costs. To understand the root causes of this legacy crisis, the analysis builds on previous research in economic geography and the results of a widely subscribed and unique "expert opinion" survey highlighting the corporate impacts of defined benefit pensions in the private sector. The result is a conceptual framework that describes the corporate geography of legacy costs: the "knot of contracts." Specifically, the knot of contracts conceptualizes the role of intergenerational commitments in restricting corporate evolution and innovation, while underscoring time as a central component of the nature of the firm. Developing this framework requires linking microeconomic theories of the firm with the institutional aspects of firms' geographies. While referring to specific cases and proprietary data throughout, the article is principally concerned with understanding legacy costs. In addition, the intent is to uncover managerial and governmental behavior that tightened this knot of contracts and to expose the current managers' attempts to manage their firms through the adverse affects of the knot of contracts. The explanations in this article serve as a useful bridge between the realities faced by firms and their surrounding communities and the more abstract notions of the firm and competitiveness in the context of globalization. [source] Capital Versus the Districts: A Tale of One Multinational Company's Attempt to Disembed ItselfECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2004N. A. Phelps Abstract: The process of international economic integration in which multinational enterprises (MNEs) play a significant orchestrating role is a contradictory one of a space of flows, on the one hand, and a space of places, on the other hand. It is this contradiction that produces a variegated landscape of relations within and among MNEs and a whole range of territorially rooted organizations and institutions. As a result, interest in global production networks, as part of a broader relational turn in economic geography, has sought to highlight and uncover these webs of relations within which MNEs are embedded. In reviewing this literature, we emphasize the economic imperatives underlying such relations or, rather, their political-economic nature and the discontinuities in industrial restructuring they can produce. We then present an empirical illustration of these points and some of the key concerns within the literature on global production networks. We consider a recent round of restructuring by Black & Decker Corporation, focusing on the politico-economic ramifications of closing one of two European factories. Our reading of the literature, coupled with our empirical findings, suggests the continuing tendency for international integration as a space of flows to eclipse the coherence of places. Localized points of resistance can moderate the powers exercised by MNEs internally and across a network of organizations, although there are limits to the transferability of such tactics of resistance. [source] Risk assessment of Magnacide® H herbicide at Río Colorado irrigation channels (Argentina). tier 3: Studies on native speciesENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2007Andrés Venturino Abstract We evaluated the potential environmental risk of the herbicide Magnacide® (Baker Petrolite, TX, USA) using native species from Argentina, representing the ecosystem at the Irrigation Corporation (CORFO) channels at the Colorado River mouth, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Six species including fish, toads, snails, crustaceans, and insects were selected to perform studies on acute toxicity and repeated exposure effects. Magnacide H susceptibility ranking was Bufo arenarum (lethal concentration 50 [LC50] = 0.023 mg/L), Onchorhynchus mykiss (LC50 = 0.038 mg/L), Heleobia parchappii (LC50 = 0.21 mg/L), Hyalella curvispina (LC50 = 0.24 mg/L), Simulium spp. (LC50 = 0.60 mg/L), and Chironomus spp. (LC50 = 2.83 mg/L). The risk limit of 10th percentile (0.013 mg/L) determined by probit analysis on sensitivity distribution was similar to the one calculated from literature data. Risk assessment based on field application data suggested lethal exposures for more than 70 to 90% of the species up to 20 km downstream from the application point. Repeated exposures to Magnacide H of amphibian larvae at the lowest-observed-effect concentration caused some effects during the first exposure, but without cumulative effects. Amphipods were insensitive to repeated exposures, showing no cumulative effects. Whether short-term exposures may result in long-term sublethal effects on the organism's life history was not addressed by these laboratory tests. In conclusion, tier 3 studies indicate that Magnacide H application schedule is extremely toxic for most native species at CORFO,Río Colorado channels, representing a high potential risk in the environment. The real environmental impact must be addressed by field studies at tier 4 giving more information on population effects and communities. [source] Emergency Medicine Resident Patient Care Documentation Using a Hand-held Computerized DeviceACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2001Steven B. Bird MD Abstract Objective: To determine whether emergency medicine (EM) resident documentation of procedures, patient encounters, and patient follow-ups improved after implementation of a personal digital assistant (PDA) hand-held recording system. Methods: All first-year EM residents were provided a PalmV (Palm, Inc., Santa Clara, CA) PDA. A customized patient procedure and encounter program was constructed using Pendragon Forms (Pendragon Software Corporation, Libertyville, IL) and loaded into each PDA. Residents were instructed to enter information on patients who had any of 21 procedures performed or were considered to be clinically unstable. These data were downloaded to the residency coordinator's desktop computer. The mean number of procedures, encounters, and follow-ups performed per resident were then compared with those of a group of 36 historical controls from the three previous first-year resident classes who recorded the same information using a handwritten card system. Data from the historical controls were combined and the means of each group were compared by Student's t-test. Results: Mean documentation of three procedures was significantly increased in the PDA group versus the index card system: conscious sedation 5.8 vs. 0.03 (p < 0.000005), thoracentesis 2.2 vs. 0.0 (p = 0.002), ultrasound 6.3 vs. 0.0 (p = 0.002). The mean numbers of pericardiocenteses and unstable pediatric surgical patient evaluations were significantly decreased in the hand-held group [from 1.2 to 0.4 (p = 0.03) and from 9.1 to 2.2 (p = 0.02), respectively]. Patient follow-up documentations were not statistically different between the two groups. Conclusions: Use of a hand-held PDA was associated with an increase in first-year EM resident documentation in three of 20 procedures and a decrease in one procedure and the number of unstable surgical pediatric patient resuscitations. The overall time savings in constructing a resident procedure database, as well as the other uses of the PDAs, may make transition to a hand-held computer-based procedure log an attractive option for EM residencies. [source] A case of rule-based heuristics for scheduling hot rolling seamless steel tube productionEXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2006Jianxiang Li Abstract: A production scheduling problem for hot rolling seamless steel tube at Tianjin Pipe Corporation of China is studied. Considering the complexity of the problem and the acceptable time for solving it, a rule-based heuristic approach is proposed and implemented. The proposed approach is a bottleneck scheduling method and considers simultaneously all production processes in three production units and ,optimizes' them as a whole. Additionally, the running result shows, on average, that a 3% increase in throughput and a 5% reduction in late deliveries have been achieved since the system implementation. [source] Increased Concentration in Banking: Megabanks and Their Implications for Deposit InsuranceFINANCIAL MARKETS, INSTITUTIONS & INSTRUMENTS, Issue 1 2005Kenneth D. Jones During the past two decades, the U.S. banking industry has experienced an unprecedented wave of consolidation, marked by a substantial decline in the number of insured depository institutions and the emergence of banking behemoths with assets totaling in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This unparalleled concentration of assets and deposits among a handful of "megabanks" has important implications for deposit insurance. Most importantly, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) now faces a situation in which the failure of even a single megabank could overwhelm the resources immediately available to the deposit insurance system and expose both the banking industry and the government (i.e., taxpayers) to huge potential liabilities. This article highlights the current structure of the banking industry, examines the threat that this structure poses to the deposit insurance funds, and suggests possible approaches for dealing with megabanks and the increasing concentration of insured deposits. [source] Ideas and Change in U.S. Foreign Aid: Inventing the Millennium Challenge CorporationFOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2008Steven W. Hook Recent scholarship on foreign policy change focuses on the role of ideas in altering policies and related governing institutions. While a welcome antidote to the previous preoccupation with static analysis, this research has yet to provide adequate understanding of whether and how ideas produce change in specific instances. This study seeks to narrow this gap by examining a recent program change in U.S. foreign aid policy: the creation in 2004 of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent agency designed to reward the world's most impoverished countries that had previously undertaken neoliberal economic reforms and democratic political reforms. The study identifies a convergence of widely shared principled and causal beliefs which, mediated through U.S. domestic structures, produced the most significant change in U.S. aid strategy and structures in nearly half a century. In melding societal theories that emphasize the role of transnational norm diffusion with theories of domestic politics, the study answers the call for multilevel explanations of foreign policy change. And by applying constructivist notions of ideas and discursive framing with rationalist conceptions of power and interests, the study further responds to the need for theoretical synthesis in the study of foreign policy. [source] The Gendered Machine: Concept Car Development at Volvo Car CorporationGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 6 2005Alexander Styhre This article examines the treatment in the media of the first concept car development project managed by female engineers and designers. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis methodology in which the production of social institutions and beliefs are conceived of as being based on written and spoken statements and utterances. The discursive production of statements not only has intangible effects but also implies material, consequences., The, study, shows, that, although, the, project, aimed at highlighting and using competencies among the female co-workers and to position Volvo as a progressive company, the media coverage in many cases draws on gendered stereotypes and commonsense beliefs. As a consequence, it demonstrates that stepping outside gendered forms of expression is a complicated matter and therefore a more elaborated vocabulary remains to be developed in both the media and industry. [source] Emergence of New Mechanical Functionality in Materials via Size ReductionADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 18 2009Julia R. Greer Abstract Julia R. Greer received her S.B. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1997) and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Stanford University, where she worked on the nanoscale plasticity of gold with W. D. Nix (2005). She also worked at Intel Corporation in Mask Operations (2000,03) and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Palo Alto Research Center (2005,07), where she worked on organic flexible electronics with R. A. Street. Greer is a recipient of TR-35, Technology Review's Top Young Innovator award (2008), a NSF CAREER Award (2007), a Gold Materials Research Society Graduate Student Award (2004), and an American Association of University Women Fellowship (2003). Julia joined Caltech's Materials Science department in 2007 where she is developing innovative experimental techniques to assess mechanical properties of nanometer-sized materials. One such approach involves the fabrication of nanopillars with different initial microstructures and diameters between 25,nm and 1,µm by using focused ion beam and electron-beam lithography microfabrication. The mechanical response of these pillars is subsequently measured in a custom-built in situ mechanical deformation instrument, SEMentor, comprising a scanning electron microscope and a nanoindenter. Read our interview with Prof. Greer on MaterialsViews.com [source] Exelon engages employees in climate-change challengeGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 3 2010Howard N. Karesh Exelon Corporation, one of the first U.S. utilities to advocate for federal climate-change legislation, has moved into uncharted territory as it seeks to fully engage employees in its ambitious goal for significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and its roadmap to a low-carbon future. Despite a multipronged internal communications program, enterprise-level efforts did not sustain the employee enthusiasm that accompanied the July 2008 launch of the Exelon 2020 low-carbon roadmap, and the company went back to the drawing board. The Exelon 2020 Engagement Team,this time rechartered around action rather than conversation about employee environmental initiatives,has driven a second round of efforts. The early success of an employee film festival, a contest around at-home energy conservation, and empowering local green councils to run with the ball has fueled cautious optimism that employees are finally jumping aboard. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Charged up: Creating energy in organizationsGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 4 2004Rob Cross The ability of an individual to energize others is a determinant of individual and group success. People who are "energizers" are more effective at motivating others, eliciting productive solutions, getting work done, and advancing their careers. Drawing on their research into social networks, the authors examine five dimensions of energizing relationships and offer some simple questions for determining whether you are an energizer or a de-energizer. © 2004 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation [source] Measuring the People Side of FedEx ExpressGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 4 2001Scott M. Smith At FedEx Express,the Federal Express subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation,the guiding principle is People-Service-Profit, whereby the company takes care of its people, who provide service to customers, who return profit. That principle works as both management and employee actions are guided by a variety of measured processes designed to ensure the performance that generates more than $15 billion in revenue by delivering an average of 3.3 million packages a day. © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Reform in a Cold Climate: Change in US Campaign Finance LawGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 4 2005Dean McSweeney The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 was the first major change in US federal campaign finance law in a quarter of a century. Many attempts at reform had failed in that period. Few members of Congress were enthusiasts for reform, the two parties and two chambers had conflicting interests to protect, successive presidents did not promote the issue and public pressure for reform was weak. When reform was achieved in 2002, many of these formidable obstacles remained in place. This paper draws on the literature of public interest reform and policy innovation to attribute the change to a policy entrepreneur whose resources had undergone a sharp increase, the neutralization of opposition, the impact of an event (the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation) and membership turnover in Congress. The substantial support for the bill in Congress from Democrats, the party with most to lose from reform, is attributed to the inescapability of past commitments. [source] Neonatal health care costs related to smoking during pregnancyHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2002E. Kathleen Adams Abstract Research objective: Much of the work on estimating health care costs attributable to smoking has failed to capture the effects and related costs of smoking during pregnancy. The goal of this study is to use data on smoking behavior, birth outcomes and resource utilization to estimate neonatal costs attributable to maternal smoking during pregnancy. Study design: We use 1995 data from the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) database. The PRAMS collects representative samples of births from 13 states (Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New York (excluding New York City), Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia), and the District of Columbia. The 1995 PRAMS sample is approximately 25 000. Multivariate analysis is used to estimate the relationship of smoking to probability of admission to an NICU and, separately, the length of stay for those admitted or not admitted to an NICU. Neonatal costs are predicted for infants ,as is' and ,as if' their mother did not smoke. The difference between these constitutes smoking attributable neonatal costs; this divided by total neonatal costs constitutes the smoking attributable fraction (SAF). We use data from the MarketScanÔ database of the MedStatÔ Corporation to attach average dollar amounts to NICU and non-NICU nursery nights and data from the 1997 birth certificates to extrapolate the SAFs and attributable expenses to all states. Principal findings: The analysis showed that maternal smoking increased the relative risk of admission to an NICU by almost 20%. For infants admitted to the NICU, maternal smoking increased length of stay while for non- NICU infants it appeared to lower it. Over all births, however, smoking increased infant length of stay by 1.1%. NICU infants cost $2496 per night while in the NICU and $1796 while in a regular nursery compared to only $748 for non-NICU infants. The combination of the increased NICU use, longer stays and higher costs result in a positive smoking attributable fraction (SAF) for neonatal costs. The SAF across all states is 2.2%. Across the states, the SAF varied from a low of 1.3% in Texas to a high of 4.6% in Indiana. Conclusions: These results further confirm the adverse effects of smoking. Among mothers who smoke, smoking adds over $700 in neonatal costs. The smoking attributable neonatal costs in the US represent almost $367 million in 1996 dollars; these costs vary from less than a million in smaller states to over $35 million in California. These costs are highly preventable since the adverse effects of maternal smoking occur in the short-run and can be avoided by even a temporary cessation of maternal smoking. These cost estimates can be used by managed care plans, state and local public health officials and others to evaluate alternative smoking cessation programs. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Different Kind of Union: Balancing Co-Management and RepresentationINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2001Saul A. Rubinstein Local unions engaging in co-management and joint governance arrangements require new capacities and organizational forms to balance managerial responsibilities with representation of both the collective and individual interests of the membership. This article examines the evolution of the local union at General Motors' Saturn Corporation through the internal and external tensions created by the challenges faced in assuming these roles. A new model of local unionism, grounded in this experience and data, is outlined for further testing and research. [source] A Case Study of a Variance Analysis Framework for Managing Distribution Costs,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2007Kevin Gaffney ABSTRACT Managing the distribution function as part of an overall supply-chain management strategy has become increasingly important given rising fuel costs in recent years. This paper presents a comprehensive variance analysis framework developed by supply-chain managers at Catalyst Paper Corporation as a tool for reporting and controlling distribution costs. The model decomposes the overall static-budget variance into four primary variance categories: volume, customer mix, distribution mix, and carrier charges. The framework addresses key limitations in the coverage of variance analysis contained in many management accounting textbooks. Specifically, Catalyst's framework incorporates: (a) mix variance calculations where there is more than one mix factor within a single cost element; (b) the impact of unplanned and unrealized activities; and (c) multiple nested mix variance calculations. Although developed in the context of distribution costs, the framework can be applied to the analysis of other manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs where multiple mix factors exist. L'importance de la gestion de la fonction de distribution dans le cadre de la stratégie globale de gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement s'est accrue avec la hausse des coûts du carburant des dernières années. Les auteurs présentent un cadre complet d'analyse des écarts, élaboré par les gestionnaires de la chaîne d'approvisionnement chez Catalyst Paper Corporation aux fins de la présentation et du contrôle des coûts de distribution. Le modèle décompose l'écart global du budget fixe en quatre grandes catégories d'écarts: les écarts sur volume, les écarts sur composition de la clientèle, les écarts sur composition de la distribution et les écarts sur frais de transport. Le cadre résout les principales limites de la couverture de l'analyse des écarts évoquées dans de nombreux manuels de comptabilité de management. Le cadre d'analyse de Catalyst Paper Corporation englobe: a) les calculs de l'écart sur composition lorsqu'il existe plus d'un facteur de composition dans un même élément de coût; b) l'incidence des activités non planifiées et non réalisées; et c) les calculs de l'écart sur composition à multiples critères de classification. Bien qu'il ait été élaboré dans le contexte des coûts de distribution, ce cadre peut être appliqué à l'analyse d'autres coûts liés ou non à la fabrication, lorsque les facteurs de composition sont multiples. [source] Microleakage along Glassix glass fibre posts cemented with three different materials assessed using a fluid transport systemINTERNATIONAL ENDODONTIC JOURNAL, Issue 5 2006-Barbi, M. Rogi Abstract Aim, To evaluate the microleakage along Glassix fibre posts cemented with three different materials. Methodology, The root canals of maxillary central incisor teeth were filled and restored with Glassix posts (Harald Nordin sa, Chailly/Montreux, Switzerland) cemented with either a zinc-phosphate Harvard cement (Richter & Hoffmann, Harvard Dental GmbH, Berlin, Germany), Fuji PLUS cement (GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) or Variolink II cement (Vivadent, Schaan, Lichtenstein) in three groups of 15 canals each. Twenty unrestored canals served as a control group, 10 filled with gutta-percha and sealer (negative control group), the remaining 10 with gutta-percha only (positive control group). Coronal microleakage was evaluated using a fluid transport system. The movement of an air bubble in a capillary glass tube connected to the apex of the experimental root section was measured over 5-min periods. Measurements were performed four times for each specimen and the mean values recorded. anova and Duncan's test were performed. Results, The positive control group had the highest values of microleakage. Amongst experimental groups, the highest values of microleakage occurred in the group with the posts cemented with Harvard cement, followed by Fuji PLUS and Variolink II cements. Groups with Fuji PLUS, Variolink II and the negative control group had significantly (P < 0.00001) less microleakage compared with the Harvard cement group and the positive control group. Conclusion, Canals with Glassix posts cemented with Variolink II and Fuji PLUS cement had the least leakage when assessed using a fluid transport system. [source] The Stock Market Reaction to the Enron-Andersen Affair in SpainINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2006Cristina de Fuentes Barbera This paper investigates whether listed Spanish companies audited by Andersen have suffered any negative economic impact due to the scandal surrounding Andersen's work in Enron Corporation. To that end, we have measured the economic consequences, if any, of Andersen's loss of reputation by examining the reaction in terms of movements in the stock prices of its client companies using an event study methodology. We have analysed abnormal returns on the stock prices of all firms listed in the Spanish Interconnected Market around two event dates: the date of Andersen's public admission that it had destroyed significant financial documents related to Enron Corp. and the date Dynegy Inc. announced the withdrawal of its takeover offer. The results of our empirical analysis do not support the hypothesis that companies audited by Andersen suffered any significant drop in stock price as a result of the scandal affecting their auditor. [source] Cigarette smoking, elevated fasting serum glucose, and risk of pancreatic cancer in Korean menINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 1 2006Ji Eun Yun Abstract Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal human cancers and continues to be a major unsolved health problem. The goal of this study was to estimate the independent effects and interactions between cigarette smoking and diabetes on the risk of pancreatic cancer in Korean male population. Cigarette smoking and the risk of incidence and death from pancreatic cancer were examined in a 10-year prospective cohort study of 446,407 Korean men aged 40 to 65 years who received health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation and who had a medical evaluation in 1992. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model after adjusting for age, body mass index, exercise and alcohol use. Current smoking was associated with an increased risk of incidence (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.6,1.9) and mortality (RR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.4,1.7) from pancreatic cancer. The RR for pancreatic cancer increased with both duration and amount of smoking. Diabetes was also associated with an increased risk of both incidence (RR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.5,2.2) and mortality (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.4,2.1) from pancreatic cancer. There was no interaction between smoking and fasting serum glucose in terms of pancreatic cancer risk. Thus, our prospective study has demonstrated that cigarette smoking and elevated fasting serum glucose are independently associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in a large cohort of Korean males. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] A preliminary comparative analysis of 3D body scanner, manually taken girth body measurements and size chart measurementsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2010Pinkie E. Zwane Abstract In an attempt to provide a technological solution to the influx of cheap imports in South Africa and bridging the technology divide between Africa and the rest of the world, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research procured a three-dimensional body scanner from the Textile and Clothing Technology Corporation, in the US. The pilot study was aimed at introducing the technology to the South African consumers, and to compare the scanned data with the manually taken measurements. A convenience sample of 56 females in South Africa was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Interviews were used to capture views on acceptance of the technology, prior to being scanned. Scanning garments made from a stretchy fabric were designed and sewn in four sizes of small, medium, large and extra large. A covariance, one sample t -test and paired t - tests were used for data analyses. Almost all respondents felt comfortable with the designed scanning garments and the scanning process. The scanner measurements were generally more numerical in value than the manual measurements for a body part as expected, although the disparity was on the higher side than expected. The discernible difference between means of scanned data and standard values in the currently used sizing charts highlighted the long overdue need to update the sizing charts using a national anthropometric database generated locally. [source] Television and Violence in the Economy of MemoryINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF JAPANESE SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002Mamoru Ito The present paper aims to consider the cultural function of television as a technology for the creation of a public memory. The television system records past images, preserves them, and broadcasts various historical programs. A viewer owns the public memory jointly, through watching/consuming programs. However, the process of production and consumption of programs is linked with the exclusion of other historical memories from the public space. After all, the creation of public memories in depth is related to social power. Through the analysis in concrete terms of a series of programs of Project X and the second episode of the Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK; Japan Broadcasting Corporation) series, Special Edition: Judging War, the relationship between the organization of public memories and social power is explored. Project X depicts the challenges of engineers of middle standing who initiated new industrial and technological developments in the 1960s and 1970s. Special Edition: Judging War is based on coverage of the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery. This program was subjected to revision on the eve of its broadcast. What forms of expression were eliminated? These two programs should help us define more clearly what the Japanese media selects for incorporation into the public memory. [source] Quantification of red blood cell fragmentation by the automated hematology analyzer XE-2100 in patients with living donor liver transplantationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2005S. BANNO Summary The fragmented red cell (FRC) is a useful index for diagnosing and determining the severity of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) and other similar conditions, as it is found in peripheral blood in patients with these diseases. The FRC expression rate has conventionally been determined by manual methods using smear samples. However, it is difficult to attain accurate quantification by such methods as they are time consuming and prone to a great margin of error. With cases of living donor liver transplantation, the current study examined the possibility of using a multi-parameter automated hematology analyzer, the XE-2100 (Sysmex Corporation) for FRC quantification. While there was a notable correlation between the manual and automated measurements, the manual measurement resulted in higher values. This suggested remarkable variations in judgment by individuals. The FRC values had a significant correlation with the reticulocyte count, red blood cell distribution width (RDW), fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (P-FDP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) among the test parameters, and this finding was consistent with the clinical progression in patients. The automated method can offer precise measurements in a short time without inter-observer differences, meeting the requirement for standardization. The determination of FRC count (%) by the XE-2100 that enables early diagnoses and monitoring of TTP or TMA will be useful in the clinical field. [source] Prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis and the impact of life style factors on bone mineral densityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RHEUMATIC DISEASES, Issue 3 2007Abdulbari BENER Abstract Aim:, The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis and the impact of life style factors on bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal and postmenopausal Qatari women. Methods:, This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 821 healthy Qatari women aged 20,70 years had given consent and participated and the study was conducted from June 2005 to December 2006 at the Rumaillah Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, State of Qatar. All subjects completed a questionnaire on reproductive and life style factors. Height and weight were measured. All subjects underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to determine factors influencing BMD of the spine and femur. The main outcome measures were menopausal status, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors and BMD measurements. Results:, The prevalence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women was 12.3%. BMI was significantly higher among postmenopausal women (P < 0.001) when compared to premenopausal women. The subjects who regularly consumed dairy products had better BMD at spine, neck and ward sites (P < 0.05). Those doing regular household work for 3,4 h a week had higher BMD at all sites compared to those who did not do their own household work. Multiple regression analysis showed that education level and body mass index were strong positive predictors showing high significance. Conclusion:, The relation between lifestyle and BMD were explored in Qatari women. The prevalence of osteoporosis in Qatari women is comparable to other countries. BMD values were higher in women who were taking diary products regularly, and were involved with household work. [source] Mountain resort planning and development in an era of globalization by Thomas A. Clark, Alison Gill and Rudi Hartmann (eds), Cognizant Communication Corporation, New York.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007No. of pages: xi + 348. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Fault configuration produced by initial arc rifting in the Parece Vela Basin as deduced from seismic reflection dataISLAND ARC, Issue 3 2007Mikiya Yamashita Abstract The Parece Vela Basin (PVB), which is a currently inactive back-arc basin of the Philippine Sea Plate, was formed by separation between the Izu-Ogasawara Arc (IOA) and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR). Elucidating the marks of the past back-arc opening and rifting is important for investigation of its crustal structure. To image its fault configurations and crustal deformation, pre-stack depth migration to multichannel seismic reflection was applied and data obtained by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and Metal Mining Agency of Japan and Japan National Oil Corporation (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation). Salient results for the pre-stack depth-migrated sections are: (i) deep reflectors exist around the eastern margin of KPR and at the western margin of IOA down to 8 km depth; and (ii) normal fault zones distributed at the eastern margin of the KPR (Fault zone A) and the western margin of the IOA (Fault zone B) have a total displacement of greater than 500 m associated with synrift sediments. Additional normal faults (Fault zone C) exist 20 km east of the Fault zone B. They are covered with sediment, which indicates deposition of recent volcanic products in the IOA. According to those results: (i) the fault displacement of more than 500 m with respect to initial rifting was approximately asymmetric at 25 Ma based on PSDM profiles; and (ii) the faults had reactivated after 23 Ma, based on the age of deformed sediments obtained from past ocean drillings. The age of the base sediments corresponds to those of spreading and rotation after rifting in the PVB. Fault zone C is covered with thick and not deformed volcanogenic sediments from the IOA, which suggests that the fault is inactive. [source] MIT Roundtable on Corporate Risk ManagementJOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 4 2008Article first published online: 16 DEC 200 Against the backdrop of financial crisis, a distinguished group of academics and practitioners discusses the contribution of financial management and innovation to corporate growth and value, along with the pitfalls and unintended consequences of such innovation. The main focus of most panelists is the importance of a capital structure and risk management approach that complement the strategy and operations of the business. Instructive examples are provided by Judy Lewent, former CFO and head of strategic planning at Merck, and Lakshmi Shyam-Sunder, director of finance and risk management at the International Finance Corporation. But if these represent successful applications of finance theory, what about the large number of cases where the use of derivatives and other innovations has led to high leverage and apparent risk management failures? Part of the current trouble, as pointed out by Andrew Lo, can be attributed to the failure of risk managers and their models to account for highly improbable events,the so-called fat tails of the distribution. But, as Robert Merton suggests in closing, there is a more comprehensive explanation for today's problems: the tendency of market participants to respond to potentially risk-reducing financial innovation by increasing their risk-taking in other areas. "What we have here," says Merton, ,are two partly offsetting effects of innovation,one that is reducing the risk of companies and their investors, and another that is encouraging greater risk-taking. From a social or regulatory standpoint, the goal is to find the right balance between these two effects or forces. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||