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Exploratory Findings (exploratory + finding)
Selected AbstractsAn exploratory study of governance in the intra-firm human resources supply chainHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010Elaine Farndale Abstract The human resource management (HRM) literature has paid insufficient attention to supply chain management (SCM) when exploring the architecture of human resources (HR). Drawing on an SCM perspective, this study develops our understanding of (1) the intra-firm HR supply chain, and (2) how this HR supply chain influences corporate governance processes within large organizations. We argue that the HR function, represented as an internal professional service supply chain, needs appropriate governance principles as it operates through multiple delivery channels and with a wide variety of HRM practices. Exploratory findings from a qualitative empirical study of seven large organizations investigating governance and risk management in the HR supply chain are presented. These in-depth interviews uncover how formal governance is relatively easy for these organizations to achieve, supported by outcome-focused monitoring tools, but informal governance mechanisms can fail due to insufficient attention. Although standardized approaches to HR delivery can maximize the opportunity for HR governance, little evidence was found that the organizations were considering the related governance implications explicitly. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Mortality patterns among workers exposed to arsenic, cadmium, and other substances in a copper smelterAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009Gary M. Marsh PhD Abstract Objective To evaluate the long-term mortality experience of workers exposed to arsenic, cadmium, and other substances at a copper mine and smelter in Copperhill, Tennessee studied earlier as part of an industry-wide study. Methods Subjects were 2,422 male workers employed three or more years in the smelter or mill between 1/1/46 until the plant strike and scale-down of operations in April 1996. Vital status was determined through 2000 for 99.4% of subjects and cause of death for 91.3% of 878 deaths. Historical exposures were estimated for lead, SO2, arsenic, cadmium, dust, and cobalt. We computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) based on U.S. and local county rates and modeled internal relative risks (RRs). Results We observed overall deficits in deaths based on national and local county comparisons from all causes, all cancers and most of the cause of death categories examined. We found limited evidence of increasing mortality risks from cerebrovascular disease with increasing duration and cumulative arsenic exposure, but no evidence of an exposure,response relationship for cadmium exposure and bronchitis. Conclusions Our limited evidence of an association between inhaled arsenic exposure and CVD is an exploratory finding not observed in other epidemiology studies of more highly exposed occupational populations. Possible alternative explanations include chance alone and uncontrolled confounding or effect modification by co-exposures or other factors correlated with arsenic exposure and unique to the Copperhill facility. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:633,644, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Association of DRD4 polymorphism with severity of oppositional defiant disorder, separation anxiety disorder and repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorderEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 6 2010Kenneth D. Gadow Abstract The objective was to examine whether a common polymorphism in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) might be a potential biomarker for behavioral variation within the autism spectrum disorder clinical phenotype. Children (N = 66) were evaluated with a validated mother- and teacher-completed DSM-IV-referenced rating scale. Partial eta-squared (,p2) was used to gauge the magnitude of group differences: 0.01,0.06 = small, 0.06,0.14 = moderate and > 0.14 = large. Children who were 7-repeat allele carriers had more severe oppositional defiant disorder behaviors according to mothers' (,p2 = 0.10) and teachers' (,p2 = 0.06) ratings than noncarriers, but the latter was marginally significant (P = 0.07). Children who were 7-repeat allele carriers also obtained more severe maternal ratings of tics (,p2 = 0.07) and obsessions,compulsions (,p2 = 0.08). Findings for maternal ratings of separation anxiety were marginally significant (P = 0.08, ,p2 = 0.05). Analyses of combined DRD4 and dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) genotypes approached significance (P = 0.05) for teachers' ratings of oppositional behavior and mothers' ratings of tics. DRD4 allelic variation may be a prognostic biomarker for challenging behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder, but these exploratory findings remain tentative pending replication with larger independent samples. [source] Determinants of the adoption of sustainability assurance statements: an international investigationBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 3 2010Ans Kolk Abstract This paper explores the factors associated with voluntary decisions to assure social, environmental and sustainability reports. Since the market for assurance services in this area is in its formative stages, there is a limited understanding of the demand for this emergent non-financial auditing practice, which is evolving rapidly across different countries. Drawing from extant literature in international auditing and environmental accounting, we focus on a set of country-level institutional factors to explain the adoption of sustainability assurance statements among an international panel of 212 Fortune Global 250 companies for the years 1999, 2002 and 2005. Consistent with our expectations, our results provide evidence that companies operating in countries that are more stakeholder oriented and have a weaker governance enforcement regime are more likely to adopt a sustainability assurance statement. Further, the demand for assurance is higher in countries where sustainable corporate practices are better enabled by market and institutional mechanisms. Our exploratory findings also indicate that the likelihood of choosing a large accounting firm as assurance provider increases for companies domiciled in countries that are shareholder oriented and have a lower level of litigation. We conclude the paper by suggesting three directions of research in the area of sustainability assurance that have relevant academic and practical implications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Role of UGT1A1*6, UGT1A1*28 and ABCG2 c.421C>A polymorphisms in irinotecan-induced neutropenia in Asian cancer patientsCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 9 2007Srinivasa Rao Jada The objectives of the present study were (i) to study the pharmacogenetics of UGT1A1*6, UGT1A1*28 and ABCG2 c.421C>A in three distinct healthy Asian populations (Chinese, Malays and Indians), and (ii) to investigate the polygenic influence of these polymorphic variants in irinotecan-induced neutropenia in Asian cancer patients. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic analyses were done after administration of irinotecan as a 90-min intravenous infusion of 375 mg/m2 once every 3 weeks (n = 45). Genotypic,phenotypic correlates showed a non-significant influence of UGT1A1*28 and ABCG2 c.421C>A polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of SN-38 (P > 0.05), as well as severity of neutropenia (P > 0.05). Significantly higher exposure levels to SN-38 (P = 0.018), lower relative extent of glucuronidation (REG; P = 0.006) and higher biliary index (BI; P = 0.003) were found in cancer patients homozygous for the UGT1A1*6 allele compared with patients harboring the reference genotype. The mean absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 85% lower and the prevalence of grade 4 neutropenia (ANC , 500/µL) was 27% in patients homozygous for UGT1A1*6 compared with the reference group. Furthermore, the presence of the UGT1A1*6 allele was associated with an approximately 3-fold increased risk of developing severe grade 4 neutropenia compared with patients harboring the reference genotype. These exploratory findings suggest that homozygosity for UGT1A1*6 allele may be associated with altered SN-38 disposition and may increase the risk of severe neutropenia in Asian cancer patients, particularly in the Chinese cancer patients who comprised 80% (n = 36) of the patient population in the present study. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1461,1467) [source] | ||||||||||