Culture and Social Relationship as Factors of Affecting Communicative Non-verbal Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Akhter Lipi, Afia; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Mathias

The goal of this paper is to link a bridge between social relationship and cultural variation to predict conversants' non-verbal behaviors. This idea serves as a basis of establishing a parameter based socio-cultural model, which determines non-verbal expressive parameters that specify the shapes of agent's nonverbal behaviors in HAI. As the first step, a comparative corpus analysis is done for two cultures in two specific social relationships. Next, by integrating the cultural and social parameters factors with the empirical data from corpus analysis, we establish a model that predicts posture. The predictions from our model successfully demonstrate that both cultural background and social relationship moderate communicative non-verbal behaviors.

Three-dimensional culture conditions differentially affect astrocyte modulation of brain endothelial barrier function in response to transforming growth factor β1.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Brian T; Grego, Sonia; Sellgren, Katelyn L

2015-05-22

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) function is regulated by dynamic interactions among cell types within the neurovascular unit, including astrocytes and endothelial cells. Co-culture models of the BBB typically involve astrocytes seeded on two-dimensional (2D) surfaces, which recent studies indicate cause astrocytes to express a phenotype similar to that of reactive astrocytes in situ. We hypothesized that the culture conditions of astrocytes would differentially affect their ability to modulate BBB function in vitro. Brain endothelial cells were grown alone or in co-culture with astrocytes. Astrocytes were grown either as conventional (2D) monolayers, or in a collagen-based gel which allows them to grow in a three-dimensional (3D) construct. Astrocytes were viable in 3D conditions, and displayed a marked reduction in their expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), suggesting reduced activation. Stimulation of astrocytes with transforming growth factor (TGF)β1 decreased transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and reduced expression of claudin-5 in co-cultures, whereas treatment of endothelial cells in the absence of astrocytes was without effect. The effect of TGFβ1 on TEER was significantly more pronounced in endothelial cells cultured with 3D astrocytes compared to 2D astrocytes. These results demonstrate that astrocyte culture conditions differentially affect their ability to modulate brain endothelial barrier function, and suggest a direct relationship between reactive gliosis and BBB permeability. Moreover, these studies demonstrate the potential importance of physiologically relevant culture conditions to in vitro modeling of disease processes that affect the neurovascular unit. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting the cultural competence of visiting nurses for rural multicultural family support in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Suk, Min Hyun; Oh, Won-Oak; Im, YeoJin

2018-01-01

With the recent growth of multicultural families in the Korean society, the importance of the role of qualified visiting nurses in the delivery of culturally sensitive health care has grown dramatically. As the primary health care provider for multicultural families enrolled in public community-based health care centers, the cultural competence of visiting nurses is an essential qualification for the provision of quality health care for multicultural families, especially in rural areas. Cultural competence of visiting nurses is based on their cultural awareness and empathetic attitude toward multicultural families. This study aimed to examine the levels of cultural competence, empowerment, and empathy in visiting nurses, and to verify the factors that affect the cultural competence of visiting nurses working with rural multicultural families in South Korea. Employing a cross-sectional descriptive study design, data from 143 visiting nurses working in rural areas were obtained. Data collection took place between November 2011 and August 2012. The measurement tools included the modified Korean version of the Cultural Awareness Scale, the Text of Items Measuring Empowerment, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index to measure the level of empathy of visiting nurses. Analyses included descriptive statistics, a t-test, an ANOVA, a Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, and a multiple linear regression analysis. The cultural competence score of the visiting nurses was 3.07 on a 5-point Likert scale (SD = 0.30). The multiple regression analysis revealed that the cultural competence of visiting nurses was significantly influenced by experience of cultural education, empathy, and scores on the meaning subscale of the empowerment tool (R 2  = 10.2%). Institutional support to enhance visiting nurses' empowerment by assuring the significance of their job and specific strategies to enhance their empathy would be helpful to improve the cultural competence of visiting

Culture and resource management: factors affecting forests

Science.gov (United States)

Marjorie C. Falanruw

1992-01-01

Efforts to manage Pacific Island forest resources are more likely to succeed if they are based on an understanding of the cultural framework of land use activities. This paper explores the relationship between agricultural systems, population density, culture, and use of forest resources on the islands of Yap. Agricultural intensification is related to population...

Factors affecting the gene expression of in vitro cultured human preimplantation embryos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mantikou, E.; Jonker, M. J.; Wong, K. M.; van Montfoort, A. P. A.; de Jong, M.; Breit, T. M.; Repping, S.; Mastenbroek, S.

2016-01-01

What is the relative effect of common environmental and biological factors on transcriptome changes during human preimplantation development? Developmental stage and maternal age had a larger effect on the global gene expression profile of human preimplantation embryos than the culture medium or

Social and Cultural Factors Affecting Maternal Health in Rural Gambia: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Mat; Chen, Duan-Rung; Huang, Song-Lih

The high rate of maternal mortality reported in The Gambia is influenced by many factors, such as difficulties in accessing quality healthcare and facilities. In addition, socio-cultural practices in rural areas may limit the resources available to pregnant women, resulting in adverse health consequences. The aim of this study is to depict the gender dynamics in a rural Gambian context by exploring the social and cultural factors affecting maternal health. Five focus group discussions that included 50 participants (aged 15-30 years, with at least one child) and six in-depth interviews with traditional birth attendants were conducted to explore perceptions of maternal health issues among rural women. The discussion was facilitated by guides focusing on issues such as how the women perceived their own physical health during pregnancy, difficulties in keeping themselves healthy, and health-related problems during pregnancy and delivery. The data resulting from the discussion was transcribed verbatim and investigated using a qualitative thematic analysis. In general, rural Gambian women did not enjoy privileges in their households when they were pregnant. The duties expected of them required pregnant women to endure heavy workloads, with limited opportunities for sick leave and almost nonexistent resources to access prenatal care. The division of labor between men and women in the household was such that women often engaged in non-remunerable field work with few economic resources, and their household duties during pregnancy were not alleviated by either their husbands or the other members of polygamous households. At the time of delivery, the decision to receive care by trained personnel was often beyond the women's control, resulting in birth-related complications. Our findings suggest that despite women's multiple roles in the household, their positions are quite unfavorable. The high maternal morbidity and mortality rate in The Gambia is related to practices

Social and Cultural Factors Affecting Maternal Health in Rural Gambia: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mat Lowe

Full Text Available The high rate of maternal mortality reported in The Gambia is influenced by many factors, such as difficulties in accessing quality healthcare and facilities. In addition, socio-cultural practices in rural areas may limit the resources available to pregnant women, resulting in adverse health consequences. The aim of this study is to depict the gender dynamics in a rural Gambian context by exploring the social and cultural factors affecting maternal health.Five focus group discussions that included 50 participants (aged 15-30 years, with at least one child and six in-depth interviews with traditional birth attendants were conducted to explore perceptions of maternal health issues among rural women. The discussion was facilitated by guides focusing on issues such as how the women perceived their own physical health during pregnancy, difficulties in keeping themselves healthy, and health-related problems during pregnancy and delivery. The data resulting from the discussion was transcribed verbatim and investigated using a qualitative thematic analysis. In general, rural Gambian women did not enjoy privileges in their households when they were pregnant. The duties expected of them required pregnant women to endure heavy workloads, with limited opportunities for sick leave and almost nonexistent resources to access prenatal care. The division of labor between men and women in the household was such that women often engaged in non-remunerable field work with few economic resources, and their household duties during pregnancy were not alleviated by either their husbands or the other members of polygamous households. At the time of delivery, the decision to receive care by trained personnel was often beyond the women's control, resulting in birth-related complications.Our findings suggest that despite women's multiple roles in the household, their positions are quite unfavorable. The high maternal morbidity and mortality rate in The Gambia is related to

Demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors affecting fertility differentials in Nepal

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Adhikari Ramesh

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Traditionally Nepalese society favors high fertility. Children are a symbol of well-being both socially and economically. Although fertility has been decreasing in Nepal since 1981, it is still high compared to many other developing countries. This paper is an attempt to examine the demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors for fertility differentials in Nepal. Methods This paper has used data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2006. The analysis is confined to ever married women of reproductive age (8,644. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been performed to describe the fertility differentials. The bivariate analysis (one-way ANOVA was applied to examine the association between children ever born and women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics. Besides bivariate analysis, the net effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable after controlling for the effect of other predictors has also been measured through multivariate analysis (multiple linear regressions. Results The mean numbers of children ever born (CEB among married Nepali women of reproductive age and among women aged 40-49 were three and five children, respectively. There are considerable differentials in the average number of children ever born according to women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural settings. Regression analysis revealed that age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, place of residence, literacy status, religion, mass media exposure, use of family planning methods, household headship, and experience of child death were the most important variables that explained the variance in fertility. Women who considered a higher number of children as ideal (β = 0.03; p Conclusion The average number of children ever born is high among women in Nepal. There are many contributing factors for the high fertility, among which are age at first marriage, perceived ideal

Demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors affecting fertility differentials in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, Ramesh

2010-04-28

Traditionally Nepalese society favors high fertility. Children are a symbol of well-being both socially and economically. Although fertility has been decreasing in Nepal since 1981, it is still high compared to many other developing countries. This paper is an attempt to examine the demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors for fertility differentials in Nepal. This paper has used data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2006). The analysis is confined to ever married women of reproductive age (8,644). Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been performed to describe the fertility differentials. The bivariate analysis (one-way ANOVA) was applied to examine the association between children ever born and women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics. Besides bivariate analysis, the net effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable after controlling for the effect of other predictors has also been measured through multivariate analysis (multiple linear regressions). The mean numbers of children ever born (CEB) among married Nepali women of reproductive age and among women aged 40-49 were three and five children, respectively. There are considerable differentials in the average number of children ever born according to women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural settings. Regression analysis revealed that age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, place of residence, literacy status, religion, mass media exposure, use of family planning methods, household headship, and experience of child death were the most important variables that explained the variance in fertility. Women who considered a higher number of children as ideal (beta = 0.03; p Muslim women (beta = 0.07; p media (beta = -0.05; p women in Nepal. There are many contributing factors for the high fertility, among which are age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, literacy status, mass media exposure

Material culture of multilingualism and affectivity

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Larissa Aronin

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Affectivity is an important dimension in humans’ social and individual lives. It is either a stimulating or hindering aspect of language learning. This article aims to draw attention to material culture as a powerful, but mostly neglected source of data on the use and acquisition of languages, and demonstrates the close and intricate links between affectivity and material culture. It is hoped that revealing these interrelationships will assist in understanding and managing language diversity. It will allow practitioners and teachers to carry out social and private encounters, events and language teaching with more care, understanding and expertise. Researchers will be encouraged to join the investigation of yet one more important facet of multilingualism – material culture.

In what way do Nepalese cultural factors affect adherence to antiretroviral treatment in Nepal?

OpenAIRE

Wasti, Sharada Prasad; Randall, Julian; Simkhada, Padam; Van Teijlingen, Edwin

2011-01-01

Individuals’ self administration of medication is an essential component of disease management because incorrect and incomplete medication can result in increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs and also spreads drug resistance. Its impact is necessarily wider than just\\ud medical and includes the cultural and managerial considerations which govern success in medical interventions. This review paper is aimed at how Nepalese cultural factors (beliefs, religious practices, customs and...

Factors affecting the recreation of a story from a text : A cross-cultural experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stokmans, Mia; el Aissati, Abder; Boogaard, Marianne; van den Bogaerde, Beppie; Bacchini, Sylvia; Curcic, Maja; de Jong, Nivja; le Pichon, Emanuelle; Rasier, Laurent

In this research, we regard a text as a written expression about an extraordinary experience in which the socio-economic, cultural and historical background of an author affects the way this experience is translated into a text that tells the story. From this perspective, the task of a reader is to

Characterization of Factors Affecting Attainment of Glycemic Control in Asian Americans With Diabetes in a Culturally Specific Program

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Le, Hung; Wong, Sophia; Iftikar, Tracy; Keenan, Hillary; King, George L.; Hsu, William C.

2014-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a culturally specific pilot clinic for Asian Americans (AA) in reaching glycemic target and to characterize factors affecting the attainment of glycemic control in comparison with white counterparts. Methods This electronic health record review included all new AA patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 109) in a culturally specific program and a randomly selected sample of new white patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 218) in the adult clinic within the same time period and diabetes center. Results AA and whites had a comparable proportion of patients with A1C ≤7% (32.1%, 34.9%; P = .621) at baseline and after 12 months of care (48.6%, 56.0%; P = .210), with a similar A1C decline (−0.9% ± 1.6%, −0.8% ± 1.7%, P = .710) by 12 months. Factors associated with the lack of success in reaching target in AA but not in whites included older age, lower educational attainment, less likelihood of having health insurance, and a need for more educational visits. The percentage of AA reaching A1C ≤7%, as compared to whites, worsened among those with highest initial A1C when stratified by ascending quartiles (96.7% vs 85.2%, P = .101; 61.9% vs 58.9%, P = .813; 24.0% vs 37.7%, P = .230; 15.2% vs 35.4%, P = .044). Conclusion While a culturally specific diabetes program in a specialty setting achieved a similar glycemic outcome for AA compared with whites, reasons for not reaching glycemic target differed. The findings suggest that the elimination of diabetes disparities requires not only culturally and linguistically specific programs, but must also identify and address the socio-environmental differences unique to each population. PMID:23771841

Affective Body Movements (for Robots) Across Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias

2018-01-01

Humans are very good in expressing and interpreting emotions from a variety of different sources like voice, facial expression, or body movements. In this article, we concentrate on body movements and show that those are not only a source of affective information but might also have a different i...... with a study on creating an affective knocking movement for a humanoid robot and give details about a co-creation experiment for collecting a cross-cultural database on affective body movements and about the probabilistic model derived from this data....... interpretation in different cultures. To cope with these multiple viewpoints in generating and interpreting body movements in robots, we suggest a methodological approach that takes the cultural background of the developer and the user into account during the development process. We exemplify this approach...

Environmental Culture and the Factors Affecting It (Case Study: The Citizens of Shiraz City

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Zahra Hemmati

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the environmental crisis is considered as one of the major challenges that human is faced. Many scientists have proposed technological solutions to reduce or prevent environmental crises, however, some of them have suggested the necessity of new relation and interaction between nature and human, and also, the need for a new environmental culture. This study aims to explore the environmental culture and its influencing factors in Shiraz city. Research was conducted by using survey method, cluster sampling and questionnaire. In total, 402 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Research findings indicate that environmental culture had positive and significant relationship with opportunities and facilities offered, feeling efficiency and environmental education. However, environmental culture had no significant relationship with environmental knowledge and social norms. Also, multivariate regression results show that opportunities and facilities offered and feeling efficiency are significant with environmental culture.

Affect Of Cultural Factor On Consumer Behaviour In Online Shop

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Agnita Yolanda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Consumer behavior is an action taken by a person in making a decision to search for purchase acquire use of goods and services that will satisfy their needs. The purpose of this study is presented to determine how much the behavior of consumers to choose online shopping and direct shopping at Management of Higher School STIM Sukma Medan. The method used in this research is descriptive method with quantitative data that has been obtained through the data directly from the company. The data collected with the spaciousness of research and literature in the form of distributing questionnaires to 52 fifty-two consumers. Processing data using SPSS statistical test tools version 17.00. Based on the results of the 4 four and the indicator above the 8 eight questions as well as 52 fifty-two consumers. Results showed that the most influential in choosing online shopping is a cultural factor with a percentage of 26.14 while the most influential in choosing the direct spending is psychological factors with the percentage of 26.50.

Cultural factors and the International Space Station.

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Ritsher, Jennifer Boyd

2005-06-01

The American and Russian/Soviet space programs independently uncovered psychosocial risks inherent in long-duration space missions. Now that these two countries are working together on the International Space Station (ISS), American-Russian cultural differences pose an additional set of risk factors. These may echo cultural differences that have been observed in the general population of the two countries and in space analogue settings, but little is known about how relevant these are to the select population of space program personnel. The evidence for the existence of mission-relevant cultural differences is reviewed and includes cultural values, emotional expressivity, personal space norms, and personality characteristics. The review is focused primarily on Russia and the United States, but also includes other ISS partner countries. Cultural differences among space program personnel may have a wide range of effects. Moreover, culture-related strains may increase the probability of distress and impairment. Such factors could affect the individual and interpersonal functioning of both crewmembers and mission control personnel, whose performance is also critical for mission safety and success. Examples from the anecdotal and empirical literature are given to illustrate these points. The use of existing assessment strategies runs the risk of overlooking important early warning signs of behavioral health difficulties. By paying more attention to cultural differences and how they might be manifested, we are more likely to detect problems early while they are still mild and resolvable.

Factors affecting walking activity of older people from culturally diverse groups: an Australian experience.

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Bird, Stephen R; Radermacher, Harriet; Sims, Jane; Feldman, Susan; Browning, Colette; Thomas, Shane

2010-07-01

This study sought to investigate the walking habits of older people from diverse cultural backgrounds, and to identify the factors associated with their walking. Three hundred and thirty three people over the age of 60 years were recruited from seven culturally diverse groups from the Western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. A survey questionnaire recording physical activity, and various factors related to activity, was interviewer-administered in the participants' preferred language. Data were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis, chi(2) and Mann-Whitney tests. Forty-seven percent of the participants walked at least 150 min per week, with no significant difference in prevalence between genders or cultural groups. Some cultural differences were found in relation to reasons and locations for walking, and women were more likely than men to report walking in the shopping mall, whilst men were more likely than women to report walking in the park and along walking trails. Those who attained >150 min of walking were more likely to report health and fitness as reasons for walking, to perceive their walking environment as more pleasurable, to use walking trails, and to consider their environment safe and to facilitate social interaction. This study indicates that the continued advocating of walking as a health promoting activity should be central to future campaigns to increase physical activity in this age group. The provision of locations that are accessible, safe, aesthetically pleasing, and encourage social engagement are likely to facilitate older people's participation in walking. For maximum effectiveness, however, strategies may benefit from being tailored to meet specific gender and cultural preferences. Copyright 2009 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting access to healthcare services by intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania: a qualitative study.

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Hannah, Chona T; Lê, Quynh

2012-10-01

Access to health care services is vital for every migrant's health and wellbeing. However, migrants' cultural health beliefs and views can hinder their ability to access available services. This study examined factors affecting access to healthcare services for intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania, Australia. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was employed to investigate the factors affecting access to healthcare services for 30 intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania. The study used grounded theory and thematic analysis for its data analysis. Nvivo v8 (www.qsrinternational.com) was also used to assist the data coding process and analysis. Five influencing factors were identified: (1) language or communication barriers; (2) area of origin in the Philippines; (3) cultural barriers; (4) length of stay in Tasmania; and (5) expectations of healthcare services before and after migration. Factors affecting intermarried Filipino women in accessing healthcare services are shaped by their socio-demographic and cultural background. The insights gained from this study are useful to health policy-makers, healthcare professionals and to intermarried female migrants. The factors identified can serve as a guide to improve healthcare access for Filipino women and other migrants.

Factors Driving Business Intelligence Culture

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Rimvydas Skyrius

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The field of business intelligence (BI, despite rapid technology advances, continues to feature inadequate levels of adoption. The attention of researchers is shifting towards hu-man factors of BI adoption. The wide set of human factors influencing BI adoption con-tains elements of what we call BI culture – an overarching concept covering key managerial issues that come up in BI implementation. Research sources provide different sets of features pertaining to BI culture or related concepts – decision-making culture, analytical culture and others. The goal of this paper is to perform the review of research and practical sources to examine driving forces of BI – data-driven approaches, BI agility, maturity and acceptance – to point out culture-related issues that support BI adoption and to suggest an emerging set of factors influencing BI culture.

Do Social and Cultural Factors Perpetuate Gender Based Violence ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Gender based violence in Malawi exist at a level that requires special acknowledgement. A survey was conducted to assess how social and cultural factors affect gender-based violence in Malawi. The study revealed that both men and women are victims of gender based violence although women bare the brunt of the ...

Depressive symptoms and positive affect in Chinese and United States breast cancer survivors: a cross-cultural comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Milbury, Kathrin; Kavanagh, April; Meng, Zhiqiang; Chen, Zhen; Chandwani, Kavita D; Garcia, Kay; Perkins, George H; McQuade, Jennifer; Raghuram, Nelamangala V; Nagarathna, Raghuram; Liao, Zhongxing; Nagendra, Hongasandra Ramarao; Chen, Jiayi; Guo, Xiaoma; Liu, Luming; Arun, Banu; Cohen, Lorenzo

2017-07-01

Research in the area of cultural response pattern on questionnaires in the oncological setting and direct cross-cultural comparisons are lacking. This study examined response pattern in the reporting of depressive symptoms in Chinese and US women with breast cancer. We hypothesized that Chinese women are less likely to endorse positive affect items compared to their US counterparts. Additionally, we explored cultural differences in the association between positive affect and QOL. Secondary analyses of baseline assessments of two mind-body intervention studies for women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy in the USA (N = 62) and China (N = 97) are presented. All participants completed measures of depressive symptoms (CES-D) and cancer-specific QOL (FACT-B). We examined cultural differences on positive and negative affect items on the CES-D. Controlling for demographic factors, ANCOVA revealed a significant cultural difference in positive (F = 7.99, p = 0.005) but not negative affect (p = 0.82) with Chinese women reporting lower positive affect compared to US women (Chinese = 6.97 vs. US = 8.31). There was also a significant cultural difference (F = 3.94, p = 0.03) in the association between positive affect and QOL so that lower positive affect was more strongly associated with worse emotional well-being in Chinese (beta = 0.57, p different cultures to ascertain effective delivery of clinical services to those in need.

Factors Affecting Participation by Adults in Community Educational Activities Concerned with the Cultural Arts.

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Warlum, Michael Frank

The study seeks to determine and describe factors which are related to, and which may be responsible for, adult participation or lack of participation in a large-scale, community-wide, cultural arts project involving considerable volunteer effort. While serving as a participant observer, the researcher gathered data from sources directly related…

Factors affecting strategic plan implementation using interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Teymourzadeh, Ehsan; Tajik, Hamidreza; Ravangard, Ramin; Raadabadi, Mehdi; Hosseini, Seyed Mojtaba

2018-06-11

Purpose Strategic planning is the best tool for managers seeking an informed presence and participation in the market without surrendering to changes. Strategic planning enables managers to achieve their organizational goals and objectives. Hospital goals, such as improving service quality and increasing patient satisfaction cannot be achieved if agreed strategies are not implemented. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting strategic plan implementation in one teaching hospital using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Design/methodology/approach The authors used a descriptive study involving experts and senior managers; 16 were selected as the study sample using a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed and prepared based on previous studies. Data were analyzed using ISM. Findings Five main factors affected strategic plan implementation. Although all five variables and factors are top level, "senior manager awareness and participation in the strategic planning process" and "creating and maintaining team participation in the strategic planning process" had maximum drive power. "Organizational structure effects on the strategic planning process" and "Organizational culture effects on the strategic planning process" had maximum dependence power. Practical implications Identifying factors affecting strategic plan implementation is a basis for healthcare quality improvement by analyzing the relationship among factors and overcoming the barriers. Originality/value The authors used ISM to analyze the relationship between factors affecting strategic plan implementation.

From Mediatized Emotion to Digital Affect Cultures

OpenAIRE

Döveling, Katrin; Harju, Anu Annika; Sommer, Denise

2018-01-01

Research on the processes of mediatization aims to explore the mutual shaping of media and social life and how new media technologies influence and infiltrate social practices and cultural life. We extend this discussion of media’s role in transforming the everyday by including in the discussion the mediatization of emotion and discuss what we conceptualize as digital affect culture(s). We understand these as relational, contextual, globally emergent spaces in the digital environment where af...

Studying the Relationship between Individual and Organizational Factors and Nurses' Perception of Patient Safety Culture

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Farahnaz Abdolahzadeh

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Safety culture is considered as an important factor in improving patient safety. Therefore, identifying individual and organizational factors affecting safety culture is crucial. This study was carried out to determine individual and organizational factors associated with nurses' perception of patient safety culture. Methods: The present descriptive study included 940 nurses working in four training hospitals affiliated with Urmia University of Medical Sciences (Iran. Data was collected through the self-report questionnaire of patient safety culture. Descriptive (number, percent, mean, and standard deviation and inferential (t-test and analysis of variance statistics were used to analyze the data in SPSS. Results: Nurses' perception of patient safety culture was significantly correlated with marital status, workplace, and overtime hours. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that some individual and organizational factors can impact on nurses' perception of patient safety culture. Nursing authorities should thus pay more attention to factors which promote patient safety culture and ultimately the safety of provided services.

National Identity as a Factor of Inter-Cultural Communication

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Elizaveta A. Volkova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the definition and origin of the notions «mentality (identity» and «national mentality (identity» focusing on their complex essence. The article names factors that affect the formation of national identity, at the same time pointing out the aspect of human life that the identity itself affects. The notion «national identity» is revealed via its vocabulary definitions. National identity is analyzed as a factor of inter-cultural communication, its role and importance in this communication are also analyzed. One of the objectives of the research is signing out the limits of the concepts «national identity» and «inter-cultural communication» and revealing the conditions of their interaction and mutual dependence. National identity is a complex notion, which complexity lies within the combination of mental and emotional, spiritual elements. This factor adds extra difficulty into understanding, as well as investigating the notion of national identity. Thus it is not rarely ignored in linguistics, international communication, even in teaching languages. However, nowadays, when globalization makes international contacts and communication widely accessible, many people meet unexpected difficulties that derive from ignoring national identity factor. That is why recently it is getting more and more obvious that taking national identity into consideration can be one of the main keys to successful communication at all levels.

Cultural differences in affect intensity perception in the context of advertising

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Marianna ePogosyan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Cultural differences in the perception of positive affect intensity within an advertising context were investigated among American, Japanese and Russian participants. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of facial expressions of positive emotions, which displayed either subtle, low intensity or salient, high intensity expressions of positive affect. In agreement with previous findings from cross-cultural psychological research, current results demonstrate both cross-cultural agreement and differences in the perception of positive affect intensity across the three cultures. Specifically, American participants perceived high arousal images as significantly less calm than participants from the other two cultures, while the Japanese participants perceived low arousal images as significantly more excited than participants from the other cultures. The underlying mechanisms of these cultural differences were further investigated through difference scores that probed for cultural differences in perception and categorization of positive emotions. Findings indicate that rating differences are due to (1 perceptual differences in the extent to which high arousal images were discriminated from low arousal images, and (2 categorization differences in the extent to which facial expressions were grouped into affect intensity categories. Specifically, American participants revealed significantly higher perceptual differentiation between arousal levels of facial expressions in high and intermediate intensity categories. Japanese participants, on the other hand, did not discriminate between high and low arousal affect categories to the same extent as did the American and Russian participants. These findings indicate the presence of cultural differences in underlying decoding mechanisms of facial expressions of positive affect intensity. Implications of these results for cross-cultural communication and global advertising are discussed.

Affect perception across cultures: the role of cognitive mechanisms

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Jan B Engelmann

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Despite consistently documented cultural differences in the perception of facial expressions of emotion, the role of culture in shaping cognitive mechanisms that are central to affect perception has received relatively little attention in past research. We review recent developments in cross-cultural psychology that provide particular insights into the modulatory role of culture on cognitive mechanisms involved in interpretations of facial expressions of emotion through two distinct routes: display rules and cognitive styles. Investigations of affect intensity perception have demonstrated that facial expressions with varying levels of intensity of positive affect are perceived and categorized differently across cultures. Recent findings indicating high levels of differentiation between intensity levels of facial expressions among American participants, as well as deviations from clear categorization of high and low intensity expressions in Japanese and Russian participants, suggest that display rules shape mental representations of emotions, such as intensity levels of emotion prototypes. Furthermore, a series of recent studies using eye tracking as a proxy for overt attention during face perception has identified culture-specific cognitive styles, such as the propensity to attend to very specific features of the face. Together, these results suggest a cascade of cultural influences on cognitive mechanisms involved in interpretations of facial expressions of emotion, whereby cultures impart specific behavioral practices that shape the way individuals process information from the environment. These cultural influences lead to differences in cognitive style, such as attentional biases and emotion prototypes, which partially account for the gradient of cultural agreements and disagreements obtained in past investigations.

Influence and adjustment goals: sources of cultural differences in ideal affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Jeanne L; Miao, Felicity F; Seppala, Emma; Fung, Helene H; Yeung, Dannii Y

2007-06-01

Previous studies have found that in American culture high-arousal positive states (HAP) such as excitement are valued more and low-arousal positive states (LAP) such as calm are valued less than they are in Chinese culture. What specific factors account for these differences? The authors predicted that when people and cultures aimed to influence others (i.e., assert personal needs and change others' behaviors to meet those needs), they would value HAP more and LAP less than when they aimed to adjust to others (i.e., suppress personal needs and change their own behaviors to meet others' needs). They test these predictions in 1 survey and 3 experimental studies. The findings suggest that within and across American and Chinese contexts, differences in ideal affect are due to specific interpersonal goals. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

Nencki Affective Picture System: Cross-Cultural Study in Europe and Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Riegel, Monika; Moslehi, Abnoos; Michałowski, Jarosław M.; Żurawski, Łukasz; Horvat, Marko; Wypych, Marek; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur

2017-01-01

Although emotions have been assumed conventionally to be universal, recent studies have suggested that various aspects of emotions may be mediated by cultural background. The purpose of our research was to test these contradictory views, in the case of the subjective evaluation of visual affective stimuli. We also sought to validate the recently introduced Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS) database on a different cultural group. Since there has been, to date, no attempt to compare the emotions of a culturally distinct sample of Iranians with those of Europeans, subjective ratings were collected from 40 Iranians and 39 Europeans. Each cultural group was asked separately to provide normative affective ratings and classify pictures according to discrete emotions. The results were analyzed to identify cultural differences in the ratings of individual images. One hundred and seventy NAPS pictures were rated with regard to the intensity of the basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust) they elicited, as well as in terms of affective dimensions (valence and arousal). Contrary to previous studies using the International Affective Picture System, our results for Europeans and Iranians show that neither the ratings for affective dimensions nor for basic emotions differed across cultural groups. In both cultural groups, the relationship between valence and arousal ratings could be best described by a classical boomerang-shaped function. However, the content of the pictures (animals, faces, landscapes, objects, or people) had a significant effect on the ratings for valence and arousal. These findings indicate that further studies in cross-cultural affective research should control for the content of stimuli. PMID:28316576

Nencki Affective Picture System: Cross-Cultural Study in Europe and Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Riegel, Monika; Moslehi, Abnoos; Michałowski, Jarosław M; Żurawski, Łukasz; Horvat, Marko; Wypych, Marek; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur

2017-01-01

Although emotions have been assumed conventionally to be universal, recent studies have suggested that various aspects of emotions may be mediated by cultural background. The purpose of our research was to test these contradictory views, in the case of the subjective evaluation of visual affective stimuli. We also sought to validate the recently introduced Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS) database on a different cultural group. Since there has been, to date, no attempt to compare the emotions of a culturally distinct sample of Iranians with those of Europeans, subjective ratings were collected from 40 Iranians and 39 Europeans. Each cultural group was asked separately to provide normative affective ratings and classify pictures according to discrete emotions. The results were analyzed to identify cultural differences in the ratings of individual images. One hundred and seventy NAPS pictures were rated with regard to the intensity of the basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust) they elicited, as well as in terms of affective dimensions (valence and arousal). Contrary to previous studies using the International Affective Picture System, our results for Europeans and Iranians show that neither the ratings for affective dimensions nor for basic emotions differed across cultural groups. In both cultural groups, the relationship between valence and arousal ratings could be best described by a classical boomerang-shaped function. However, the content of the pictures (animals, faces, landscapes, objects, or people) had a significant effect on the ratings for valence and arousal. These findings indicate that further studies in cross-cultural affective research should control for the content of stimuli.

Cultural differences in affect intensity perception in the context of advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Pogosyan, Marianna; Engelmann, Jan B

2011-01-01

Cultural differences in the perception of positive affect intensity within an advertising context were investigated among American, Japanese, and Russian participants. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of facial expressions of positive emotions, which displayed either subtle, low intensity, or salient, high intensity expressions of positive affect. In agreement with previous findings from cross-cultural psychological research, current results demonstrate both cross-cultural agreement and differences in the perception of positive affect intensity across the three cultures. Specifically, American participants perceived high arousal (HA) images as significantly less calm than participants from the other two cultures, while the Japanese participants perceived low arousal (LA) images as significantly more excited than participants from the other cultures. The underlying mechanisms of these cultural differences were further investigated through difference scores that probed for cultural differences in perception and categorization of positive emotions. Findings indicate that rating differences are due to (1) perceptual differences in the extent to which HA images were discriminated from LA images, and (2) categorization differences in the extent to which facial expressions were grouped into affect intensity categories. Specifically, American participants revealed significantly higher perceptual differentiation between arousal levels of facial expressions in high and intermediate intensity categories. Japanese participants, on the other hand, did not discriminate between high and low arousal affect categories to the same extent as did the American and Russian participants. These findings indicate the presence of cultural differences in underlying decoding mechanisms of facial expressions of positive affect intensity. Implications of these results for global advertising are discussed.

Cultural factors in collegiate eating disorder pathology: When family culture clashes with individual culture

OpenAIRE

Tomiyama, AJ; Mann, T

2008-01-01

The authors evaluated the validity of familial enmeshment (extreme proximity in family relationships) as a risk factor for eating disorders across cultural value orientations. They tested the hypothesis that although familial enmeshment may be a risk factor for eating disorder pathology for (1) participants of non-Asian descent or (2) culturally independent participants, enmeshment will not be a risk factor for (1) participants of Asian descent or (2) culturally interdependent participants. P...

An exploration of socio-cultural and organizational factors affecting women's access to educational leadership

OpenAIRE

Korkor Owusu, Patrick

2014-01-01

Recent global reports indicate that women have made tremendous improvements in educational enrolment and labour participation but are woefully underrepresented in top leadership positions. Moreover, studies have shown that feminine leadership strategies are embraced but leadership is still perceived as a prerogative of men in many societies. This study therefore sought to explore the socio-cultural and organizational factors influencing the underrepresentation of women in educational leadersh...

Cultures differ in the ability to enhance affective neural responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Varnum, Michael E W; Hampton, Ryan S

2017-10-01

The present study (N = 55) used an event-related potential paradigm to investigate whether cultures differ in the ability to upregulate affective responses. Using stimuli selected from the International Affective Picture System, we found that European-Americans (N = 29) enhanced central-parietal late positive potential (LPP) (400-800 ms post-stimulus) responses to affective stimuli when instructed to do so, whereas East Asians (N = 26) did not. We observed cultural differences in the ability to enhance central-parietal LPP responses for both positively and negativelyvalenced stimuli, and the ability to enhance these two types of responses was positively correlated for Americans but negatively for East Asians. These results are consistent with the notion that cultural variations in norms and values regarding affective expression and experiences shape how the brain regulates emotions.

Factors affecting the determination of the isotopically exchangeable phosphorus in soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morales, L.E.M.

1981-06-01

In order to evaluate the factors that affect the determination of the isotopically exchangeable phosphorus in soils (L value), various greenhouse experiments were carried out. The following factors were considered: carrier level; plant species; harvest time; nitrogen doses; nitrogen sources; culture conditions and soil type. A radioactive solution with an activity level of approximately 10 μCi 32 p/3 kg soil with different carrier levels was located in layers or mixed completely with the soil depending upon the experiment. (author)

Culture temperature affects human chondrocyte messenger RNA expression in monolayer and pellet culture systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Akira; Nagai, Momoko; Tajino, Junichi; Yamaguchi, Shoki; Iijima, Hirotaka; Zhang, Xiangkai; Aoyama, Tomoki; Kuroki, Hiroshi

2015-01-01

Cell-based therapy has been explored for articular cartilage regeneration. Autologous chondrocyte implantation is a promising cell-based technique for repairing articular cartilage defects. However, there are several issues such as chondrocyte de-differentiation. While numerous studies have been designed to overcome some of these issues, only a few have focused on the thermal environment that can affect chondrocyte metabolism and phenotype. In this study, the effects of different culture temperatures on human chondrocyte metabolism- and phenotype-related gene expression were investigated in 2D and 3D environments. Human chondrocytes were cultured in a monolayer or in a pellet culture system at three different culture temperatures (32°C, 37°C, and 41°C) for 3 days. The results showed that the total RNA level, normalized to the threshold cycle value of internal reference genes, was higher at lower temperatures in both culture systems. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and citrate synthase (CS), which are involved in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, respectively, were expressed at similar levels at 32°C and 37°C in pellet cultures, but the levels were significantly lower at 41°C. Expression of the chondrogenic markers, collagen type IIA1 (COL2A1) and aggrecan (ACAN), was higher at 37°C than at 32°C and 41°C in both culture systems. However, this phenomenon did not coincide with SRY (sex-determining region Y)-box 9 (SOX9), which is a fundamental transcription factor for chondrogenesis, indicating that a SOX9-independent pathway might be involved in this phenomenon. In conclusion, the expression of chondrocyte metabolism-related genes at 32°C was maintained or enhanced compared to that at 37°C. However, chondrogenesis-related genes were further induced at 37°C in both culture systems. Therefore, manipulating the culture temperature may be an advantageous approach for regulating human chondrocyte metabolic activity and chondrogenesis.

Culture temperature affects human chondrocyte messenger RNA expression in monolayer and pellet culture systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akira Ito

Full Text Available Cell-based therapy has been explored for articular cartilage regeneration. Autologous chondrocyte implantation is a promising cell-based technique for repairing articular cartilage defects. However, there are several issues such as chondrocyte de-differentiation. While numerous studies have been designed to overcome some of these issues, only a few have focused on the thermal environment that can affect chondrocyte metabolism and phenotype. In this study, the effects of different culture temperatures on human chondrocyte metabolism- and phenotype-related gene expression were investigated in 2D and 3D environments. Human chondrocytes were cultured in a monolayer or in a pellet culture system at three different culture temperatures (32°C, 37°C, and 41°C for 3 days. The results showed that the total RNA level, normalized to the threshold cycle value of internal reference genes, was higher at lower temperatures in both culture systems. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH and citrate synthase (CS, which are involved in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, respectively, were expressed at similar levels at 32°C and 37°C in pellet cultures, but the levels were significantly lower at 41°C. Expression of the chondrogenic markers, collagen type IIA1 (COL2A1 and aggrecan (ACAN, was higher at 37°C than at 32°C and 41°C in both culture systems. However, this phenomenon did not coincide with SRY (sex-determining region Y-box 9 (SOX9, which is a fundamental transcription factor for chondrogenesis, indicating that a SOX9-independent pathway might be involved in this phenomenon. In conclusion, the expression of chondrocyte metabolism-related genes at 32°C was maintained or enhanced compared to that at 37°C. However, chondrogenesis-related genes were further induced at 37°C in both culture systems. Therefore, manipulating the culture temperature may be an advantageous approach for regulating human chondrocyte metabolic activity and

Socio-cultural factors affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dada-Adegbola, H O

2004-06-01

There is a disproportionate share of AIDS cases over the years in Africa. This has occurred in racial and ethnic minority populations, a finding likely related to social, economic and cultural factors. Certain socio-cultural and religious practices such as polygamy and giving a daughter away in marriage without considering the social life of the man are likely contributory factors to the higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS in women in this part of the world. This is illustrated with a case of Mr. M. S. who married two wives within four months interval, having lived a promiscuous life before marriage. One of the wives was a virgin at the time of marriage. Neither of wives had any symptoms suggestive of STD or HIV before marriage, however, the three of them tested positive to HIV-1 following a visit to the special treatment clinic. He had genital herpes and his two wives also had vulvovaginal candidiasis, genital herpes and condyloma accuminata (genital warts). The husband would not want his HIV status declared to the wives. There is therefore a need to enact law on pre-marriage HIV screening for intending couples. Couple Pre-and post-test counseling must be encouraged and promoted. In addition, women should be empowered to negotiate safer sex.

Social-Cultural Factors Affecting Maasai Women Participation In Decision Making In Tanzania. A Case Study Of Longido District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn Kandusi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Throughout history participation in decision making through processes like voting vying for leadership position and participation in decision making meetings has been blinded by discrimination to certain groups of community members including women. This study assessed the social cultural factors affecting Maasai womens participation in decision making a case of Longido district. Purposive sampling was used to select the districts under the study. Decision to select Longido was based on the inhabitance of pastoral community. A total of 115 respondents were obtained through simple random selection. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS. Simple descriptive statistics and cross tabulation were used in the analysis. The results show that majority would you vote for a woman to be an MP Councilor Village Chairman in your community. A considerable proportion of men refused to be led by a woman. Furthermore women were found not to effectively participate in politics through vying for leadership positions as many respondents voted for male contestant main reasons being no female contestant. Situations in which women are involved in decision making were found mainly to be on issues pertaining women development and family matters. Findings show that women are allowed to vote in the community but often the decision for a woman to vote was found to be determined by men. The study further found that women are not regarded elders and females ideas were not taken into account as male ideas in village meetings. The main barriers for women participation in leadership were found that men do not want women to compete in leadership and women ideas not accepted by most men. The study concluded that Maasai women participation in decision making is limited by social cultural factors like social identity social acceptance social roles and limiting cultural practices. It is recommended that civic education strategy and appropriate

Material Culture of Multilingualism and Affectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Aronin, Larissa

2012-01-01

Affectivity is an important dimension in humans' social and individual lives. It is either a stimulating or hindering aspect of language learning. This article aims to draw attention to material culture as a powerful, but mostly neglected source of data on the use and acquisition of languages, and demonstrates the close and intricate links between…

Cross-cultural aging in cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Pethtel, Olivia; Chen, Yiwei

2010-09-01

The present study examined age and cultural differences in cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being. A sample of 188 American and Chinese young and older adults completed surveys measuring self-life satisfaction, perceived family's life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Across cultures, older adults reported lower negative affect than did young adults. Americans reported higher self-life satisfaction, perceived family's life satisfaction, and positive affect than did Chinese. In addition, perceived family's life satisfaction was more related to self-life satisfaction for Chinese than for Americans. Findings are discussed in light of socioemotional selectivity theory and theories on culture and self-construal. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Factors that Affect Poverty Areas in North Sumatera Using Discriminant Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Nasution, D. H.; Bangun, P.; Sitepu, H. R.

2018-04-01

In Indonesia, especially North Sumatera, the problem of poverty is one of the fundamental problems that become the focus of government both central and local government. Although the poverty rate decreased but the fact is there are many people who are poor. Poverty happens covers several aspects such as education, health, demographics, and also structural and cultural. This research will discuss about several factors such as population density, Unemployment Rate, GDP per capita ADHK, ADHB GDP per capita, economic growth and life expectancy that affect poverty in Indonesia. To determine the factors that most influence and differentiate the level of poverty of the Regency/City North Sumatra used discriminant analysis method. Discriminant analysis is one multivariate analysis technique are used to classify the data into a group based on the dependent variable and independent variable. Using discriminant analysis, it is evident that the factor affecting poverty is Unemployment Rate.

Can cultural differences lead to accidents? Team cultural differences and sociotechnical system operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Strauch, Barry

2010-04-01

I discuss cultural factors and how they may influence sociotechnical system operations. Investigations of several major transportation accidents suggest that cultural factors may have played a role in the causes of the accidents. However, research has not fully addressed how cultural factors can influence sociotechnical systems. I review literature on cultural differences in general and cultural factors in sociotechnical systems and discuss how these differences can affect team performance in sociotechnical systems. Cultural differences have been observed in social and interpersonal dimensions and in cognitive and perceptual styles; these differences can affect multioperator team performance. Cultural factors may account for team errors in sociotechnical systems, most likely during high-workload, high-stress operational phases. However, much of the research on cultural factors has methodological and interpretive shortcomings that limit their applicability to sociotechnical systems. Although some research has been conducted on the role of cultural differences on team performance in sociotechnical system operations, considerable work remains to be done before the effects of these differences can be fully understood. I propose a model that illustrates how culture can interact with sociotechnical system operations and suggest avenues of future research. Given methodological challenges in measuring cultural differences and team performance in sociotechnical system operations, research in these systems should use a variety of methodologies to better understand how culture can affect multioperator team performance in these systems.

Design Factors Affect User Experience for Different Cultural Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Sauman

2016-01-01

With increasing changes in our demographic populations and new immigrants settling in the US, there is an increasing need for visual communications that address the diversity of our populations. This paper draws from the results of the researcher's several past research and teaching projects that worked with different cultural populations. These…

A hierarchical factor analysis of a safety culture survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazier, Christopher B; Ludwig, Timothy D; Whitaker, Brian; Roberts, D Steve

2013-06-01

Recent reviews of safety culture measures have revealed a host of potential factors that could make up a safety culture (Flin, Mearns, O'Connor, & Bryden, 2000; Guldenmund, 2000). However, there is still little consensus regarding what the core factors of safety culture are. The purpose of the current research was to determine the core factors, as well as the structure of those factors that make up a safety culture, and establish which factors add meaningful value by factor analyzing a widely used safety culture survey. A 92-item survey was constructed by subject matter experts and was administered to 25,574 workers across five multi-national organizations in five different industries. Exploratory and hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses were conducted revealing four second-order factors of a Safety Culture consisting of Management Concern, Personal Responsibility for Safety, Peer Support for Safety, and Safety Management Systems. Additionally, a total of 12 first-order factors were found: three on Management Concern, three on Personal Responsibility, two on Peer Support, and four on Safety Management Systems. The resulting safety culture model addresses gaps in the literature by indentifying the core constructs which make up a safety culture. This clarification of the major factors emerging in the measurement of safety cultures should impact the industry through a more accurate description, measurement, and tracking of safety cultures to reduce loss due to injury. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leaders' smiles reflect cultural differences in ideal affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Jeanne L; Ang, Jen Ying Zhen; Blevins, Elizabeth; Goernandt, Julia; Fung, Helene H; Jiang, Da; Elliott, Julian; Kölzer, Anna; Uchida, Yukiko; Lee, Yi-Chen; Lin, Yicheng; Zhang, Xiulan; Govindama, Yolande; Haddouk, Lise

2016-03-01

Cultures differ in the emotions they teach their members to value ("ideal affect"). We conducted 3 studies to examine whether leaders' smiles reflect these cultural differences in ideal affect. In Study 1, we compared the smiles of top-ranked American and Chinese government leaders, chief executive officers, and university presidents in their official photos. Consistent with findings that Americans value excitement and other high-arousal positive states more than Chinese, American top-ranked leaders (N = 98) showed more excited smiles than Chinese top-ranked leaders (N = 91) across occupations. In Study 2, we compared the smiles of winning versus losing political candidates and higher versus lower ranking chief executive officers and university presidents in the United States and Taiwan/China. American leaders (N = 223) showed more excited smiles than Taiwanese/Chinese leaders (N = 266), regardless of election outcome or ranking. In Study 3, we administered self-report measures of ideal affect in college student samples from 10 different nations (N = 1,267) and then 8 years later, coded the smiles that legislators from those nations showed in their official photos (N = 3,372). The more nations valued excitement and other high arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed excited smiles; similarly, the more nations valued calm and other low-arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed calm smiles. These results held after controlling for national differences in democratization, human development, and gross domestic product per capita. Together, these findings suggest that leaders' smiles reflect the affective states valued by their cultures. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Factors Affecting University Library Website Design

OpenAIRE

Kim, Yongi-Mi; University of Oklahoma

2011-01-01

Existing studies have extensively explored factors that affect users’ intentions to use university library website resources (ULWR); yet little attention has been given to factors affecting university library website design. This paper investigates factors that affect university library website design and assesses the success of the university library website from both designers’ and users’ perspectives. The findings show that when planning a website, university web designers consider univers...

Cultural factors related to the maintenance of health behaviours in Algonquin women with a history of gestational diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaudreau, S; Michaud, C

2012-06-01

Though the cultural factors that may contribute to the diabetes epidemic in First Nations are frequently discussed, little is known about the factors that may help prevent it. In this ethnonursing study, we explore the cultural factors that help maintain health behaviours in Algonquin women who had received a diagnosis of gestational diabetes 2 to 10 years before this study. The data were collected in two Algonquin communities through semi-structured interviews with key informants (n = 7) and general informants (n = 8) and through cultural immersion, with detailed observations being recorded into logbooks. The cultural factors that are likely to affect the prevention of diabetes are the importance of family and social ties, the possibility of preserving cultural values, the opportunity to learn behaviours through educational resources adapted to needs and culture, the chance of saving money through better diet and access to blood sugar data as a means of control. In the long term, these cultural factors could influence health behaviours and thus help prevent type 2 diabetes.

Entrepreneurial Skills and Socio-Cultural Factors: An Empirical Analysis in Secondary Education Students

Science.gov (United States)

Rosique-Blasco, Mario; Madrid-Guijarro, Antonia; García-Pérez-de-Lema, Domingo

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurial skills (such as creativity, proactivity and risk tolerance) and socio-cultural factors (such as role model and businessman image) affect secondary education students' propensity towards entrepreneurial options in their future careers. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of…

Gelling agents and culture vessels affect in vitro multiplication of banana plantlets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaçar, Y A; Biçen, B; Varol, I; Mendi, Y Y; Serçe, S; Cetiner, S

2010-03-09

Agar is the most commonly used gelling agent in media for plant tissue culture. Because of the high price of tissue-culture-grade agar, attempts have been made to identify suitable alternatives. The type of culture vessel and lid also affects the gaseous composition inside the vessel as well as light penetration. In turn, the vessel affects growth parameters, such as shoot elongation, proliferation and fresh weight, as well as hyperhydric degradation processes. We examined the effects of different culture vessels, including commercial glass jars, magenta boxes, and disposable containers, as well as different gelling agents (agar-agar, Agargel, Phytagel, and plant agar) on the micropropagation of Dwarf Cavendish bananas in an effort to find a combination that yields large numbers of high-quality seedlings. The different culture vessels did not significantly affect seedling culture success. The medium significantly affected shoot weight. Phytagel resulted in the highest shoot weight (overall mean = 2.4 g), while agar, Agargel and plant agar resulted in 1.7, 2.2 and 2.2 g, respectively. Disposable container/Phytagel and Magenta/Agargel combinations yielded the highest shoot weights (2.9 and 3.0 g, respectively). Mean shoot length increased progressively with subculture (four subcultures were made). The highest mean shoot length was obtained with Phytagel and Agargel media (6.4 and 6.3 cm, respectively). Shoot number was significantly affected by medium only at subculture 4. Overall, the highest mean shoot length was obtained with the Magenta/Agargel combination (8.5 cm). Phytagel and plant agar gave higher mean shoot number than agar and Agargel (2.1, 2.1 and 1.7 and 1.9, respectively). The costs of the media and of the culture vessels need to be taken into account for final choice of the banana shoot culture system.

Culture conditions affect photoreactivating enzyme levels in human fibroblasts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutherland, B.M.; Oliver, R.

1976-01-01

Photoreactivation of pyrimidine dimers occured under the experimental conditions given in this study, but has not been observed under conditions used by others. Three possible differences were tested in experimental procedures including dimer separation and analysis methods, illumination conditions and cell culture techniques. The methods in this study of dimer separation and analysis indeed measure cis-syn pyrimidine dimers and give results in quantitative agreement with the methods of others. It was found that white light pre-illumination of fibroblasts from the xeroderma pigmentosum line XP12BE or of normal cells does not affect the cellular capacity for dimer photoreactivation. However, the cell culture conditions can affect photoreactivating enzyme levels, and thus cellular dimer photoreactivation capacity. Cells grown in Eagle's minimal essential medium (supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum) contain very low levels of photoreactivating enzyme and cannot photoreactivate dimers in their DNA; but companion cultures maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's minimal medium do contain photoreactivating enzyme and can reactivate photoreactive cellular dimers

A study on the effective social–cultural factors on women’s addiction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parvaneh Bayati

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study is to explain about the effective social–cultural factor on the drug–addicted women. In other word, we try to answer this question, which of the social–cultural factor are effective to drugs. Method: Different and new approach of this paper is study together on the effective social–cultural factors on the drug–addicted women. Results: Hypothesis has resulted from six dominant theoretical perspectives. these hypothesizes are based on Agnew’s general stain theory, sutherland’s learning theory, Kohen’s Delinquent subcultural, show and Mckay’s ecological theory, Hir schi’s social control theory, Independent variables included women information, family disintegrated, availability of drugs, addiction of family member, peer groups, parents observation, marriage women position, training parents, training spouse and training addicted women. Conclusion: This is a survey research. The data collected by questionnaire and interview. The sample size was 100 people from drug– addicted women of chitgar camp. Having gathered the data spss soft wares are used for data processing according to deceptive and inferential statistic like person and spearman. the result show that women information, family disintegrated, availability of drug, addiction of family member, training women and training parents as affective factors on women’s addiction.

[Factors associated with the strength of organizational culture in a Beninese hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Sopoh, Ghislain Emmanuel; Kouckodila Nzingoula, Michael Florian; Sossa Jérôme, Charles; Hessou Ahahanzo-Glèlè, Yolaine; Damienne Agueh, Victoire; Tinoaga Ouédraogo, Laurent; Makoutodé, Michel

Organizational culture, a frequently ignored concept, affects job satisfaction and productivity in organizations. To determine the factors associated with the strength of organizational culture (OC) in Mono / Couffo regional hospital in Lokossa in Benin. This cross-sectional and analytical study involved 121 workers of Mono/Couffo hospital in March 2015. Data on the strength of OC was collected using a questionnaire based on the validated tool proposed by Cameron and Quinn (2006). Logistic regression was performed to explore the nature of the relationship between the independent variables and OC using Odds ratios. 62% of the surveyed subjects had a positive perception of organizational culture. This perception was statistically associated with managerial factors (moral support of workers and type of relationship with the executive staff). The risk of perceiving a low strength of OC was sixfold higher OR = 3.78, 95% CI (1.08 - 13.22) among subjects who felt they did not have moral support from executive staff than in those who perceived this moral support. The risk of perceiving a weak OC was higher among subjects who considered relations with the staff to be uncordial [OR = 14.32, 95% CI (4.35 - 47.11)] compared to those who considered these relations to be cordial. Human resource management factors were more closely associated with the strength of organizational culture. Hospital managers should pay more attention to these factors in their hospitals to promote better institutional performance.

Factors affecting nuclear development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, G.H.; Girouard, P.

1995-01-01

Among the factors affecting nuclear development, some depend more or less on public authorities, but many are out of public authorities control (foreign policies, market and deregulation, socials and environmental impacts, public opinion). As far as possible, the following study tries to identify those factors. (D.L.). 2 photos

Organotypic Cultures of Intervertebral Disc Cells: Responses to Growth Factors and Signaling Pathways Involved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harris Pratsinis

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Intervertebral disc (IVD degeneration is strongly associated with low back pain, a major cause of disability worldwide. An in-depth understanding of IVD cell physiology is required for the design of novel regenerative therapies. Accordingly, aim of this work was the study of IVD cell responses to mitogenic growth factors in a three-dimensional (3D organotypic milieu, comprising characteristic molecules of IVD’s extracellular matrix. In particular, annulus fibrosus (AF cells were cultured inside collagen type-I gels, while nucleus pulposus (NP cells in chondroitin sulfate A (CSA supplemented collagen gels, and the effects of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF, basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF, and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I were assessed. All three growth factors stimulated DNA synthesis in both AF and NP 3D cell cultures, with potencies similar to those observed previously in monolayers. CSA supplementation inhibited basal DNA synthesis rates, without affecting the response to growth factors. ERK and Akt were found to be phosphorylated following growth factor stimulation. Blockade of these two signaling pathways using pharmacologic inhibitors significantly, though not completely, inhibited growth factor-induced DNA synthesis. The proposed culture systems may prove useful for further in vitro studies aiming at future interventions for IVD regeneration.

Factors affecting construction performance: exploratory factor analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Soewin, E.; Chinda, T.

2018-04-01

The present work attempts to develop a multidimensional performance evaluation framework for a construction company by considering all relevant measures of performance. Based on the previous studies, this study hypothesizes nine key factors, with a total of 57 associated items. The hypothesized factors, with their associated items, are then used to develop questionnaire survey to gather data. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to the collected data which gave rise 10 factors with 57 items affecting construction performance. The findings further reveal that the items constituting ten key performance factors (KPIs) namely; 1) Time, 2) Cost, 3) Quality, 4) Safety & Health, 5) Internal Stakeholder, 6) External Stakeholder, 7) Client Satisfaction, 8) Financial Performance, 9) Environment, and 10) Information, Technology & Innovation. The analysis helps to develop multi-dimensional performance evaluation framework for an effective measurement of the construction performance. The 10 key performance factors can be broadly categorized into economic aspect, social aspect, environmental aspect, and technology aspects. It is important to understand a multi-dimension performance evaluation framework by including all key factors affecting the construction performance of a company, so that the management level can effectively plan to implement an effective performance development plan to match with the mission and vision of the company.

OPTIMIZATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE Agrobacterium tumefaciens- MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION OF Eucalyptus saligna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yohana de Oliveira-Cauduro

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effect of factors that may affect the genetic transformation of cotiledonary explants of Eucalyptus saligna mediated by EHA105 strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The vector pBI121 carrying gus gene under control of 35S CaMV promoter was used. The effect of the following factors was evaluated: explant pre-culture, use of different antibiotics and presence of acetosyringone (AS in co-culture media. An antioxidant solution was also used during excision, containing ascorbic acid (250mg.L-1, citric acid (25mg.L-1 and PVP-40 (1g.L-1. Pre-culture of the explants before the co-culture with bacteria was done over a 4-day period in MS culture medium supplemented with 4.4µM BAP and 2.7ìM NAA. After theco-culture period, three concentrations of kanamycin (12.5;25 and 50mg.L-1 combined with 300mg.L-1 Augmentin® in the culture medium were tested The influence of the antibiotic was also evaluated by keeping the explants in a medium containing 50mg.L-1 Km and 300mg.L-1 Augmentin® or 500mg.L-1 cefotaxime. It was concluded that Augmentin® stimulates organogenesis, that a Km concentration of 12.5mg.L-1 allows selection of explants transformed with gus gene and, finally, the addition of AS (50ìM to the liquid and solid co-culture media has a positive effect on gus gene expression. Moreover, the use of an antioxidant solution during cotyledon excision is dispensable and the pre-culture of the explants has no effect on bud regeneration or gus gene expression. A transformation efficiency of 1.5% was reached.

How Creativity Was Affected by Environmental Factors and Individual Characteristics: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Perspective

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Deng, Lifang; Wang, Lijuan; Zhao, Yanyun

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how environmental factors (family environment and school education) and individual characteristics (personality, creative attitudes, and divergent thinking) collectively affect creative achievement of American and Chinese college students. Data were collected from 378 college students in the United States…

Factors affecting stone-free rate and complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy for treatment of staghorn stone.

Science.gov (United States)

el-Nahas, Ahmed R; Eraky, Ibrahim; Shokeir, Ahmed A; Shoma, Ahmed M; el-Assmy, Ahmed M; el-Tabey, Nasr A; Soliman, Shady; Elshal, Ahmed M; el-Kappany, Hamdy A; el-Kenawy, Mahmoud R

2012-06-01

To determine factors affecting the stone-free rate and complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) for treatment of staghorn stones. The computerized database of patients who underwent PNL for treatment of staghorn stones between January 2003 and January 2011 was reviewed. All perioperative complications were recorded and classified according to modified Clavien classification system. The stone-free rate was evaluated with low-dose noncontrast computed tomography (CT). Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed to determine factors affecting stone-free and complication rates. The study included 241 patients (125 male and 116 female) with a mean age of 48.7 ±14.3 years. All patients underwent 251 PNL (10 patients had bilateral stones). The stone-free rate of PNL monotherapy was 56% (142 procedures). At 3 months, the stone-free rate increased to 73% (183 kidneys) after shock wave lithotripsy. Independent risk factors for residual stones were complete staghorn stone and presence of secondary calyceal stones (relative risks were 2.2 and 3.1, respectively). The complication rate was 27% (68 PNL). Independent risk factors for development of complications were performance of the procedure by urologists other than experienced endourologist and positive preoperative urine culture (relative risks were 2.2 and 2.1, respectively). Factors affecting the incidence of residual stones after PNL are complete staghorn stones and the presence of secondary calyceal stones. Complications are significantly high if PNL is not performed by an experienced endourologist or if preoperative urine culture is positive. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting perceptions of corporate social responsibility implementation: an emphasis on values

OpenAIRE

Wang, Lei

2011-01-01

This dissertation is a broad study of factors affecting perceptions of CSR issues in multiple stakeholder realms, the main purpose being to determine the effects of the values of individuals on their perceptions regarding CSR. It examines perceptions of CSR both at the emic (observing individuals and stakeholders) and etic levels (conducting cross-cultural comparison) through a descriptive-empirical research strategy. The dissertation is based on quantitative interview data among Chinese, Fin...

Culture and Social Relationship as Factors of Affecting Communicative Non-Verbal Behaviors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lipi, Afia Akhter; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Matthias

2010-01-01

The goal of this paper is to link a bridge between social relationship and cultural variation to predict conversants' non-verbal behaviors. This idea serves as a basis of establishing a parameter based socio-cultural model, which determines non-verbal expressive parameters that specify the shapes...

Leaders’ Smiles Reflect Cultural Differences in Ideal Affect

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Tsai, Jeanne L.; Ang, Jen Ying Zhen; Blevins, Elizabeth; Goernandt, Julia; Fung, Helene H.; Jiang, Da; Elliott, Julian; Kölzer, Anna; Uchida, Yukiko; Lee, Yi-Chen; Lin, Yicheng; Zhang, Xiulan; Govindama, Yolande; Haddouk, Lise

2015-01-01

Cultures differ in the emotions they teach their members to value (“ideal affect”). We conducted three studies to examine whether leaders’ smiles reflect these cultural differences in ideal affect. In Study 1, we compared the smiles of top ranked American and Chinese government leaders, chief-executive-officers (CEOs), and university presidents in their official photos. Consistent with findings that Americans value excitement and other high arousal positive states more than Chinese, American top ranked leaders (N = 98) showed more excited smiles than Chinese top ranked leaders (N = 91) across occupations. In Study 2, we compared the smiles of winning vs. losing political candidates and higher vs. lower ranking CEOs and university presidents in the US and Taiwan/China. American leaders (N = 223) showed more excited smiles than Taiwanese/Chinese leaders (N =266), regardless of election outcome or ranking. In Study 3, we administered self-report measures of ideal affect in college student samples from 10 different nations (N = 1,267) and then eight years later, coded the smiles that legislators from those nations showed in their official photos (N = 3,372). The more nations valued excitement and other high arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed excited smiles; similarly, the more nations valued calm and other low arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed calm smiles. These results held after controlling for national differences in GDP per capita, democratization, and human development. Together, these findings suggest that leaders’ smiles reflect the affective states valued by their cultures. PMID:26751631

Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality.

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Mosadeghrad, Ali Mohammad

2014-02-01

A better understanding of factors influencing quality of medical service can pinpoint better strategies for quality assurance in medical services. This study aimed to identify factors affecting the quality of medical services provided by Iranian physicians. Exploratory in-depth individual interviews were conducted with sixty-four physicians working in various medical institutions in Iran. Individual, organizational and environmental factors enhance or inhibit the quality of medical services. Quality of medical services depends on the personal factors of the physician and patient, and factors pertaining to the healthcare setting and the broader environment. Differences in internal and external factors such as availability of resources, patient cooperation and collaboration among providers affect the quality of medical services and patient outcomes. Supportive leadership, proper planning, education and training and effective management of resources and processes improve the quality of medical services. This article contributes to healthcare theory and practice by developing a conceptual framework for understanding factors that influence medical services quality.

Examining the Factors Affecting Student Dropout

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Fethi Ahmet INAN

2006-07-01

Full Text Available This study examined the factors affecting student dropouts in an online certificate program. In this research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Online Course Dropout Survey was developed and used to determine which factors affect student attrition from the program. The dropout survey was sent by e-mail to 98 students who had dropped the program. Twenty-six students returned the survey. The findings show that the most important factor affecting student retention is finding sufficient time to study. Having personal problems and affordability of the program took second and third place.

Ostracism and attachment orientation: Avoidants are less affected in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

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Yaakobi, Erez; Williams, Kipling D

2016-03-01

Ostracism--being excluded and ignored--is painful and threatens needs for belonging, self-esteem, control and meaningful existence. Many studies have shown that immediate responses to ostracism tend to be resistant to moderation. Once ostracized individuals are able to reflect on the experience, however, personality and situational factors moderate recovery speed and behavioural responses. Because attachment orientation is grounded in perceptions of belonging, we hypothesized that attachment orientation would moderate both immediate and delayed reactions to laboratory-induced ostracism. Participants from individualistic or collectivistic cultures were either included or ostracized in a game of Cyberball, a virtual ball-toss game. In both cultures, we found that compared to more securely attached individuals, more avoidant participants were less distressed by ostracism, but more distressed by inclusion. It is suggested that over and beyond differences in culture, individuals who avoid meaningful attachment may be less affected by ostracism. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

From putative genes to temperament and culture: cultural characteristics of the distribution of dominant affective temperaments in national studies.

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Gonda, Xenia; Vázquez, Gustavo H; Akiskal, Kareen K; Akiskal, Hagop S

2011-06-01

Affective temperaments may carry distinct evolutionary advantages both on the individual or a group level, so we can expect that in different cultural and national samples the frequency of dominant affective temperaments will show characteristic differences. The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of distribution of dominant affective temperaments in different national studies of general non-clinical population. In our study we included six studies published in different countries around the world (Argentina, Germany, Hungary, Korea, Portugal, and Lebanon) which investigated a large sample of non-clinical population using TEMPS-A, and reported frequencies for dominant affective temperaments. The frequencies of dominant affective temperaments were compared using chi square tests. We found a significant difference in the frequency of affective temperaments among the different national studies in case of the cyclothymic, hyperthymic and irritable temperaments. We found important parallels between the frequency of affective temperaments and cultural dimensions described by Hofstede (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005). The characteristics encompassed by the depressive temperament show considerable similarities with Hofstede's individualism-collectivism dimension, while those of the hyperthymic temperament seem to be similar to uncertainty avoidance, and the irritable temperament shows similarities with Hofstede's power distance. Furthermore, the relative frequency of these dominant temperaments in case of the different national samples paralleled the relative scores of these countries on the corresponding cultural scales. Our results indicate an important relationship between affective temperaments and cultural dimensions, which suggests that these phenomena may be the manifestations of the same genetically determined predispositions in different forms. We included a study by Erfurth et al. (2005), in which affective temperaments were evaluated

Who I am depends on how I feel: the role of affect in the expression of culture.

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Ashton-James, Claire E; Maddux, William W; Galinsky, Adam D; Chartrand, Tanya L

2009-03-01

We present a novel role of affect in the expression of culture. Four experiments tested whether individuals' affective states moderate the expression of culturally normative cognitions and behaviors. We consistently found that value expressions, self-construals, and behaviors were less consistent with cultural norms when individuals were experiencing positive rather than negative affect. Positive affect allowed individuals to explore novel thoughts and behaviors that departed from cultural constraints, whereas negative affect bound people to cultural norms. As a result, when Westerners experienced positive rather than negative affect, they valued self-expression less, showed a greater preference for objects that reflected conformity, viewed the self in more interdependent terms, and sat closer to other people. East Asians showed the reverse pattern for each of these measures, valuing and expressing individuality and independence more when experiencing positive than when experiencing negative affect. The results suggest that affect serves an important functional purpose of attuning individuals more or less closely to their cultural heritage.

Factors affecting midwives' confidence in intrapartum care: a phenomenological study.

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Bedwell, Carol; McGowan, Linda; Lavender, Tina

2015-01-01

midwives are frequently the lead providers of care for women throughout labour and birth. In order to perform their role effectively and provide women with the choices they require midwives need to be confident in their practice. This study explores factors which may affect midwives' confidence in their practice. hermeneutic phenomenology formed the theoretical basis for the study. Prospective longitudinal data collection was completed using diaries and semi-structured interviews. Twelve midwives providing intrapartum care in a variety of settings were recruited to ensure a variety of experiences in different contexts were captured. the principal factor affecting workplace confidence, both positively and negatively, was the influence of colleagues. Perceived autonomy and a sense of familiarity could also enhance confidence. However, conflict in the workplace was a critical factor in reducing midwives' confidence. Confidence was an important, but fragile, phenomenon to midwives and they used a variety of coping strategies, emotional intelligence and presentation management to maintain it. this is the first study to highlight both the factors influencing midwives' workplace confidence and the strategies midwives employed to maintain their confidence. Confidence is important in maintaining well-being and workplace culture may play a role in explaining the current low morale within the midwifery workforce. This may have implications for women's choices and care. Support, effective leadership and education may help midwives develop and sustain a positive sense of confidence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Growth Phase, Oxygen, Temperature and Starvation Affect the Development of Viable but Non-Culturable State of Vibrio cholerae

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Bin eWu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available AbstractVibrio cholerae can enter into a viable but non-culturable (VBNC state in order to survive in unfavourable environments. In this study, we studied the roles of five physicochemical and microbiological factors or states, namely, different strains, growth phases, oxygen, temperature, and starvation, on the development of VBNC of V. cholerae in artificial sea water (ASW. Different strains of the organism, the growth phase, and oxygen levels affected the progress of VBNC development. It was found that the VBNC state was induced faster in V. cholerae serogroup O1 classical biotype strain O395 than in O1 El Tor biotype strains C6706 and N16961. When cells in different growth phases were used for VBNC induction, stationary-phase cells lost their culturability more quickly than exponential-phase cells, while induction of a totally non-culturable state took longer to achieve for stationary-phase cells in all three strains, suggesting that heterogeneity of cells should be considered. Aeration strongly accelerated the loss of culturability. During the development of the VBNC state, the culturable cell count under aeration conditions was almost 106-fold lower than under oxygen-limited conditions for all three strains. The other two factors, temperature and nutrients-rich environment, may prevent the induction of VBNC cells. At 22°C or 37°C in ASW, most of the cells rapidly died and the culturable cell count reduced from about 108 CFU/mL to 106–105 CFU/mL. The total cell counts showed that cells that lost viability were decomposed, and the viable cell counts were the same as culturable cell counts, indicating that the cells did not reach the VBNC state. VBNC state development was blocked when ASW was supplied with Luria-Bertani broth (LB, but it was not affected in ASW with M9, suggesting that specific nutrients in LB may prevent the development of VBNC state. These results revealed that the five factors evaluated in this study had different

Low Calorie Diet Affects Aging-Related Factors

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... Current Issue Past Issues Research News From NIH Low Calorie Diet Affects Aging-Related Factors Past Issues / ... to learn more about the effects of sustained low-calorie diets in humans on factors affecting aging. ...

Culture and Consumer Behavior: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Cultural Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shavitt, Sharon; Cho, Hyewon

2016-04-01

We examine the influence of culture on consumer behavior with a particular focus on horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Cultures vary in their propensity to emphasize hierarchy, a distinction captured by examining horizontal/vertical cultural orientations or contexts. These cultural factors pattern personal values and goals, power concepts, and normative expectations applied to the exercise of power. We review implications for how consumers respond to brands in the marketplace, service providers, and each others' needs.

Economic impact of cultural tourism

OpenAIRE

Zadel, Zrinka; Bogdan, Sinisa

2013-01-01

The subject of analysis in the paper is economic impact of cultural tourism and identification of the main factors which directly affect cultural tourism revenues. Most countries do not have a statistical system of monitoring and analysing individual factors of cultural tourism such as the number of arrivals of cultural tourists and consumption of cultural tourists. Therefore, it is hard to assess the economic impact of cultural tourism. In cultural tourism, cultural assets are prepared and p...

Understanding organizational commitment: A meta-analytic examination of the roles of the five-factor model of personality and culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Daejeong; Oh, In-Sue; Colbert, Amy E

2015-09-01

We examined the relationships between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits and three forms of organizational commitment (affective, normative, and continuance commitment) and their variability across individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Meta-analytic results based on 55 independent samples from 50 studies (N = 18,262) revealed that (a) all FFM traits had positive relationships with affective commitment; (b) all FFM traits had positive relationships with normative commitment; and (c) Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience had negative relationships with continuance commitment. In particular, Agreeableness was found to be the trait most strongly related to both affective and normative commitment. The results also showed that Agreeableness had stronger relationships with affective and normative commitment in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these findings for personality, job attitudes, and employee selection and retention. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Factors Affecting University Library Website Design

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Yongi-Mi Kim

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Existing studies have extensively explored factors that affect users’ intentions to use university library website resources (ULWR; yet little attention has been given to factors affecting university library website design. This paper investigates factors that affect university library website design and assesses the success of the university library website from both designers’ and users’ perspectives. The findings show that when planning a website, university web designers consider university guidelines, review other websites, and consult with experts and other divisions within the library; however, resources and training for the design process are lacking. While website designers assess their websites as highly successful, user evaluations are somewhat lower. Accordingly, use is low, and users rely heavily on commercial websites. Suggestions for enhancing the usage of ULWR are provided.

Analysis of the Determinant Factors Development of Maintenance Culture in Malaysian Local Authorities

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Sani S.I.A.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Malaysia is a fast growing developing country and its vision is becoming a developed country with a first class infrastructure. Towards this vision, the assets and facilities were developed, owned or leased by public sector especially buildings, constructions and infrastructures to fulfill administrative and social needs as well as economic responsibilities to general public. In Malaysia, public asset and facilities is owned by three major levels of government, which are the federal government, state government and the local government also known as local authority. Between these three forms of government, Local Authorities hold a large number of facilities that place demands on resources. They have a responsibility to use and maintain a wide range of property assets including classified and heritage buildings, single purpose facilities and state of the art multipurpose facilities. Over the years, the local authorities in Malaysia currently have been soundly criticized by public caused poor maintenance culture. The assets especially public buildings and infrastructures are not maintained properly. Thus, developing the maintenance culture is essential to increase the awareness about maintenance activity on public facilities and assets in Malaysian Local Authorities. Regarding this scenario, the purpose of this study is to determine the determinant factors affecting development of maintenance culture identified based on the review of previous research. As a guide to achieve the research objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the significance of ten determinant factors identified in the research study and their related affecting to development of maintenance culture in local authority as a respondent in this research. The collected data was then analyzed using quantitative approaches such as mean analysis, relative important index as well as others.

Cultural factors of karoshi and karo-jisatsu

OpenAIRE

Mentus, Vladimir

2017-01-01

In this paper, cultural factors of overwork death in Japan are examined. The frequency of karoshi (death from overwork) and karo-jisatsu (suicide from overwork) tends to increase. Although these phenomena are somewhat present in other countries, they are the most frequent in Japan, which, for the purpose of explanation, imposes a need for examining its specificities. In literature, these phenomena are most often explained by economic factors. Although the cultural specificities of Japan may a...

Impacts of Nutrition and Feeding Programs on Farmers’ Management Decisions Affecting the Success of Dairy Farms with Culture Breed Cattle

OpenAIRE

Yavuz Topcu; Mehmet Toparlak; Muhlis Macit

2016-01-01

The aim of the study is to evaluate all the factors determining the milk production and yield decisions with regard to the nutrition and feeding programs affecting the integrated management strategies on the success of the dairy farms with culture breed cattle under the pasture-based and indoor barn-based production systems. For these aims, data obtained from the individual interviews conducted at the dairy farms with 100 culture breed cattle were used for Principal Component and Multiple Reg...

Factors Affecting Tocopherol Concentrations in Soybean Seeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrera, Constanza S; Seguin, Philippe

2016-12-21

Soybean seeds contain several health-beneficial compounds, including tocopherols, which are used by the nutraceutical and functional food industries. Soybean tocopherol concentrations are, however, highly variable. Large differences observed in tocopherol concentrations among soybean genotypes together with the relatively simple biosynthetic pathway involving few genes support the feasibility of selecting for high-tocopherol soybean. Tocopherol concentrations are also highly influenced by environmental factors and field management. Temperature during seed filling and soil moisture appear to be the main factors affecting tocopherol concentrations; other factors such as soil fertility and solar radiation also affect concentrations and composition. Field management decisions including seeding date, row spacing, irrigation, and fertilization also affect tocopherols. Knowledge of factors affecting soybean tocopherols is essential to develop management strategies that will lead to the production of seeds with consistent target concentrations that will meet the needs of the nutraceutical and functional food industries.

Cross-Cultural Differences in the Processing of Nonverbal Affective Vocalizations by Japanese and Canadian Listeners

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Michihiko eKoeda

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs consist of a database of nonverbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group x Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal.　Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of nonverbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al, 2010, but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions.

Factors Affecting Wound Healing

OpenAIRE

Guo, S.; DiPietro, L.A.

2010-01-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutane...

Web-based Factors Affecting Online Purchasing Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

Ariff, Mohd Shoki Md; Sze Yan, Ng; Zakuan, Norhayati; Zaidi Bahari, Ahamad; Jusoh, Ahmad

2013-06-01

The growing use of internet and online purchasing among young consumers in Malaysia provides a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. In this market, if E-marketers know the web-based factors affecting online buyers' behaviour, and the effect of these factors on behaviour of online consumers, then they can develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active one, while retaining existing online customers. Review of previous studies related to the online purchasing behaviour in B2C market has point out that the conceptualization and empirical validation of the online purchasing behaviour of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate users, or ICT professional, in Malaysia has not been clearly addressed. This paper focuses on (i) web-based factors which online buyers (ICT professional) keep in mind while shopping online; and (ii) the effect of web-based factors on online purchasing behaviour. Based on the extensive literature review, a conceptual framework of 24 items of five factors was constructed to determine web-based factors affecting online purchasing behaviour of ICT professional. Analysis of data was performed based on the 310 questionnaires, which were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from ICT undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. The Exploratory factor analysis performed showed that five factors affecting online purchase behaviour are Information Quality, Fulfilment/Reliability/Customer Service, Website Design, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security. The result of Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that Information Quality, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security affect positively online purchase behaviour. The results provide a usable model for measuring web-based factors affecting buyers' online purchase behaviour in B2C market, as well as for online shopping companies to focus on the factors that will increase customers' online purchase.

Web-based Factors Affecting Online Purchasing Behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ariff, Mohd Shoki Md; Yan, Ng Sze; Zakuan, Norhayati; Bahari, Ahamad Zaidi; Jusoh, Ahmad

2013-01-01

The growing use of internet and online purchasing among young consumers in Malaysia provides a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. In this market, if E-marketers know the web-based factors affecting online buyers' behaviour, and the effect of these factors on behaviour of online consumers, then they can develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active one, while retaining existing online customers. Review of previous studies related to the online purchasing behaviour in B2C market has point out that the conceptualization and empirical validation of the online purchasing behaviour of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate users, or ICT professional, in Malaysia has not been clearly addressed. This paper focuses on (i) web-based factors which online buyers (ICT professional) keep in mind while shopping online; and (ii) the effect of web-based factors on online purchasing behaviour. Based on the extensive literature review, a conceptual framework of 24 items of five factors was constructed to determine web-based factors affecting online purchasing behaviour of ICT professional. Analysis of data was performed based on the 310 questionnaires, which were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from ICT undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. The Exploratory factor analysis performed showed that five factors affecting online purchase behaviour are Information Quality, Fulfilment/Reliability/Customer Service, Website Design, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security. The result of Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that Information Quality, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security affect positively online purchase behaviour. The results provide a usable model for measuring web-based factors affecting buyers' online purchase behaviour in B2C market, as well as for online shopping companies to focus on the factors that will increase customers' online purchase.

Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurdanur Dikmen

2016-12-01

Results: It was found that the 45.5% of nurses participated in the study were in the 23-53 age group, 79.5% were women, 76.9% married, 41.1% associate degree graduates. 42.3% of nurses' durations of professional experience were 0-5 years, 22.4% of nurses were clinical chief, 69.2% were working as shifts. Participants believe that the factors affecting the labor productivity were respectively organizational factors, ergonomic factors and personal factors. When organizational factors was examined; nurses stated that the lack of working personnel in the section, the low wages and unequal wages for the same work, the long working hours and the system which based on personal relations instead of merit were affecting productivity. The factors affecting labor productivity of nurses were not different according to age, gender, education level and marital status (p>0.05, but different according to mode of operation and years of experience (p<0.05. Conclusion: According to this study, it was found that there are many factors that affect the efficiency of the nurses. The most important factors affecting nurses' efficiency were determined as wage and working conditions. [J Contemp Med 2016; 6(4.000: 334-342

Factors affecting nurse retention at an academic Magnet® hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Buffington, Annsley; Zwink, Jennifer; Fink, Regina; Devine, Deborah; Sanders, Carolyn

2012-05-01

: The aim of this study was to examine the factors affecting the retention of registered nurses (RNs) and validate the revised Casey-Fink Nurse Retention Survey (2009). : Creating an organizational culture of retention may reduce nurse turnover. Focusing on why nurses leave and identifying factors why nurses stay are essential. : A descriptive survey design gathered data from RNs with 1 or more years of experience providing direct patient care and employed in inpatient/ambulatory settings in an acute care, academic, Magnet hospital. : There were no statistically significant relationships between nurse respondents' perceptions of work environment/support/encouragement and age or years of experience. However, there were significant differences between inpatient and ambulatory nurse responses in several key areas including job satisfaction, mentorship, and educational support. Overall, nurses reported feeling a lack of support and recognition from managers. Results provide evidence to support improved strategies to foster nurse retention.

Further evidence that culture media affect perinatal outcome: findings after transfer of fresh and cryopreserved embryos.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelissen, Ewka C; Van Montfoort, Aafke P; Coonen, Edith; Derhaag, Josien G; Geraedts, Joep P; Smits, Luc J; Land, Jolande A; Evers, Johannes L; Dumoulin, John C

2012-07-01

We have previously shown that the medium used for culturing IVF embryos affects the birthweight of the resulting newborns. This observation with potentially far-reaching clinical consequences during later life, was made in singletons conceived during the first IVF treatment cycle after the transfer of fresh embryos. In the present study, we hypothesize that in vitro culture of embryos during the first few days of preimplantation development affects perinatal outcome, not only in singletons conceived in all rank order cycles but also in twins and in children born after transfer of frozen embryos. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of culture medium on gestational age (GA) at birth. Oocytes and embryos from consecutive treatment cycles were alternately assigned to culture in either medium from Vitrolife or from Cook. Data on a cohort of 294 live born singletons conceived after fresh transfer during any of a patient's IVF treatment cycles, as well as data of 67 singletons conceived after frozen embryo transfer (FET) and of 88 children of 44 twin pregnancies after fresh transfer were analysed by means of multiple linear regression. In vitro culture in medium from Cook resulted in singletons after fresh transfer with a lower mean birthweight (adjusted mean difference, 112 g, P= 0.03), and in more singletons with low birthweight (LBW) culture in medium from Vitrolife AB. GA at birth was not related to the medium used (adjusted difference, 0.05 weeks, P = 0.83). Among twins in the Cook group, higher inter-twin mean birthweight disparity and birthweight discordance were found. Z-scores after FET were -0.04 (± 0.14) in the Cook group compared with 0.18 (± 0.21) in the Vitrolife group (P> 0.05). Our findings support our hypothesis that culture medium influences perinatal outcome of IVF singletons and twins. A similar trend is seen in case of singletons born after FET. GA was not affected by culture medium. These results indicate that in vitro culture might be an

Companion of choice at birth: factors affecting implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabakian-Khasholian, Tamar; Portela, Anayda

2017-08-31

Two recent recommendations made by the World Health Organization confirm the benefits of companion of choice at birth on labour outcomes; however institutional practices and policies do not always support its implementation in different settings around the world. We conducted a review to determine factors that affect implementation of this intervention considering the perspectives and experiences of different stakeholders and other institutional, systemic barriers and facilitators. Forty one published studies were included in this review. Thirty one publications were identified from a 2013 Cochrane review on the effectiveness of companion of choice at birth. We also reviewed 10 qualitative studies conducted alongside the trials or other interventions on labour and birth companionship identified through electronic searches. The SURE (Supporting the Use of Research Evidence) framework was used to guide the thematic analysis of implementation factors. Women and their families expressed appreciation for the continuous presence of a person to provide support during childbirth. Health care providers were concerned about the role of the companion and possible interference with activities in the labour ward. Allocation of resources, organization of care, facility-related constraints and cultural inclinations were identified as implementation barriers. Prior to introducing companion of choice at birth, understanding providers' attitudes and sensitizing them to the evidence is necessary. The commitment of the management of health care facilities is also required to change policies, including allocation of appropriate physical space that respects women's privacy. Implementation research to develop models for different contexts which could be scaled up would be useful, including documentation of factors that affected implementation and how they were addressed. Future research should also focus on documenting the costs related to implementation, and on measuring the impact of

ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING POST-POWER SYNDROME AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE ELDERLY

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Retno Indarwati

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Quality of life is the individual's perception of their place in life in the context of the cultural system and values in which they live, along with their goals, expectations, and worries. Retirement is an adaptable period that results in a change of role, changes in social interactions, and limited financial resources. Aim: This study aims to analyze the factors that affect post power syndrome and quality of life of the elderly. Methods: The design of this research was a correlation study with a cross-sectional approach. The population consisted of 44 retired elderly individuals. Purposive sampling was applied to the determined sample size. The independent variables were physiological stressors, psychological stressors and aging attitudes. The dependent variables were post-power syndrome and the quality of life of elderly people. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling- Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS with a significance t statistic ≥ 1.96. Results: The findings showed all of the significant indicators measured to the variable factor. Physical stressor factors affect post-power syndrome with a t value of 2,366, and psychological stress factors affect post-power syndrome with a t value of 3,326. Aging behavior factors affects post-power syndrome with a t statistic of 5.296 and the post-power syndrome effect on the quality of life of the elderly has a t value of 7,689. Conclusion: There were significant effects in relation to physiological stressor factors, psychological stress factors, and aging attitudes towards post-power syndrome. There was an influence of post-power syndrome on the quality of elderly life.

Assessment of critical success factors of TQM culture in hospitality sector in Kosovo

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Bujar Pira

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper attemts to ilustrate how the managers and the staff of a 5 star hotel in Kosovo define quality. Furthermore, it explores the number of critical success factors related to TQM culture and how they are applied in the hotel operations. Different theories related to the quality in the field of service provision, more particular in hospitality or hotel sector and the introduction of the TQM culture in the same sector. A conceptual framework based on existing theories and literature is developed which is than confirms through the research findings and analysis. The findings suggest that most features associated with TQM, like critical success factors assessed throughout the research (leadership, customer focus, training, communication, teams and staff empowerment can produce an advantage for the 5 star hotel operations that will affect the quality of service. Furthermore, it confirms that some of the TQM aspects are applied and can be applied in 5 star hotel operations in Kosovo. The issue is whether these aspects are understood as TQM principles and whether their added value is embraced in the day-to-day running of the hotel. The outcomes imply that, indeed, the TQM culture is present in the The Hotel, a 5 star hotel in Kosovo. Some of the critical success factors are directly linked to TQM and some less and it also provides suggestions for improvement where needed, especially related to specific tools that are integral parts of the TQM culture.

CONNECTION BETWEEN ECONOMICS, CULTURE AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

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Agil Valiyev

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Today, culture is one of the main feeble factors of economic development.  The leading role of culture in economic development should be argued as multiplied: so, on firstly, as domestic value, on secondly, as a main factor of regional economic development advanced to raised gravity of different regions for residents, tourists and investors, on thirdly, as major parameters of social development based on tolerance, creativity and knowledge. To the different international experiences, culture is main part of economic development in our life. Cultural diversities are combined into a main reason economic development model. The article consist of explainations about the understanding of culture, cultural diplomacy and economics, approach on conflicts between culture and economics, to find how affecting of culture to economic development, the role of culture in economic development of Azerbaijan. The article can be considered as a useful resource  for experts and researchers conducting research in this field.

A Qualitative Study of Indian and Indian Immigrant Adolescents' Perceptions of the Factors Affecting Their Engagement and Performance in School

Science.gov (United States)

Areepattamannil, Shaljan; Freeman, John G.; Klinger, Don A.

2018-01-01

Although a growing body of quantitative research has examined the non-cognitive factors affecting the school engagement and performance of adolescents across cultures, there is relatively sparse qualitative research investigating the perceptions of adolescents regarding the factors influencing their engagement and performance in school. This focus…

Oxygen and tissue culture affect placental gene expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Brew, O; Sullivan, M H F

2017-07-01

Placental explant culture is an important model for studying placental development and functions. We investigated the differences in placental gene expression in response to tissue culture, atmospheric and physiologic oxygen concentrations. Placental explants were collected from normal term (38-39 weeks of gestation) placentae with no previous uterine contractile activity. Placental transcriptomic expressions were evaluated with GeneChip ® Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays (Affymetrix). We uncovered sub-sets of genes that regulate response to stress, induction of apoptosis programmed cell death, mis-regulation of cell growth, proliferation, cell morphogenesis, tissue viability, and protection from apoptosis in cultured placental explants. We also identified a sub-set of genes with highly unstable pattern of expression after exposure to tissue culture. Tissue culture irrespective of oxygen concentration induced dichotomous increase in significant gene expression and increased enrichment of significant pathways and transcription factor targets (TFTs) including HIF1A. The effect was exacerbated by culture at atmospheric oxygen concentration, where further up-regulation of TFTs including PPARA, CEBPD, HOXA9 and down-regulated TFTs such as JUND/FOS suggest intrinsic heightened key biological and metabolic mechanisms such as glucose use, lipid biosynthesis, protein metabolism; apoptosis, inflammatory responses; and diminished trophoblast proliferation, differentiation, invasion, regeneration, and viability. These findings demonstrate that gene expression patterns differ between pre-culture and cultured explants, and the gene expression of explants cultured at atmospheric oxygen concentration favours stressed, pro-inflammatory and increased apoptotic transcriptomic response. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural Factors in Collegiate Eating Disorder Pathology: When Family Culture Clashes with Individual Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Tomiyama, A. Janet; Mann, Traci

2008-01-01

Objective: The authors evaluated the validity of familial enmeshment (extreme proximity in family relationships) as a risk factor for eating disorders across cultural value orientations. They tested the hypothesis that although familial enmeshment may be a risk factor for eating disorder pathology for (1) participants of non-Asian descent or (2)…

Factors affecting endoglucanase production by Trichoderma reesei ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-08-22

Aug 22, 2011 ... from the ANOVA analysis have a significant value of Pmodel>F= 0.0008 and R2 .... there are various environmental and nutritional factors ... reported to affect cellulase production from wheat straw ... many factors affecting simultaneously the fermentation ..... and control its stability (Kalra and Sandhu, 1986).

Identifying and assessing the factors affecting skill gap in digital marketing in communication industry companies

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Fereshteh Ghotbifar

2017-03-01

Full Text Available As far as new communication channels are concerned, there have been extensive developments in communications and marketing in digital era. Today, therefore, companies try to take advantage of digital marketing channels to provide suitable services to customers to improve their satisfaction level. However, this study aimed to identify and assess factors affecting skill gap in digital marketing. This was descriptive correlation study. The population consisted of experts in communications industry to identify most important skill gaps in digital marketing and factors affecting them; also, managers and specialists of these companies were investigated to determine the role of identified factors in reducing skills gaps. Using localized questionnaire and interviewing with ten experts who were selected by Delphi snowball method, the skill gaps in marketing and factors affecting them were identified. Also, a researcher made questionnaire with 32 questions was distributed among 226 employees to investigate the identified factors role in reducing skills gap in digital marketing. The results showed that from four identified factors, the components including operational strategic factors and environmental factors had direct and positive impact on creating skill gap in digital marketing of studied companies. The environmental factors such as social and cultural conditions, religion, technology, and economy had more proactive impact on skills gap in digital marketing. Also, the results showed that among skills gaps in digital marketing of studied companies, the skills (Principles of Communication and (Predicting Future had the highest and lowest gaps, respectively.

Factors affecting tuberculosis case detection in Kersa District, South West Ethiopia

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Desalegn Dabaro

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Tuberculosis is one of the deadly communicable diseases which claim the lives of millions in the world. Early case detection and prompt treatment cures the patients, breaks the transmission and improves the control program. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting tuberculosis case detection in Kersa District, south west Ethiopia. Method: Facility based cross sectional study design was employed in four directly observed treatment short course service providing public health centers. Three hundred eighty four patient folders were reviewed. In-depth interviews was conducted with 18 health care workers including heads of health centers, tuberculosis focal persons, clinicians, laboratory technicians, tuberculosis program coordinator and head of health office. Result: Significant number, 135(35.2% of tuberculosis suspects were not requested for microscopic examination of sputum smear, the laboratory results 21(8.4% of requested patients were not recorded in both patient folders and laboratory registers. Only 10 (4.4% of those examined and recorded were smearing positive. Participants described that the shortage and irregular supply of acid fast bacilli reagents and consumable, inadequate infrastructures, frequent electricity interruption, shortage of trained care providers, negligence of care providers, weakness of laboratory quality assurance system and poor health information use culture were major factors for low case identification. Conclusion: The resource shortage, electricity interruption, low commitment of care providers, weak quality assurance practice and poor health information use culture were major factors for low tuberculosis case identification and should be considered. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Diagnosis, Case detection, Factors

Contextual investigation of factors affecting sludge accumulation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pit latrines in slums areas of Uganda fill up faster than might be expected from some estimates owing to inappropriate use and failure to consider critical factors affecting sludge accumulation rates at the planning, design and construction stages. This study sought to investigate factors affecting filling rates of lined pit latrines ...

Factors Affecting Wound Healing

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, S.; DiPietro, L.A.

2010-01-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutaneous wound healing and the potential cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved. The factors discussed include oxygenation, infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetes, obesity, medications, alcoholism, smoking, and nutrition. A better understanding of the influence of these factors on repair may lead to therapeutics that improve wound healing and resolve impaired wounds. PMID:20139336

A Framework for Integrating Cultural Factors in Military Modeling and Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

Symbolic Interactionism : Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall. Bonner, J. T. (1980). The Evolution of Culture in...cultural factors. The framework includes the impacts of cultural perception of information-such as interpretation of signs, signals and symbols . This...for Cultural Factors in Organizational Model .................... 23 5.3 Signs, Signals, and Symbols : The Impacts on the Cultural Perception of

Internal and external environmental factors affecting the performance of hospital-based home nursing care.

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, J-W; Kwon, Y-D; Yoon, S-J; Hwang, J-I

2011-06-01

Numerous studies on HNC services have been carried out by signifying their needs, efficiency and effectiveness. However, no study has ever been performed to determine the critical factors associated with HNC's positive results despite the deluge of positive studies on the service. This study included all of the 89 training hospitals that were practising HNC service in Korea as of November 2006. The input factors affecting the performance were classified as either internal or external environmental factors. This analysis was conducted to understand the impact that the corresponding factors had on performance. Data were analysed by using multiple linear regressions. The internal and external environment variables affected the performance of HNC based on univariate analysis. The meaningful variables were internal environmental factors. Specifically, managerial resource (the number of operating beds and the outpatient/inpatient ratio) were meaningful when the multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Indeed, the importance of organizational culture (the passion of HNC nurses) was significant. This study, considering the limited market size of Korea, illustrates that the critical factor for the development of hospital-led HNC lies with internal environmental factors rather than external ones. Among the internal environmental factors, the hospitals' managerial resource-related factors (specifically, the passion of nurses) were the most important contributing element. © 2011 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2011 International Council of Nurses.

On "feeling right" in cultural contexts: how person-culture match affects self-esteem and subjective well-being.

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Fulmer, C Ashley; Gelfand, Michele J; Kruglanski, Arie W; Kim-Prieto, Chu; Diener, Ed; Pierro, Antonio; Higgins, E Tory

2010-11-01

Whether one is in one's native culture or abroad, one's personality can differ markedly from the personalities of the majority, thus failing to match the "cultural norm." Our studies examined how the interaction of individual- and cultural-level personality affects people's self-esteem and well-being. We propose a person-culture match hypothesis that predicts that when a person's personality matches the prevalent personalities of other people in a culture, culture functions as an important amplifier of the positive effect of personality on self-esteem and subjective well-being at the individual level. Across two studies, using data from more than 7,000 individuals from 28 societies, multilevel random-coefficient analyses showed that when a relation between a given personality trait and well-being or self-esteem exists at the individual level, the relation is stronger in cultures characterized by high levels of that personality dimension. Results were replicated across extraversion, promotion focus, and locomotive regulatory mode. Our research has practical implications for the well-being of both cultural natives and migrants.

Factors affecting management accounting and control systems. A critical review of empirical studies

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Joanna Dyczkowska

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of management accounting & control systems and factors which may affect the design of such systems has become crucial due to emerging changes both in the external and internal business environment. Therefore it is necessary to conduct comprehensive, long-term basic research in order to prove previously formulated hypotheses in new conditions and fulfil the research gap. Based on critical review of empirical studies published in prestigious scientific journals this paper aims at validating the assumed hypotheses and at generalising research findings on impacts of various determinants on man-agement accounting & control systems. The predominant contingent factors include: type of strategy implemented, national culture, perceived environment uncertainty and integrated information system.

Identifying Qualitative Factors Affecting the Production and Distribution of Information and Knowledge in Science and Technology Parks of Iran

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Ali Haji Shamsaei

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted in order to identity Qualitative factors affecting the production and distribution of information and knowledge in science and technology parks of Iran. The research was Applied Research in which, qualitative method was carried out. The population of the study was included of 10 managers of Knowledge-based Companies. The data was collected from the population using semi-structured and in-depth interviews. For data analysis, content analysis was used. Results of the qualitative factors affecting the production and distribution of information and knowledge in science and technology parks of Iran, led to extraction of 39 components which were classified in four categories: I Foreign and domestic policy, II Financial and economic support, III Infrastructure barriers and IV Cultural barriers. Results howed that overcoming the political, financial and economic, infrastructural and cultural barriers has undeniable impact on production and distribution of information and knowledge.

National Culture Influence over the Organizational Culture in Romania

OpenAIRE

Carataº Maria Alina; Spãtariu Elena Cerasela

2012-01-01

The present paper aims highlighting the characteristics of the organisational culture concept in Romania. In the first part of the paper, we have presented the importance of organizational culture theory through a literature review; we described the factors that have an impact on it. In the second part, we developed ideas about the national culture of Romania, the national frame and how this affects the organizational culture, and we presented its peculiarities.

An exploratory study to identify critical factors of innovation culture in organizations

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Hamed Asgari

2013-07-01

Full Text Available During the past two decades, there has been a growing trend on knowledge-based organizations. Innovation, on the other hand, plays essential role on building competitive business units. In this paper, we present an exploratory study to identify critical factors of innovation culture in organizations. We detect important factors influencing innovation culture in construction industry based on the implementation of factor analysis. The proposed study designs a questionnaire and distributes it among 400 experts who are involved in construction industry. Cronbach alpha has been calculated as 0.779, which validates the overall questionnaire. The results of factor analysis have indicated that six factors of building cultural infrastructures, education, organizational vision, established culture, strategic culture and flexible culture are the most important items influencing innovation culture.

Advanced Glycation End-Products affect transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puddu, A.; Storace, D.; Odetti, P.; Viviani, G.L.

2010-01-01

Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) are generated by the covalent interaction of reducing sugars with proteins, lipids or nucleic acids. AGEs are implicated in diabetic complications and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. We previously demonstrated that exposure of the pancreatic islet cell line HIT-T15 to high concentrations of AGEs leads to a significant decrease of insulin secretion and content. Insulin gene transcription is positively regulated by the beta cell specific transcription factor PDX-1 (Pancreatic and Duodenal Homeobox-1). On the contrary, the forkhead transcription factor FoxO1 inhibits PDX-1 gene transcription. Activity of FoxO1 is regulated by post-translational modifications: phosphorylation deactivates FoxO1, and acetylation prevents FoxO1 ubiquitination. In this work we investigated whether AGEs affect expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1 and FoxO1. HIT-T15 cells were cultured for 5 days in presence of AGEs. Cells were then lysed and processed for subcellular fractionation. We determined intracellular insulin content, then we assessed the expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1, FoxO1, phosphoFoxO1 and acetylFoxO1. As expected intracellular insulin content was lower in HIT-T15 cells cultured with AGEs. The results showed that AGEs decreased expression and nuclear localization of PDX-1, reduced phosphorylation of FoxO1, and increased expression and acetylation of FoxO1. These results suggest that AGEs decrease insulin content unbalancing transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression.

Japanese customer service culture and driving factors behind it

OpenAIRE

Perolainen, Emma

2014-01-01

The subject of the thesis was Japanese customer service culture and the driving factors behind it. Fons Trompenaars’ and Geert Hofstedes culture studies were handled as the main part of the theoretical part of the thesis, which of only the applicable factors were introduced. The applicable factors were Trompenaars’ universal-ism/particularism, individualism/communitarianism, neutral/emotional, specific/diffuse and attitudes to environment and Hofstede’s individualism/collectivism, masculinity...

Cross-cultural differences in the processing of non-verbal affective vocalizations by Japanese and canadian listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Koeda, Michihiko; Belin, Pascal; Hama, Tomoko; Masuda, Tadashi; Matsuura, Masato; Okubo, Yoshiro

2013-01-01

The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs) consist of a database of non-verbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group × Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal. Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of non-verbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al., 2010), but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions.

Cross-Cultural Differences in the Processing of Non-Verbal Affective Vocalizations by Japanese and Canadian Listeners

Science.gov (United States)

Koeda, Michihiko; Belin, Pascal; Hama, Tomoko; Masuda, Tadashi; Matsuura, Masato; Okubo, Yoshiro

2013-01-01

The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs) consist of a database of non-verbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group × Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal. Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of non-verbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al., 2010), but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions. PMID:23516137

An Analysis on the Contextual Factors Affecting Motivation in SLA

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2007-01-01

<正>For us Chinese,a foreign language is something to be acquired as a kind of communicative tool,so we can infer that an effective way in SLA(Second Language Acquisition) must be learning the target language in a communicative context.A communicative context certainly concerns not only the interactional classroom activities designed in accordance with some stated curriculum tasks to lead the L2 students to learning swimming by swimming,but also other relevant elements which have a lot to do with all the situational,interactional and cultural contexts.In order to lessen some potential sources of conflict between L2 teacher and L2 learner,this article is an attempt to urge a careful study on the contextual factors affecting motivation in SLA.

Cultural Factors in Tourism Interpretation of Leshan Giant Buddha

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Wenwen

2017-01-01

Different cultural aspects are always involved in tourism interpretation, and the process of tourism interpretation is also cross-cultural communication. If the cultural factors can be interpreted for the foreign visitors in a better way, it's beneficial to convey the cultural connotation of the scenic spot and it can be the communication more…

[Factors affecting biological removal of iron and manganese in groundwater].

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Gang; He, Sheng-Bing; Wang, Xin-Ze

2006-01-01

Factors affecting biological process for removing iron and manganese in groundwater were analyzed. When DO and pH in groundwater after aeration were 7.0 - 7.5 mg/L and 6.8 - 7.0 respectively, not only can the activation of Mn2+ oxidizing bacteria be maintained, but also the demand of iron and manganese removal can be satisfied. A novel inoculating approach of grafting mature filter material into filter bed, which is easier to handle than selective culture media, was employed in this research. However, this approach was only suitable to the filter material of high-quality manganese sand with strong Mn2+ adsorption capacity. For the filter material of quartz sand with weak adsorption capacity, only culturing and domesticating Mn2+ oxidizing bacteria by selective culture media can be adopted as inoculation in filter bed. The optimal backwashing rate of biological filter bed filled with manganese sand and quartz sand should be kept at a relatively low level of 6 - 9 L/(m2 x s) and 7 -11 L/( m2 x s), respectively. Then the stability of microbial phase in filter bed was not disturbed, and iron and manganese removal efficiency recovered in less than 5h. Moreover, by using filter material with uniform particle size of 1.0 - 1.2 mm in filter bed, the filtration cycle reached as long as 35 - 38h.

THE HUMAN ACTIVITY AS AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE UNIT: A HISTORIC-CULTURAL APPROACH

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Lígia Márcia Martins

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article puts in question the affectional-cognitive unit which sustains the human activity, with the purpose to light incorrectness of approaches which dichotomize reason and emotion. It asserts that such dissociations are founded in theorical-methodological principles which set bounds for explanations about the human psychism, so that the overcoming of referred dualisms puts on as a method matter. For making explicit that assertion, it resorted to Historic-Cultural Psychology, based on that it explains about the psychism as subjective image of objective reality, of Vygotskyan criticisms to Cartesian dualism and the need of a historic-cultural approach on emotion studies, intend to analyzing the human activity as a affective-cognitive unit and the imbricated relations that are waged, within it, among affections, emotions, feelings and thoughts. Once presented the interrelations between emotions and cognitions this exhibition argues that the concepts are necessary as a minimum unit of analysis both of thought and feelings.

Identification of factors affecting individual industries

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Maryam Sadat Mirzadeh

2017-10-01

Full Text Available High knowledge and technology are rapidly becoming a competitive advantage in today’s world. Individual industries are considered one of the key sectors in the country’s industry. Ranking the factors that affect these industries makes us more familiar with their effectiveness and helps us take actions to improve such factors in knowledge-based companies. Consequently, based on previous research studies on Individual Industries, field observations, and a questionnaire prepared by the researchers, the current study explores and classifies the factors affecting the establishment of these industries. Regarding its purpose, this is an applied research, and regarding data collection, it is a descriptive survey. Using purposive sampling, 60 questionnaires were collected and effective factors were classified applying the SPSS software and the TOPSIS technique. This study suggests that content factors are ranked first place, while contextual and structural factors are ranked second and third, respectively. Therefore, executives and managers in single industries are recommended to strengthen joint enterprise norms and dominant values and beliefs in knowledge-based companies in order to help the growth and development of single industries.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor/neurotrophin 3 regulate axon initial segment location and affect neuronal excitability in cultured hippocampal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yu; Su, Zi-Jun; Chen, Yi-Kun; Chai, Zhen

2017-07-01

Plasticity of the axon initial segment (AIS) has aroused great interest in recent years because it regulates action potential initiation and neuronal excitability. AIS plasticity manifests as modulation of ion channels or variation in AIS structure. However, the mechanisms underlying structural plasticity of the AIS are not well understood. Here, we combined immunofluorescence, patch-clamp recordings, and pharmacological methods in cultured hippocampal neurons to investigate the factors participating in AIS structural plasticity during development. With lowered neuronal density, the distance between the AIS and the soma increased, while neuronal excitability decreased, as shown by the increased action potential threshold and current threshold for firing an action potential. This variation in the location of the AIS was associated with cellular secretory substances, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin 3 (NT3). Indeed, blocking BDNF and NT3 with TrkB-Fc eliminated the effect of conditioned medium collected from high-density cultures on AIS relocation. Elevating the extracellular concentration of BDNF or NT3 promoted movement of the AIS proximally to the soma and increased neuronal excitability. Furthermore, knockdown of neurotrophin receptors TrkB and TrkC caused distal movement of the AIS. Our results demonstrate that BDNF and NT3 regulate AIS location and neuronal excitability. These regulatory functions of neurotrophic factors provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying AIS biology. © 2017 International Society for Neurochemistry.

How Does Cultural Change Affect Indigenous Peoples' Hunting Activity? An Empirical Study Among the Tsimane' in the Bolivian Amazon

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Ana Catarina Luz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Wildlife hunting is an important economic activity that contributes to the subsistence of indigenous peoples and the maintenance of their cultural identity. Changes in indigenous peoples' ways of life affect the way they manage the ecosystems and resources around them, including wildlife populations. This paper explores the relationship between cultural change, or detachment from traditional culture, and hunting behaviour among the Tsimane', an indigenous group in the Bolivian Amazon. We interviewed 344 hunters in 39 villages to estimate their hunting activity and the degree of cultural change among them. We used multilevel analyses to assess the relationships between three different proxies for cultural change at the individual level (schooling, visits to a market town, and detachment from tradition, and the following two independent variables: 1 probability of engaging in hunting (i.e., hunting activity and 2 hunting efficiency with catch per unit effort (CPUE. We found a statistically significant negative association between schooling and hunting activity. Hunting efficiency (CPUE biomass/km was positively associated with visits to a market town, when holding other co-variates in the model constant. Other than biophysical factors, such as game abundance, hunting is also conditioned by social factors (e.g., schooling that shape the hunters' cultural system and impel them to engage in hunting or deter them from doing so.

Factors affecting farm diversification in rice-wheat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashfaq, M.; Hassan, S.; Naseer, M.Z.; Baig, I.A.; Asma, J.

2008-01-01

The risk in agriculture sector is due to various factors like weather and market conditions, particularly the demand of the commodities. This uncertainty can result in variable returns (farm income) to the decisions that farmers make in a particular season. Diversification is a frequently used risk management strategy that involves participation in more than one activity. It has the added advantage of mitigating price risk as well as fluctuations in outputs. The main purpose of this paper was to determine the factors affecting crop diversification. For determining the effect of different factors on diversification a multiple regression model was used. The values of Entropy index computed for measuring horizontal diversification were taken as dependent variable and different factors affecting diversification were taken as independent variables. The results showed that the main factors affecting diversification were size of land holding, age of respondent, education level of respondent, farming experience of respondent, off farm income of respondent, distance of farm from main road, distance of farm from main market and farm machinery. (author)

Socio-Cultural Factors and Intention towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship

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Wei-Loon KOE

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In order to rectify environmental degradation, government has encouraged sustainable management among businesses. In addition, researchers have also suggested a new breed of study called “sustainable entrepreneurship”, which links sustainability management to entrepreneurial activities. However, the participation of entrepreneurial firms in sustainability management is still far from satisfactory. Past studies also have found that SMEs are less active in sustainabilty initiatives and many issues related to the intention of firms for sustainability entrepreneurship is still unanswered. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the influence of socio-cultural factors on intention towards sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs. A total of 404 SMEs in Malaysia were surveyed by using questionnaire. Based on the statistical analyses performed, this study found that three socio-cultural factors, namely time orientation, sustainability orientation and social norm significantly influenced intention towards sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs. Thus, in order to develop true sustainable entrepreneurs in the country, the effects of non-economic factors such as socio-cultural factors should not be underestimated. Lastly, some recommendations for future researchers have also been put forth in this paper.

Risk analysis-based food safety policy: scientific factors versus socio-cultural factors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosa, P.; Knapen, van F.; Brom, F.W.A.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the importance of socio-cultural factors in risk management and the need to incorporate these factors in a standard, internationally recognized (wto) framework. This was achieved by analysing the relevance of these factors in 3 cases
The purpose of

Childhood obesity : medical, cultural and psychological factors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Radhakishun, N.N.E.

2014-01-01

The aim of this thesis was to examine medical, cultural and psychological factors of childhood obesity in a multi-ethnic cohort. Medical factors Several associations between weight measured and hormones were determined in obese children between 6 and 18 years. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was

Childhood obesity: medical, cultural and psychological factors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Radhakishun, N.N.E.

2014-01-01

The aim of this thesis was to examine medical, cultural and psychological factors of childhood obesity in a multi-ethnic cohort. Medical factors Several associations between weight measured and hormones were determined in obese children between 6 and 18 years. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)

Individual Learner Differences In Web-based Learning Environments: From Cognitive, Affective and Social-cultural Perspectives

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Mustafa KOC

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Individual Learner DifferencesIn Web-based Learning Environments:From Cognitive, Affective and Social-cultural Perspectives Mustafa KOCPh.D Candidate Instructional TechnologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, IL - USA ABSTRACT Throughout the paper, the issues of individual differences in web-based learning, also known as online instruction, online training or distance education were examined and implications for designing distance education were discussed. Although the main purpose was to identify differences in learners’ characteristics such as cognitive, affective, physiological and social factors that affect learning in a web-enhanced environment, the questions of how the web could be used to reinforce learning, what kinds of development ideas, theories and models are currently being used to design and deliver online instruction, and finally what evidence for the effectiveness of using World Wide Web (WWW for learning and instruction has been reported, were also analyzed to extend theoretical and epistemogical understanding of web-based learning.

Assessment of the factors with significant influence on safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farcasiu, M.; Nitoi, M.

2013-01-01

In this paper, a qualitative and a quantitative evaluation of the factors with significant impact on safety culture were performed. These techniques were established and applied in accordance with IAEA standards. In order to show the applicability and opportunity of the methodology a specific case study was prepared: safety culture evaluation for INR Pitesti. The qualitative evaluation was performed using specific developed questionnaires. Through analysis of the completed questionnaires was established the development stage of safety culture at INR. The quantitative evaluation was performed using a guide to rate the influence factors. For each factor was identified the influence (negative or positive) and ranking score was estimated using scoring criteria. The results have emphasized safety culture stages. The paper demonstrates the fact that using both quantitative and qualitative assessment techniques, a practical value of the safety culture concept is given. (authors)

Psychosocial factors affecting various types of intimate partner violence against women.

Science.gov (United States)

Güleç Öyekçin, Demet; Yetim, Dilek; Şahin, Erkan Melih

2012-01-01

Intimate partner violence against women is a growing global public health problem that is related to various psychosocial, cultural, mental, and economic factors. In this study, psychosocial factors affecting various types of intimate partner violence against women were investigated based upon affected individuals' statements. Demographic data, exposure to various types of partner violence, individual habits, partner habits, family functioning, and social support were inquired about during face to face interviews with 306 women chosen by stratified sampling to represent adult women living in Edirne, Turkey. Among the participants, 54.5% were exposed to psychological violence, 30.4% were exposed to physical violence, 19.3% were exposed to economic violence, and 6.3% were exposed to sexual violence. Partner's age and the duration of marriage had a protective effect on intimate partner violence while worsening of marital relations, marriage by family decision, marriage against family consent, and the presence of a violent history against women in a partner's family had incremental effects on intimate partner violence. The duration of marriage, the worsening of marital relations and a history of violent exposure during childhood increased physical violence. Additionally, a decreasing family income, increasing economic violence, worsening of marital relations, and a decreasing social support network increased sexual violence against women. Recognizing and defining the effecting factors of intimate partner violence will aid in the understanding of the sources that generate and feed the violent behavior. Risk factors of different types of intimate partner violence vary. Our results indicate that any kind of violent behavior increases intimate partner violence against women.

How Has the Emergence of Digital Culture Affected Professional Magic?

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Olli Rissanen

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We examined how the emerging digital culture has affected magicians’ careers, the development of their expertise and the general practices of their professions. We used social network analysis (n=120 to identify Finland’s most highly regarded magicians (n=16 representing different generations. The participants were theme interviewed and also collected self-report questionnaire data. The results revealed that digital transformations have strongly affected the magical profession in terms of changing their career paths and entry into the profession. Magic used to be a secretive culture, where access to advanced knowledge was controlled by highly regarded gatekeepers who shared their knowledge with a selected group of committed newcomers as a function of their extended efforts. Openly sharing magical knowledge on the Internet has diminished the traditionally strong role of these gatekeepers. Although online tutorials have made magical know-how more accessible to newcomers, professional communities and networks play a crucial role in the cultivation of advanced professional competences.

How Culture Shock Affects Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Barna, LaRay M.

The paper defines the term "culture shock" and discusses the changes that this state can make in a person's behavior. Culture shock refers to the emotional and physiological reaction of high activation that is brought about by sudden immersion in a new culture. Because one's own culture shields one from the unknown and reduces the need to make…

Contextual factors affecting autonomy for patients in Iranian hospitals: A qualitative study.

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Ebrahimi, Hossein; Sadeghian, Efat; Seyedfatemi, Naeimeh; Mohammadi, Eesa; Crowley, Maureen

2016-01-01

Consideration of patient autonomy is an essential element in individualized, patient-centered, ethical care. Internal and external factors associated with patient autonomy are related to culture and it is not clear what they are in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore contextual factors affecting the autonomy of patients in Iranian hospitals. This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis methods. Thirty-four participants (23 patients, 9 nurses, and 2 doctors) from three Iranian teaching hospitals, selected using purposive sampling, participated in semi-structured interviews. Unstructured observation and filed notes were other methods for data collection. The data were subjected to qualitative content analysis and analyzed using the MAXQDA-10 software. Five categories and sixteen subcategories were identified. The five main categories related to patient autonomy were: Intrapersonal factors, physical health status, supportive family and friends, communication style, and organizational constraints. In summary, this study uncovered contextual factors that the care team, managers, and planners in the health field should target in order to improve patient autonomy in Iranian hospitals.

Contextual factors affecting autonomy for patients in Iranian hospitals: A qualitative study

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Hossein; Sadeghian, Efat; Seyedfatemi, Naeimeh; Mohammadi, Eesa; Crowley, Maureen

2016-01-01

Background: Consideration of patient autonomy is an essential element in individualized, patient-centered, ethical care. Internal and external factors associated with patient autonomy are related to culture and it is not clear what they are in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore contextual factors affecting the autonomy of patients in Iranian hospitals. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis methods. Thirty-four participants (23 patients, 9 nurses, and 2 doctors) from three Iranian teaching hospitals, selected using purposive sampling, participated in semi-structured interviews. Unstructured observation and filed notes were other methods for data collection. The data were subjected to qualitative content analysis and analyzed using the MAXQDA-10 software. Results: Five categories and sixteen subcategories were identified. The five main categories related to patient autonomy were: Intrapersonal factors, physical health status, supportive family and friends, communication style, and organizational constraints. Conclusions: In summary, this study uncovered contextual factors that the care team, managers, and planners in the health field should target in order to improve patient autonomy in Iranian hospitals. PMID:27186203

Age Learning Factors Affecting Pilot Education.

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Torbert, Brison

This document, intended for pilot education and flight safety specialists, consists chiefly of a review of the literature on physiological factors that affect pilot education and an examination of environmental factors that should be scrutinized in order to improve the effectiveness of aviation learning facilities. The physiological factors…

Perceived Factors Affecting Performance Of Extension Workers In ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study focused on perceived factors affecting performance of extension workers in Imo State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected from 83 Extension agents from the Imo State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Results of the study revealed that the organizational factors that affect performance are ...

Risk factors for islet loss during culture prior to transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kin, Tatsuya; Senior, Peter; O'Gorman, Doug; Richer, Brad; Salam, Abdul; Shapiro, Andrew Mark James

2008-11-01

Culturing islets can add great flexibility to a clinical islet transplant program. However, a reduction in the islet mass has been frequently observed during culture and its degree varies. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with a significant islet loss during culture. One-hundred and four islet preparations cultured in an attempt to use for transplantation constituted this study. After culture for 20 h (median), islet yield significantly decreased from 363 309 +/- 12 647 to 313 035 +/- 10 862 islet equivalent yield (IE) (mean +/- SE), accompanied by a reduction in packed tissue volume from 3.9 +/- 0.1 to 3.0 +/- 0.1 ml and islet index (IE/islet particle count) from 1.20 +/- 0.04 to 1.05 +/- 0.04. Culture did not markedly alter islet purity or percent of trapped islet. Morphology score and viability were significantly improved after culture. Of 104 islet preparations, 37 suffered a substantial islet loss (> 20%) over culture. Factors significantly associated with risk of islet loss identified by univariate analysis were longer cold ischemia time, two-layer method (TLM) preservation, lower islet purity, and higher islet index. Multivariate analysis revealed that independent predictors of islet loss were higher islet index and the use of TLM. This study provides novel information on the link between donor- isolation factors and islet loss during culture.

Factors affecting professional ethics in nursing practice in Iran: a qualitative study.

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Dehghani, Ali; Mosalanejad, Leili; Dehghan-Nayeri, Nahid

2015-09-09

Professional ethics refers to the use of logical and consistent communication, knowledge, clinical skills, emotions and values in nursing practice. This study aimed to explore and describe factors that affect professional ethics in nursing practice in Iran. This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis approach. Thirty nurses with at least 5 years of experience participated in the study; they were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. After encoding and classifying the data, five major categories were identified: individual character and responsibility, communication challenges, organizational preconditions, support systems, educational and cultural development. Awareness of professional ethics and its contributing factors could help nurses and healthcare professionals provide better services for patients. At the same time, such understanding would be valuable for educational administrators for effective planning and management.

Factors affecting the efficiency of foal production by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI

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Grady ST

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Equine embryo production by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI is currently effective enough to be used clinically. However, there are several factors that affect the efficiency of this procedure because, in addition to specialized equipment, skill in oocyte and embryo handling, and sperm preparation as well as knowledge of oocyte and embryo culture are required. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently only a couple of reports available on the expected efficiency of foal production by ICSI. Here we discuss the parameters that pertain to the Texas A&M Equine Embryo Laboratory only, as other laboratories may have different results.

On the Importance of Cultural Factors in Oral English Studying

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xiong Juan

2016-01-01

Language communication, in some way, is cultural communication, in order to have a better ability of communicating, students have to know and understand enough culture knowledge. This paper will analyze the relationship between language and culture, emphasize the importance of cultural factors in oral English studying.

Trichostatin A, a critical factor in maintaining the functional differentiation of primary cultured rat hepatocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henkens, Tom; Papeleu, Peggy; Elaut, Greetje; Vinken, Mathieu; Rogiers, Vera; Vanhaecke, Tamara

2007-01-01

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDI) have been shown to increase differentiation-related gene expression in several tumor-derived cell lines by hyperacetylating core histones. Effects of HDI on primary cultured cells, however, have hardly been investigated. In the present study, the ability of trichostatin A (TSA), a prototype hydroxamate HDI, to counteract the loss of liver-specific functions in primary rat hepatocyte cultures has been investigated. Upon exposure to TSA, it was found that the cell viability of the cultured hepatocytes and their albumin secretion as a function of culture time were increased. TSA-treated hepatocytes also better maintained cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated phase I biotransformation capacity, whereas the activity of phase II glutathione S-transferases (GST) was not affected. Western blot and qRT-PCR analysis of CYP1A1, CYP2B1 and CYP3A11 protein and mRNA levels, respectively, further revealed that TSA acts at the transcriptional level. In addition, protein expression levels of the liver-enriched transcription factors (LETFs) hepatic nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4α) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPα) were accordingly increased by TSA throughout culture time. In conclusion, these findings indicate that TSA plays a major role in the preservation of the differentiated hepatic phenotype in culture. It is suggested that the effects of TSA on CYP gene expression are mediated via controlling the expression of LETFs

Cultural Factors in Systems Design Decision Making and Action

CERN Document Server

Proctor, Robert W; Yih, Yuehwern

2011-01-01

This book brings together an interdisciplinary group of experts to provide increased understanding of the ways in which cultural differences may influence decision making and action. It brings together current knowledge about decision processes, culture and cognition, design of products and interfaces for human interaction with machines and organizational processes culled from a wide variety of sources and puts them into one comprehensive resource. It examines how to design systems used by individuals from different cultures and accommodate the varied backgrounds that affect the users' decisio

Factors Contribute to Safety Culture in the Manufacturing Industry in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Ong Choon Hee

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of safety culture in the manufacturing industry in Malaysia and identify factors contribute to safety culture. It is suggested in this study that leadership support, management commitment and safety management system are important factors that contribute to safety culture. This study also provides theoretical implications to guide future research and offers practical implications to the managers in the development of safety culture. Given that ...

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE AVERAGE

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Carmen BOGHEAN

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Productivity in agriculture most relevantly and concisely expresses the economic efficiency of using the factors of production. Labour productivity is affected by a considerable number of variables (including the relationship system and interdependence between factors, which differ in each economic sector and influence it, giving rise to a series of technical, economic and organizational idiosyncrasies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the underlying factors of the average work productivity in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The analysis will take into account the data concerning the economically active population and the gross added value in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Romania during 2008-2011. The distribution of the average work productivity per factors affecting it is conducted by means of the u-substitution method.

Environmental Factors Affecting Preschoolers' Motor Development

Science.gov (United States)

Venetsanou, Fotini; Kambas, Antonis

2010-01-01

The process of development occurs according to the pattern established by the genetic potential and also by the influence of environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to focus on the main environmental factors affecting motor development. The review of the literature revealed that family features, such as socioeconomic status,…

The relationship between affective factors and the academic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between affective factors and the academic achievement of students at the University of Venda. To this end, self-concept, motivation and attitude are the affective factors selected for the study. The general aim of the study is to determine the role of self-concept, ...

An exploration study to find important factors influencing on multi-dimensional organizational culture

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Naser Azad

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to find important factors influencing multi-dimensional organizational culture. The proposed study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale consists of 21 questions, distributes it among 300 people who worked for different business units and collects 283 filled ones. Cronbach alpha is calculated as 0.799. In addition, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Approx. Chi-Square are 0.821 and 1395.74, respectively. The study has implemented principal component analysis and the results have indicated that there were four factors influencing organizational culture including, diversity in culture, connection based culture, integrated culture and structure of culture. In terms of diversity in culture, sensitivity to quality data and cultural flexibility are the most influential sub-factors while connection based marketing and relational satisfaction are two important sub-factors associated with diversity in culture. The study discusses other issues.

Application of Delphi method for determining the affecting factors upon audit risk model

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Zohreh Hajiha

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The assessment of risks in an audit work could directly influence the costs, timing, and strategies as well as audit quality. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical affecting factors on risks proposed in Audit Risk Model (ARM, in Iranian audit environment of Iran. In the present, the Delphi Method consists of 60 audit partners and managers is employed. The panel consists of two equally divided groups, one from audit organization, a governmental organization, and the other from private audit firms. We employ two rounds of Delphi and 58 critical risk factors extracted from auditing literature and Iranian auditing standards and present them to the experts. There are 43 factors categorized as important factors to assess the risks in ARM. The results are considerable in an Iranian audit environment, findings show the most important factors are in inherent risk factors. Finally, we made a comparison with a similar study in Taiwan. Differences indicate that in professional judgment issues like risk assessment, the consideration of particular culture and environment could help enhance the precision of assessments, especially in assessing control risk factors.

Do institutions, inequality and cultural differences affect cadaveric versus live-kidney harvesting?

OpenAIRE

Nejat Anbarci; Mustafa Caglayan

2010-01-01

This paper empirically investigates the role of institutions, income inequality, cultural differences and health expenditures on cadaveric versus total kidney transplants scrutinizing information gathered from 63 countries over the period 1998-2002. We show that improvements in income equality and the rule of law encourage cadaveric kidney transplants in low-income countries. We find that cultural differences affect the number of cadaveric kidney transplants both in low- and high-income count...

Cultural factors and the international space station

OpenAIRE

Ritsher, Jennifer Boyd

2005-01-01

The American and Russian/Soviet space programs independently uncovered psychosocial risks inherent in long-duration space missions. Now that these two countries are working together on the International Space Station (ISS), American-Russian cultural differences pose an additional set of risk factors. These may echo cultural differences that have been observed in the general population of the two countries and in space analogue settings, but little is known about how relevant these are to the ...

How Cultural Differences Affect Written and Oral Communication: The Case of Peer Response Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Gayle L.

1997-01-01

Peer response groups contribute to students' effectiveness as writers in any field, but cultural differences in communication affect interactions within the group. Culture-based dimensions on which communication may differ include individualism/collectivism, power distance, concept of "face," and communication style. Recommendations are…

The effects of corporate social responsibility on employees' affective commitment: a cross-cultural investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Karsten; Hattrup, Kate; Spiess, Sven-Oliver; Lin-Hi, Nick

2012-11-01

This study investigated the moderating effects of several Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) cultural value dimensions on the relationship between employees' perceptions of their organization's social responsibility and their affective organizational commitment. Based on data from a sample of 1,084 employees from 17 countries, results showed that perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) was positively related to employees' affective commitment (AC), after controlling for individual job satisfaction and gender as well as for nation-level differences in unemployment rates. In addition, several GLOBE value dimensions moderated the effects of CSR on AC. In particular, perceptions of CSR were more positively related to AC in cultures higher in humane orientation, institutional collectivism, ingroup collectivism, and future orientation and in cultures lower in power distance. Implications for future CSR research and cross-cultural human resources management are discussed. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Nutritional Factors Affecting Adult Neurogenesis and Cognitive Function.

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Poulose, Shibu M; Miller, Marshall G; Scott, Tammy; Shukitt-Hale, Barbara

2017-11-01

Adult neurogenesis, a complex process by which stem cells in the hippocampal brain region differentiate and proliferate into new neurons and other resident brain cells, is known to be affected by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including diet. Neurogenesis plays a critical role in neural plasticity, brain homeostasis, and maintenance in the central nervous system and is a crucial factor in preserving the cognitive function and repair of damaged brain cells affected by aging and brain disorders. Intrinsic factors such as aging, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and brain injury, as well as lifestyle factors such as high-fat and high-sugar diets and alcohol and opioid addiction, negatively affect adult neurogenesis. Conversely, many dietary components such as curcumin, resveratrol, blueberry polyphenols, sulforaphane, salvionic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and diets enriched with polyphenols and PUFAs, as well as caloric restriction, physical exercise, and learning, have been shown to induce neurogenesis in adult brains. Although many of the underlying mechanisms by which nutrients and dietary factors affect adult neurogenesis have yet to be determined, nutritional approaches provide promising prospects to stimulate adult neurogenesis and combat neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting the role of nutritional factors in modifying adult neurogenesis and their potential to preserve cognitive function during aging. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Invited Reaction: Factors Affecting Cross-Cultural Adjustment--Training, Experience, and Individual Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Budworth, Marie-Helene; DeGama, Nadia

2012-01-01

In today's global marketplace, it is critical that one develops and prepares employees for working across borders in a range of cultural contexts. The organization's ability to compete will be predicated on the ability of its people to lead, manage, negotiate, and resolve conflict with clients, colleagues, and business partners around the world.…

Safer Conception for Couples Affected by HIV: Structural and Cultural Considerations in the Delivery of Safer Conception Care in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Mindry, Deborah; Wanyenze, Rhoda K; Beyeza-Kashesya, Jolly; Woldetsadik, Mahlet A; Finocchario-Kessler, Sarah; Goggin, Kathy; Wagner, Glenn

2017-08-01

In countries with high HIV prevalence and high fertility desires, the rights of HIV-affected couples to have children are a pressing issue. Conception among people living with HIV carries risks for both horizontal and vertical HIV transmission. In Uganda ~100,000 HIV-infected women become pregnant annually. Providers face a number of challenges to preventing HIV transmission, reducing unplanned pregnancies, and ensuring safer conception. We report findings from interviews with 27 HIV-affected couples (54 individuals) in Uganda. We explored key cultural and structural factors shaping couples' childbearing decisions. Our data reveal a complex intersection of gender norms, familial expectations, relationship dynamics, and HIV stigma influencing their decisions. Participants provided insights regarding provider bias, stigma, and the gendering of reproductive healthcare. To reduce horizontal transmission HIV and family planning clinics must address men's and women's concerns regarding childbearing with specific attention to cultural and structural challenges.

Factors Affecting Green Residential Building Development: Social Network Analysis

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Xiaodong Yang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Green residential buildings (GRBs are one of the effective practices of energy saving and emission reduction in the construction industry. However, many real estate developers in China are less willing to develop GRBs, because of the factors affecting green residential building development (GRBD. In order to promote the sustainable development of GRBs in China, this paper, based on the perspective of real estate developers, identifies the influential and critical factors affecting GRBD, using the method of social network analysis (SNA. Firstly, 14 factors affecting GRBD are determined from 64 preliminary factors of three main elements, and the framework is established. Secondly, the relationships between the 14 factors are analyzed by SNA. Finally, four critical factors for GRBD, which are on the local economy development level, development strategy and innovation orientation, developer’s acknowledgement and positioning for GRBD, and experience and ability for GRBD, are identified by the social network centrality test. The findings illustrate the key issues that affect the development of GRBs, and provide references for policy making by the government and strategy formulation by real estate developers.

Socio-economic factors, cultural values, national personality and antibiotics use: A cross-cultural study among European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaygısız, Ümmügülsüm; Lajunen, Timo; Gaygısız, Esma

There are considerable cross-national differences in public attitudes towards antibiotics use, use of prescribed antibiotics, and self-medication with antibiotics even within Europe. This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between socio-economic factors, cultural values, national personality characteristics and the antibiotic use in Europe. Data included scores from 27 European countries (14 countries for personality analysis). Correlations between socio-economic variables (Gross National Income per capita, governance quality, life expectancy, mean years of schooling, number of physicians), Hofstede's cultural value dimensions (power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence), national personality characteristic (extraversion, neuroticism, social desirability) and antibiotic use were calculated and three regression models were constructed. Governance quality (r=-.51), mean years of schooling (r=-.61), power distance (r=.59), masculinity (r=.53), and neuroticism (r=.73) correlated with antibiotic use. The highest amount of variance in antibiotic use was accounted by the cultural values (65%) followed by socio-economic factors (63%) and personality factors (55%). Results show that socio-economic factors, cultural values and national personality characteristics explain cross-national differences in antibiotic use in Europe. In particular, governance quality, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and neuroticism were important factors explaining antibiotics use. The findings underline the importance of socio-economic and cultural context in health care and in planning public health interventions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Cultural Competence and Related Factors Among Taiwanese Nurses.

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Lin, Chin-Nu; Mastel-Smith, Beth; Alfred, Danita; Lin, Yu-Hua

2015-12-01

Taiwan is a multicultural and multiethnic society with a growing number of immigrants who have diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural needs. Although this diversity highlights the pressing need for culturally competent healthcare providers, cultural competence is a concept that is little understood and implemented only sporadically in Taiwan. This study investigates the cultural competence of Taiwanese nurses and the related factors of influence. An online self-report survey was used to collect data from 221 Taiwanese nurses from December 2012 through January 2013. Data from the demographic questionnaire, the Nurses' Cultural Competence Scale, and the Perceived Nurses' Cultural Competence Rating were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent sample t tests, and multiple regressions. The cultural competence of the participants was in the "low to moderate" range, with relatively higher mean scores for the subscales of cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity and relatively lower scores for the subscales of cultural knowledge and cultural skills. Participants generally perceived themselves as being "not culturally competent." Variables found to predict cultural competence included years of work experience, hours of continuing education related to cultural nursing care, and frequency of caring for clients from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Participating Taiwanese nurses rated their level of cultural competence as in the low-to-moderate range and self-perceived as being not culturally competent. These findings support the need to further expand and enhance cultural-competence-related continuing education and to address the topic of cultural care in the nursing curricula.

Factors affecting dignity of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharifi, Simin; Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas

2016-12-01

MS is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. Apart from disease progression, other complications such as unemployment, separation and divorce could potentially threat patients' dignity. Most of the previous studies have been done of maintaining patients' dignity in interaction with healthcare team, but studies on affecting factors of dignity in chronic patients in the society and in interaction with usual people are scarce. We aimed to investigate factors affecting dignity of Iranian patients with MS in daily living and in interaction of them with the society. In this qualitative study, 13 patients with multiple sclerosis were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. The study was done in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Factors affecting dignity were classified as 'personal factors' and 'social factors'. Personal factors consist of the following subcategories: patients' communication with self, patients' knowledge, patients' values and beliefs and patients' resources. Social factors include others' communication with patients, social knowledge, social values and beliefs and social resources. Multiple personal and social factors interfere in perceived patient dignity. In fact, interaction between personal and social factors can be influential in final perceived dignity. By focusing on whole aspects of the patients' lives, we can identify dignity-promoting or dignity-threatening factors and help patients maintain their dignity by taking appropriate measures for moderating threatening factors and improving dignity enhancing ones. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Factors affecting the success of weaning in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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Turgut Teke

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Weaning failure rate was higher in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and many factors affect it. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the success of weaning in COPD patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV.Materials and methods: Totally 43 COPD patients who received IMV in intensive care unit were included. Clinical and laboratory results and Acute Physiology Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II scores were recorded and affecting factors on weaning success were investigated.Results: In 43 patients, 25 had successful weaning (58.1%. Patients with high APACHE II score prior to intubation was found as associated with weaning failure. High Glasgow coma scale (GCS scores before entubation and weaning are associated with weaning success. Pre-weaning anxiety, positive endotracheal aspirate culture, pulmonary arterial pressure value, enteral feeding, pre-weaning tachycardia, pre-weaning cuff leaking and FiO2 values were found to be associated with weaning failure. Pre-weaning cortisol levels were associated with weaning success. In successful weaning group, measured NIF and VT in spontaneous mode were found as higher and f/VT ratio was lower compared with unsuccessful group. T-tube during the 15th and 30th minutes of the symptoms of fatigue (sweating assets were associated with weaning failure. IMV duration and longer extubation duration of weaning, and more number of t-tube insertion attempts were found as associated with failure of weaning.Conclusions: Infection in patients with COPD, the presence of anxiety, and hemodynamic and respiratory instability significantly increases the weaning failure.

Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling of socio-cultural constructs among chamorro and non-chamorro micronesian betel nut chewers.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Kelle L; Liu, Min; Herzog, Thaddeus A

2017-07-05

Betel nut chewing is embedded within the cultures of South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. The determinants of betel nut consumption are complex. Ongoing consumption of betel nut is affected by cultural, social, and drug-specific effects (i.e. dependence). This study's first objective was to assess the psychometric properties (i.e. reliability and validity) of the socio-cultural constructs in a survey developed for betel nut chewers. The study's second objective was to investigate the influence of socio-cultural variables on betel nut chewing behaviors among Chamorro and non-Chamorro Micronesians in Guam. The current study was a secondary analysis of a larger study (N = 600; n = 375 chewers and n = 225 former chewers) that examined socio-cultural factors that influence why chewers chew betel nut, along with assessing chewing behaviors, perceptions of risks, probability of changing behaviors, and methods that could be used to reduce use or quit. The socio-cultural constructs of the survey were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The socio-cultural factors were a sufficient fit with data and the instrument is reliable and valid, as indicated by various model fit indices (χ 2 (13) = 18.49 with p = .14, TLI = .99, CFI = 1.00, SRMR = .02, RMSEA = .03 with 90% CIs [.00,.07]). Cronbach's alpha, the sign and magnitude of the factor loadings, the inter-factor correlations, and the large proportion of variance extracted for each factor, all indicate that the instrument is reliable and valid. Additionally, multivariate analyses showed that socio-cultural reasons were important contributing or chewing betel nut. Participants cited chewing because their friends and family members chewed, the behavior is embedded within their culture, and it would be considered rude and disrespectful to not chew. Based on the findings, this study provides important implications pertaining to

Age affects not only metabolome but also metal toxicity in Scenedesmus quadricauda cultures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kováčik, Jozef, E-mail: jozkovacik@yahoo.com [Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic); CEITEC—Central European Institute of Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic); Klejdus, Bořivoj [Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic); CEITEC—Central European Institute of Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic); Babula, Petr [Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno (Czech Republic); Hedbavny, Josef [Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic)

2016-04-05

Highlights: • Vitality was lower in old than in young culture and amount of sucrose differed. • Cd stimulated ROS more than Ni in both cultures but NO was not extensively affected. • Cd accumulated more than Ni but old culture contained more Cd and Ni than young. • Phytochelatin 2 strongly increased under Cd and ascorbic acid under Cd and high Ni. • Young culture contained more acids and mainly citrate differed under metal excess. - Abstract: Responses of Scenedesmus quadricauda grown in vitro and differing in age (old culture—13 months, young culture—1 month) to short-term cadmium (Cd) or nickel (Ni) excess (24 h) were compared. Higher age of the culture led to lower amount of chlorophylls, ascorbic acid and glutathione but higher signal of ROS. Surprisingly, sucrose was detected using DART-Orbitrap MS in both old and young culture and subsequent quantification confirmed its higher amount (ca. 3-times) in the old culture. Cd affected viability and ROS amount more negatively than Ni that could arise from excessive Cd uptake which was also higher in all treatments than in respective Ni counterparts. Surprisingly, nitric oxide was not extensively different in response to age or metals. Strong induction of phytochelatin 2 is certainly Cd-specific response while Ni also elevated ascorbate content. Krebs cycle acids were more accumulated in the young culture but they were rather elevated in the old culture (citric acid under Ni excess). We conclude that organic solid ‘Milieu Bristol’ medium we tested is suitable for long-term storage of unicellular green algae (also successfully tested for Coccomyxa sp. and Parachlorella sp.) and the impact of age on metal uptake may be useful for bioremediation purposes.

Age affects not only metabolome but also metal toxicity in Scenedesmus quadricauda cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kováčik, Jozef; Klejdus, Bořivoj; Babula, Petr; Hedbavny, Josef

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Vitality was lower in old than in young culture and amount of sucrose differed. • Cd stimulated ROS more than Ni in both cultures but NO was not extensively affected. • Cd accumulated more than Ni but old culture contained more Cd and Ni than young. • Phytochelatin 2 strongly increased under Cd and ascorbic acid under Cd and high Ni. • Young culture contained more acids and mainly citrate differed under metal excess. - Abstract: Responses of Scenedesmus quadricauda grown in vitro and differing in age (old culture—13 months, young culture—1 month) to short-term cadmium (Cd) or nickel (Ni) excess (24 h) were compared. Higher age of the culture led to lower amount of chlorophylls, ascorbic acid and glutathione but higher signal of ROS. Surprisingly, sucrose was detected using DART-Orbitrap MS in both old and young culture and subsequent quantification confirmed its higher amount (ca. 3-times) in the old culture. Cd affected viability and ROS amount more negatively than Ni that could arise from excessive Cd uptake which was also higher in all treatments than in respective Ni counterparts. Surprisingly, nitric oxide was not extensively different in response to age or metals. Strong induction of phytochelatin 2 is certainly Cd-specific response while Ni also elevated ascorbate content. Krebs cycle acids were more accumulated in the young culture but they were rather elevated in the old culture (citric acid under Ni excess). We conclude that organic solid ‘Milieu Bristol’ medium we tested is suitable for long-term storage of unicellular green algae (also successfully tested for Coccomyxa sp. and Parachlorella sp.) and the impact of age on metal uptake may be useful for bioremediation purposes.

Embryo density may affect embryo quality during in vitro culture in a microwell group culture dish.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehner, Adam; Kaszas, Zita; Murber, Akos; Rigo, Janos; Urbancsek, Janos; Fancsovits, Peter

2017-08-01

Culturing embryos in groups is a common practice in mammalian embryology. Since the introduction of different microwell dishes, it is possible to identify oocytes or embryos individually. As embryo density (embryo-to-volume ratio) may affect the development and viability of the embryos, the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of different embryo densities on embryo quality. Data of 1337 embryos from 228 in vitro fertilization treatment cycles were retrospectively analyzed. Embryos were cultured in a 25 μl microdrop in a microwell group culture dish containing 9 microwells. Three density groups were defined: Group 1 with 2-4 (6.3-12.5 μl/embryo), Group 2 with 5-6 (4.2-5.0 μl/embryo), and Group 3 with 7-9 (2.8-3.6 μl/embryo) embryos. Proportion of good quality embryos was higher in Group 2 on both days (D2: 18.9 vs. 31.5 vs. 24.7%; p Culturing 5-6 embryos together in a culture volume of 25 μl may benefit embryo quality. As low egg number, position, and distance of the embryos may influence embryo quality, results should be interpreted with caution.

Fluctuating levels of reprogramming factor expression in cultured ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Although human undifferentiated keratinocytes (HUKs) can be reprogrammed to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with high efficiency and rapid kinetics by transducing reprogramming factors (RFs), the endogenous expression of reprogramming factors in cultured HUKs is not clear at different stages. In this ...

Vulnerability factors in OCD symptoms: cross-cultural comparisons between Turkish and Canadian samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Yorulmaz, Orçun; Gençöz, Tülin; Woody, Sheila

2010-01-01

Recent findings have suggested some potential psychological vulnerability factors for development of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, including cognitive factors of appraisal and thought control, religiosity, self-esteem and personality characteristics such as neuroticism. Studies demonstrating these associations usually come from Western cultures, but there may be cultural differences relevant to these vulnerability factors and OC symptoms. The present study examined the relationship between putative vulnerability factors and OC symptoms by comparing non-clinical samples from Turkey and Canada, two countries with quite different cultural characteristics. The findings revealed some common correlates such as neuroticism and certain types of metacognition, including appraisals of responsibility/threat estimation and perfectionism/need for certainty, as well as thought-action fusion. However, culture-specific factors were also indicated in the type of thought control participants used. For OC disorder symptoms, Turkish participants were more likely to utilize worry and thought suppression, while Canadian participants tended to use self-punishment more frequently. The association with common factors supports the cross-cultural validity of some factors, whereas unique factors suggest cultural features that may be operative in cognitive processes relevant to OC symptoms.

Chinese primiparous women's experiences of early motherhood: factors affecting maternal role competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngai, Fei-Wan; Chan, Sally W C; Holroyd, Eleanor

2011-05-01

The aim of this study was to explore Chinese women's perceptions of maternal role competence and factors contributing to maternal role competence during early motherhood. Developing a sense of competence and satisfaction in the maternal role are considered critical components in maternal adaptation, which have a significant impact on parenting behaviours and the psychosocial development of the child. However, qualitative studies that address maternal role competence are limited in the Chinese population. This was an exploratory descriptive study. A purposive sample of 26 Chinese primiparous mothers participated in a childbirth psychoeducation programme and was interviewed at six weeks postpartum. Data were analysed using content analysis. Women perceived a competent mother as being able to make a commitment to caring for the physical and emotional well-being of child, while cultivating appropriate values for childhood. Personal knowledge and experience of infant care, success in breastfeeding, infant's well-being, availability of social support and contradictory information from various sources were major factors affecting maternal role competency. The findings highlight the importance of understanding Chinese cultural attitudes to childrearing and maternal role competence. New Chinese mothers need information on child care, positive experiences of infant care, social support and consistent information to enhance their maternal role competency. Recommendations are made for Chinese culturally specific guidelines and healthcare delivery interventions to enhance maternal role competence in early motherhood. Nursing and midwifery care should always take into account the cultural beliefs and enable adaptation of traditional postpartum practices. Providing consistent information and positive experience on parenting skills and infant behaviour as well as enhancing effective coping strategies could strengthen Chinese women's maternal role competency. © 2011 Blackwell

Factor affecting Agrobacterium -mediated transformation of rice ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Potato is a very important food crop and is adversely affected by fungus. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation can play an important role in the improvement of potato. The present study was conducted to optimize the different factors affecting Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of chitinase gene. Nodes were used as ...

Factors affecting patient dose in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poletti, J.L.

1994-03-01

The report, Factors Affecting Patient Dose in Diagnostic Radiology is divided into three main sections. Part one is introductory and covers the basic principles of x-ray production and image formation. It includes discussion of x-ray generators and x-ray tubes, radiation properties and units, specification and measurement of x-ray beams, methods of patient dose measurement, radiation effects, radiation protection philosophy and finally the essentials of imaging systems. Part two examines factors affecting the x-ray output of x-ray machines and the characteristics of x-ray beams. These include the influence of heat ratings, kVp, waveform, exposure timer, filtration, focus-film distance, beam intensity distribution, x-ray tube age and focal spot size. Part three examines x-ray machine, equipment and patient factors which affect the dose received by individual patients. The factors considered include justification of examinations, choice of examination method, film/screen combinations, kVp, mAs, focus-film distance, collimation and field size, exposure time, projection, scatter, generator calibration errors, waveform, filtration, film processing and patient size. The patient dose implications of fluoroscopy systems, CT scanners, special procedures and mammography are also discussed. The report concludes with a brief discussion of patient dose levels in New Zealand and dose optimisation. 104 refs., 32 figs., 27 tabs

Overview of factors affecting the leachability of nuclear waste forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, J.A.

1980-01-01

An overview of various factors that affect the leachability of nuclear waste forms is presented. The factors affect primarily the leaching system (temperature, for example), the leachant (pH, for example), or the solid being leached (surface condition, for example). A qualitative understanding exists of the major factors affecting leaching, but further studies are needed to establish leaching mechanisms and develop predictive models. 67 refs

Human Factors and Safety Culture in Maritime Safety (revised

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinz Peter Berg

2013-09-01

Full Text Available As in every industry at risk, the human and organizational factors constitute the main stakes for maritime safety. Furthermore, several events at sea have been used to develop appropriate risk models. The investigation on maritime accidents is, nowadays, a very important tool to identify the problems related to human factor and can support accident prevention and the improvement of maritime safety. Part of this investigation should in future also be near misses. Operation of ships is full of regulations, instructions and guidelines also addressing human factors and safety culture to enhance safety. However, even though the roots of a safety culture have been established, there are still serious barriers to the breakthrough of the safety management. One of the most common deficiencies in the case of maritime transport is the respective monitoring and documentation usually lacking of adequacy and excellence. Nonetheless, the maritime area can be exemplified from other industries where activities are ongoing to foster and enhance safety culture.

Adult caregiving among American Indians: the role of cultural factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Goins, R Turner; Spencer, S Melinda; McGuire, Lisa C; Goldberg, Jack; Wen, Yang; Henderson, Jeffrey A

2011-06-01

With a sample of American Indian adults, we estimated the prevalence of adult caregiving, assessed the demographic and cultural profile of caregivers, and examined the association between cultural factors and being a caregiver. This is the first such study conducted with American Indians. Data came from a cross-sectional study of 5,207 American Indian adults residing on 2 closely related Lakota Sioux reservations in the Northern Plains and one American Indian community in the Southwest. Cultural factors included measures of cultural identity and traditional healing practices. Seventeen percent of our sample reported being caregivers. In both the Northern Plains and Southwest, caregiving was positively correlated with younger age, being a woman, larger household size, attending and participating in Native events, and endorsement of traditional healing practices. In both regions, attendance and participation in Native events and engagement in traditional healing practices were associated with increased odds of caregiving after adjusting for covariates. Only in the Northern Plains did we find that speaking some Native language at home was associated with increased odds of being a caregiver. Examination of interaction terms indicated some sex differences in the association between cultural factors and caregiving in the Northern Plains but not in the Southwest. Our findings indicate that greater cultural identity and engagement in traditional healing practices are related to caregiving in American Indian populations. Caregiving research, intervention efforts, and caregiving programs and services in Native communities should pay special attention to the dynamics of culture and caregiving.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING APPLE PRODUCTION ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

Research Organisation scientists working directly with apple farmers ... be productive up to 40 years, it was more realistic to consider .... to determine the factors that affect apple production. ..... profit maximising model using flexible production ...

Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship and Business Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Tur-Porcar

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for society, and the creation of business ventures is one area where sustainability is critical. We examined the factors affecting actions that are designed to foster business sustainability. These factors are related to the environment, behavior, human relations, and business activity. Based on questionnaire responses from experts, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP method was used to rank sustainable business criteria according to their importance for entrepreneurs starting sustainable businesses. The results indicate that the most important drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship are behavioral factors and business factors. Ethical principles and values, together with competitive intelligence, are crucial for undertaking actions that lead to sustainability.

Cultural Issues in Anxiety Disorders: Some Particularities of the Iranian Culture

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Azadeh Malekian

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Anxiety disorders occur in all human societies; yet there are cross- cultural variations in the symptomatology, prevalence, the etiologically contributing bio-psycho-social factors and the social responses to the symptoms and their management. Iran has a heterogeneous population with numerous subcultures bounded closely to each other through the common history, language, Old Persian culture and the similarities in their impressing experiences as a nation. In the format of a narrative review article, here we intend to induce a minimal insight into a few areas of particularity of anxiety disorders in Iranian culture. We will focus on the examples of socio-cultural factors affecting the source of distress, help-seeking behaviors, symptom presentation and treatment of these disorders in Iran.

Measuring Hope Among Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Children's Hope Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Haroz, Emily E; Jordans, Mark; de Jong, Joop; Gross, Alden; Bass, Judith; Tol, Wietse

2017-06-01

We investigated the cross-cultural construct validity of hope, a factor associated with mental health protection and promotion, using the Children's Hope Scale (CHS). The sample ( n = 1,057; 48% girls) included baseline data from three cluster-randomized controlled trials with children affected by armed conflict ( n = 329 Burundi; n = 403 Indonesia; n = 325 Nepal). The confirmatory factor analysis in each country indicated good fit for the hypothesized two-factor model. Analysis by gender indicated that configural invariance was supported and that scalar invariance was demonstrated in Indonesia. However, metric and scalar invariance were not supported in Burundi and Nepal. In country comparisons, configural and metric invariance were met, but scalar invariance was not supported. Evidence from this study supports the use of the CHS within various sociocultural settings and across genders, but direct comparisons of CHS scores across groups should be done with caution. Rigorous evaluations of the measurement properties of mental health protective and promotive factors are necessary to inform both research and practice.

Factors Affecting the Productivity of Government Workers

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Jerry P. Haenisch

2012-01-01

Full Text Available While there have been a variety of studies concerning government worker motivation and productivity, few, if any, studies have focused specifically on state government workers’ perceptions about what factors affect their productivity. With more than 5 million workers employed by state governments in the United States, any improvement in state workplace productivity could have significant financial and service impact for society. In this study, state government workers identified those factors perceived as most affecting their workplace productivity. Data were collected through a survey offered to state government workers in the state of Wyoming. Factor analysis was used to derive key productivity factors from survey responses. The results indicate that state government workers appreciate having freedom and autonomy, like their jobs and the sense of achievement, and welcome teamwork, but feel limited by poor supervision and management, poor communications, and insufficient budgets and staffing. To improve productivity, the workers would eliminate bureaucracy, supervise better, and improve communication.

Cultural factors influencing safety need to be addressed in design and operation of technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Meshkati, N

1996-10-01

Cultural factors which influence aviation safety in aircraft design, air traffic control, and human factors training are examined. Analysis of the Avianca Flight 052 crash in New York in January, 1990, demonstrates the catastrosphic effects cultural factors can play. Cultural factors include attitude toward work and technology, organizational hierarchy, religion, and population stereotyping.

An inventory of factors that affect polysaccharide production by Phaeocystis globosa

Science.gov (United States)

van Rijssel, M.; Janse, I.; Noordkamp, D. J. B.; Gieskes, W. W. C.

2000-08-01

Phaeocystis material contains polysaccharides that are built from at least eight different monosaccharides. Differences have been reported between the carbohydrate composition of different Phaeocystis species, and also between samples taken from Phaeocystis globosa blooms in different areas. In order to elucidate factors that could play a role in determining variation in carbohydrate composition and production, a number of Phaeocystis globosa strains were studied under laboratory conditions. Although there was a clear distinction of a northern and a southern cluster in the Phaeocystis globosa strains based on RAPD analysis, the differences in the composition of the mucopolysaccharides were relatively small. The contribution of glucose, however, ranged from 7-85% of total sugars. A strain that was cultured in seawaters of diverse origin produced polysaccharides of a different composition, suggesting the effect of environmental factors. The presence of bacteria affected neither the amount, nor the composition of the carbohydrates that were produced by Phaeocystis globosa. Glucose is part of both the intracellular polysaccharide pool and of the mucopolysaccharides in the colony matrix. Using specific digestion of the intracellular chrysolaminaran by laminarinase, the distribution of polysaccharides over different pools could be assessed. During growth of an axenic, mucus-producing strain, the portion of glucose present as chrysolaminaran appeared to increase. The polyglucose that was not digested by laminarinase remains unidentified. This study shows that environmental factors rather than strain differences determine differences in the sugar composition of Phaeocystis globosa, especially with respect to the glucose content of the material. A difference in the contribution of glucose could be correlated to the portion of cells in the culture that are not in the colonies. Our study emphasises that for studying polysaccharide dynamics in Phaeocystis globosa it is

Technological factors affecting biogenic amine content in foods: a review

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Fausto Gardini

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Biogenic amines (BAs are molecules which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in food is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BA accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting biogenic amine content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity and other BAs, environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, pH. In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolising BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances are addressed.

Medical student perceptions of factors affecting productivity of problem-based learning tutorial groups: does culture influence the outcome?

Science.gov (United States)

Das Carlo, Mandira; Swadi, Harith; Mpofu, Debbie

2003-01-01

The popularization of problem-based learning (PBL) has drawn attention to the motivational and cognitive skills necessary for medical students in group learning. This study identifies the effect of motivational and cognitive factors on group productivity of PBL tutorial groups. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 115 students at the end of PBL tutorials for 4 themes. The questionnaire explored student perceptions about effect of motivation, cohesion, sponging, withdrawal, interaction, and elaboration on group productivity. We further analyzed (a) differences in perceptions between male and female students, (b) effect of "problems," and (c) effect of student progress over time on group productivity. There were linear relations between a tutorial group's success and the factors studied. Significant differences were noted between male and female student groups. Students and tutors need to recognize symptoms of ineffective PBL groups. Our study emphasizes the need to take into account cultural issues in setting ground rules for PBL tutorials.

From Mediatized Emotion to Digital Affect Cultures: New Technologies and Global Flows of Emotion

OpenAIRE

Katrin Döveling; Anu A. Harju; Denise Sommer

2018-01-01

Research on the processes of mediatization aims to explore the mutual shaping of media and social life and how new media technologies influence and infiltrate social practices and cultural life. We extend this discussion of media’s role in transforming the everyday by including in the discussion the mediatization of emotion and discuss what we conceptualize as digital affect culture(s). We understand these as relational, contextual, globally emergent spaces in the digital environment where af...

Cultural differences in sensitivity to social context: detecting affective incongruity using the N400.

Science.gov (United States)

Goto, Sharon G; Yee, Alicia; Lowenberg, Kelly; Lewis, Richard S

2013-01-01

East Asians and Asian-Americans tend to allocate relatively greater attention to background context compared to European Americans across a variety of cognitive and neural measures. We sought to extend these findings of cultural differences to affective stimuli using the N400, which has been shown to be sensitive to deep processing of affective information. The degree to which Asian-Americans and European Americans responded to semantic incongruity between emotionally expressive faces (i.e., smiling or frowning) and background affective scenes was measured. As predicted, Asian-Americans showed a greater N400 to incongruent trials than to congruent trials. In contrast, European Americans showed no difference in amplitude across the two conditions. Furthermore, greater affective N400 incongruity was associated with higher interdependent self-construals. These data suggest that Asian-Americans and those with interdependent self-construals process the relationship between perceived facial emotion and affective background context to a greater degree than European Americans and those with independent self-construals. Implications for neural and cognitive differences in everyday social interactions, and cultural differences in analytic and holistic thinking are discussed.

What is Impulse Buying? An analytical network processing framework for prioritizing factors affecting impulse buying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javad Siahkali Moradi

2012-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most important issues affecting profitability is to determine the impact of different factors influencing purchasing activities. In this paper, we perform an extensive literature survey to detect different purchasing factors influencing customers' behavior. The factors are categorized in three different groups and they are ranked using analytical network process. The results of our survey indicate that three factors of personal, product and situational play important roles in purchasing impulse. The personal item includes different factors where demographic characteristic factors receive the highest ranking (35% followed by other factors are feelings, excitement and fun, self identify, education and novelty. There are also three sub-factors associated with demographic characteristics including gender, age and race and the weights are 0.46748, 0.42668 and 0.10584, respectively, which means gender is the most important factor followed by age and race. Finally, the other factor is associated with situational factors' group, which includes presence of others, culture, design of store, time available, local market condition, sales staff and self service with the relative importance of 0.04296, 0.08733, 0.12130, 0.22217, 0.05643, 0.15346 and 0.31635, respectively.

Foreign Policy and The Cultural Factor : A Research and Education Agenda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. P. Ester; Pieter van Nispen tot Pannerden

2013-01-01

In this introduction we have outlined the vital importance of the role of culture (i.e.: the cultural factor) in the field of international relations, foreign policy, and diplomacy and the professional need for cultural competence among its practitioners.

Review: Factors affecting fouling in conventional pens for slaughter pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Mona Lilian Vestbjerg; Bertelsen, Maja; Pedersen, Lene Juul

2018-01-01

and pigs’ earlier experience. Further, these primary factors are affected by secondary factors such as the shape of the pen, the weight of the pigs and especially the heat balance of the pigs, which is affected by several tertiary factors including, for example, temperature, humidity and draught. Results...

Factors Affecting Prenatal Care Utilization in East Wollega Zone ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of the study was to identify factors affecting utilization of prenatal care and skilled birth attendant in East Wollega zone. Prenatal care and skilled birth attendant are crucial factor which affects the health and wellbeing of the mother and newborn and help the women to access skilled assistance, drugs, ...

The quantum walk search algorithm: Factors affecting efficiency

OpenAIRE

Lovett, Neil B.; Everitt, Matthew; Heath, Robert M.; Kendon, Viv

2011-01-01

We numerically study the quantum walk search algorithm of Shenvi, Kempe and Whaley [PRA \\textbf{67} 052307] and the factors which affect its efficiency in finding an individual state from an unsorted set. Previous work has focused purely on the effects of the dimensionality of the dataset to be searched. Here, we consider the effects of interpolating between dimensions, connectivity of the dataset, and the possibility of disorder in the underlying substrate: all these factors affect the effic...

Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

OpenAIRE

Yurdanur Dikmen; Dilek Kara Yilmaz; Handenur Basaran; Nasibe Yagmur Filiz

2016-01-01

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the labor productivity of nurses. Material and Methods: The study which was planned as descriptive and analytical was carried out with 156 nurses who volunteered to participate in the study in a public hospital in the northwest of Turkey. Data was collected with the and ldquo;Participant Presentation Form and rdquo; and the questionnaire including the factors affecting labor productivity which was developed by Ozkoc (2005). ...

Work Factors, Work-Family Conflict, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Healthy Intentions: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shukri, Madihah; Jones, Fiona; Conner, Mark

2016-12-01

The present study examined the roles of work factors (i.e. job demands and job resources), work-family conflicts and culture on predictors of healthy intentions (fruit and vegetable consumption, low-fat diet and physical activity) within the framework of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Employees from the United Kingdom (N = 278) and Malaysia (N = 325) participated in the study. Results indicated that higher job demands were significantly related to lower intentions to eat a low-fat diet. Women reported higher intentions to eat a low-fat diet than men did, while participants from the United Kingdom had lower intentions to engage in physical activity compared with those from Malaysia. The efficacy of TPB variables in explaining intentions was verified, with perceived behavioural control (i.e. self-efficacy), attitudes and descriptive norms combined with past behaviour predictive across the samples. The results also suggest the roles of culture and work interference with family variables in moderating TPB-intention relationships and confirm that TPB variables mediate the effects of job demands and job resources on intentions. Practically, to promote health, identifying strategies to reduce stress factors; specifying important cognitive factors affecting work factors and thus, healthy intentions; and acknowledging cultural-specific determinants of healthy intentions are recommended. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identifying factors affecting optimal management of agricultural water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Samian

2015-01-01

In addition to quantitative methodology such as descriptive statistics and factor analysis a qualitative methodology was employed for dynamic simulation among variables through Vensim software. In this study, the factor analysis technique was used through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO and Bartlett tests. From the results, four key elements were identified as factors affecting the optimal management of agricultural water in Hamedan area. These factors were institutional and legal factors, technical and knowledge factors, economic factors and social factors.

Factors affecting the runoff response of watersheds to precipitation

OpenAIRE

DROZDOVÁ, Martina

2013-01-01

This bachelor thesis is focused on the factors that affect the drainage basin of the response. It contains a literature review, which deals with the hydrological cycle characteristics of precipitation, surface runoff and flood and erosion protection. The aim of the work is to evaluate the factors that adversely affect the runoff from the catchment.

Practice nurses and obesity: professional and practice-based factors affecting role adequacy and role legitimacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nolan, Christine; Deehan, Ann; Wylie, Ann; Jones, Roger

2012-10-01

This qualitative study explored the professional and practice-based factors affecting the role legitimacy and adequacy of practice nurses in managing obese patients. There are strong clinical, financial and practical reasons for tackling obesity in UK general practice. Although practice nurses may seem to be in an ideal position to manage obesity, there remain questions about their role adequacy (sense of self-efficacy in responding to patients' problems) and role legitimacy (their perceived boundaries of professional responsibility and right to intervene). Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 22 practice nurses in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham in South London. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. Key themes were identified following coding of the data. Findings Factors that positively affected nurses' role adequacy and legitimacy were: their belief that obesity management was part of their chronic disease management and health promotion remit; their confidence in their own communication skills and ability to build rapport with patients; having attended training and being supported to take extra time for obesity management. Factors negatively affecting their role legitimacy and adequacy were: their low awareness and use of guidance; lack of knowledge of referral options; limited knowledge and use of non-medical and non-persuasive approaches; perceived lack of expertise in motivating patients, as well as in nutrition, child obesity and assessment; belief that there were some contexts in which it was more appropriate to raise the issue than others; lack of culturally appropriate materials and language barriers; belief that they had limited impact on outcome and that the patient is responsible for lack of success. Other factors negatively affecting their role adequacy and legitimacy included their ambivalence about the effectiveness of the interventions offered; perceived lack of priority for obesity management within practices

Factors affecting the organization and management of emergency ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors affecting the organization and management of emergency mass casualty ... service all under a unified command of leadership with a specified job description. Factors identified were: Political will, human resource planning, appropriate ...

Factors affecting IUCD discontinuation in Nepal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thapa, Subash; Paudel, Ishwari Sharma; Bhattarai, Sailesh

2015-01-01

Information related to contraception discontinuation, especially in the context of Nepal is very limited. A nested case-control study was carried out to determine the factors affecting discontinuation of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs). A total of 115 cases (IUCD discontinuers) and 115...

Factors affecting science reform: Bridging the gap between reform initiatives and teaching practices

Science.gov (United States)

Pensak, Karl John

In response to the perceived deficiencies in science education today, and to the expressed need for research into the culture of schools (due primarily to the failure of many science reforms in the past), this study used a broad based approach to study the gap between science education research and science education practice. This study identified 47 factors that may encourage or inhibit science curriculum reform. A survey was conducted to determine which factors were perceived to be important by local and national K-12 classroom teachers, science supervisors/coordinators, and college/university professors. Continual staff development (scheduled as part of teachers' work day/week/month), funding (for long-term staff development, teacher training and support, science laboratory facilities and materials), teacher motivation and "ownership" of the reform, the need for collaborative opportunities for classroom teachers, teachers' college preparation, textbook reform, community support, and reform initiatives that are "in tune" with assessment, are major factors identified as having a substantial affect on the successful adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of science reforms.

Malchish-Kibalchish: cultural factors in a clinical case.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsivinsky, Vladimir

2016-09-01

In this paper, a Jungian understanding of cultural factors influencing individual analysis is illustrated with the case of a patient suffering from panic attacks. The analysis revealed that, in addition to the patient's personal background, the collectivistic attitudes of the Soviet culture, which had a moulding effect on the patient in his childhood and obstructed his individuation, should be taken into account. The concepts of the totalitarian object and the Russian cultural complex encompassing a grandiosity pole and an inferiority pole are used to explore the patient's condition, and the crucial role of creating mutual language with the patient is outlined. © 2016, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Factors affecting the design of instrument flight procedures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan FERENCZ

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The article highlights factors, which might affect the design of instrument flight procedures. Ishikawa diagram is used to distribute individual factors into classes, as are People, Methods, Regulations, Tools, Data and Environment.

Factors Affecting Rural Facilitators’ Role: Iran

OpenAIRE

Azimi, Farideh; Kamali, Mohammad Bagher

2011-01-01

This study aimed to examine key factors affecting rural female facilitators’ role in participatory rural development in Tehran Province. Since the researchers intended to have a better insight into the facilitators’ role and employ inquiry as a learning forum for bringing about changes for all participants, they preferred to use a case study based upon an appreciative inquiry method. The study divided the factors affecting the facilitators’ role into two main categories: driving factors...

Affective, Normative, and Continuance Commitment Levels across Cultures: A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, John P.; Stanley, David J.; Jackson, Timothy A.; McInnis, Kate J.; Maltin, Elyse R.; Sheppard, Leah

2012-01-01

With increasing globalization of business and diversity within the workplace, there has been growing interest in cultural differences in employee commitment. We used meta-analysis to compute mean levels of affective (AC; K=966, N=433,129), continuance (CC; K=428, N=199,831), and normative (NC; K=336, N=133,277) organizational commitment for as…

Psychological factors affecting equine performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McBride Sebastian D

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract For optimal individual performance within any equestrian discipline horses must be in peak physical condition and have the correct psychological state. This review discusses the psychological factors that affect the performance of the horse and, in turn, identifies areas within the competition horse industry where current behavioral research and established behavioral modification techniques could be applied to further enhance the performance of animals. In particular, the role of affective processes underpinning temperament, mood and emotional reaction in determining discipline-specific performance is discussed. A comparison is then made between the training and the competition environment and the review completes with a discussion on how behavioral modification techniques and general husbandry can be used advantageously from a performance perspective.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Culture, Conflict, and Negotiation

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-28

negotiator cognition: Judgement accuracy and negotiation processes in individualistic and collectivistic cultures ", Organizational Behavior and Human...2004, Adair, Okumura, and Brett, 2001). Communication sequences are also affected by culture . Negotiators from collectivistic cultures use more... individualistic cultures (Adail and Brett, 2005; Adair, Okumura, and Brett, 2001). Research in DB/psychology has increasingly examined situational factors that

Factors associated with sputum culture conversion in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greta Musteikienė

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study was to determine what factors are associated with sputum culture conversion after 1 month of tuberculosis (TB treatment. Materials and methods: A total of 52 patients with new drug susceptible pulmonary TB were included in the study. Patients completed St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ, they were asked about smoking, alcohol use, living conditions and education. Body mass index (BMI measurements, laboratory tests (C reactive protein [CRP], vitamin D, albumin were performed, and chest X-ray was done. After 1 month of treatment sputum culture was repeated. Results: Culture conversion after 1 month of treatment was found in 38.5% cases. None of investigated social factors appeared to have an effect on conversion, but worse overall health status (as reported in SGRQ and longer duration of tobacco smoking were detected in the “no conversion” group. Concentrations of albumin, CRP, X-ray score and the time it took Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture to grow also differed. Patients who scored 30 or more on SGRQ were more than 7 times as likely to have no conversion. However, the most important factor predicting sputum culture conversion was sputum smear grade at the beginning of treatment: patients with grade of 2+ or more had more than 20-fold higher relative risk for no conversion. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we also developed a risk score for no conversion. Conclusions: The most important factors in predicting sputum culture conversion after 1 month of treatment were grades of acid-fast bacilli in sputum smears at time of diagnosis and scores of SGRQ. Keywords: Smoking, Smear grade, St. George respiratory questionnaire, Tuberculosis, Culture conversion

Safety culture development at Daya Bay NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Shanming

2001-01-01

From view on Organization Behavior theory, the concept, development and affecting factors of safety culture are introduced. The focuses are on the establishment, development and management practice for safety culture at Daya Bay NPP. A strong safety culture, also demonstrated, has contributed greatly to improving performance at Daya Bay

Social Cultural Factors Influencing Women's Participation in Sports ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Social Cultural Factors Influencing Women's Participation in Sports as Perceived by Female Students of the University of Ilorin. ... sports competition while mass media should organize enlightenment programmes that will mitigate the ...

Impact of cultural factors on enterprise resource planning

OpenAIRE

HATİPOĞLU, Cemalettin

2017-01-01

Abstract. Organizational culture can also be evaluated as an application stage for the processes and fixations that occur with communication. The lack of cooperation at the desired level may lead to a decrease in effectiveness, especially at the points where teamwork is required, and to a slower implementation. This is one of the most important factors especially for the common purpose and goal setting and for the generations of the application schedules to be generic. The expected cultural c...

Workplace, Biographical and Motivation Factors Affecting ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents the findings of a survey on how workplace, biographical and motivational factors affect the organisational commitment of records officers in federal universities in Nigeria. Single stage random sampling, with equal allocation method, was used to administer questionnaire on 300 sampled participants from ...

Psychological factors affecting equine performance

OpenAIRE

McBride, Sebastian D; Mills, Daniel S

2012-01-01

Abstract For optimal individual performance within any equestrian discipline horses must be in peak physical condition and have the correct psychological state. This review discusses the psychological factors that affect the performance of the horse and, in turn, identifies areas within the competition horse industry where current behavioral research and established behavioral modification techniques could be applied to further enhance the performance of animals. In particular, the role of af...

Framework for Culturally Competent Decisionmaking in Child Welfare.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Elena P.

2003-01-01

Provides a framework for understanding the cultural, social, political, and economic factors that affect decision making when working with ethnically and racially diverse families in the child welfare system. Describes external factors affecting the decision- making process, including community environment, agency structure, and family…

Physical factors affecting the electrically assisted thermal bitumen recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bogdanov, I.I.; Torres, J.-A.; Kamp, A.M. [CHLOE, University of Pau (France); Corre, B. [CSTJF, Total (France)

2011-07-01

In the heavy oil industry, thermal processes are used to enhance oil recovery by increasing the reservoir temperature which results in better oil mobility. Low frequency heating (LFH) is a technology using electrical conductivity of connate water to propagate current between electrodes, thus generating heat in the reservoir through the Joule effect. During the preheating and production periods, many physical factors may affect the LFH process and the aim of this study was to determine which factors affect the process and how, using a particular pattern of electrodes. Simulations were conducted using the CMG Stars reservoir simulator under different configurations, conditions and parameters. Important physical properties and operational conditions affecting the LFH process were determined and results showed that convection heat, bulk electrical conductivity and power distribution can be improved by salt water circulation. This paper highlighted the physical factors affecting LFH efficiency and these findings will be useful for future process design.

Factor analysis of processes of corporate culture formation at industrial enterprises of Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Illiashenko Sergii

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Authors have analyzed and synthesized the features of formation and development of the corporate culture at industrial enterprises of Ukraine and on this basis developed recommendations for application in the management of strategic development. During the research authors used the following general scientific methods: at research of patterns of interaction national culture, corporate culture and the culture of the individual authors used logical generalization method; for determining factors influencing corporate culture formation with the level of occurrence authors used factor analysis; for trend analysis of the corporate culture development at appropriate levels authors used comparative method. Results of the analysis showed that macro- and microfactors are external and mezofaktors (adaptability of business and corporate governance, corporate ethics, corporate social responsibility and personnel policies, corporate finance are internal for an enterprise. Authors have identified areas for each of the factors, itemized obstacles to the establishment and development of corporate culture at Ukrainian industrial enterprises and proposed recommendations for these processes management.

Impacts of Nutrition and Feeding Programs on Farmers’ Management Decisions Affecting the Success of Dairy Farms with Culture Breed Cattle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yavuz Topcu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to evaluate all the factors determining the milk production and yield decisions with regard to the nutrition and feeding programs affecting the integrated management strategies on the success of the dairy farms with culture breed cattle under the pasture-based and indoor barn-based production systems. For these aims, data obtained from the individual interviews conducted at the dairy farms with 100 culture breed cattle were used for Principal Component and Multiple Regression Analyses. The results of the study highlighted that while there were linear positive relationships among liquid assets of farms value, concentrate feed and fodder intake of dairy cattle, milk sale price, forage crop support, additional feeding and their types at pasture and milk yields per dairy cattle at the dairy farms; there were inverse relationships among hay intake of dairy cattle, lactation period, pasture planning, culture breed cattle support and those. The farmers could increase the successes of the dairy farms by increasing the technical and economic effectiveness under the integrated management pattern approaches at those with culture breed cattle.

Encoding conditions affect recognition of vocally expressed emotions across cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Jürgens, Rebecca; Drolet, Matthis; Pirow, Ralph; Scheiner, Elisabeth; Fischer, Julia

2013-01-01

Although the expression of emotions in humans is considered to be largely universal, cultural effects contribute to both emotion expression and recognition. To disentangle the interplay between these factors, play-acted and authentic (non-instructed) vocal expressions of emotions were used, on the assumption that cultural effects may contribute differentially to the recognition of staged and spontaneous emotions. Speech tokens depicting four emotions (anger, sadness, joy, fear) were obtained from German radio archives and re-enacted by professional actors, and presented to 120 participants from Germany, Romania, and Indonesia. Participants in all three countries were poor at distinguishing between play-acted and spontaneous emotional utterances (58.73% correct on average with only marginal cultural differences). Nevertheless, authenticity influenced emotion recognition: across cultures, anger was recognized more accurately when play-acted (z = 15.06, p emotions, indicating a moderate in-group advantage. There was no difference between Romanian and Indonesian subjects in the overall emotion recognition. Differential cultural effects became particularly apparent in terms of differential biases in emotion attribution. While all participants labeled play-acted expressions as anger more frequently than expected, German participants exhibited a further bias toward choosing anger for spontaneous stimuli. In contrast to the German sample, Romanian and Indonesian participants were biased toward choosing sadness. These results support the view that emotion recognition rests on a complex interaction of human universals and cultural specificities. Whether and in which way the observed biases are linked to cultural differences in self-construal remains an issue for further investigation.

Factors affecting behaviours that address HIV risk among Black and White South Africans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Peltzer

2002-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting HIV risk reduction among 150 Black and 150 White South Africans chosen by systematic random sampling. Main outcome measures included sexual behaviour and condom use, knowledge about correct condom use, intention of condom use, behavioural norms, attitudes, normative beliefs, and subjective norms about condoms, HIV/AIDS health beliefs, and HIV risk behaviour. Bivariate analysis gave positive significant relations among being single, age, HIV/ AIDS perceived severity, HIV/AIDS prevention barriers and HIV risk behaviour. Further, bivariate analysis gave negative significant relations among age at onset of puberty, age at first vaginal intercourse, correct condom use knowledge, subjective norms, intention to use condoms and HIV risk behaviour. Regression analysis indicated that for subjective norm to use condoms, less intention for condom use, less condom use knowledge and younger age of first vaginal intercourse were predictive for HIV/AIDS risk behaviour. HIV prevention intervention programmes should include the identified factors and cultural diversity.

Socio-cultural factors impacting male involvement in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socio-cultural factors impacting male involvement in the management of infertile couples at the Kenyatta National Hospital. ... that may influence male participation in the management of the infertile couples attending the KNH Infertility Clinic.

Culture temperature affects redifferentiation and cartilaginous extracellular matrix formation in dedifferentiated human chondrocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Akira; Aoyama, Tomoki; Iijima, Hirotaka; Tajino, Junichi; Nagai, Momoko; Yamaguchi, Shoki; Zhang, Xiangkai; Kuroki, Hiroshi

2015-05-01

To date, there have been few studies on how temperature affects the phenotype and metabolism of human chondrocytes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of culture temperature on chondrocyte redifferentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) formation using dedifferentiated mature human chondrocytes in vitro. Dedifferentiated chondrocytes were cultured in a pellet culture system for up to 21 days. The pellets were randomly divided into three groups with different culture temperature (32, 37, and 41°C). Chondrocyte redifferentiation and ECM formation were evaluated by wet weight, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), histological, and biochemical analyses. The results showed that the wet weight and the mRNA expressions of collagen type II A1 and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein at 37°C were higher than the corresponding values at 32°C. The histological and biochemical analyses revealed that the syntheses of type II collagen and proteoglycan were promoted at 37°C compared to those at 32°C, whereas they were considerably inhibited at 41°C. In conclusion, the results obtained herein indicated that temperature affects chondrocyte redifferentiation and ECM formation, and modulation of temperature might thus represent an advantageous means to regulate the phenotype and biosynthetic activity of chondrocytes. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigation of Factors Affecting Microdialysis Probe Delivery and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP

Purpose: To investigate in vitro the factors affecting microdialysis probe delivery and recovery of puerarin . Methods: ... methods. Factors such as drug concentration, stirring speed, additives and length of membrane were ... The high performance liquid chromatography ..... Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Investigate Regional.

Personality factors and adult attachment affecting job mobility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vianen, A.E.M.; Feij, J.A.; Krausz, M.; Taris, R.

2003-01-01

Past research has revealed that individuals' job mobility is affected by factors such as job satisfaction, specific career enhancing attributes and job availability. This study examined personality factors predicting voluntary internal and external job mobility. Three types of voluntary job mobility

Parallel factor analysis PARAFAC of process affected water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ewanchuk, A.M.; Ulrich, A.C.; Sego, D. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Alostaz, M. [Thurber Engineering Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2010-07-01

A parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of oil sands process-affected water was presented. Naphthenic acids (NA) are traditionally described as monobasic carboxylic acids. Research has indicated that oil sands NA do not fit classical definitions of NA. Oil sands organic acids have toxic and corrosive properties. When analyzed by fluorescence technology, oil sands process-affected water displays a characteristic peak at 290 nm excitation and approximately 346 nm emission. In this study, a parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was used to decompose process-affected water multi-way data into components representing analytes, chemical compounds, and groups of compounds. Water samples from various oil sands operations were analyzed in order to obtain EEMs. The EEMs were then arranged into a large matrix in decreasing process-affected water content for PARAFAC. Data were divided into 5 components. A comparison with commercially prepared NA samples suggested that oil sands NA is fundamentally different. Further research is needed to determine what each of the 5 components represent. tabs., figs.

Quality Culture Development in the Industrial Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Baravska

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This article examines the theoretical viewpoint of quality culture, its formation in industrial plants. Here is discussed cultural ap-proach to quality. It is determined that quality based on a cultural perspective is implemented not only by using tools and methods, but it is the result of cultural factors – exactly the company's values and practices. The values that affect a successful quality culture's integration into entire company's activity are overviewed. This article presents the study of key factors influencing the quality culture's development and it is proposed a conceptual model. The conclusions of performed empirical studies confirm that leadership and company's culture are of paramount im-portance and are the main success factors in developing of the quality culture in the company. The connection between leader-ship and empowerment certifies that each company itself is re-sponsible for the formation of the quality culture.

Factors affecting the performance of professional nurses in Namibia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalene H. Awases

2013-04-01

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to identify factors affecting the performance of professional nurses in Namibia. Method: A quantitative, descriptive survey was used to collect data by means of a questionnaire. A random sample of 180 professional nurses was selected from six hospitals in three regions of Namibia. Results: Factors affecting the performance of nurses negatively were identified such as: lack of recognition of employees who are performing well, quality performance outcomes and an absence of a formal performance appraisal system and poor working conditions. Various factors contribute to both the positive and negative performance of professional nurses in Namibia. Strategies were developed for addressing the negative factors that could positively affect the performance of professional nurses in Namibia. Conclusions: This study emphasises the importance of developing strategies to promote the performance of nurses; build knowledge and expertise; develop mechanisms for improving the performance of nurses; expand leadership and management capacity; and generate information and knowledge through research.

Traditional Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource Management Practices in ... Ghanaian worker in general and the HR manager in particular is influenced ... face -to-face interview methods were used to obtain information for the study.

Culture and Happiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Dezhu; Ng, Yew-Kwang; Lian, Yujun

Culture is an important factor affecting happiness. This paper examines the predictive power of cultural factors on the cross-country differences in happiness and explores how different dimensions of cultural indices differ in their effects on happiness. Our empirical results show that the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness nine culture indices are all significantly related with happiness. Out of these nine indices, power distance (PDI) and gender egalitarianism (GEI) play the most important and stable role in determining subjective well-being (SWB). We further examine the relative importance of the various variables in contributing to the R-squared of the regression. The results show that PDI is the most important, accounting for 50 % of the contributions to R-squared of all variables, or equalling the combined contributions of income, population density and four other traditional variables. The contribution of GEI is 37.1 %, also well surpassing other variables. Our results remain robust even taking account of the different data for culture and SWB.

Developing a Causal Model of Human and Organizational Culture Factors Affecting the Knowledge Management Maturity Using Meta-Synthesis Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Younis Jabarzadeh

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Identifying influential factors which contribute to the knowledge management maturity and studying their interaction over time helps managers to understand the complex behavior of knowledge management system. It also leads them to make right decisions for utilizing these factors in promoting knowledge management and achieve strategic goals of the organization by providing a sound insight and an appropriate mechanism to reach to the optimal maturity level. In this study, all aspects and components of knowledge management with an emphasis on human factors and organizational culture, and relations between them have been identified by using a systematic literature review and meta-synthesis qualitative research approach. Then by using consultation and consensus of experts, all results verified. The results include 64 codes which are classified in 9 dimensions and two categories. Finally, due to the obtained classification and their relations, the dynamic model of knowledge management maturity is presented. The results of this study could be a suitable framework for improving mental models of knowledge management executives and experts. It makes possible Developing dynamic analysis models and appropriate policies in order to improve the knowledge management maturity in organizations.

Cultural issues and other factors that affect self-management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) by Chinese immigrants in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Eh, Kexin; McGill, Margaret; Wong, Jencia; Krass, Ines

2016-09-01

To investigate the influence of cultural and other factors on diabetes self-management behaviors among Australian Chinese immigrants with T2D. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and October 2015. The questionnaire comprised several validated scales examining aspects of self-management practice including medication adherence, acculturation and demographics. Participants were recruited from the community and Diabetes Center of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH), Sydney, Australia. Of the 139 participants, a majority were female, from mainland China, with high school level education and a mean age of 64 (SD±12) years. Participants were found to have poor self-management practices generally but moderate medication adherence. 13.7% of participants reported incorporating TCM into their diabetes treatment and 24% reported a cultural shame surrounding a diabetes diagnosis. Higher levels of acculturation predicted better medication adherence, whereas stronger beliefs in TCM predicted poorer medication adherence. Gender, education level and duration of diabetes were also predictors of diabetes self-management behaviors. This study provided insight into cultural influences on diabetes self-management and medication taking among Chinese immigrants in Australia. Health care providers should take these into account in delivering culturally sensitive care and advice to achieve better health outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Study of Factors Affecting the Renewal of Health Insurance Policy

OpenAIRE

Bhat Ramesh; Jain Nishant

2007-01-01

Health insurance policies are generally one-year policies and to remain part of the insurance poll, policyholders are required to renew their policies each year. Understanding the factors that affect the demand and renewal decisions to continue in health insurance programme is imperative for future growth and development of the insurance sector. We extend our previous work on factors affecting the decision to purchase health insurance to understand the factors affecting the renewal of insuran...

Factors affecting Japanese retirees' healthcare service utilisation in Malaysia: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohno, Ayako; Nik Farid, Nik Daliana; Musa, Ghazali; Abdul Aziz, Norlaili; Nakayama, Takeo; Dahlui, Maznah

2016-03-22

While living overseas in another culture, retirees need to adapt to a new environment but often this causes difficulties, particularly among those elderly who require healthcare services. This study examines factors affecting healthcare service utilisation among Japanese retirees in Malaysia. We conducted 6 focus group discussions with Japanese retirees and interviewed 8 relevant medical services providers in-depth. Guided by the Andersen Healthcare Utilisation Model, we managed and analysed the data, using QSR NVivo 10 software and the directed content analysis method. We interviewed participants at Japan Clubs and their offices. 30 Japanese retirees who live in Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh, and 8 medical services providers. We identified health beliefs, medical symptoms and health insurance as the 3 most important themes, respectively, representing the 3 dimensions within the Andersen Healthcare Utilisation Model. Additionally, language barriers, voluntary health repatriation to Japan and psychological support were unique themes that influence healthcare service utilisation among Japanese retirees. The healthcare service utilisation among Japanese retirees in Malaysia could be partially explained by the Andersen Healthcare Utilisation Model, together with some factors that were unique findings to this study. Healthcare service utilisation among Japanese retirees in Malaysia could be improved by alleviating negative health beliefs through awareness programmes for Japanese retirees about the healthcare systems and cultural aspects of medical care in Malaysia. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Factors Affecting Faculty Web Portal Usability

Science.gov (United States)

Bringula, Rex P.; Basa, Roselle S.

2011-01-01

The study investigated the factors that might significantly affect web portal usability. Results of the study were intended to serve as inputs for faculty web portal development of the University of the East-Manila. Descriptive statistics utilized questionnaire data from 82 faculty members. The data showed that most of the respondents were…

Encoding conditions affect recognition of vocally expressed emotions across cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca eJürgens

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Although the expression of emotions in humans is considered to be largely universal, cultural effects contribute to both emotion expression and recognition. To disentangle the interplay between these factors, play-acted and authentic (non-instructed vocal expressions of emotions were used, on the assumption that cultural effects may contribute differentially to the recognition of staged and spontaneous emotions. Speech tokens depicting four emotions (anger, sadness, joy, fear were obtained from German radio archives and reenacted by professional actors, and presented to 120 participants from Germany, Romania, and Indonesia. Participants in all three countries were poor at distinguishing between play-acted and spontaneous emotional utterances (58.73% correct on average with only marginal cultural differences. Nevertheless, authenticity influenced emotion recognition: across cultures, anger was recognized more accurately when play-acted (z = 15.06, p < .001 and sadness when authentic (z = 6.63, p < .001, replicating previous findings from German populations. German subjects revealed a slight advantage in recognizing emotions, indicating a moderate in-group advantage. There was no difference between Romanian and Indonesian subjects in the overall emotion recognition. Differential cultural effects became particularly apparent in terms of differential biases in emotion attribution. While all participants labeled play-acted expressions as anger more frequently than expected, German participants exhibited a further bias towards choosing anger for spontaneous stimuli. In contrast to the German sample, Romanian and Indonesian participants were biased towards choosing sadness. These results support the view that emotion recognition rests on a complex interaction of human universals and cultural specificities. Whether and in which way the observed biases are linked to cultural differences in self-construal remains an issue for further investigation.

Gender factors affecting female labour input in the Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Gender factors affecting female labour input in the Nigerian University system. ... which mostly affect women‟s job performance in the Nigerian university system. ... are essential in building a gender-friendly university work environment.

The Impact of Organizational Culture and Job Related Affective Well Being on Employees’ Conflict Resolution Styles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurdan Özarallı

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the impact of cooperative or competitive organizational culture and employees’ job related affective well being on their preferred conflict resolution styles. A total of 236 white collar employees in the private sector completed questionnaires on “Organizational Culture“, “Job Related Affective Well Being“and “Conflict Resolution Styles“. Results indicated that employees working in a cooperative organizational culture would choose problem solving, compromising and accomodating conflict resolution styles while those working in a competitive work environment would choose forcing and avoiding strategies. Results also showed that while positive job related affective well being is a major predictor o problem solving, compromising, accomodating and avoiding conflict resolution styles, negative job related affective well being significantly predicts forcing and avoiding strategies. Overall, the results draw attention to the preferred conflict resolution strategies assumed by Turkish employees, the role of the conflict environment as well as actors’ affective well being

Social factors affecting education quality of Iranian medical & dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Zafarmand, A Hamid; Sabour, Siamak

2014-09-01

Positive social behavior of student is an important factor in the integrity of educational quality. Unbalanced behavior can disrupt the progress of students in learning. The present study evaluates the effect of social factors on education quality of dental and medical students. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 227 randomly selected students (109 dental and 118 medical). The questionnaire contained three domains of cultural collectivism, self-concept, and social adjustment adapted from California Test of Personality. It also included demographic questions like; field of study, gender and home city of residence. Data was analyzed using SPSS (version#19) software. Pearsons' correlation coefficient and independent t-test were used at the P-value of 0.05. Generally, girl students showed higher cultural collectivism (P=0.028) and social adjustment (P=0.04). On the contrary, boys were better in self-concept behavior (P=0.34). Home city of residence evidenced with no significant effect on any aspects of social attitudes of subjects. Pearsons' correlation coefficient test showed a weak correlation between cultural collectivism and self-concept (r=0.134, P=0.04) and between cultural collectivism and social adjustment, as well. (r=0.252, P=0.001) Independent t-test showed a significant difference between male and female students concerning cultural collectivism and social adjustment. Reliability of cultural collectivism, self-concept and social adjustment scales ranged from very good to moderate, α=0.83, α=0.63, and α=0.54 respectively. The results of this study indicated that female students show better cultural collectivism and social adjustment skills. It also proved that home city of residence has no significant effect upon social behavior of either medical or dental students.

Investigation of Factors Affecting Microdialysis Probe Delivery and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To investigate in vitro the factors affecting microdialysis probe delivery and recovery of puerarin. Methods: The recovery and delivery of puerarin were tested for extraction efficiency and retro-dialysis methods. Factors such as drug concentration, stirring speed, additives and length of membrane were studied to ...

Investigation of Factors Affecting Microdialysis Probe Delivery and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To investigate in vitro the factors affecting microdialysis probe delivery and recovery of puerarin . Methods: The recovery and delivery of puerarin were tested for extraction efficiency and retro-dialysis methods. Factors such as drug concentration, stirring speed, additives and length of membrane were studied to ...

7339 BASELINE SURVEY ON FACTORS AFFECTING SORGHUM ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

muuicathy

2013-01-01

Jan 1, 2013 ... factors affecting sorghum production and the sorghum farming ... The informal seed system includes methods such as retaining seed on-farm from ..... Jaetzold R and H Schmidt Farm Management Handbook of Kenya, Ministry.

Analysis of Economic Factors Affecting Stock Market

OpenAIRE

Xie, Linyin

2010-01-01

This dissertation concentrates on analysis of economic factors affecting Chinese stock market through examining relationship between stock market index and economic factors. Six economic variables are examined: industrial production, money supply 1, money supply 2, exchange rate, long-term government bond yield and real estate total value. Stock market comprises fixed interest stocks and equities shares. In this dissertation, stock market is restricted to equity market. The stock price in thi...

Factors Affecting Learning Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linu Sara George

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nursing education expects the students to be competent enough to render quality care for their patients in hospital as well as community setting. To reach the level of expected competency, the students must undergo vigorous training during their undergraduate education. The learning experience of the students is influenced by many factors. Aim: To identify the factors, affecting learning as perceived by the students. Materials and Methods: This descriptive survey was conducted among 414 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in selected Nursing Colleges. Background information was collected using Demographic Proforma and the factors affecting learning were identified using Likert Scale. Factors were identified by exploratory factor analysis using extraction method of principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Results: Majority (73.7% of the samples were between 22-25 years of age, 93.2% were females, most (38.9% were studying in the fourth year of nursing, 50% of the students enrolled in the study had chosen nursing as a career due to job security in future, 58.7% students did not spent time every day for their studies and majority (89.1% had English as their medium of instruction in Pre-university college. Factor analysis identified five factors (Learning environment, Supportive services, Teacher characteristics, Learner challenges and Personal factors that affect the student learning. Conclusion: From the present study it can be concluded that perception of students do have an influence on factors affecting learning. The study findings will help the faculty members to bring in changes for the best learning outcome.

Substrate-Related Factors Affecting Enzymatic Saccharification of Lignocelluloses: Our Recent Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Shao-Yuan Leu; J.Y. Zhu

2013-01-01

Enzymatic saccharification of cellulose is a key step in conversion of plant biomass to advanced biofuel and chemicals. Many substrate-related factors affect saccharification. Rather than examining the role of each individual factor on overall saccharification efficiency, this study examined how each factor affects the three basic processes of a heterogeneous...

Factors affecting Archaeal Lipid Compositions of the Sulfolobus Species

Science.gov (United States)

He, L.; Han, J.; Wei, Y.; Lin, L.; Wei, Y.; Zhang, C.

2010-12-01

Temperature is the best known variable affecting the distribution of the archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in marine and freshwater systems. Other variables such as pH, ionic strength, or bicarbonate concentration may also affect archaeal GDGTs in terrestrial systems. Studies of pure cultures can help us pinpoint the specific effects these variables may have on archaeal lipid distribution in natural environments. In this study, three Sulfolobus species (HG4, HB5-2, HB9-6) isolated from Tengchong hot springs (pH 2-3, temperature 73-90°C) in China were used to investigate the effects of temperature, pH, substrate, and type of strain on the composition of GDGTs. Results showed that increase in temperature had negative effects on the relative contents of GDGT-0 (no cyclopentyl rings), GDGT-1 (one cyclopentyl ring), GDGT-2 and GDGT-3 but positive effects on GDGT-4, GDGT-4', GDGT-5 and GDGT-5'. Increase in pH, on the other hand, had negative effects on GDGT-0, GDGT-1, GDGT-4', GDGT-5 and GDGT-5', and positive effects on GDGT-3 and GDGT-4. GDGT-2 remained relatively constant with changing pH. When the HG4 was grown on different substrates, GDGT-5 was five time more abundant in sucrose-grown cultures than in yeast extract- or sulfur- grown cultures, suggesting that carbohydrates may stimulate the production of GDGT-5. For all three species, the ring index (average number of rings) of GDGTs correlated positively with incubation temperature. In HG4, ring index was much lower at optimal pH (3.5) than at other pH values. Ring index of HB5-2 or HB9-6 is higher than that of HG4, suggesting that speciation may affect the degree of cyclization of GDGT of the Sulfolobus. These results indicate that individual archaeal lipids respond differently to changes in environmental variables, which may be also species specific.

Legal culture as a factor of social stability

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M M Akulich

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article examines legal culture as a factor of stability in developing societies referring to the concepts of culture proposed by P.A. Sorokin, L.N. Kogan, M.T. Iovchuk and other famous sociologists. The authors state that in the modern sociological literature legal culture is studied mainly from the theoretical rather than empirical standpoint: the sociology has accumulated a lot of data on the legal culture, although its study in the context of agreements and conflicts, stability and destructiveness is not enough. Legal culture should be regarded as a regulator and stabilizer of social interactions and relationships in both specific countries and the global space. Thus, identifying regional and global aspects of legal culture has become an important theoretical problem of the sociological studies nowadays as well as considering legal culture in relation to moral, economic and political values and priorities. The authors argue that it is not possible to build a state of law and civil society without raising the level of legal culture, and present the results of the sociological study of the legal culture in the south of the Tyumen region conducted in 2013. This survey revealed an average level of following the law in 55% of the local population, although 90% consider themselves law-abiding citizens. At the same time, 46% believe in the possibility to manipulate the law, and 60% approve the principle of equity of the law. The authors conclude that the identified average level of legal culture among the local population is an indicator of a quite stable and successful development of the region under study.

Developmental outcomes of toddlers of young Latina mothers: Cultural, family, and parenting factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Grau, Josefina M; Duran, Petra A; Castellanos, Patricia; Smith, Erin N; Silberman, Stephanie G; Wood, Lauren E

2015-11-01

Children of adolescent mothers are at risk for poor developmental outcomes. This study is among the first to examine how cultural, family, and parenting factors prospectively predict the cognitive and language development of children of young Latina mothers (N=170; Mage=17.9 years). Mothers were interviewed and observed interacting with their children at 18 months (W1). Children were tested at 18 (W1) and 24 (W2) months. Mothers' cultural orientation (W1) was related to aspects of the childrearing environment (W1), which in turn had implications for the children's development (W2). Specifically, a stronger orientation toward American culture was related to higher mother-reported engagement in parenting by their own mothers (grandmothers), which in turn predicted stronger gains in cognitive and expressive language functioning from W1 to W2. A stronger Latino orientation related to the display of more directiveness and greater mother-reported engagement by the children's biological fathers; directiveness, in turn, predicted fewer gains in cognitive functioning only when father engagement was low and did not predict expressive language development. Finally, mothers' display of more positive affect, a stronger American orientation, and higher grandmother engagement uniquely predicted gains in W2 expressive language functioning. Implications for intervention are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lay theory of race affects and moderates Asian Americans' responses toward American culture.

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No, Sun; Hong, Ying-yi; Liao, Hsin-Ya; Lee, Kyoungmi; Wood, Dustin; Chao, Melody Manchi

2008-10-01

People may hold different understandings of race that might affect how they respond to the culture of groups deemed to be racially distinct. The present research tests how this process is moderated by the minority individual's lay theory of race. An essentialist lay theory of race (i.e., that race reflects deep-seated, inalterable essence and is indicative of traits and ability) would orient racial minorities to rigidly adhere to their ethnic culture, whereas a social constructionist lay theory of race (i.e., that race is socially constructed, malleable, and arbitrary) would orient racial minorities to identify and cognitively assimilate toward the majority culture. To test these predictions, the authors conducted 4 studies with Asian American participants. The first 2 studies examine the effect of one's lay theory of race on perceived racial differences and identification with American culture. The last 2 studies tested the moderating effect of lay theory of race on identification and assimilation toward the majority American culture after this culture had been primed. The results generally supported the prediction that the social constructionist theory was associated with more perceived similarity between Asians and Americans and more consistent identification and assimilation toward American culture, compared with the essentialist theory.

Age affects not only metabolome but also metal toxicity in Scenedesmus quadricauda cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Kováčik, Jozef; Klejdus, Bořivoj; Babula, Petr; Hedbavny, Josef

2016-04-05

Responses of Scenedesmus quadricauda grown in vitro and differing in age (old culture-13 months, young culture-1 month) to short-term cadmium (Cd) or nickel (Ni) excess (24h) were compared. Higher age of the culture led to lower amount of chlorophylls, ascorbic acid and glutathione but higher signal of ROS. Surprisingly, sucrose was detected using DART-Orbitrap MS in both old and young culture and subsequent quantification confirmed its higher amount (ca. 3-times) in the old culture. Cd affected viability and ROS amount more negatively than Ni that could arise from excessive Cd uptake which was also higher in all treatments than in respective Ni counterparts. Surprisingly, nitric oxide was not extensively different in response to age or metals. Strong induction of phytochelatin 2 is certainly Cd-specific response while Ni also elevated ascorbate content. Krebs cycle acids were more accumulated in the young culture but they were rather elevated in the old culture (citric acid under Ni excess). We conclude that organic solid 'Milieu Bristol' medium we tested is suitable for long-term storage of unicellular green algae (also successfully tested for Coccomyxa sp. and Parachlorella sp.) and the impact of age on metal uptake may be useful for bioremediation purposes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting the rural domestic waste generation

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A.R. Darban Astane

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The current study was carried out to evaluate the quantity and quality of rural domestic waste generation and to identify the factors affecting it in rural areas of Khodabandeh county in Zanjan Province, Iran. Waste samplings consisted of 318 rural households in 11 villages. In order to evaluate the quality and quantity of the rural domestic waste, waste production was classified into 12 groups and 2 main groups of organic waste and solid waste. Moreover, kriging interpolation technique in ARC-GIS software was used to evaluate the spatial distribution of the generated domestic waste and ultimately multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the factors affecting the generation of domestic waste. The results of this study showed that the average waste generated by each person was 0.588 kilograms per day. with the share of organic waste generated by each person being 0.409 kilograms per day and the share of solid waste generated by each person being 0.179 kilograms per day. The results from spatial distribution of waste generation showed a certain pattern in three groups and a higher rate of waste generation in the northern and northwestern parts, especially in the subdistrict. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the households’ income, assets, age, and personal attitude are respectively the most important variables affecting waste generation. The housholds’ attitude and indigenous knowledge on efficient use of materials are also the key factors which can help reducing waste generation.

Ranking and evaluating the factors affecting the success of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ranking and evaluating the factors affecting the success of management team in construction projects. ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. Journal Home ... The project management team is one of these important factors.

Cross Culture Communication——in Our Daily Life

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

宋君; 陈忱

2007-01-01

Since the late 1960s,culture has been considered tighter with communication.Culture IS based on the community of communication.Communication involves people and their environment.Thus culture is an important factor in communication.Today with modem economic and technological development,intercultural communication is mole important than ever before. When people from different cultural background communicate with each other,their social stereotype pattern of behavior, their habits of language and thought differ from one another,because these are the possible factors that affect intercultural communications.Culture norms also change,culture may be transferred as signs but we have to study and understand the above carefially.

Factors Affecting the Pharmacology of Antibody–Drug Conjugates

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Andrew T. Lucas

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Major advances in therapeutic proteins, including antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs, have created revolutionary drug delivery systems in cancer over the past decade. While these immunoconjugate agents provide several advantages compared to their small-molecule counterparts, their clinical use is still in its infancy. The considerations in their development and clinical use are complex, and consist of multiple components and variables that can affect the pharmacologic characteristics. It is critical to understand the mechanisms employed by ADCs in navigating biological barriers and how these factors affect their biodistribution, delivery to tumors, efficacy, and toxicity. Thus, future studies are warranted to better understand the complex pharmacology and interaction between ADC carriers and biological systems, such as the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS and tumor microenvironment. This review provides an overview of factors that affect the pharmacologic profiles of ADC therapies that are currently in clinical use and development.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CULTURAL TOURISM

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Zrinka Zadel

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The subject of analysis in the paper is economic impact of cultural tourism and identification of the main factors which directly affect cultural tourism revenues. Most countries do not have a statistical system of monitoring and analysing individual factors of cultural tourism such as the number of arrivals of cultural tourists and consumption of cultural tourists. Therefore, it is hard to assess the economic impact of cultural tourism. In cultural tourism, cultural assets are prepared and placed on the tourist market, i.e. cultural resources are transformed into cultural tourism products. The main objective is fulfilling tourists' needs, and achieving positive effects which includes economic effects. Identification of the economic impact of cultural tourism is important because cultural resources have an inestimable value for the local community. Tourism valorisation should be used in order to achieve the necessary maximum effects with minimum negative impacts which tourism may leave on cultural resources. The objective of the paper is to identify the economic contribution of cultural tourism in the Republic of Croatia and to propose a model of identification of economic impact of cultural tourism.

Requirements to amend the main influence factors on the safety culture after fukushima accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farcasiu, M.; Nitoi, M.

2015-01-01

The paper presents a general model that provides a framework for the safety culture assessment, creating the possibility to identify factors that can significantly influence the safety culture. The main safety culture influence factors (SCIF) used by model are the following: regulatory environment, organizational environment, worker characteristics, socio-political environment, national culture, organization history, business and technological characteristics. After the analysis of the deficiencies and weaknesses of SCIFc in evolution of the Fukushima accident, some issues that may become necessities and requirements to change and improve both the safety culture and safety of the nuclear installations were highlighted. For each influence factor were identified some requirements to amend. The results will emphasize the necesity of the human - technology - organization system assessment. Hence it was demonstrated that the safety culture results from the interaction of individuals with technology and with the organization. (authors)

Affect asymmetry and comfort food consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubé, Laurette; LeBel, Jordan L; Lu, Ji

2005-11-15

It is proposed that the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption can reliably be predicted by factors tied to affect asymmetry whereby negative affects dominate one's experience, decision making and behaviors in some instances while positive emotions prevail in others. Specifically, we relate three of these factors (age, gender, and culture) to differences in the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption and we further explore the possibility that the type of food eaten during comfort-seeking episodes can also be tied to affect asymmetry. Two hundred and seventy-seven participants completed a web-based survey conducted to assess the emotional antecedents and consequences of comfort food consumption. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that men's comfort food consumption was motivated by positive emotions whereas women's consumption was triggered by negative affects. Consumption of comfort foods alleviated women's negative emotions but also produced guilt. Positive affect was a particularly powerful trigger of comfort food consumption for older participants and for participants with French cultural background. Younger participants and participants with English background reported more intense negative emotions prior to consuming comfort foods. Foods high in sugar and fat content were more efficient in alleviating negative affects whereas low-calorie foods were more efficient in increasing positive emotions.

Emotion and the affective turn: Towards an integration of cognition and affect in real life experience

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Cornel W. du Toit

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Emotion is caused by many factors, some of which are evolutionary, neurological, chemical, environmental, societal, personal and religious. Mostly, however, we are oblivious of the causal factors, many of which may function on a biological level or subconsciously, although the emotional effect is experienced physically and consciously. Emotions change as the trigger mechanisms in the cultural context change. This usually happens unnoticed over long periods. Internet databases have now made it possible to study the use of emotive words; this point is discussed. Of particular interest is the interaction between emotion and reason. Models that reduce emotion to the physical level are scrutinised critically. Reason is not emotionless and emotion is not always irrational. The close interrelationship of emotion and reason often makes it difficult to distinguish accurately between the two. The so-called affective turn takes cognisance of cultural, social, religious and other environmental factors; this broader approach clarifies the importance of affect’s role in rationality. One way of viewing emotion and affect is to look at the accompanying language; here the role of metaphor and narrative is pertinent. The traditional elevation of reason above emotion is examined critically as part of the affective turn that broadens the meaning and scope of emotions. I focus on the role of emotion in religion and factors that influence it, and explore the accent of affect in new spiritualities.

Exploring paraprofessional and classroom factors affecting teacher supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

Irvin, Dwight W; Ingram, Paul; Huffman, Jonathan; Mason, Rose; Wills, Howard

2018-02-01

Paraprofessionals serve a primary role in supporting students with disabilities in the classroom, which necessitates teachers' supervision as a means to improve their practice. Yet, little is known regarding what factors affect teacher supervision. We sought to identify how paraprofessional competence and classroom type affected the levels of teacher direction. We administered an adapted version of the Paraprofessional Needs, Knowledge & Tasks Survey and the Survey for Teachers Supervising Paraprofessionals to teachers supervising paraprofessionals in elementary schools. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the link between paraprofessional competence and classroom factors affecting the level of teacher supervision. Our results indicated that when teachers perceived paraprofessionals as being more skilled, they provided more supervision, and when more supervision was provided the less they thought paraprofessionals should be doing their assigned tasks. Additionally, paraprofessionals working in classrooms with more students with mild disabilities received less supervision than paraprofessionals working in classrooms with more students with moderate-to-severe disabilities. Those paraprofessionals in classrooms serving mostly children with mild disabilities were also perceived as having lower levels of skill competence than those serving in classrooms with students with more moderate-to-severe disabilities. By understanding the factors that affect teacher supervision, policy and professional development opportunities can be refined/developed to better support both supervising teachers and paraprofessionals and, in turn, improve the outcomes of children with disabilities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting Customer Retention in the Airline Industry

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Raghda Climis

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This study empirically investigated the factors that affect customer retention in the airline industry in North Cyprus. These factors were service quality attributes, perceived safety, customer satisfaction, loyalty reward program, relationship commitment and customer loyalty. The study also investigated four different groups for purposes of travel (business, education, vacation and family visit in the empirical model. Methodology: A descriptive approach was chosen to conduct this research. A quanhip between customer retention and the related study factors; however, not all of these relations are signifcant. The results also showed that the different purposes of travel had different influences on the variables regarding the positive and signifcant relations between them. Some independent variables had a negative effect on the dependent variables. Conclusions: This research was limited to one group and place: the students of Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus. Originality: This study connected the retention, loyalty, satisfaction and service quality factors as attributes. In addition, this research was the frst to include other independent factors affecting satisfaction and loyalty in a comparison between four different groups regarding the purpose of travel in the airline industry.

Microspore culture of Zantedeschia aethiopica : The role of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Various factors affecting microspore culture were studied in Zantedeschia aethiopica. Starting microspores at late-unicellular stage, NLN as culture medium and treatment of culture at 32°C for 2 days prior to incubation at 25°C, gave the best early sporophytic response. A comparison of different carbohydrates applied in ...

Latino cultural values as protective factors against sexual risks among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Mindy; Malcolm, Lydia R; Diaz-Albertini, Kristine; Klinoff, Vera A; Leeder, Elisa; Barrientos, Sohani; Kibler, Jeffrey L

2014-12-01

The study objective was to examine the associations between cultural values and sexual risk factors among Latino youth. A sample of 226 Latino adolescents ages 13-16 completed a survey on cultural and sexual variables. Results indicate higher levels of Latino cultural orientation were related to greater sexual self-efficacy and fewer sexual partners for female adolescents and greater condom use self-efficacy for both males and females. Greater endorsement of simpatia (belief in interpersonal relationship harmony) was associated with sexual abstinence and greater sexual self-efficacy for all adolescents, and with being older at sexual debut for females. Stronger endorsement of respeto (respect towards parents and other authority figures) was correlated with a lower intention to have sex during secondary school and greater condom use self-efficacy. American cultural orientation was associated with less condom use. Our findings indicate Latino cultural values may serve as protective factors against sexual risk behaviors among Latino youth. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) growth rate in culture media supplemented with or without basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).

Science.gov (United States)

Abdian, Narges; Ghasemi-Dehkordi, Payam; Hashemzadeh-Chaleshtori, Morteza; Ganji-Arjenaki, Mahbobe; Doosti, Abbas; Amiri, Beheshteh

2015-12-01

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF or FGF-2) is a member of the FGF family secreted by different kinds of cells like HDFs and it is an important nutritional factor for cell growth and differentiation. The HDFs release bFGF in culture media at very low. The present study aims to investigate the HDFs growth rate in culture media supplemented either with or without bFGF. In brief, HDFs were isolated from human foreskin sample and were cultured in vitro in media containing bFGF and lack of this factor. The cells growth rate was calculated by trypan blue. The karyotyping was performed using G-banding to investigate the chromosomal abnormality of HDFs in both groups. Total RNA of each groups were extracted and cDNA samples were synthesized then, real-time Q-PCR was used to measure the expression level of p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes normalized to internal control gene (GAPDH). The karyotype analysis showed that HDFs cultured in media or without bFGF had normal karyotype (46 chromosomes, XY) and chromosomal abnormalities were not observed. The cell growth rates in both groups were normal with proliferated exponentially but the slope of growth curve in HDFs cultured in media containing bFGF was increased. Karyotyp test showed that bFGF does not affect on cytogenetic stability of cells. The survey of p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes by real-time Q-PCR showed that the expression level of these genes were up-regulated when adding bFGF in culture media (p culture media with growth factor like bFGF could enhance the proliferation and differentiation capacity of cells and improve cells growth rate. Similarly, fibroblast growth factors did not induce any chromosomal abnormality in cells. Furthermore, in HDFs cultured in bFGF supplemented media, the p27kip1 and cyclin D1 genes were up-regulated and suggesting an important role for bFGF in cell-cycle regulation and progression and fibroblast division stimulation. It also suggests that the effects of bFGF on different cell types with

Factors affecting the effects of diuresis renography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Deshan

2006-01-01

Diuresis renography is one of the classic methods for diagnosing upper urinary tract obstruction in both children and adults. However, in clinical practice, the results of diuresis renography were often influenced by many factors including diuretics, timing of diuretics injection, the status of renal function and hydration, the volume and compliance of collecting system, bladder fullness and so on. It is important to consider all the factors affecting diuresis renography during performing and interpreting diuresis renography. (authors)

Personal factors affecting organizational commitment of records ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated personal factors affecting organizational commitment among records management personnel in the state universities in Nigeria. Simple cluster sampling with equal allocation method was used to select 180 records management personnel from the study population. A five item organizational ...

Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Consent For Research In Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Consent For Research In Nigeria: Lessons ... for Health Research Ethics in enforcing researchers' compliance with ethical standards in ... Genuine respect for human dignity requires deeper understanding of ...

Relevant Affect Factors of Smartphone Mobile Data Traffic

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Siniša Husnjak

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Smartphones are used to access a wide range of different information and communication services and perform functions based on data transfer. A number of subscription contracts for smartphones is rapidly increasing, and the development of mobile communications network provides higher speed of data transfer. The continuous increase in the average amount of data traffic per one subscriber contract leads to an increase in the total Mobile Data Traffic (MDT, globally. This research represents a summary of factors that affect the amount of smartphone MDT. Previous literature shows only a few of the factors individually that affect the realization of smartphone MDT. The results of the research clarify the ways which influence the amount of MDT generated by a smartphone. This paper increases the awareness of the users of the methods of generating smartphone MDT. The research also allows users to specify parameters that affect the prediction of generated MDT of a smartphone.

IVF culture medium affects post-natal weight in humans during the first 2 years of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleijkers, Sander H M; van Montfoort, Aafke P A; Smits, Luc J M; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Roseboom, Tessa J; Nelissen, Ewka C M; Coonen, Edith; Derhaag, Josien G; Bastings, Lobke; Schreurs, Inge E L; Evers, Johannes L H; Dumoulin, John C M

2014-04-01

Is post-natal growth during the first 2 years of life in IVF singletons affected by type of medium used for culturing human embryos during an IVF treatment? The in vitro culture of human embryos in medium from Cook resulted in singletons with a lower weight during the first 2 years of life compared with singletons born after embryo culture in medium from Vitrolife. In a previous study, we reported that type of medium used for culturing human IVF embryos during the first few days after fertilization until fresh embryo transfer significantly affects fetal growth and consequently birthweight of the resulting singletons. From July 2003 to December 2006, a total of 1432 IVF treatment cycles with fresh embryo transfer were randomly allocated to have all embryos cultured in medium from Vitrolife AB (n = 715) or from Cook (n = 717). Two years after delivery, questionnaires were sent to the parents of all children requesting data about weight, height and head circumference around 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7.5, 9, 11, 14, 18 and 24 months of age. These measurements were collected as part of the children's health programme at municipal infant welfare centres in the Netherlands by health professionals unaware of this study. Patients requiring donor oocytes or applying for PGD were excluded from the study. From the 294 live born singletons that fulfilled our inclusion criteria, 29 were lost to follow-up. The remaining 265 singletons (Cook group: 117, Vitrolife group: 148) were included in the analysis. Data analysis included linear regression, to compare cross-sectionally weight standard deviation score (SDS), height SDS and head circumference, and the first order Berkey-Reed model for a longitudinal analysis of the growth data. Singletons in the Vitrolife group were heavier during the first 2 years of life compared with singletons in the Cook group. Cross-sectional analyses showed that adjusted weight SDS differed between groups at 1 (0.35 ± 0.14, P = 0.010), 2 (0.39 ± 0.14, P = 0

IVF culture medium affects post-natal weight in humans during the first 2 years of life

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleijkers, Sander H. M.; van Montfoort, Aafke P. A.; Smits, Luc J. M.; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Roseboom, Tessa J.; Nelissen, Ewka C. M.; Coonen, Edith; Derhaag, Josien G.; Bastings, Lobke; Schreurs, Inge E. L.; Evers, Johannes L. H.; Dumoulin, John C. M.

2014-01-01

Is post-natal growth during the first 2 years of life in IVF singletons affected by type of medium used for culturing human embryos during an IVF treatment? The in vitro culture of human embryos in medium from Cook resulted in singletons with a lower weight during the first 2 years of life compared

How does context affect assessments of facial emotion? The role of culture and age.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Seon-Gyu; Lee, Tae-Ho; Yoon, Hyea-Young; Kwon, Jung-Hye; Mather, Mara

2011-03-01

People from Asian cultures are more influenced by context in their visual processing than people from Western cultures. In this study, we examined how these cultural differences in context processing affect how people interpret facial emotions. We found that younger Koreans were more influenced than younger Americans by emotional background pictures when rating the emotion of a central face, especially those younger Koreans with low self-rated stress. In contrast, among older adults, neither Koreans nor Americans showed significant influences of context in their face emotion ratings. These findings suggest that cultural differences in reliance on context to interpret others' emotions depend on perceptual integration processes that decline with age, leading to fewer cultural differences in perception among older adults than among younger adults. Furthermore, when asked to recall the background pictures, younger participants recalled more negative pictures than positive pictures, whereas older participants recalled similar numbers of positive and negative pictures. These age differences in the valence of memory were consistent across culture. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Identity Crisis in Contemporary Designs and Architectural Styles of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niki Amiri

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Architecture and urbanism in Iran during the contemporary period have been influenced by inside and outside social and economic developments. These changes are so fundamental that have caused many challenges and styles in architectural space of Iran, both in conceptual and physical space. Indeed, objectified areas caused by intellectual movements such as: West-oriented, economic-oriented can be known as the root of identity crisis for Iranian cities from the architecture and urbanism perspective. The most important weaknesses and problems in today Iranian architecture include: lack of attention to cultural infrastructures, capability of integrating all cultural spheres, paying too much attention to the economic aspects in the constructions, lack of commitment in some of the builders, weakness of the management system and monitoring in the field of architecture and urbanism, lack of explanation of Iranian traditional architecture patterns, consumable culture of Iranian society, lack of attention to the potential of traditional tissues to integrate with today's architecture and more. While this article is presenting and checking the list of factors affecting this process - identity crisis - attempts to seek its causes and ultimately preparing the ground for achieving overcoming solutions of this crisis.

Factors affecting job satisfaction of Aboriginal mental health workers working in community mental health in rural and remote New South Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Cosgrave, Catherine; Maple, Myfanwy; Hussain, Rafat

2017-12-01

Objective The aim of the present study was to identify factors affecting the job satisfaction and subsequent retention of Aboriginal mental health workers (AMHWs). Methods Five AMHWs working in New South Wales (NSW) for NSW Health in rural and remote community mental health (CMH) services participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews to understand how employment and rural living factors affected workers' decisions to stay or leave their CMH positions. Results Using a constructivist grounded theory analysis, three aspects negatively impacting the job satisfaction of AMHWs were identified: (1) difficulties being accepted into the team and organisation; (2) culturally specific work challenges; and (3) professional differences and inequality. Conclusions Policy and procedural changes to the AMHW training program may address the lower remuneration and limited career opportunities identified with regard to the Bachelor Health Sciences (Mental Health) qualification. Delivering training to increase levels of understanding about the AMHW training program, and cultural awareness generally, to CMH staff and NSW Health management may assist in addressing the negative team, organisational and cultural issues identified. What is known about the topic? The Bachelor Health Sciences (Mental Health) qualification and traineeship pathway undertaken by AMHWs differs significantly from that of other health professionals working in NSW Health's CMH services. The health workforce literature identifies that each health professional group has its own culture and specific values and that forming and maintaining a profession-specific identity is an extremely important aspect of job satisfaction for health workers. What does the paper add? AMHWs working in rural and remote NSW CMH services commonly experience low levels of job satisfaction, especially while undertaking the embedded training program. Of particular concern is the health sciences qualification not translating into NSW

MED and PSACH COMP mutations affect chondrogenesis in chicken limb bud micromass cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Roman-Blas, J; Dion, A S; Seghatoleslami, M R; Giunta, K; Oca, P; Jimenez, S A; Williams, C J

2010-09-01

Mutations in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) cause pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). We studied the effects of over-expression of wild type and mutant COMP on early stages of chondrogenesis in chicken limb bud micromass cultures. Cells were transduced with RCAS virus harboring wild type or mutant (C328R, PSACH; T585R, MED) COMP cDNAs and cultured for 3, 4, and 5 days. The effect of COMP constructs on chondrogenesis was assessed by analyzing mRNA and protein expression of several COMP binding partners. Cell viability was assayed, and evaluation of apoptosis was performed by monitoring caspase 3 processing. Over-expression of COMP, and especially expression of COMP mutants, had a profound affect on the expression of syndecan 3 and tenascin C, early markers of chondrogenesis. Over-expression of COMP did not affect levels of type II collagen or matrilin-3; however, there were increases in type IX collagen expression and sulfated proteoglycan synthesis, particularly at day 5 of harvest. In contrast to cells over-expressing COMP, cells with mutant COMP showed reduction in type IX collagen expression and increased matrilin 3 expression. Finally, reduction in cell viability, and increased activity of caspase 3, at days 4 and 5, were observed in cultures expressing either wild type or mutant COMP. MED, and PSACH mutations, despite displaying phenotypic differences, demonstrated only subtle differences in their cellular viability and mRNA and protein expression of components of the extracellular matrix, including those that interact with COMP. These results suggest that COMP mutations, by disrupting normal interactions between COMP and its binding partners, significantly affect chondrogenesis. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Impact on Organizational Climate trough Organizational Culture factors. Case Study of Latvia and Lithuania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juris Iljins

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organizational culture on organizational climate in process of change. For solving this problem, it is necessary to identify the main factors of organizational culture in the change process. After exploring the impact of organizational culture on organizational climate through distinguished culture’s factors, article examines how changes can be processed in different cultural environments. Methodology: The research design is based on Yin (1994 methodology and consists of two main stages: data analysis and validation for case study and case study’s methodology according to Yin (1994 (four steps: design the case, conduct the case, analyse the case evidence and develop conclusions. In the first stage an expert evaluation method was used to investigate the significance of organizational culture factors’ impact on organizational climate. Different factors of organizational climate were explored in the paper. To affirm the results triangulation method was applied. To verify the results of the research mathematical calculations and case study were used. Within the research the most significant factors were stressed. During the second stage, the case study was carried out to validate the research results in specific companies. Comparison between medium-size companies was made. It is important, that in case Latvian company (A capital holders are Latvian entrepreneurs and capital holders of Lithuanian company (B are international. Scientific aim: To distinguish organizational culture’s factors that have an impact on organizational climate’s change. Findings: The results of the research confirmed that during the period of changes organizational culture has an impact on organizational climate through specific factors. Theoretical model how change organizational culture impacts organizational climate is developed. Research showed that stability, job satisfaction, team

Single-tooth replacement: factors affecting different prosthetic treatment modalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al-Quran Firas A

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The choice between several treatment options for replacing a single missing tooth is influenced by clinical, dentist- and patient-immanent factors. This study aimed to determine the patient factors that would affect the treatment decision to replace a single missing tooth and to assess the satisfaction with several options. Method 200 volunteers involved (121 females and 79 males divided into four groups, Group A: consisted of patients with conventional fixed partial dentures or patients with resin bonded fixed partial dentures. Group B: consisted of patients who received removable partial dentures while Group C: consisted of patients who received a single implant supported crown, and a control group D: consisted of patients who received no treatment. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Results The highest percentage of males within groups (58% was within the removable prostheses category. The majority of the subjects in the study reported that the main reason for replacing a missing tooth was for esthetic and function. Most important factor affecting the choice between treatment modalities was damaging the neighboring teeth. Pain, post operative sensitivity and dental phobia were important factors in choosing the prosthesis type and affected the control group patients not to have any treatment. The highest satisfaction percentage among groups studied was recorded for dental implants then FPD groups, while the least percentage were in both the control and RPD groups, for all aspects of function, esthetic and speech efficiency. Conclusions The final choice between FPD, RPD and implant depended on several factors which affected the decision making; among these is cost and patients' awareness of the different treatment options.

Socio-demographic and clinical factors affecting adherence to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socio-demographic and clinical factors affecting adherence to antihypertensive medications and blood pressure control among patients attending the family practice clinic in a tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria.

Host DNA synthesis-suppressing factor in culture fluid of tissue cultures infected with measles virus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minagawa, T.; Nakaya, C.; Iida, H.

1974-01-01

Host DNA synthesis is suppressed by the culture fluid of cell cultures infected with measles virus. This activity in the culture fluid is initiated somewhat later than the growth of infectious virus. Ninety percent of host DNA synthesis in HeLa cells is inhibited by culture fluid of 3-day-old cell cultures of Vero or HeLa cells infected with measles virus. This suppressing activity is not a property of the virion, but is due to nonvirion-associated componentnent which shows none of the activities of measles virus such as hemagglutination, hemolysis, or cell fusion nor does it have the antigenicity of measles virus as tested by complement-fixation or hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody blocking tests. Neutralization of the activity of this component is not attained with the pooled sera of convalescent measles patients. This component has molecular weights of about 45,000, 20,000, and 3,000 and appears to be a heat-stable protein. The production of host DNA suppressing factor (DSF) is blocked by cycloheximide. Neither uv-inactivated nor antiserum-neutralized measles virus produce DSF. Furthermore, such activity of nonvirion-associated component is not detected in the culture fluid of cultures infected with other RNA viruses such as poliovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, or Sindbis virus. (auth)

Sustained release of stem cell factor in a double network hydrogel for ex vivo culture of cord blood-derived CD34+ cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuanhao; Pan, Xiuwei; Shi, Zhen; Cai, Haibo; Gao, Yun; Zhang, Weian

2018-04-01

Stem cell factor (SCF) is considered as a commonly indispensable cytokine for proliferation of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which is used in large dosages during ex vivo culture. The work presented here aimed to reduce the consumption of SCF by sustained release but still support cells proliferation and maintain the multipotency of HSCs. Stem cell factor was physically encapsulated within a hyaluronic acid/gelatin double network (HGDN) hydrogel to achieve a slow release rate. CD34 + cells were cultured within the SCF-loaded HGDN hydrogel for 14 days. The cell number, phenotype and functional capacity were investigated after culture. The HGDN hydrogels had desirable properties and encapsulated SCF kept being released for more than 6 days. SCF remained the native bioactivity, and the proliferation of HSCs within the SCF-loaded HGDN hydrogel was not affected, although the consumption of SCF was only a quarter in comparison with the conventional culture. Moreover, CD34 + cells harvested from the SCF-loaded HGDN hydrogels generated more multipotent colony-forming units (CFU-GEMM). The data suggested that the SCF-loaded HGDN hydrogel could support ex vivo culture of HSCs, thus providing a cost-effective culture protocol for HSCs. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Economic Analysis of Factors Affecting Technical Efficiency of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Economic Analysis of Factors Affecting Technical Efficiency of Smallholders ... socio-economic characteristics which influence technical efficiency in maize production. ... Ministry of Agriculture and livestock, records, books, reports and internet.

Influential Factors Affecting Materials Management in Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jusoh Zairra Mat

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Construction projects are more often than not plagued by poor performances such as delays, cost overrun, low productivity, construction wastes and compromised quality. Amongst the critical contributory factors of poor project performances, is the ineffectiveness of materials management occurring in the construction sites. Indeed, materials management is a very important component for construction projects. However, there are only limited numbers of research available regarding this topic. Thus, this research focuses its study on materials management, specifically in identifying the influential factors that affect materials management in the construction project activities. Literatures from books, journal articles and conference papers related to poor project performances and materials management have been reviewed. Consequently, this study sorted the salient influential factors and categorized them based on their specific group. Out of 47 factors identified, they are classified into 8 groups. They are (1 site condition; (2 planning and handling on site; (3 management; (4 materials; (5 supplier and manufacturer default; (6 transportation; (7 contractual; and (8 governmental interferences. In conclusion, this study contends that by identifying the influential factors affecting materials management, it will help construction players to avoid the occurrence of those factors and will minimize the negative impacts on the overall performance of construction projects. Hence, the handling-over of project will be according to schedule and not delayed by materials mismanagement.

Cultural Influences on the Assessment of Children’s Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G Allen Finley

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Culture is commonly regarded as a factor in pain behaviour and experience, but the meaning of the term is often unclear. There is little evidence that pain perception is modified by cultural or ethnic factors, but pain expression by children and interpretation by caregivers may be affected by the culture of the patient or the caregiver. The present paper examines some of the research regarding cultural influences on children’s pain assessment, and addresses directions for future research. A focus on cultural influences should not distract clinicians from the need to be sensitive to individual beliefs and attitudes.

Mercury affects the distribution of culturable species of Pseudomonas in soil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holtze, Maria Sommer; Nielsen, Preben; Ekelund, Flemming

2006-01-01

Pseudomonas bacteria isolated during 52 days on Gould's S1 agar from soil spiked with 0, 3.5 and 15 mg Hg(II) kg soil(-1) were characterised to reveal whether mercury affected them differently. Isolates from the treatments with 0 and 15 mg Hg kg(-1) were characterised using FT-IR characterisation...... was almost exclusively restricted to P. frederiksbergensis and P. migulae groups. We conclude that Hg caused a shift in the dominating species of culturable Pseudomonas....

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Control of Secreted Factors for Blood Stem Cell Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Julia; Wang, Weijia; Zandstra, Peter W

2015-01-01

Clinical use of umbilical cord blood has typically been limited by the need to expand hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) ex vivo. This expansion is challenging due to the accumulation of secreted signaling factors in the culture that have a negative regulatory effect on HSPC output. Strategies for global regulation of these factors through dilution have been developed, but do not accommodate the dynamic nature or inherent variability of hematopoietic cell culture. We have developed a mathematical model to simulate the impact of feedback control on in vitro hematopoiesis, and used it to design a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm. This algorithm was implemented with a fed-batch bioreactor to regulate the concentrations of secreted factors. Controlling the concentration of a key target factor, TGF-β1, through dilution limited the negative effect it had on HSPCs, and allowed global control of other similarly-produced inhibitory endogenous factors. The PID control algorithm effectively maintained the target soluble factor at the target concentration. We show that feedback controlled dilution is predicted to be a more cost effective dilution strategy compared to other open-loop strategies, and can enhance HSPC expansion in short term culture. This study demonstrates the utility of secreted factor process control strategies to optimize stem cell culture systems, and motivates the development of multi-analyte protein sensors to automate the manufacturing of cell therapies.

Empirical Analysis on Factors Affecting User Behavior in Social Commerce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Jiayi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available [Purpose/significance] This paper aims to discover the factors affecting user behavior in the derivative situation of e-commerce, social commerce, and explore the sustainable development and related marketing advice of it. [Method/process］This paper put forward a theoretical model of factors affecting user behavior in social commerce by integrating emotional state impact into the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R framework. 277 valid samples were collected by questionnaires and PLS. [Result/conclusion］The results show that information quality and tie strength significantly affect user emotional states, while emotional states positively affect user behavior. In addition, graphic features of business information have indirect effects on user emotional states, while it has direct effect on purchase intention.

Factors affecting academic leadership in dermatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Martires, Kathryn J; Aquino, Lisa L; Wu, Jashin J

2015-02-01

Although prior studies have examined methods by which to recruit and retain academic dermatologists, few have examined factors that are important for developing academic leaders in dermatology. This study sought to examine characteristics of dermatology residency programs that affect the odds of producing department or division chairs/chiefs and program directors (PDs). Data regarding program size, faculty, grants, alumni residency program attended, lectures, and publications for all accredited US dermatology residency programs were collected. Of the 103 programs examined, 46% had graduated at least 1 chair/chief, and 53% had graduated at least 1 PD. Results emphasize that faculty guidance and research may represent modifiable factors by which a dermatology residency program can increase its graduation of academic leaders.

Planning Smalltalk Behavior with Cultural Influences for Multiagent Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Endrass, Birgit; Rehm, Matthias; André, Elisabeth

2011-01-01

There are several factors that influence communicative behavior, such as gender, personality or culture. As virtual agents interact in a more and more human-like manner, their behavior should be dependent on social factors as well. Culture is a phenomenon that affects one’s behavior without one...... realizing it. Behavior is thus sometimes perceived as inappropriate because there is no awareness of the cultural gap. Thus, we think cultural background should also influence the communication behavior of virtual agents. Behavioral differences are sometimes easy to recognize by humans but still hard...

Communication in cancer care: psycho-social, interactional, and cultural issues. A general overview and the example of India

OpenAIRE

Chaturvedi, Santosh K.; Strohschein, Fay J.; Saraf, Gayatri; Loiselle, Carmen G.

2014-01-01

Communication is a core aspect of psycho-oncology care. This article examines key psychosocial, cultural, and technological factors that affect this communication. Drawing from advances in clinical work and accumulating bodies of empirical evidence, the authors identify determining factors for high quality, efficient, and sensitive communication and support for those affected by cancer. Cancer care in India is highlighted as a salient example. Cultural factors affecting cancer communication i...

A study of affecting factors on the degree of university students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There are different factors which affect the way people select and continue their attitudes towards products of certain brands. The main objective of the present study was investigating factors affecting the degree of University students' loyalty to Nike brand. This research is functional in regard with objective and ...

The Virtue of Culture in Understanding Motivation at School: Commentary on the Special Issue on Culture and Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Guay, Frédéric

2016-01-01

Students' higher level of motivation is not based solely on intrapersonal factors as innate characteristics, but also on contexts in which students are supposed to develop their competencies. Thus, the cultural context is expected to shape motivation. Values and beliefs shared by a cultural group will affect students' motivation to learn and…

78 FR 46418 - Proposed Information Collection (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-31

... (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits... use of other forms of information technology. Title: Obligation to Report Factors Affecting... entitlement factors. Individual factors such as income, marital status, and the beneficiary's number of...

Analysis of factors affecting employee satisfaction: A case study from Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Rukh, Lala; Choudhary, Muhammad Abbas; Abbasi, Saddam Akber

2015-01-01

Employee job satisfaction has been a research focal point throughout the world. It is a key factor when measuring the performance of an organization and individuals. A leading engineering goods manufacturing enterprise in Pakistan, has been used in this case study. In Pakistan, very limited research has been done with respect to factors affecting job satisfaction. Some research has been done in medical institutions, banks, universities and the information technology sector but large public sector organizations in Pakistan have not been studied. A theoretical foundation for researching factors affecting job satisfaction in large organizations is outlined. The objective of this research is to analyze various demographic, financial and non-financial factors affecting the satisfaction level of employees and to study the effects across different employee groups. This study is based on quantitative data analysis. The employees of the organization under study have been divided into 10 homogeneous groups based on their departments. Information on job related factors (affecting the satisfaction level) have been collected from subsamples of each group using a self-administered questionnaire. An overall sample of 250 (out of total 1100) employees has been selected. Before conducting the survey, reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach's alpha. The normality of data was also examined using the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Hypotheses devised to address the research questions were tested by using non-parametric Spearman correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The response rate was 73.2%. Research findings indicated the significant factors that affect the satisfaction level of employees. Median group differences existed between responses based on age, work experience, salary and designation (i.e. job position/rank) of employees. Job satisfaction was also positively and significantly associated with job related factors such as pay, promotion, relation with employees

Factors Affecting Successful Implementation of Hospital Information Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Farzandipur, Mehrdad; Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Azimi, Esmaeil

2016-02-01

Today, the use of information systems in health environments, like any other fields, is necessary and organizational managers are convinced to use these systems. However, managers' satisfaction is not the only factor in successfully implementing these systems and failed information technology projects (IT) are reported despite the consent of the directors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the successful implementation of a hospital information system. The study was carried out as a descriptive method in 20 clinical hospitals that the hospital information system (HIS) was conducted in them. The clinical and paraclinical users of mentioned hospitals are the study group. 400 people were chosen as samples in scientific method and the data was collected using a questionnaire consisted of three main human, managerial and organizational, and technological factors, by questionnaire and interview. Then the data was scored in Likert scale (score of 1 to 5) and were analyzed using the SPSS software. About 75 percent of the population were female, with average work experience of 10 years and the mean age was 30 years. The human factors affecting the success of hospital information system implementation achieved the mean score of 3.5, both organizational and managerial factors 2.9 and technological factors the mean of 3. Human factors including computer skills, perceiving usefulness and perceiving the ease of a hospital information system use are more effective on the acceptance and successful implementation of hospital information systems; then the technological factors play a greater role. It is recommended that for the successful implementation of hospital information systems, most of these factors to be considered.

Factors affecting self-regulated learning in medical students: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jouhari, Zahra; Haghani, Fariba; Changiz, Tahereh

2015-01-01

Clinical courses are required of all medical students and means that they must develop the key skill of self-regulation during learning. The ability to self-regulate learning strategies is affected by different factors. This study determined the views of medical students on the factors affecting self-regulated learning (SRL). This study uses a qualitative approach and the content analysis method. Nineteen medical students in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years of study at Isfahan University of Medical Science participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The students were selected using purposive sampling based on their overall grade point average (GPA). Five main themes were found to affect SRL. These themes included family with the two subthemes of family supervisory and supportive roles; peers with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting roles; instructors with the two subthemes of personal and educational instructor's characteristics; educational environment with the two subthemes of facilitator and inhibitor roles; and student with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting personal factors. The outcomes of student understanding of the factors affecting self-regulation indicate that facilitating factors should be used on an individual basis to reduce the effect of inhibiting factors to improve self-regulation in students.

The role of engineering judgement, safety culture, and organizational factors in risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muzumdar, Ajit; Professor, Visiting

1996-01-01

This paper reviews the role of engineering judgement, safety culture, and organizational factors in risk assessment by examining the reasons for human-based error. The need for more emphasis on producing engineers with good engineering judgement is described. The progress in quantifying the role of safety culture and organizational factors in risk assessment studies is summarized

Individualism, Collectivism, and Cultural Compatibility: Implications for Counselors and Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamauchi, Lois A.

1998-01-01

Culture influences expectations about classroom goals. The cultural distinction between individualism and collectivism is one factor that affects students' adjustment from home to school. Article suggests teachers and counselors may want to capitalize on students' cultural tendencies, but also plan for ways to expand students' repertories of…

Cell culture density affects the proliferation activity of human adipose tissue stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dae Seong; Lee, Myoung Woo; Ko, Young Jong; Chun, Yong Hoon; Kim, Hyung Joon; Sung, Ki Woong; Koo, Hong Hoe; Yoo, Keon Hee

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated the effect of cell density on the proliferation activity of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) over time in culture. Passage #4 (P4) and #12 (P12) AT-MSCs from two donors were plated at a density of 200 (culture condition 1, CC1) or 5000 (culture condition 2, CC2) cells cm(-2) . After 7 days of incubation, P4 and P12 AT-MSCs cultured in CC1 were thin and spindle-shaped, whereas those cultured in CC2 had extensive cell-to-cell contacts and an expanded cell volume. In addition, P4 and P12 AT-MSCs in CC1 divided more than three times, while those in CC2 divided less than once on average. Flow cytometric analysis using 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate N-succinimidyl ester dye showed that the fluorescence intensity of AT-MSCs was lower in CC1 than in CC2. Furthermore, expression of proliferation-associated genes, such as CDC45L, CDC20A and KIF20A, in P4 AT-MSCs was higher in CC1 than in CC2, and this difference was also observed in P12 AT-MSCs. These data demonstrated that cell culture density affects the proliferation activity of MSCs, suggesting that it is feasible to design a strategy to prepare suitable MSCs using specific culture conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Factors Affecting Furfural as a Nematicide on Turf

OpenAIRE

Luc, J. E.; Crow, W. T.

2013-01-01

Recently a furfural nematicide Multiguard Protect EC was launched for use on turfgrasses in the United States. A series of greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the concentration and exposure time required for this formulation to irreversibly affect Belonolaimus longicaudatus, and to study factors that might affect the practicality of furfural use in turfgrass systems. One experiment exposed B. longicaudatus to increasing concentrations of furfural (0 to 990 ppm) in vitro for eit...

The Relationship of Workplace Culture With Nursing-Sensitive Organizational Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahtela, Nina; McCormack, Brendan; Paavilainen, Eija; Slater, Paul; Helminen, Mika; Suominen, Tarja

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the relations of workplace culture on nursing-sensitive organizational factors. The need for standardized and valid measures for nursing-sensitive organizational outcomes has already been recognized in the literature. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 21 inpatient acute care units in 9 organizations at the municipal primary healthcare level was conducted. Participants included licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse managers. Workplace culture, especially the overarching factor of stress, correlated with the use of supplemental nursing staff and patients' length of stay. It is essential to find and test workplace-sensitive indicators so that managers will have a wider range of methods to plan and evaluate nursing outcomes.

A biocompatible micro cell culture chamber (mu CCC) for the culturing and on-line monitoring of eukaryote cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stangegaard, Michael; Petronis, Sarunas; Jørgensen, Anders Michael

2006-01-01

culture chip compared to cell culture flasks. The cell culture chip could without further modification support cell growth of two other cell lines. Light coming from the microscope lamp during optical recordings of the cells was the only external factor identified, that could have a negative effect...... on cell survival. Low grade light exposure was however compatible with optical recordings as well as cell viability. These results strongly indicate that a cell culture chip could be constructed that allowed for on-line optical recording of cellular events without affecting the cell culturing condition...

A biocompatible micro cell culture chamber (microCCC) for the culturing and on-line monitoring of eukaryote cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stangegaard, Michael; Petronis, Sarunas; Jørgensen, A M

2006-01-01

culture chip compared to cell culture flasks. The cell culture chip could without further modification support cell growth of two other cell lines. Light coming from the microscope lamp during optical recordings of the cells was the only external factor identified, that could have a negative effect...... on cell survival. Low grade light exposure was however compatible with optical recordings as well as cell viability. These results strongly indicate that a cell culture chip could be constructed that allowed for on-line optical recording of cellular events without affecting the cell culturing condition...

Cultural differences in moral judgment and behavior, across and within societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jesse; Meindl, Peter; Beall, Erica; Johnson, Kate M; Zhang, Li

2016-04-01

We review contemporary work on cultural factors affecting moral judgments and values, and those affecting moral behaviors. In both cases, we highlight examples of within-societal cultural differences in morality, to show that these can be as substantial and important as cross-societal differences. Whether between or within nations and societies, cultures vary substantially in their promotion and transmission of a multitude of moral judgments and behaviors. Cultural factors contributing to this variation include religion, social ecology (weather, crop conditions, population density, pathogen prevalence, residential mobility), and regulatory social institutions such as kinship structures and economic markets. This variability raises questions for normative theories of morality, but also holds promise for future descriptive work on moral thought and behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arabian, Asian, western: a cross-cultural comparison of aircraft accidents from human factor perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Wardi, Yousuf

2017-09-01

Rates of aviation accident differ in different regions; and national culture has been implicated as a factor. This invites a discussion about the role of national culture in aviation accidents. This study makes a cross-cultural comparison between Oman, Taiwan and the USA. A cross-cultural comparison was acquired using data from three studies, including this study, by applying the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework. The Taiwan study presented 523 mishaps with 1762 occurrences of human error obtained from the Republic of China Air Force. The study from the USA carried out for commercial aviation had 119 accidents with 245 instances of human error. This study carried out in Oman had a total of 40 aircraft accidents with 129 incidences. Variations were found between Oman, Taiwan and the USA at the levels of organisational influence and unsafe supervision. Seven HFACS categories showed significant differences between the three countries (p culture can have an impact on aviation safety. This study revealed that national culture plays a role in aircraft accidents related to human factors that cannot be disregarded.

Factors that affect South African Reading Literacy Achievement ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors that affect South African Reading Literacy Achievement: evidence from prePIRLS 2011. ... achievement among Grade 4 learners in South Africa by utilising aspects of Carroll's model of school learning. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

The Impact of National Culture on Informal Learning in the Workplace

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sehoon; McLean, Gary N.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article was to identify how differing cultural factors affect informal learning in the workplace. We have introduced concepts and reviewed studies on informal learning and national culture based on an extensive literature review on the factors influencing informal learning, particularly based on five Hofstede's dimensions of…

Do cultural factors predict mammography behaviour among Korean immigrants in the USA?

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hanju; Kim, Jiyun; Han, Hae-Ra

2009-12-01

This paper is a report of a study of the correlates of mammogram use among Korean American women. Despite the increasing incidence of and mortality from breast cancer, Asian women in the United States of America report consistently low rates of mammography screening. A number of health beliefs and sociodemographic characteristics have been associated with mammogram participation among these women. However, studies systematically investigating cultural factors in relation to mammogram experience have been scarce. We measured screening-related health beliefs, modesty and use of Eastern medicine in 100 Korean American women in 2006. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine the unique contribution of the study variables, after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics. Only 51% reported past mammogram use. Korean American women who had previously had mammograms were statistically significantly older and had higher perceived benefit scores than those who had not. Perceived benefits (odds ratio = 6.3, 95% confidence interval = 2.12, 18.76) and breast cancer susceptibility (odds ratio = 3.18, 95% confidence interval = 1.06, 9.59) were statistically significant correlates of mammography experience, whereas cultural factors did not correlate. Post hoc analysis showed that for women with some or good English skills, cultural factors statistically significantly correlated with health beliefs and breast cancer knowledge (P culturally tailored interventions of more targeted outreach and healthcare system navigation assistance for promoting mammography screening in Korean American women. Further research is needed to unravel the interplay between acculturation, cultural factors and health beliefs related to cancer screening behaviours of Korean American women.

Macrophage involvement affects matrix stiffness-related influences on cell osteogenesis under three-dimensional culture conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiao-Tao; Wu, Rui-Xin; Xu, Xin-Yue; Wang, Jia; Yin, Yuan; Chen, Fa-Ming

2018-04-15

Accumulating evidence indicates that the physicochemical properties of biomaterials exert profound influences on stem cell fate decisions. However, matrix-based regulation selected through in vitro analyses based on a given cell population do not genuinely reflect the in vivo conditions, in which multiple cell types are involved and interact dynamically. This study constitutes the first investigation of how macrophages (Mφs) in stiffness-tunable transglutaminase cross-linked gelatin (TG-gel) affect the osteogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs). When a single cell type was cultured, low-stiffness TG-gels promoted BMMSC proliferation, whereas high-stiffness TG-gels supported cell osteogenic differentiation. However, Mφs in high-stiffness TG-gels were more likely to polarize toward the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype. Using either conditioned medium (CM)-based incubation or Transwell-based co-culture, we found that Mφs encapsulated in the low-stiffness matrix exerted a positive effect on the osteogenesis of co-cultured BMMSCs. Conversely, Mφs in high-stiffness TG-gels negatively affected cell osteogenic differentiation. When both cell types were cultured in the same TG-gel type and placed into the Transwell system, the stiffness-related influences of Mφs on BMMSCs were significantly altered; both the low- and high-stiffness matrix induced similar levels of BMMSC osteogenesis. Although the best material parameter for synergistically affecting Mφs and BMMSCs remains unknown, our data suggest that Mφ involvement in the co-culture system alters previously identified material-related influences on BMMSCs, such as matrix stiffness-related effects, which were identified based on a culture system involving a single cell type. Such Mφ-stem cell interactions should be considered when establishing proper matrix parameter-associated cell regulation in the development of biomimetic biomaterials for regenerative applications. The substrate stiffness

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and IGFBP-5 mediate TGF-β- and myostatin-induced suppression of proliferation in porcine embryonic myogenic cell cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamanga-Sollo, E.; Pampusch, M.S.; White, M.E.; Hathaway, M.R.; Dayton, W.R.

2005-01-01

We have previously shown that cultured porcine embryonic myogenic cells (PEMC) produce both insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and IGFBP-5 and secrete these proteins into their media. Exogenously added recombinant porcine (rp) IGFBP-3 and rpIGFBP-5 act via IGF-dependent and IGF-independent mechanisms to suppress proliferation of PEMC cultures. Furthermore, immunoneutralization of endogenous IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 in the PEMC culture medium results in increased DNA synthesis rate suggesting that endogenous IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 suppress PEMC proliferation. TGF-β superfamily members myostatin and TGF-β 1 have also been shown to suppress proliferation of myogenic cells, and treatment of cultured PEMC with either TGF-β 1 or myostatin significantly (P 1 and myostatin. Here, we show that immunoneutralization of IGFBP-5 also significantly (P 1 or myostatin-treated PEMC cultures restores Long-R3-IGF-I-stimulated DNA synthesis rates to 90% of the levels observed in control cultures receiving no TGF-β 1 or myostatin treatment (P 1 or myostatin-treated PEMC cultures, phosphosmad2 levels in these cultures were not affected. These findings strongly suggest that IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 affect processes downstream from receptor-mediated Smad phosphorylation that facilitate the ability of TGF-β and myostatin to suppress proliferation of PEMC

Motivation factors affecting employees job performance in selected ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Motivation can be intrinsic, such as satisfaction and feelings of achievement; or extrinsic, such as rewards, punishment, and goal obtainment. The study assessed the motivating factors affecting the job performance of two oil palm companies' ...

INTERNATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN FACTORS AFFECTING LABOUR MOBILITY.

Science.gov (United States)

SELLIER, F.; ZARKA, C.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND INTERFIRM MOBILITY, AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING THESE MOVEMENTS FOR WORKERS IN FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, AND SWEDEN IN THE PERIOD SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR ARE STUDIED. DATA OBTAINED FROM INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS AND GENERAL CENSUSES WERE USED TO COMPARE THE FOUR COUNTRIES WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE UNITED STATES.…

Factors affecting acceptability of radioactive metal recycling to the public and stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieves, L.A.; Burke, C.J.

1995-01-01

The perception of risk takes place within a cultural context that is affected by individual and societal values, risk information, personal experience, and the physical environment. Researchers have found that measures of open-quotes voluntariness of risk assumption,close quotes of open-quotes disaster potential,close quotes and of open-quotes benefitclose quotes are important in explaining risk acceptability. A review of cross-cultural studies of risk perception and risk acceptance, as well as an informal stakeholder survey, are used to assess the public acceptability of radioactive scrap metal recycling

Individual Differences in Verbal and Non-Verbal Affective Responses to Smells: Influence of Odor Label Across Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferdenzi, Camille; Joussain, Pauline; Digard, Bérengère; Luneau, Lucie; Djordjevic, Jelena; Bensafi, Moustafa

2017-01-01

Olfactory perception is highly variable from one person to another, as a function of individual and contextual factors. Here, we investigated the influence of 2 important factors of variation: culture and semantic information. More specifically, we tested whether cultural-specific knowledge and presence versus absence of odor names modulate odor perception, by measuring these effects in 2 populations differing in cultural background but not in language. Participants from France and Quebec, Canada, smelled 4 culture-specific and 2 non-specific odorants in 2 conditions: first without label, then with label. Their ratings of pleasantness, familiarity, edibility, and intensity were collected as well as their psychophysiological and olfactomotor responses. The results revealed significant effects of culture and semantic information, both at the verbal and non-verbal level. They also provided evidence that availability of semantic information reduced cultural differences. Semantic information had a unifying action on olfactory perception that overrode the influence of cultural background. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Chesapeake Bay recovery and factors affecting trends: Long-termmonitoring, indicators, and insights

Science.gov (United States)

Tango, Peter J.; Batiuk, Richard A.

2016-01-01

Monitoring the outcome of restoration efforts is the only way to identify the status of a recovery and the most effective management strategies. In this paper, we discuss Chesapeake Bay and watershed recovery and factors influencing water quality trends. For over 30 years, the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership’s long-term tidal and watershed water quality monitoring networks have measured physical, chemical and biological parameters throughout the bay and its surrounding watershed underpinning an adaptive management process to drive ecosystem recovery. There are many natural and anthropogenic factors operating and interacting to affect the watershed and bay water quality recovery responses to management actions. Across habitats and indicators, the bay and its watershed continue to express a diverse spatial and temporal fabric of multiscale conditions, stressors and trends that show a range of health conditions and impairments, as well as evidence of progress and degradation. Recurrent independent reviews of the monitoring program have driven a culture of continued adaptation of the monitoring networks to reflect ever evolving management information needs. The adherence to bay and watershed-wide consistent monitoring protocols provides monitoring data supporting analyses and development of scientific syntheses that underpin indicator and model development, regulatory assessments, targeting of management actions, evaluation of management effectiveness, and directing of priorities and policies.

Game-Changing Innovations: How Culture Can Change the Parameters of Its Own Evolution and Induce Abrupt Cultural Shifts

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

One of the most puzzling features of the prehistoric record of hominid stone tools is its apparent punctuation: it consists of abrupt bursts of dramatic change that separate long periods of largely unchanging technology. Within each such period, small punctuated cultural modifications take place. Punctuation on multiple timescales and magnitudes is also found in cultural trajectories from historical times. To explain these sharp cultural bursts, researchers invoke such external factors as sudden environmental change, rapid cognitive or morphological change in the hominids that created the tools, or replacement of one species or population by another. Here we propose a dynamic model of cultural evolution that accommodates empirical observations: without invoking external factors, it gives rise to a pattern of rare, dramatic cultural bursts, interspersed by more frequent, smaller, punctuated cultural modifications. Our model includes interdependent innovation processes that occur at different rates. It also incorporates a realistic aspect of cultural evolution: cultural innovations, such as those that increase food availability or that affect cultural transmission, can change the parameters that affect cultural evolution, thereby altering the population’s cultural dynamics and steady state. This steady state can be regarded as a cultural carrying capacity. These parameter-changing cultural innovations occur very rarely, but whenever one occurs, it triggers a dramatic shift towards a new cultural steady state. The smaller and more frequent punctuated cultural changes, on the other hand, are brought about by innovations that spur the invention of further, related, technology, and which occur regardless of whether the population is near its cultural steady state. Our model suggests that common interpretations of cultural shifts as evidence of biological change, for example the appearance of behaviorally modern humans, may be unwarranted. PMID:28036346

Regulation by basic fibroblast growth factor of glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis in cultured vascular endothelial cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaji, T; Hiraga, S; Ohkawara, S; Inada, M; Yamamoto, C; Kozuka, H; Koizumi, F

1995-05-01

The alteration of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells after exposure to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was investigated. It was found that the incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into GAGs was markedly increased by bFGF in both the cell layer and the conditioned medium; however, that of [35S]sulfate was not changed by the growth factor. These results indicated that bFGF enhanced the sugar-chain formation but did not affect their sulfation in endothelial GAG production. Similar changes were observed in either bovine aortic smooth-muscle cells and human fibroblastic IMR-90 cells to greater and lesser degrees, respectively. Characterization of GAGs in the endothelial cell layer and the conditioned medium revealed that bFGF enhanced both heparan sulfate and the other GAGs to a similar degree. The present data suggest that bFGF may be involved in the regulation of the blood coagulation system via altering GAGs of the vascular tissue when the endothelium was damaged.

Cultural factors influencing Japanese nurses' assertive communication. Part 1: Collectivism.

Science.gov (United States)

Omura, Mieko; Stone, Teresa E; Levett-Jones, Tracy

2018-02-06

Culture influences the way health-care professionals communicate with each other and their ability to relate to colleagues in an assertive manner. Cultural barriers can also make it difficult for nurses to speak up even when they have concerns about patient safety. An understanding of the potential impact of cultural factors is therefore needed when developing assertiveness communication training programs. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored Japanese nurses' perceptions of how culture and values impact assertive communication in health care. Semistructured interviews with 23 registered nurses were undertaken, and data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Two major themes were identified: collectivism and hierarchy/power. In the present study, we discuss the cultural values related to collectivism that included four categories of "wa" (harmony), "uchi to soto" (inside and outside), implicit communication/ambiguity, and "nemawashi" (groundwork). The findings highlight the impact of culture on nurses' assertive communication behaviors and can be used to inform the design of culturally-appropriate assertiveness communication training programs for Japanese nurses working both within their own country or internationally. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Light acclimation and pH perturbations affect photosynthetic performance in Chlorella mass culture

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ihnken, S.; Beardall, J.; Kromkamp, J.C.; Serrano, C.G.; Torres, M.A.; Masojídek, Jiří; Malapartida, I.; Abdala, R.; Jerez, C.G.; Malapascua, José R.F.; Navarro, E.; Rico, R.M.; Peralta, E.; Ferreira Ezequil, J.P.; Figueroa, F.L.

2014-01-01

Roč. 22, č. 2 (2014), s. 95-110 ISSN 1864-7790 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Chlorella * Mass culture * pH * Chlorophyll fluorescence Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 1.258, year: 2014

Sociocultural Factors that Affect Chewing Behaviors among Betel Nut Chewers and Ex-Chewers on Guam.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Kelle L; Herzog, Thaddeus A

2015-12-01

Areca nut (betel nut) is chewed by an estimated 10% of the world's population which is equivalent to about 600 million people. It is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been linked to various types of oral cancer. Chewing areca predominates in South and South East Asia, East Africa, and the Western Pacific and has important social and cultural implications. The purpose of the pilot study was twofold: (1) to examine sociocultural factors that affect why people on Guam chew betel nut, their chewing behaviors, perceptions of risks, probability of changing behaviors, and methods that could be used to reduce use or quit; and (2) to pilot two surveys (one for chewers and one for ex-chewers) to be used in a larger study in the future. A mixed methods design was employed that included surveys pertaining to their status (chewer or ex-chewer) and in-depth interviews. A total of 30 adults participated in this pilot study: adult betel nut chewers (n = 15) and ex-chewers (n = 15). Chewing betel nut is a learned behavior, embedded within the culture, and is viewed as an important cultural identifier. Socially, chewing is viewed as positive. Chewers stated that they were not as aware of health issues; however, ex-chewers stated health reasons for quitting.

Factors Affecting Professional Autonomy of Japanese Nurses Caring for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Patients in a Hospital Setting in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuwano, Noriko; Fukuda, Hiromi; Murashima, Sachiyo

2016-11-01

The study aimed to analyze the professional autonomy of Japanese nurses when caring for non-Japanese patients and to identify its contributing factors. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Participants included 238 clinical nurses working at 27 hospitals in Japan. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen and Starosta), and the Scale for Professional Autonomy in Nursing (Kikuchi and Harada) were used to measure intercultural sensitivity and professional autonomy. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to identify the most significant factors affecting professional autonomy. Professional autonomy of Japanese nurses caring for non-Japanese patients was significantly lower than when caring for Japanese patients (142.84 vs. 172.85; p autonomy of Japanese nurses by promoting intercultural sensitivity. © The Author(s) 2015.

Relationship of various factors affecting the sustainable private forest management at Pajangan District, Special Regions Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Widayanto, B.; Karsidi, R.; Kusnandar; Sutrisno, J.

2018-03-01

Forests have a role and function in providing good atmosphere with stable oxygen content and affecting global climate stability. Good forest management will provide stable climatic conditions in global climate change. A good forest is managed to provide a sustainable environment condition. This study aims to analyze the relationship of various factors affecting the sustainability of private forests management. This research is a quantitative research with survey method and determination of sampling are was by purposive sampling. Sampling method using multiple stage cluster sampling with 60 samples. From the results it was found that the successful sustainable private forest management influenced by various factors, such as group dynamics, stakeholder support, community institutions, and farmer participation. The continuity of private forest management is determined by the fulfillment of economic, social and environmental dimensions. The most interesting finding is that the group dynamics conditions are very good, whereas the sense of togetherness among community is very strong under limited resources managing private forests. The sense of togetherness resulted creativity to diversify business and thus reduced the pressure in exploiting the forest. Some people think that managing the people's forest as a culture so that its existence can be more sustainable.

Factors Which Affect Academic Achievement of University Students

OpenAIRE

RENÇBER, Bahman Alp

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate by analysing factors affecting academic achievement of university students. Also effects of these factors are studied. For this purpose, the students attending “Statistics and Transport Technology” course at Gazi University, Industrial Arts Education and Arts Faculty, Industrial Technology Education Department, in the 2008-2009 academic year have been identified as the study universe. Analysis has been done by taking examples for this universe. The ...

Insulin growth factors regulate the mitotic cycle in cultured rat sympathetic neuroblasts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiCicco-Bloom, E.; Black, I.B.

1988-01-01

While neuronal mitosis is uniquely restricted to early development, the underlying regulation remains to be defined. The authors have now developed a dissociated, embryonic sympathetic neuron culture system that uses fully defined medium in which cells enter the mitotic cycle. The cultured cells expressed two neuronal traits, tyrosine hydroxylase and the neuron-specific 160-kDa neurofilament subunit protein, but were devoid of glial fibrillary acidic protein, a marker for non-myelin-forming Schwann cells in ganglia. Approximately one-third of the tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells synthesized DNA in culture, specifically incorporating [ 3 H]thymidine into their nuclei. They used this system to define factors regulating the mitotic cycle in sympathetic neuroblasts. Members of the insulin family of growth factors, including insulin and insulin-like growth factors I and II, regulated DNA synthesis in the presumptive neuroblasts. Insulin more than doubled the proportion of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells entering the mitotic cycle, as indicated by autoradiography of [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into nuclei. Scintillation spectrometry was an even more sensitive index of DNA synthesis. In contrast, the trophic protein nerve growth factor exhibited no mitogenic effect, suggesting that the mitogenic action of insulin growth factors is highly specific. The observations are discussed in the context of the detection of insulin growth factors and receptors in the developing brain

Cultured human foreskin fibroblasts produce a factor that stimulates their growth with properties similar to basic fibroblast growth factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Story, M.T.

1989-01-01

To determine if fibroblasts could be a source of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in tissue, cells were initiated in culture from newborn human foreskin. Fibroblast cell lysates promoted radiolabeled thymidine uptake by cultured quiescent fibroblasts. Seventy-nine percent of the growth-promoting activity of lysates was recovered from heparin-Sepharose. The heparin-binding growth factor reacted on immunoblots with antiserum to human placenta-derived basic FGF and competed with iodinated basic FGF for binding to antiserum to (1-24)bFGF synthetic peptide. To confirm that fibroblasts were the source of the growth factor, cell lysates were prepared from cells incubated with radiolabeled methionine. Heparin affinity purified material was immunoprecipitated with basic FGF antiserum and electrophoresed. Radiolabeled material was detected on gel autoradiographs in the same molecular weight region as authentic iodinated basic FGF. The findings are consistant with the notion that cultured fibroblasts express basic FGF. As these cells also respond to the mitogen, it is possible that the regulation of their growth is under autocrine control. Fibroblasts may be an important source of the growth factor in tissue

Genetic and environmental factors affecting birth size variation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yokoyama, Yoshie; Jelenkovic, Aline; Hur, Yoon-Mi

2018-01-01

Background: The genetic architecture of birth size may differ geographically and over time. We examined differences in the genetic and environmental contributions to birthweight, length and ponderal index (PI) across geographical-cultural regions (Europe, North America and Australia, and East Asia......) and across birth cohorts, and how gestational age modifies these effects. Methods: Data from 26 twin cohorts in 16 countries including 57 613 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs were pooled. Genetic and environmental variations of birth size were estimated using genetic structural equation modelling....... Results: The variance of birthweight and length was predominantly explained by shared environmental factors, whereas the variance of PI was explained both by shared and unique environmental factors. Genetic variance contributing to birth size was small. Adjusting for gestational age decreased...

Analysis of the factors that affect photon counts in Compton scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Guang; Xiao, Guangyu

2015-01-01

Compton scattering has been applied in a variety of fields. The factors that affect Compton scattering have been studied extensively in the literature. However, the factors that affect the measured photon counts in Compton scattering are rarely considered. In this paper, we make a detailed discussion on those factors. First, Compton scattering experiments of some alloy series and powder mixture series are explored. Second, the electron density is researched in terms of atom and lattice constants. Third, the factor of attenuation coefficient is discussed. And then, the active degree of electrons is discussed based on the DFT theory. Lastly, the conclusions are made, that the factors affecting Compton scattering photon counts include mainly electron number density, attenuation coefficient and active degree of electrons. - Highlights: • Compton scattering experiments of some alloy series and powder mixture series are explored. • The influence of electron density is researched in terms of atom and lattice constants. • The influence of attenuation coefficient is discussed. • The active degree of electrons is discussed detailedly based on DFT theory

Use of polyethyleneimine polymer in cell culture as attachment factor and lipofection enhancer

OpenAIRE

Vancha, Ajith R; Govindaraju, Suman; Parsa, Kishore VL; Jasti, Madhuri; González-García, Maribel; Ballestero, Rafael P

2004-01-01

Abstract Background Several cell lines and primary cultures benefit from the use of positively charged extracellular matrix proteins or polymers that enhance their ability to attach to culture plates. Polyethyleneimine is a positively charged polymer that has gained recent attention as a transfection reagent. A less known use of this cationic polymer as an attachment factor was explored with several cell lines. Results Polyethyleneimine compared favorably to traditional attachment factors suc...

Factors influencing the contamination rate of human organ-cultured corneas.

Science.gov (United States)

Röck, Daniel; Wude, Johanna; Bartz-Schmidt, Karl U; Yoeruek, Efdal; Thaler, Sebastian; Röck, Tobias

2017-12-01

To assess the influence of donor, environment and storage factors on the contamination rate of organ-cultured corneas, to consider the microbiological species causing corneal contamination and to investigate the corresponding sensitivities. Data from 1340 consecutive donor corneas were analysed retrospectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the influence of different factors on the contamination rate of organ-cultured corneas for transplantation. The mean annual contamination rate was 1.8 ± 0.4% (range: 1.3-2.1%); 50% contaminations were of fungal origin with exclusively Candida species, and 50% contaminations were of bacterial origin with Staphylococcus species being predominant. The cause of donor death including infection and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome increased the risk of bacterial or fungal contamination during organ culture (p = 0.007 and p = 0.014, respectively). Differentiating between septic and aseptic donors showed an increased risk of contamination for septic donors (p = 0.0020). Mean monthly temperature including warmer months increased the risk of contamination significantly (p = 0.0031). Sex, donor age, death to enucleation, death to corneoscleral disc excision and storage time did not increase the risk of contamination significantly. The genesis of microbial contamination in organ-cultured donor corneas seems to be multifactorial. The main source of fungal or bacterial contamination could be resident species from the skin flora. The rate of microbial contamination in organ-cultured donor corneas seems to be dependent on the cause of donor death and mean monthly temperature. © 2017 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors Affecting Children's Judgement of Culturally Deviant Acts: Findings from an International School in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kutsuki, Aya; Tanaka, Yumi

2016-01-01

This study explored the relationship between perceptions of culturally deviant acts and multicultural experiences of elementary-school children attending an international school in Japan. Findings indicated that children judged a Japanese harsher than a foreigner, irrespective of the children's age. It was also found that younger children were…

Factors Affecting Microbial Contamination of Market Eggs: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svobodová J.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the review was to analyze the ways of microbial contamination, the protective mechanism of egg, and factors that affect the quantity of contamination and microbial penetration. Eggs can be contaminated during their formation in the infected reproductive organs of hens or after laying, when eggs are exposed to contaminated environment. The eggs are equipped against microbial contamination by several protective mechanisms comprising the presence of cuticle, eggshell, eggshell membranes, occurrence of some antibacterial proteins, and high pH value of albumen. There are several factors that affect the quantity of microbial contamination and penetration such as species of bacteria, the amount of microorganisms, storage conditions, quality of eggshell or number of pores.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES Factors affecting career preferences of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

College of Medicine prefer to work as doctors, and (ii) what factors may affect their long-term retention in their home country? Methods. We designed ... from rural areas and small towns, and whose parents were 'non- professionals', were .... needs – 5; city life can be difficult – 3; one is closer to family – 2; there is a sense of ...

Factors affecting compliance to treatment among children with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

BACKGROUND:This study aimed to determine the factors affecting compliance to treatment among children with epilepsy in Enugu,Nigeria. METHODS: Children with diagnosis of epilepsy were consecutively recruited.Their 6 months retrospective and 1 month prospective data were collected;and analyzed using SPSS ...

Cultural Factors in the Flow of International News: A Review of the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakurai Takuya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper offers a review of the literature of international news flow, and surveys how the previous studies have attempted to capture “cultural factors” influencing the flow. The factors are grouped into four types of variables: language, former colonial tie, ethnicity, and geographical proximity. This paper argues that cultural factors cannot be significant without economic interests in the era of post-Cold War, that the structure of international news is imbalanced because a few powerful countries dominate the international news market, and that international news reduces cultural varieties to the singular international realities disseminated by the media of such countries.

How Cultural Assumptions May Affect Teaching, Learning, and Communication in the Nation's Prisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Franklin, Godfrey; Platt, John S.

1994-01-01

A Multicultural Communications model includes factors that influence human interactions and communications among correctional staff and inmates. To be competent cross-cultural, intercultural, or multicultural communicators, educators must be aware of their knowledge of out-group members. (Author/JOW)

Factors affecting the tissues composition of pork belly.

Science.gov (United States)

Duziński, K; Knecht, D; Lisiak, D; Janiszewski, P

2015-11-01

Bellies derived from the commercial population of pig carcasses are diverse in terms of tissue composition. Knowledge of the factors influencing it and the expected results, permits quick and easy evaluation of raw material. The study was designed to determine the factors affecting the tissues composition of pork bellies and to estimate their lean meat content. The research population (n=140 pig carcasses) was divided into groups according to sex (gilts, barrows), half-carcass mass (meat content class: S (⩾60%), E (55% to 60%), U (50% to 55%), R (meat content affected the growth of the fat and skin mass in a linear way. No differences were observed between class S and E in terms of belly muscle mass. A 0.37% higher share of belly in the half-carcass was found for barrows (Pmeat content in bellies, suggesting they may be used directly in the production line.

Cognitive Factors Affecting Freeze-like Behavior in Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Alban, Michael W; Pocknell, Victoria

2017-01-01

Contemporary research on survival-related defensive behaviors has identified physiological markers of freeze/flight/fight. Our research focused on cognitive factors associated with freeze-like behavior in humans. Study 1 tested if an explicit decision to freeze is associated with the psychophysiological state of freezing. Heart rate deceleration occurred when participants chose to freeze. Study 2 varied the efficacy of freezing relative to other defense options and found "freeze" was responsive to variations in the perceived effectiveness of alternative actions. Study 3 tested if individual differences in motivational orientation affect preference for a "freeze" option when the efficacy of options is held constant. A trend in the predicted direction suggested that naturally occurring cognitions led loss-avoiders to select "freeze" more often than reward-seekers. In combination, our attention to the cognitive factors affecting freeze-like behavior in humans represents a preliminary step in addressing an important but neglected research area.

Factors affecting cardiac rehabilitation referral by physician specialty.

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, Sherry L; Grewal, Keerat; Stewart, Donna E

2008-01-01

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is widely underutilized because of multiple factors including physician referral practices. Previous research has shown CR referral varies by type of provider, with cardiologists more likely to refer than primary care physicians. The objective of this study was to compare factors affecting CR referral in primary care physicians versus cardiac specialists. A cross-sectional survey of a stratified random sample of 510 primary care physicians and cardiac specialists (cardiologists or cardiovascular surgeons) in Ontario identified through the Canadian Medical Directory Online was administered. One hundred four primary care physicians and 81 cardiac specialists responded to the 26-item investigator-generated survey examining medical, demographic, attitudinal, and health system factors affecting CR referral. Primary care physicians were more likely to endorse lack of familiarity with CR site locations (P negatively impacting CR referral practices than cardiac specialists. Cardiac specialists were significantly more likely to perceive that their colleagues and department would regularly refer patients to CR than primary care physicians (P Marketing CR site locations, provision of standardized referral forms, and ensuring discharge summaries are communicated to primary care physicians may improve their willingness to refer to CR.

Culture as Information and Culture as Affective Process: A Comparative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, David A.

2000-01-01

Describes an application of the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) to measure the effects of two ways to teach about German culture in beginning language courses. Qualitative analysis of results established that the treatment group, taught with constructivist, process-oriented tasks experienced significantly positive results on the CCAI…

[Affective dependency].

Science.gov (United States)

Scantamburlo, G; Pitchot, W; Ansseau, M

2013-01-01

Affective dependency is characterized by emotional distress (insecure attachment) and dependency to another person with a low self-esteem and reassurance need. The paper proposes a reflection on the definition of emotional dependency and the confusion caused by various denominations. Overprotective and authoritarian parenting, cultural and socio-environmental factors may contribute to the development of dependent personality. Psychological epigenetic factors, such as early socio-emotional trauma could on neuronal circuits in prefronto-limbic regions that are essential for emotional behaviour.We also focus on the interrelations between dependent personality, domestic violence and addictions. The objective for the clinician is to propose a restoration of self-esteem and therapeutic strategies focused on autonomy.

Identifying and Ranking the Factors Affecting Virtuousness in Yazd University-Affiliated Hospitals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H Shekari

2015-07-01

Conclusion: The results of ranking the factors of organizational virtuous showed that for moving toward virtuousness, the factors of ethical Culture, vision and Care for Community should be improvedby promoting ethics (Providing ethical standards for employee’s and manager’s behavior, Corporate Philanthropy, considering virtues in mission and vision etc. in mentioned hospitals.

Factors Affecting Quality of Life for Korean American Cancer Survivors: An Integrative Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Hyojin; Chatters, Linda; Kao, Tsui-Sui; Saint-Arnault, Denise; Northouse, Laurel

2016-05-01

Understanding of Korean American cancer survivors' quality of life (QOL) within a cultural context is limited. This article examines factors associated with the QOL of Korean American cancer survivors.
. A systematic literature search was conducted of PubMed, CINAHL®, Google Scholar, and EBSCO databases from January 2000 to January 2014.
. The studies were assessed for the relevance to the purpose of the review. Each study was rated on a two-point scale using an 11-item quality criteria checklist.
. The 13 studies that met the criteria for inclusion included 7 descriptive, 5 qualitative, and 1 mixed-method. 
. Social support, communication, and acculturation were key factors associated with Korean Americans' QOL. Cultural differences were evident for Korean Americans versus other Asian American ethnic groups.
. More innovative and culturally driven research is needed to understand each minority group's cultural barriers, as well as to improve cancer survivors' QOL. Improving the doctor-patient relationship is critical to promoting better cancer experiences for Korean American cancer survivors.

Policy factors affecting broadband development in Poland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henten, Anders; Windekilde, Iwona Maria

2014-01-01

of telecommunications network development in Poland than other countries in the European Union is the reason that the circumstances and also the effects of the implementation of some solutions of the EU regulation model are different in Poland than in the most developed EU countries. The aim of the paper is to examine...... and discuss broadband access development in Poland and the policy factors influencing this development as well as to examine national strategies used to stimulate service and infrastructure competition in Poland. There are, indeed, many other factors affecting broadband development such as the income level....../distribution in the country and the infrastructural point of departure. The paper, therefore, analyses the implications of the policy initiatives in light of these basic conditions and the broader context of factors influencing broadband development. In the paper, different kinds of policy initiatives are examined...

An Improved Reinforcement Learning System Using Affective Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Kuremoto

2013-07-01

Full Text Available As a powerful and intelligent machine learning method, reinforcement learning (RL has been widely used in many fields such as game theory, adaptive control, multi-agent system, nonlinear forecasting, and so on. The main contribution of this technique is its exploration and exploitation approaches to find the optimal solution or semi-optimal solution of goal-directed problems. However, when RL is applied to multi-agent systems (MASs, problems such as “curse of dimension”, “perceptual aliasing problem”, and uncertainty of the environment constitute high hurdles to RL. Meanwhile, although RL is inspired by behavioral psychology and reward/punishment from the environment is used, higher mental factors such as affects, emotions, and motivations are rarely adopted in the learning procedure of RL. In this paper, to challenge agents learning in MASs, we propose a computational motivation function, which adopts two principle affective factors “Arousal” and “Pleasure” of Russell’s circumplex model of affects, to improve the learning performance of a conventional RL algorithm named Q-learning (QL. Compared with the conventional QL, computer simulations of pursuit problems with static and dynamic preys were carried out, and the results showed that the proposed method results in agents having a faster and more stable learning performance.

Nurse aide decision making in nursing homes: factors affecting empowerment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhuri, Tanni; Yeatts, Dale E; Cready, Cynthia M

2013-09-01

To evaluate factors affecting structural empowerment among nurse aides in nursing homes. Structural empowerment can be defined as the actual rather than perceived ability to make autonomous decisions within an organisation. Given the paucity of research on the subject, this study helps to close the gap by identifying factors that affect nurse aide empowerment, that is, decision-making among nurse aides. The data for the study come from self-administered questionnaires distributed to direct-care workers (nurse aides) in 11 nursing homes in a southern state in the USA. Ordinary least square regression models were estimated to analyse the effects of demographic predictors, personal factors (competency, emotional exhaustion and positive attitude) and structural characteristics (coworker and supervisor support, information availability and shared governance) on nurse aide decision-making. Findings suggest race among demographic predictors, emotional exhaustion among personal characteristics, and supervisor support, and shared governance among structural factors, significantly affect nurse aide decision-making. It is important to explore race as one of the central determinants of structural empowerment among nurse aides. In addition, the nature and type of emotional exhaustion that propels decision-making needs to be further examined. The study shows the importance of shared governance and supervisor support for fostering nurse aide empowerment. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Factors Affecting Utilization of Cooking Banana among Households ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated factors affecting utilization of cooking banana among households in Oguta area of Imo State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 84 randomly selected respondents from six communities in the study area who were administered with structured questionnaire. Data analysis was by use of descriptive ...

Factors Affecting Academic Achievement of Students in Senior ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated the factors affecting academic achievement ofstudents in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in ChristianReligious Knowledge. A total of three hundred students in SS III from five secondary schools were randomly selected and used as sample for the study. Five hypotheses were tested, ...

Nutritional Factors Affecting Adult Neurogenesis and Cognitive Function

Science.gov (United States)

Adult neurogenesis, a complex process by which stem cells in the hippocampal brain region differentiate and proliferate into new neurons and other resident brain cells, is known to be affected by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including diet. Neurogenesis plays a critical role in neural plas...

Material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors in the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in oral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Duijster, Denise; Oude Groeniger, Joost; van der Heijden, Geert J M G; van Lenthe, Frank J

2017-12-19

This study aimed to assess the contribution of material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors in the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities (education and income) in oral health of Dutch adults. Cross-sectional data from participants (25-75 years of age) of the fifth wave of the GLOBE cohort were used (n = 2812). Questionnaires were used to obtain data on material factors (e.g. financial difficulties), behavioural factors (e.g. smoking), cultural factors (e.g. cultural activities) and psychosocial factors (e.g. psychological distress). Oral health outcomes were self-reported number of teeth and self-rated oral health (SROH). Mediation analysis, using multivariable negative binomial regression and logistic regression, was performed. Education level and income showed a graded positive relationship with both oral health outcomes. Adding material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors substantially reduced the rate ratio for the number of teeth of the lowest education group from 0.79 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75-0.83) to 0.92 (95% CI: 0.87-0.97) and of the lowest income group from 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73-0.88) to 1.04 (95% CI: 0.96-1.14). Inclusion of all factors also substantially reduced the odds ratio for poor SROH of the lowest education group from 1.61 (95% CI: 1.28-2.03) to 1.12 (95% CI: 0.85-1.48) and of the lowest income groups from 3.18 (95% CI: 2.13-4.74) to 1.48 (95% CI: 0.90-2.45). In general, behavioural factors contributed most to the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in adult oral health, followed by material factors. The contribution of cultural and psychosocial factors was relatively moderate. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

Factors limiting deceased organ donation: focus groups' perspective from culturally diverse community.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, L P

2010-06-01

In-depth understanding of cultural and religious factors limiting organ donation of three ethnic populations (Malay, Chinese, and Indian) in Southeast Asia is lacking. Identification of factors limiting organ donation among these three ethnic groups will provide insights into culturally appropriate strategies to promote acceptance of organ donation in a multiethnic Asian community. A total of 17 focus group discussions (105 participants) were conducted between September and December 2008. Participants were members of the general public aged 18 to 60 years, recruited through convenient sampling around the Klang Valley area of Malaysia. Although the majority had favorable attitudes toward deceased organ donation and transplantation, a diversity of myths and misinformation were unearthed from the discussions across the ethnic groups. These include perceived religious prohibition, cultural myths and misperceptions, fear of disfigurement, fear of surgery, distrust of the medical system, and family disapproval. Culture and religious beliefs played important prohibitive roles among those opposed to organ donations. There were distinctive ethnic differences in cultural and religious concerns regarding organ donation. Less-educated and rural groups appeared to have more misconceptions than the well-educated and the urban groups. Our findings may assist organ donation and transplantation organizations to reach diverse sociodemographic and ethnic communities with culture-specific information about organ donation. The involvement of community and religious leaders is critical in organ donation requests.

Factors affecting callus and protoplast production and regeneration of plants from garlic tissue cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Safadi, B.; Nabulsi, I.

2001-08-01

Five cultivars of garlic, two explants, six callusing media, six regeneration media, two kinds of light and several doses of gamma irradiation were used to determine the best conditions for callus induction and plant regeneration from garlic tissue cultures. Also, some experiments were conducted to study the possibility to isolate protoplast and regenerate plants. The experiment showed that medium MS9 was good for regenerating plant directly from basal plate without going through callus phase. ANOVA exhibited significant differences among used cultivars in their ability to form callus. No significant difference was observed between 16 hr light and complete darkness in callus growth. However, appearance of callus was generally better on darkness. Cultivar varied in their ability to regenerate and interaction between cultivars and media was observed. Cultivar kisswany was the best in regeneration (38%) and medium MS47 was the best among used media (35%). Light type played a significant role in regeneration of plants where red light was much better than white light in inducing regeneration (68% vs 36%). ANOVA revealed significant effect of low doses of gamma irradiation on stimulation regeneration of plant whereas high doses prevented regeneration. Many experiments were conducted to isolate protoplast and regenerate plants. The best method for culturing was the droplet and the best conditions for incubation were complete darkness at 25 Degreed centigrade. This lead to formation of cell wall but no cell division was observed (author)

An Initial Investigation of Factors Affecting Multi-Task Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Branscome, Tersa A; Swoboda, Jennifer C; Fatkin, Linda T

2007-01-01

This report presents the results of the first in a series of investigations designed to increase fundamental knowledge and understanding of the factors affecting multi-task performance in a military environment...

Factors That Affect Suicidal Attempt Risk Among Korean Elderly Adults: A Path Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junsoo Ro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Among the Korean elderly (those 65 years of age and older, the suicide rate is 80.3/100 000 people, which is ten times higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average. Because South Korea is rapidly becoming an aging population, this high elderly suicidal rate will only get worse. Although the size of the elderly suicide problem is quite large, previous research in South Korea has surveyed restricted areas and not the entire country. Even though the factors that affect elderly suicide are complicated, there has been little research into these influencing factors. Thus, this research uses the national survey data (Community Health Survey that was obtained in 2009. Additionally, we analyze factors affecting elderly suicidal ideation and attempts as well as the paths of these effects. Methods: Community Health Survey data obtained by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 was used for this study. We additionally examined the factors that affect suicide with chi-squared tests, t-tests, Pearson’s correlation test, and path analysis. Results: Depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are the only factors that directly affect suicidal attempts. Demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors have indirect effects on suicidal attempts. Conclusions: Depression has the strongest influence on suicidal ideation and attempts. Demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors affect suicidal attempts mostly through depressive symptoms. In addition, there is a path that suggests that demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors affect suicidal attempts not through depression symptoms but only through suicidal ideation. This means that the elderly who do not have depression symptoms attempt suicide according to their own situations and characteristics.

The key factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The present study aimed to address this gap, using a mixed methods design. Qualitative interview data were collected from 60 Hong Kong junior secondary school students, who were asked to describe the nature of their interest in science lessons and the factors to which they attribute this. Teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations were conducted to triangulate student interview data. Five factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons were identified: situational influences in science lessons, individual interest in science, science self-concept, grade level, and gender. Quantitative data were then collected from 591 students using a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to test a hypothesised model, which provided an acceptable fit to the student data. The strongest factor affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons was science self-concept, followed by individual interest in science and situational influences in science lessons. Grade level and gender were found to be nonsignificant factors. These findings suggest that teachers should pay special attention to the association between academic self-concept and interest if they want to motivate students to learn science at school.

Elder mistreatment, culture, and help-seeking: a cross-cultural comparison of older Chinese and Korean immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yeon-Shim; Moon, Ailee; Gomez, Cynthia

2014-01-01

This study explored and compared the salient sociocultural characteristics that influenced elder mistreatment and help-seeking behaviors among older Chinese and Korean immigrants. Results from qualitative, in-depth focus groups with 30 participants revealed that elder mistreatment is a culturally laden construct, and core values of traditional culture and acculturation are significant contextual factors that profoundly affect the perceptions of elder abuse and receptivity of interventions. Older Korean participants, compared to their Chinese counterparts, demonstrated stronger influence of hierarchy and cultural beliefs in exclusive family ties and gender norms, and were less likely to disclose abuse. Implications for culturally based interventions are also discussed.

Different culture conditions affect the growth of human tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) within a mixed tendon cells (TCs) population.

Science.gov (United States)

Viganò, M; Perucca Orfei, C; Colombini, A; Stanco, D; Randelli, P; Sansone, V; de Girolamo, L

2017-12-01

Tendon resident cells (TCs) are a mixed population made of terminally differentiated tenocytes and tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs). Since the enrichment of progenitors proportion could enhance the effectiveness of treatments based on these cell populations, the interest on the effect of culture conditions on the TSPCs is growing. In this study the clonal selection and the culture in presence or absence of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were used to assess their influences on the stemness properties and phenotype specific features of tendon cells. Cells cultured with the different methods were analyzed in terms of clonogenic and differentiation abilities, stem and tendon specific genes expression and immunophenotype at passage 2 and passage 4. The clonal selection allowed to isolate cells with a higher multi-differentiation potential, but at the same time a lower proliferation rate in comparison to the whole population. Moreover, the clones express a higher amounts of stemness marker OCT4 and tendon specific transcription factor Scleraxis (SCX) mRNA, but a lower level of decorin (DCN). On the other hand, the number of cells obtained by clonal selection was extremely low and most of the clones were unable to reach a high number of passages in cultures. The presence of bFGF influences TCs morphology, enhance their proliferation rate and reduce their clonogenic ability. Interestingly, the expression of CD54, a known mesenchymal stem cell marker, is reduced in presence of bFGF at early passages. Nevertheless, bFGF does not affect the chondrogenic and osteogenic potential of TCs and the expression of tendon specific markers, while it was able to downregulate the OCT4 expression. This study showed that clonal selection enhance progenitors content in TCs populations, but the extremely low number of cells produced with this method could represent an insurmountable obstacle to its application in clinical approaches. We observed that the addition of bFGF to the

Factors affecting the gene expression of in vitro cultured human preimplantation embryos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mantikou, E.; Jonker, M.J.; Wong, K.M.; van Montfoort, A.P.A.; de Jong, M.; Breit, T.M.; Repping, S.; Mastenbroek, S.

2016-01-01

STUDY QUESTION: What is the relative effect of common environmental and biological factors on transcriptome changes during human preimplantation development? SUMMARY ANSWER: Developmental stage and maternal age had a larger effect on the global gene expression profile of human preimplantation

Evaluation of factors affecting adherence to asthma controller ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Evaluation of factors affecting adherence to asthma controller therapy in chest clinics in a sub-Saharan African setting: a cross-sectional study. ... Background: Adherence to controller therapy in asthma is a major concern during the management of the disease. Objective: To determine the adherence rate and identify the ...

Factors affecting mortality and epidemiological data in patients ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Burns continue to be responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In this study we aimed to determine the factors affecting mortality and epidemiological data by examining the records of burned patients. Method. The hospital records of 980 patients who were hospitalised in the ...

Factors Affecting Students' Grades in Principles of Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Kara, Orhan; Bagheri, Fathollah; Tolin, Thomas

2009-01-01

Factors affecting students' grades in principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics students are analyzed from the data collected in two public universities. Results indicate that gender, number of hours worked, SAT scores, number of missed classes, recommending the course to a friend, instructors, being a junior, number of economics courses…

Factors affecting guidance and counseling programme in primary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of this study was to establish the factors that affect guidance and counseling in primary schools. Guidance and counseling seems not to be adequately helping pupils with physical and psychological problems in Nairobi province of Kenya. Many primary schools are faced with indiscipline and poor performance ...

Enhancing proliferation and optimizing the culture condition for human bone marrow stromal cells using hypoxia and fibroblast growth factor-2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung-Seok Lee

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the cellular characteristics and behaviors of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs expanded in media in a hypoxic or normoxic condition and with or without fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2 treatment. hBMSCs isolated from the vertebral body and expanded in these four groups were evaluated for cellular proliferation/migration, colony-forming units, cell-surface characterization, in vitro differentiation, in vivo transplantation, and gene expression. Culturing hBMSCs using a particular environmental factor (hypoxia and with the addition of FGF-2 increased the cellular proliferation rate while enhancing the regenerative potential, modulated the multipotency-related processes (enhanced chondrogenesis-related processes/osteogenesis, but reduced adipogenesis, and increased cellular migration and collagen formation. The gene expression levels in the experimental samples showed activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 pathway and glycolysis in the hypoxic condition, with this not being affected by the addition of FGF-2. The concurrent application of hypoxia and FGF-2 could provide a favorable condition for culturing hBMSCs to be used in clinical applications associated with bone tissue engineering, due to the enhancement of cellular proliferation and regenerative potential. Keywords: Bone marrow stromal cells, Hypoxia, Fibroblast growth factor, Tissue regeneration, Microenvironment interactions

Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development

Science.gov (United States)

Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen; Gotlieb, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Social-affective neuroscience is revealing that human brain development is inherently social--our very nature is organized by nurture. To explore the implications for human development and education, we present a series of interdisciplinary studies documenting individual and cultural variability in the neurobiological correlates of emotional…

Evaluation and optimization of hepatocyte culture media factors by design of experiments (DoE) methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jia; Mandenius, Carl-Fredrik; Lübberstedt, Marc; Urbaniak, Thomas; Nüssler, Andreas K N; Knobeloch, Daniel; Gerlach, Jörg C; Zeilinger, Katrin

2008-07-01

Optimization of cell culture media based on statistical experimental design methodology is a widely used approach for improving cultivation conditions. We applied this methodology to refine the composition of an established culture medium for growth of a human hepatoma cell line, C3A. A selection of growth factors and nutrient supplements were systematically screened according to standard design of experiments (DoE) procedures. The results of the screening indicated that the medium additives hepatocyte growth factor, oncostatin M, and fibroblast growth factor 4 significantly influenced the metabolic activities of the C3A cell line. Surface response methodology revealed that the optimum levels for these factors were 30 ng/ml for hepatocyte growth factor and 35 ng/ml for oncostatin M. Additional experiments on primary human hepatocyte cultures showed high variance in metabolic activities between cells from different individuals, making determination of optimal levels of factors more difficult. Still, it was possible to conclude that hepatocyte growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and oncostatin M had decisive effects on the metabolic functions of primary human hepatocytes.

Factors affecting e-Commerce adoption in Danish and Australian SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scupola, Ada

2006-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study investigating environmental, organizational and technological factors influencing adoption of electronic commerce in small and medium size enterprises in Denmark and Australia. A total of eight companies have been interviewd, four located in the area....... The main organizational factors affecting e-commerce adoption in the two countries are the CEO and employees' knowledge and attitude. Finally a number of technology related factors affect e-commerce adoption in the two countries as for example the ability to stream information out to the clients...... of Copenhagen, Denamrk and four in Brisbane area, Australia. The results show many interesting similarities and few differences between the two countries. For example, in both countries the external environment has an influence mainly through customer pressure and availability of ICT consulting services...

Factors affecting the HIV/AIDS epidemic: An ecological analysis of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors affecting the HIV/AIDS epidemic: An ecological analysis of global data. ... Backward multiple linear regression analysis identified the proportion of Muslims, physicians density, and adolescent fertility rate are as the three most prominent factors linked with the national HIV epidemic. Conclusions: The findings support ...

Factors Affecting Adoption of Recommended Cauliflower Production Technology in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pankaj Raj Dhital

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Binary logit regression model of econometrics was used to identify the factors affecting adoption of recommended agricultural technology by the commercial farmers of Nepal. A survey was carried out in 2012 in 120 households from Kavre district, Nepal. The objective was to appraise factors affecting adoption of recommended technology of cauliflower, finding out the level of adoption, identifying the constraints of cauliflower cultivation, assessing the perceived level of satisfaction and studying the relationship of certain selected variables on the adoption. Education, Occupation, contact with Personal Localite sources of information, Group membership and Experience were the most influencing factors for adoption of recommended technology. Though, other factors were not strong enough to contribute significantly but indirectly influence the adoption decision of farmers as combined effects. Occupation was found as negatively associated. Landholding size was strongly and positively influencing among the non significant factors. The level of satisfaction and the constraints of cauliflower production were also identified. Transfer of technology will be effective if and only if the client adopts the technology. For an effective transfer of technology, it is better to go for activities for the welfare of the socioeconomic factors of the farmers.

Multiple factors affecting South African anchovy recruitment in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Multiple factors affecting South African anchovy recruitment in the spawning, transport and nursery. ... and are inversely linked to high rates of gonad atresia in anchovy and reduced subsequent recruitment. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Cultural factors in a mobile phone adoption and usage model

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Biljon, J

2008-01-01

Full Text Available . Although the feature driven and usability focus carry value, it is not the full picture. There is also an alternative or wider perspective: mobile phone use is influenced by demographic, social, cultural, and contextual factors that complicate...

Genetic factors affecting dental caries risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Opal, S; Garg, S; Jain, J; Walia, I

2015-03-01

This article reviews the literature on genetic aspects of dental caries and provides a framework for the rapidly changing disease model of caries. The scope is genetic aspects of various dental factors affecting dental caries. The PubMed database was searched for articles with keywords 'caries', 'genetics', 'taste', 'diet' and 'twins'. This was followed by extensive handsearching using reference lists from relevant articles. The post-genomic era will present many opportunities for improvement in oral health care but will also present a multitude of challenges. We can conclude from the literature that genes have a role to play in dental caries; however, both environmental and genetic factors have been implicated in the aetiology of caries. Additional studies will have to be conducted to replicate the findings in a different population. Identification of genetic risk factors will help screen and identify susceptible patients to better understand the contribution of genes in caries aetiopathogenesis. Information derived from these diverse studies will provide new tools to target individuals and/or populations for a more efficient and effective implementation of newer preventive measures and diagnostic and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of this disease. © 2015 Australian Dental Association.

Factors affecting scholastic performances of adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Shashidhar, Saraswati; Rao, Chandrika; Hegde, Radhakrishna

2009-05-01

The present study aims at recognizing the social influence, study habits and health factors affecting scholastic performances of adolescents and to compare these factors among the adolescents between two categories of school. A total of 1230 adolescents (13-18 yrs) were screened. Data was collected by personal interview, using the teenage screening questionnaire, Trivandrum, between May 2004 and November 2005. A total 615 students from corporation and private schools were studied. 39.76% (489) were high achievers, 13.5% (166) were low achievers with p poor study habits and social factors were increased in low achievers of corporation schools. On multivariate analysis, the predictor variables for poor scholastic performance were adolescent having refractory error, not having help for study at home, not doing home work regularly, not solving question bank papers and reading only before examinations. It is feasible and worthwhile to identify the determinants of scholastic performance and plan intervention strategies at each school. The results of this study highlight the importance of implementing newer strategies, focusing on strict study patterns and creating the conducive school and home environment for study, so as to achieve better scholastic performances.

Influence factors and levels to create a culture of democracy: Critical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dakhane Noureddine

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Includes a general concept for the various philosophical implications for the conduct based on participation in the exercise of power through the institutions of formal and informal value of finality associated outputs any effect of each of these other actors and processes on daily life from the simplest affairs to the most complex groping ordinary citizen impact of these outputs through its relationship with actors and represented locally and nationally this perception itself constitute the base of the logical behaviour of the political mechanisms of nutritious local and other actors thus - as we have seen in the former - this is a performance of official institutions and non-formal primary factor effecting the nature and size of the feedback. We are trying to address through the topic of the impact of the level of human development and the content of those measures various dimensions of political, economic, social and cultural rights on the culture of the citizen. Lifting of the levels of human development in general requires efforts and cooperative from all sectors of society groups also requires equal participation of key parties and requires the mobilization of all the energies and finally the existence of the ability of these key parties to cooperate and participate in the responsibility for achieving development and motivating factor to all of this is to be a human being effective role through participation and production would not be available without a good rehabilitation and the acquisition of knowledge and skills with a reduction of the necessary rights of citizenship. On this basis, we examine how it affects the performance of institutions to create the motivation of individuals to be active citizens through three axes: ideology, the actors and the psychological impact of building individual capacity.

Factors affecting sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, Graciana; Nkambule, Sizwe E.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by the year 2015 has been met as of 2010, but huge disparities exist. Some regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa are lagging behind it is also in this region where up to 30% of the rural schemes are not functional at any given time. There is need for more studies on factors affecting sustainability and necessary measures which when implemented will improve the sustainability of rural water schemes. The main objective of this study was to assess the main factors affecting the sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland using a Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach. The main factors considered were: financial, social, technical, environmental and institutional. The study was done in Lubombo region. Fifteen functional water schemes in 11 communities were studied. Data was collected using questionnaires, checklist and focused group discussion guide. A total of 174 heads of households were interviewed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data and to calculate sustainability scores for water schemes. SPSS was also used to classify sustainability scores according to sustainability categories: sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable. The averages of the ratings for the different sub-factors studied and the results on the sustainability scores for the sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable schemes were then computed and compared to establish the main factors influencing sustainability of the water schemes. The results indicated technical and social factors as most critical while financial and institutional, although important, played a lesser role. Factors which contributed to the sustainability of water schemes were: functionality; design flow; water fetching time; ability to meet additional demand; use by population; equity; participation in decision making on operation and

Factors Affecting Behaviours that address HIV Risk among Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting HIV risk reduction ... Main outcome measures: Sexual behavior and condom use, knowledge about ... attitudes, normative beliefs, and subjective norms about condoms, HIV/AIDS ...

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Maize Marketing in Vandeikya ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Maize Marketing in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. ... Two hundred maize marketers were selected from Vandeikya Local Area (LGA) of ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

Identifying factors affecting about outsourcing in paraclinical services

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: Outsourcing refers to the transfer of services or functions to an outsider supplier, which controls them through a contract or cooperative. The main problem of senior managers in health organizations is determining the services which should be outsourced. The present study seeks to identify the factors that affect ...

Factors Affecting Online Groupwork Interest: A Multilevel Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Jianxia; Xu, Jianzhong; Fan, Xitao

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to examine the personal and contextual factors that may affect students' online groupwork interest. Using the data obtained from graduate students in an online course, both student- and group-level predictors for online groupwork interest were analyzed within the framework of hierarchical linear modeling…

Factors affecting sustainable animal trypanosomosis control in parts ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the factors affecting sustainable trypanosomiasis control in parts of Kaduna State within the sub-humid savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. Focus group discussions were ... More awareness and preference for pour-on and aerial spraying were higher than the use of traps, target or screens. Rearing of ...

Global Factors that Affect the Real Estate Markets in the EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Povilas Švogžlys

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The place, neighbourhood, infrastructure, and apartment plan are the main factors which have an influence on price for the buyers, sellers, investors, or brokers participating in the buying and selling processes of real estate. Participants of the process forget frequently that there are more crucial factors which can affect not only the prices of property, but the prices of real estate in the whole region as well in the future. The article uses benchmarking and discuss the main external factors which affect the real estate market in the European Union, the current events and the proposals are presented and the specific conclusions are identified.

Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Adoption of Sunflower Varieties in Sindh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghulam Ali Jariko (Corresponding Author

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This research study is based on primary data collection from sunflower growers to assess the socioeconomic factors that are affecting the adoption of sunflower varieties in Sindh.Data samples have been selected from two districts; Badin and Thatta, as these districts are considered main sunflower growing areas in Sindh. The results reveal that Sunflower growers are using Hybrid varieties i.e. 43 percent planted Hysun-33, 29 percent Hysun-38 and 28 percent Hysun-37 varieties. The finding of research using multinomial logistic regression suggests that farm size and level of education significantly affected the adoption of sunflower varieties. These factors are statistically significant at p<0.05. Theother variables such as tenancy status and source of income are not statistically significant in the adoption of sunflower varieties in Sindh.

Learning what feelings to desire: socialization of ideal affect through children's storybooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Jeanne L; Louie, Jennifer Y; Chen, Eva E; Uchida, Yukiko

2007-01-01

Previous findings suggest that cultural factors influence ideal affect (i.e., the affective states that people ideally want to feel). Three studies tested the hypothesis that cultural differences in ideal affect emerge early in life and are acquired through exposure to storybooks. In Study 1, the authors established that consistent with previous findings, European American preschoolers preferred excited (vs. calm) states more (indexed by activity and smile preferences) and perceived excited (vs. calm) states as happier than Taiwanese Chinese preschoolers. In Study 2, it was observed that similar differences were reflected in the pictures (activities, expressions, and smiles) of best-selling storybooks in the United States and Taiwan. Study 3 found that across cultures, exposure to exciting (vs. calm) storybooks altered children's preferences for excited (vs. calm) activities and their perceptions of happiness. These findings suggest that cultural differences in ideal affect may be due partly to differential exposure to calm and exciting storybooks.

Cultural and biological factors modulate spatial biases over development.

Science.gov (United States)

Girelli, Luisa; Marinelli, Chiara Valeria; Grossi, Giuseppe; Arduino, Lisa S

2017-11-01

Increasing evidence supports the contribution of both biological and cultural factors to visuospatial processing. The present study adds to the literature by exploring the interplay of perceptual and linguistic mechanisms in determining visuospatial asymmetries in adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2). In particular, pre-schoolers (3 and 5 year-olds), school-aged children (8 year-old), and adult participants were required to bisect different types of stimuli, that is, lines, words, and figure strings. In accordance with the literature, results yielded a leftward bias for lines and words and a rightward bias for figure strings, in adult participants. More critically, different biases were found for lines, words, and figure strings in children as a function of age, reflecting the impact of both cultural and biological factors on the processing of different visuospatial materials. Specifically, an adult-like pattern of results emerged only in the older group of children (8 year-old), but not in pre-schoolers. Results are discussed in terms of literacy, reading habits exposure, and biological maturation.

Socio-cultural factors of formation of musical preferences of Ukrainian students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. M. Nesterenko

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The impact of social and cultural factors on the musical preferences of students in Ukraine has been analysed in the article. The following factors have been selected: the type of society and social change in the polical fields of economy, culture, technology, students, musical paradigm. The urgency of the analysis of the genesis, development and change of musical preferences of students has been proven, the necessity to study the influence of sociocultural factors on the formation of musical preferences in modern society has been grounded. This allowed characterising the musical preferences as a socio-cultural phenomenon that present signs and society, and culture of the society. It has been found that the development of technology, such as the invention and use of the gramophone, phonograph, cinema, radio, television, and later a tape recorder, computer, Internet, mobile communications and the latest gadgets, has enhanced the formation of musical preferences.It has contributed meeting the needs and inquiries of students, which are studying musical art, the use of individual trajectories of formation of formal and informal musical preferences. Formal preferences are associated with the activities of social institutions and social organizations. In this context, the musical preferences and those recommended “from above” have been considered to be two different ways of formation of musical preferences in a totalitarian society. The variety of musical preferences has been determined. State-formed musical preferences have been identified and characterized by a second method of forming a musical preferences, which is based on the perception of diversity and is not approved by the musical culture of the individually selected samples, “from below” groups, which are defined as individual and personal, or informal, musical preferences. The musical preferences of students, related to situations of social changes that have occurred in the spheres

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in combination with insulin-like growth factor 1 and basic fibroblast growth factor promote in vitro culture of goat spermatogonial stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadorani, M; Hosseini, S M; Abedi, P; Abbasi, H; Nasr-Esfahani, M H

2015-01-01

Growth factors are increasingly considered as important regulators of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). This study investigated the effects of various growth factors (GDNF, IGF1, bFGF, EGF and GFRalpha-1) on purification and colonization of undifferentiated goat SSCs under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Irrespective of the culture condition used, the first signs of developing colonies were observed from day 4 of culture onwards. The number of colonies developed in GDNF + IGF1 + bFGF culture condition was significantly higher than the other groups (p culture condition was significantly higher than the other groups (p cells (vimentin, alpha-inhibin and α-SMA) and spermatogonial cells (PLZF, THY 1, VASA, alpha-1 integrin, bet-1 integrin and DBA) revealed that both cell types existed in developing colonies, irrespective of the culture condition used. Even though, the relative abundance of VASA, FGFR3, OCT4, PLZF, BCL6B and THY1 transcription factors in GDNF + IGF1 + bFGF treatment group was significantly higher than the other groups (p culture condition could colonize within the seminiferous tubules of the germ-cell depleted recipient mice following xenotransplantation. Obtained results demonstrated that combination of GDNF with IGF1 and bFGF promote in vitro culture of goat SSCs while precludes uncontrolled proliferation of somatic cells.

Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective service to pre and ... Small, micro and medium entrepreneurs play an important role in economic ... such as production, marketing and management to adequately service the ...

Factors affecting public and political acceptance for the implementation of geological disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-10-01

This publication identifies conditions which affect (either increase or decrease) public concern for and political acceptance of the development and implementation of programmes for geological disposal of long lived radioactive waste. It also looks at how interested citizens can be associated in the decision making process in such a way that their input enriches the outcome of a more socially robust and sustainable solution. The publication also considers how to optimize risk management, addressing the needs and expectations of the public and of other relevant stakeholders. Factors of relevance for societal acceptance conditions are identified for the different stages of a repository programme and implementation process, from policy development to the realization of the repository itself. Further, they are described and analysed through case studies from several countries, illustrating the added value of broadening the technical dimension with social dialogue and insight into value judgements.This report focuses on a geological disposal approach that consists of isolating radioactive wastes deep underground in a mined repository. It is not suggested here that geological disposal is the sole strategy that may be chosen or carried out by a country for managing high level radioactive waste, long lived waste or spent nuclear fuel. However, the geological disposal approach is favoured in principle by many countries for it is seen to offer advantages in terms of safety and security of this category of radioactive materials, and as a way to address ethical concerns. This report is meant for decision makers and others with a role in bringing forward a national programme to manage radioactive waste. Through different case studies, this report describes how programme acceptance has been fostered or hindered in different countries. It reviews factors that may affect whether a programme to develop and implement geological disposal strategy gains (or does not gain) societal

Factors affecting the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Holland

Full Text Available Abstract Tissue repair is an essential process that reestablishes tissue integrity and regular function. Nevertheless, different therapeutic factors and clinical conditions may interfere in this process of periapical healing. This review aims to discuss the important therapeutic factors associated with the clinical protocol used during root canal treatment and to highlight the systemic conditions associated with the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth. The antibacterial strategies indicated in the conventional treatment of an inflamed and infected pulp and the modulation of the host's immune response may assist in tissue repair, if wound healing has been hindered by infection. Systemic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, can also inhibit wound healing. The success of root canal treatment is affected by the correct choice of clinical protocol. These factors are dependent on the sanitization process (instrumentation, irrigant solution, irrigating strategies, and intracanal dressing, the apical limit of the root canal preparation and obturation, and the quality of the sealer. The challenges affecting the healing process of endodontically treated teeth include control of the inflammation of pulp or infectious processes and simultaneous neutralization of unpredictable provocations to the periapical tissue. Along with these factors, one must understand the local and general clinical conditions (systemic health of the patient that affect the outcome of root canal treatment prediction.

Factors Affecting Women's Autonomous Decision Making In Research Participation Amongst Yoruba Women Of Western Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Princewill, Chitu Womehoma; Jegede, Ayodele S; Nordström, Karin; Lanre-Abass, Bolatito; Elger, Bernice Simone

2017-04-01

Research is a global enterprise requiring participation of both genders for generalizable knowledge; advancement of science and evidence based medical treatment. Participation of women in research is necessary to reduce the current bias that most empirical evidence is obtained from studies with men to inform health care and related policy interventions. Various factors are assumed to limit autonomy amongst the Yoruba women of western Nigeria. This paper seeks to explore the experience and understanding of autonomy by the Yoruba women in relation to research participation. Focus is on factors that affect women's autonomous decision making in research participation. An exploratory qualitative approach comprising four focus group discussions, 42 in-depth interviews and 14 key informant interviews was used. The study permits a significant amount of triangulation, as opinions of husbands and religious leaders are also explored. Interviews and discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was employed for data analysis. Findings show that concepts of autonomy varied amongst the Yoruba women. Patriarchy, religion and culture are conceived to have negative impact on the autonomy of women in respect to research participation. Among the important findings are: 1) male dominance is strongly emphasized by religious leaders who should teach equality, 2) while men feel that by making decisions for women, they are protecting them, the women on the other hand see this protection as a way of limiting their autonomy. We recommend further studies to develop culturally appropriate and workable recruitment methods to increase women's participation in research. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Emergency Nurses' Perspectives: Factors Affecting Caring.

Science.gov (United States)

Enns, Carol L; Sawatzky, Jo-Ann V

2016-05-01

Caring is a universal phenomenon. However, as a result of higher patient acuity and staff shortages within the chaotic ED environment, caring behaviors may be in peril. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the meaning of caring from the perspective of emergency nurses. Exploring nurses' perspectives of caring is central to improving staffing and retention issues in this unique work environment. As part of a larger study, a subsample of emergency nurses who work in public hospitals in Manitoba, Canada (n = 17) were interviewed. A qualitative descriptive design was used to gain insight into the caring perspectives of nurses by asking them, "What does caring meaning to you?" and "What affects caring in your practice in the emergency department?" Emerging themes were extracted through analysis of audio tapes and transcripts. Advocacy and holistic care emerged as major themes in the meaning of caring for emergency nurses. Caring was affected by a number of factors, including workload, lack of time, staffing issues, shift work, and lack of self-care. However, lack of management support was the most consistent hindrance to caring identified by study participants. Caring continues to be a unifying concept in nursing; however, influencing factors continue to undermine caring for emergency nurses. Caring is not subsidiary to nursing; it is the central core of nursing. Therefore, fostering a caring working environment is essential for nurses to practice holistic nursing care. It is also imperative to job satisfaction and the retention of emergency nurses. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Some factors that will affect the next generation of forest growth models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leary, R.A.

1988-01-01

This paper discusses several types of factors that affect the form and referents of future growth models. These include philosophical, scientific, technological, educational, and organizational factors. Each factor is presented individually

Factors affecting outcome in ocular myasthenia gravis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzoli, Marco; Ariatti, Alessandra; Valzania, Franco; Kaleci, Shaniko; Tondelli, Manuela; Nichelli, Paolo F; Galassi, Giuliana

2018-01-01

50%-60% of patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) progress to generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) within two years. The aim of our study was to explore factors affecting prognosis of OMG and to test the predictive role of several independent clinical variables. We reviewed a cohort of 168 Caucasian patients followed from September 2000 to January 2016. Several independent variables were considered as prognostic factors: gender, age of onset, results on electrophysiological tests, presence and level of antibodies against acetylcholine receptors (AChR Abs), treatments, thymic abnormalities. The primary outcome was the progression to GMG and/or the presence of bulbar symptoms. Secondary outcomes were either achievement of sustained minimal manifestation status or worsening in ocular quantitative MG subscore (O-QMGS) or worsening in total QMG score (T-QMGS), assessed by Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) quantitative scores. Changes in mental and physical subscores of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed with SF-36 questionnaire. Variance analysis was used to interpret the differences between AChR Ab titers at different times of follow up among the generalized and non-generalized patients. Conversion to GMG occurred in 18.4% of patients; it was significantly associated with sex, later onset of disease and anti-AChR Ab positivity. Antibody titer above the mean value of 25.8 pmol/mL showed no significant effect on generalization. Sex and late onset of disease significantly affected T-QMGS worsening. None of the other independent variables significantly affected O-QMGS and HRQoL. Sex, later onset and anti-AChR Ab positivity were significantly associated with clinical worsening.

Patient Safety Culture Survey in Pediatric Complex Care Settings: A Factor Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hessels, Amanda J; Murray, Meghan; Cohen, Bevin; Larson, Elaine L

2017-04-19

Children with complex medical needs are increasing in number and demanding the services of pediatric long-term care facilities (pLTC), which require a focus on patient safety culture (PSC). However, no tool to measure PSC has been tested in this unique hybrid acute care-residential setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture tool slightly modified for use in the pLTC setting. Factor analyses were performed on data collected from 239 staff at 3 pLTC in 2012. Items were screened by principal axis factoring, and the original structure was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the best model fit for the pLTC data, and factor reliability was assessed by Cronbach alpha. The extracted, rotated factor solution suggested items in 4 (staffing, nonpunitive response to mistakes, communication openness, and organizational learning) of the original 12 dimensions may not be a good fit for this population. Nevertheless, in the pLTC setting, both the original and the modified factor solutions demonstrated similar reliabilities to the published consistencies of the survey when tested in adult nursing homes and the items factored nearly identically as theorized. This study demonstrates that the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture with minimal modification may be an appropriate instrument to measure PSC in pLTC settings. Additional psychometric testing is recommended to further validate the use of this instrument in this setting, including examining the relationship to safety outcomes. Increased use will yield data for benchmarking purposes across these specialized settings to inform frontline workers and organizational leaders of areas of strength and opportunity for improvement.

Factors that affect the accuracy in the precise radiotherapy for abdomen tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Tieming; Ju Yongjian

2008-01-01

The precise radiotherapy has been widely used in the clinics. But there are many factors that affect the accuracy in the course of implementation. Finally the effect of radiotherapy is affected. These factors are reviewed. And the previous research data about the abdomen tumors is summed up. Also how the accuracy was affected by the respiratory movement, positioning, position fixed technology, weight, retraction and motion of the tumor and the situation of surrounding organs will be analyzed. At last, how to avoid these errors in clinics will be discussed. (authors)

Unemployment in Kenya: Some economic factors affecting wage ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article analyses the economic factors affecting wage employment in Kenya, where open unemployment fell from 15 per cent in 1998/1999 to 13 per cent in 2005/2006. As of 2005/2006, wage employment constituted 13 per cent of the total working population, which implies that doubling wage employment will absorb ...

Factors affecting sports participation among female students at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The primary aim of this study was to examine factors affecting sport participation among resident and non- resident female students at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Pretoria, South Africa. The study targeted all students participating in 12 registered sports but due to the fact that only a limited number of the total ...

Factors affecting sexual function in menopause: A review article

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soheila Nazarpour

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to systematically review the articles on factors affecting sexual function during menopause. Searching articles indexed in Pubmed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, EMBASE, Scopus, and Scientific Information Database databases, a total number of 42 studies published between 2003 and 2013 were selected. Age, estrogen deficiency, type of menopause, chronic medical problems, partner's sex problems, severity of menopause symptoms, dystocia history, and health status were the physical factors influencing sexual function of menopausal women. There were conflicting results regarding the amount of androgens, hormonal therapy, exercise/physical activity, and obstetric history. In the mental–emotional area, all studies confirmed the impact of depression and anxiety. Social factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, the quality of relationship with husband, partner's loyalty, sexual knowledge, access to health care, a history of divorce or the death of a husband, living apart from a spouse, and a negative understanding of women's health were found to affect sexual function; however, there were conflicting results regarding the effects of education, occupation, socioeconomic status, marital duration, and frequency of sexual intercourse.

Factors affecting sexual function in menopause: A review article.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazarpour, Soheila; Simbar, Masoumeh; Tehrani, Fahimeh Ramezani

2016-08-01

This study aimed to systematically review the articles on factors affecting sexual function during menopause. Searching articles indexed in Pubmed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, EMBASE, Scopus, and Scientific Information Database databases, a total number of 42 studies published between 2003 and 2013 were selected. Age, estrogen deficiency, type of menopause, chronic medical problems, partner's sex problems, severity of menopause symptoms, dystocia history, and health status were the physical factors influencing sexual function of menopausal women. There were conflicting results regarding the amount of androgens, hormonal therapy, exercise/physical activity, and obstetric history. In the mental-emotional area, all studies confirmed the impact of depression and anxiety. Social factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, the quality of relationship with husband, partner's loyalty, sexual knowledge, access to health care, a history of divorce or the death of a husband, living apart from a spouse, and a negative understanding of women's health were found to affect sexual function; however, there were conflicting results regarding the effects of education, occupation, socioeconomic status, marital duration, and frequency of sexual intercourse. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

factors affecting antenatal care service utilization in yem special ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

jhon

assess antenatal care utilization and factors that affect it in Yem Special Woreda, South Western Ethiopia. METHODS: A ... A pre-tested structured questionnaire consisting of information on socio- ..... model and access to medical care: does it.

Behavioral, Attitudinal, and Cultural Factors Influencing Interagency Information Sharing

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-01

Conflict ( Prosocial Behavior ) Cognitive Processes - Shared Team Mental Models, Transactive Memory Action Processes - Team Coordination...information sharing behaviors after the experiment unfolded. To explore this further, an independent sample t -test was conducted, where the difference in...U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Report 1944 Behavioral , Attitudinal, and Cultural Factors

Addressing Cross-Cultural Teamwork Barriers: Implications for Industry Practice and Higher Education Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Levitt, Steven R.

2016-01-01

This study explores cultural factors affecting international team dynamics and the implications for industry practice and higher education. Despite decades of studying and experience with cultural diversity, international work groups continue to be challenged by ethnocentrism and prejudices. Central to the context is that cultural differences in…

Environmental Factors Affecting Where People Geocache

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Golbeck

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Outdoor leisure activities are important for public health as well as family cohesiveness, yet environmental factors may easily affect someone’s ability to participate in such activities. We explored this with a focus on the social web-based treasure hunt game called Geocaching. We collected data on all US and Canadian geocaches from OpenCaching.com and conducted an online survey with twenty geocachers as a follow-up to our data analysis. Data analysis showed that geocaches were more often found in areas that were wealthier, better educated, younger, and more urban, and had higher population density and better weather. Survey results showed similar trends: Most people actively thought about where they would cache and tried to minimize risks, despite cache hiders thinking less about these concerns. These results further emphasize the importance of environmental factors when it comes to participation in outdoor activities and leads to Human–Computer Interaction design implications for location-based online social activities.

The Role of Cultural Factors on Dating Aggression and Delinquency Among Latino Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuevas, Carlos A; Sabina, Chiara; Fahlberg, Anjuli; Espinola, Maria

2018-02-01

There is limited research comparatively evaluating delinquency and dating aggression among Latino youth. This analysis examines the rates and cultural correlates associated with delinquency and dating aggression among Latino youth using data from the Dating Violence Among Latino Adolescents study. The study surveyed 1,525 Latino adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years about past-year dating aggression perpetration and delinquency. Dating aggression perpetration and delinquency rates and relative risk ratios are presented. Logistic regression analyses examined the role of cultural factors on the perpetration of dating aggression and delinquent behaviors. Results showed that cultural factors had differential influence on dating aggression versus delinquency. Specifically, victimization, acculturation, and familial support were associated with dating aggression whereas only victimization and familial support were associated with delinquency. The results provide guidance for intervention and prevention efforts with Latino youth, particularly on the need for cultural consideration and the supportive role family can play in addressing these behaviors.

Does Organizational Culture Affect the Perception Towards the Barriers of the Glass Ceiling?

OpenAIRE

Muruatetu, Ndunge

2011-01-01

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of the glass ceilling in Africa; and to investigate whether organizational culture affected the perception towards the barriers of the glass ceiling. Design/Methodology : This research used a quatitative approach, based on a descriptive design. Data was gathered from surveys issued to employees at a Non-Governmental organization; with the participants based in the Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo offices. Fi...

Differences between culture & non-culture confirmed invasive meningococci with a focus on factor H-binding protein distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Stephen A; Lekshmi, Aiswarya; Lucidarme, Jay; Hao, Li; Tsao, How; Lee-Jones, Lisa; Jansen, Kathrin U; Newbold, Lynne S; Anderson, Annaliesa S; Borrow, Ray

2016-07-01

To compare the distribution of capsular groups and factor H-binding protein (fHBP) variants among meningococcal isolates and non-culture clinical specimens and to assess the representativeness of group B isolates amongst group B cases as a whole. A PCR sequencing assay was used to characterise fHBP from non-culture cases confirmed from January 2011 to December 2013. These were compared to genotypic data derived from whole genome analysis of isolates received during the same period. Group W and Y strains were more common among isolates than non-culture strains. The distribution of fHBP variants among group B non-culture cases generally reflected that seen in the corresponding isolates. Nonetheless, the non-culture subset contained a greater proportion of fHBP variant 15/B44, associated with the ST-269 cluster sublineage. Differences in capsular group and fHBP distribution among culture and non-culture cases may be indicative of variation in strain viability, diagnostic practice, disease severity and/or clinical presentation. Future analyses combining clinical case information with laboratory data may help to further explore these differences. Group B isolates provide a good representation of group B disease in E&W and, therefore, can reliably be used in fHBP strain coverage predictions of recently-licensed vaccines. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis on factors affecting consumers decision on purchasing simple-type houses