California State University, East Bay

abstract Instead of traditional principal–agent conflicts espoused in most research dealing with developed economies, principal–principal conflicts have been identified as a major concern of corporate governance in emerging economies. Principal–principal conflicts between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders result from concentrated ownership, extensive family ownership and control, business group structures, and weak legal protection of minority shareholders. Such principal–principal conflicts alter the dynamics of the corporate governance process and, in turn, require remedies different from those that deal with principal–agent conflicts. This article reviews and synthesizes recent research from strategy, finance, and economics on principal–principal conflicts with an emphasis on their institutional antecedents and organizational consequences. The resulting integration provides a foundation upon which future research can continue to build.

Large datasets of greenhouse gas and energy surface-atmosphere fluxes measured with the eddy-covariance technique (e.g., FLUXNET2015, AmeriFlux BASE) are widely used to benchmark models and remote-sensing products. This study addresses one of the major challenges facing model-data integration: To what spatial extent do flux measurements taken at individual eddy-covariance sites reflect model- or satellite-based grid cells? We evaluate flux footprints—the temporally dynamic source areas that contribute to measured fluxes—and the representativeness of these footprints for target areas (e.g., within 250–3000 m radii around flux towers) that are often used in flux-data synthesis and modeling studies. We examine the land-cover composition and vegetation characteristics, represented here by the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), in the flux footprints and target areas across 214 AmeriFlux sites, and evaluate potential biases as a consequence of the footprint-to-target-area mismatch. Monthly 80% footprint climatologies vary across sites and through time ranging four orders of magnitude from 103 to 107 m2 due to the measurement heights, underlying vegetation- and ground-surface characteristics, wind directions, and turbulent state of the atmosphere. Few eddy-covariance sites are located in a truly homogeneous landscape. Thus, the common model-data integration approaches that use a fixed-extent target area across sites introduce biases on the order of 4%–20% for EVI and 6%–20% for the dominant land cover percentage. These biases are site-specific functions of measurement heights, target area extents, and land-surface characteristics. We advocate that flux datasets need to be used with footprint awareness, especially in research and applications that benchmark against models and data products with explicit spatial information. We propose a simple representativeness index based on our evaluations that can be used as a guide to identify site-periods suitable for specific applications and to provide general guidance for data use.

Resources play a vital role in the development of an entrepreneurial venture. For ventures operating in the public interest, the process of effective resource mobilization can be especially critical to the social mission. However, there has been limited empirical examination of the approaches used by social ventures to mobilize critical resources. We study two processes of resource mobilization—optimization and bricolage, and examine the antecedent conditions that influence a venture's selection of these processes. Our theory predicts that environmental munificence and organizational prominence have U‐shaped associations with the use of bricolage and positive associations with the use of optimization. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 202 technology social ventures from 42 countries and discuss implications for the social entrepreneurship and broader entrepreneurship literatures. Copyright © 2013 Strategic Management Society.

OBJECTIVE: To review the pathogenesis and treatment of postoperative ileus. DATA SOURCES: Data collected for this review were identified from a MEDLINE database search of the English-language literature. The exact indexing terms were "postoperative ileus," "treatment," "etiology," and "pathophysiology." Previous review articles and pertinent references from those articles were also used. STUDY SELECTION: All relevant studies were included. Only articles that were case presentations or that mentioned postoperative ileus in passing were excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS: The pathogenesis of postoperative ileus is complex, with multiple factors contributing either simultaneously or at various times during the development of this entity. These factors include inhibitory effects of sympathetic input; release of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other mediators; an inflammatory reaction; and the effects of anesthetics and analgesics. Numerous treatments have been used to alleviate postoperative ileus without much success. CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of postoperative ileus can best be described as multifactorial. A multimodality treatment approach should include limiting the administration of agents known to contribute to postoperative ileus (narcotics), using thoracic epidurals with local anesthetics when possible, and selectively applying nasogastric decompression.

abstract There is a major debate regarding the role of concentrated family ownership and control in large firms, with three positions suggesting that such concentration is (1) good, (2) bad, or (3) irrelevant for firm value. Why are there such differences? We theorize that the impact of family ownership and control on firm value is associated with the level of shareholder protection embodied in legal and regulatory institutions of a country. Data from 634 publicly listed large family firms in seven Asian countries (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) are used to test our hypotheses. Overall, this article sketches the contours of a cross‐country, institution‐based view of corporate governance, and leads to a more informed understanding of the crucial role of institutions behind family ownership and control in large firms.

The polyketide epothilone is a potential anticancer agent that stabilizes microtubules in a similar manner to Taxol. The gene cluster responsible for epothilone biosynthesis in the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum was cloned and completely sequenced. It encodes six multifunctional proteins composed of a loading module, one nonribosomal peptide synthetase module, eight polyketide synthase modules, and a P450 epoxidase that converts desoxyepothilone into epothilone. Concomitant expression of these genes in the actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor produced epothilones A and B. Streptomyces coelicolor is more amenable to strain improvement and grows about 10-fold as rapidly as the natural producer, so this heterologous expression system portends a plentiful supply of this important agent.

Celebrity endorsement has become a prevalent form of advertising in the United States. Despite extensive literature on the effects of celebrity endorsements on consumers' brand attitudes and purchase intentions, little is known about the economic value of these endorsements. Research on this topic has typically focused on theories explaining how celebrity endorsements influence consumers' attitudes and intentions. The authors assess the impact of celebrity endorsement contracts on the expected profitability of a firm by using event study methodology. Their approach assumes that the announcement of a celebrity endorsement contract, usually widely publicized in the business press, is used as information by market analysts to evaluate the potential profitability of endorsement expenditures, thereby affecting the firm's expected return. Announcements of 110 celebrity endorsement contracts were analyzed. Results indicate that, on average, the impact of these announcements on stock returns is positive and suggest that celebrity endorsement contracts are generally viewed as a worthwhile investment in advertising.

This study compared the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) and traditional instructional approaches in developing high-school students’ macroeconomics knowledge and examined whether PBL was differentially effective with students demonstrating different levels of four aptitudes: verbal ability, interest in economics, preference for group work, and problem-solving efficacy. Over all, PBL was found to be a more effective instructional approach for teaching macroeconomics than traditional lecture–discussion (p = .05). Additional analyses provided evidence that PBL was more effective than traditional instruction with students of average verbal ability and below, students who were more interested in learning economics, and students who were most and least confident in their ability to solve problems.

When it comes to the pursuit of happiness, popular culture encourages a focus on oneself. By contrast, substantial evidence suggests that what consistently makes people happy is focusing prosocially on others. In the current study, we contrasted the mood- and well-being-boosting effects of prosocial behavior (i.e., doing acts of kindness for others or for the world) and self-oriented behavior (i.e., doing acts of kindness for oneself) in a 6-week longitudinal experiment. Across a diverse sample of participants (N = 473), we found that the 2 types of prosocial behavior led to greater increases in psychological flourishing than did self-focused and neutral behavior. In addition, we provide evidence for mechanisms explaining the relative improvements in flourishing among those prompted to do acts of kindness-namely, increases in positive emotions and decreases in negative emotions. Those assigned to engage in self-focused behavior did not report improved psychological flourishing, positive emotions, or negative emotions relative to controls. The results of this study contribute to a growing literature supporting the benefits of prosocial behavior and challenge the popular perception that focusing on oneself is an optimal strategy to boost one's mood. People striving for happiness may be tempted to treat themselves. Our results, however, suggest that they may be more successful if they opt to treat someone else instead. (PsycINFO Database Record

A putative catalytic triad consisting of tyrosine, serine, and lysine residues was identified in the ketoreductase (KR) domains of modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) based on homology modeling to the short chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily of enzymes. This was tested by constructing point mutations for each of these three amino acid residues in the KR domain of module 6 of the 6-deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS) and determining the effect on ketoreduction. Experiments conducted in vitro with the truncated DEBS Module 6+TE (M6+TE) enzyme purified from Escherichia coli indicated that any of three mutations, Tyr --> Phe, Ser --> Ala, and Lys --> Glu, abolish KR activity in formation of the triketide lactone product from a diketide substrate. The same mutations were also introduced in module 6 of the full DEBS gene set and expressed in Streptomyces lividans for in vivo analysis. In this case, the Tyr --> Phe mutation appeared to completely eliminate KR6 activity, leading to the 3-keto derivative of 6-deoxyerythronolide B, whereas the other two mutations, Ser --> Ala and Lys --> Glu, result in a mixture of both reduced and unreduced compounds at the C-3 position. The results support a model analogous to SDRs in which the conserved tyrosine serves as a proton donating catalytic residue. In contrast to deletion of the entire KR6 domain of DEBS, which causes a loss in substrate specificity of the adjacent acyltransferase (AT) domain in module 6, these mutations do not affect the AT6 specificity and offer a potentially superior approach to KR inactivation for engineered biosynthesis of novel polyketides. The homology modeling studies also led to identification of amino acid residues predictive of the stereochemical nature of KR domains. Finally, a method is described for the rapid purification of engineered PKS modules that consists of a biotin recognition sequence C-terminal to the thioesterase domain and adsorption of the biotinylated module from crude extracts to immobilized streptavidin. Immobilized M6+TE obtained by this method was over 95% pure and as catalytically effective as M6+TE in solution.

This research examines the effects of job insecurity on three outcomes: job attitudes (satisfaction), work behaviors (organizational citizenship behavior and deviant behavior), and negative emotions (anxiety, anger, and burnout). A total of 320 U. S. managers responded to a self-report electronic survey. Additionally, two independent referees have analyzed and rated a subset of the sample of managers' (N = 97) comments over an electronic discussion group about their job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and deviant behavior. Analyses of both sets of data show that job insecurity is negatively related to satisfaction and that job insecurity has both direct and indirect effects on work behaviors and emotions. We address these results in the context of growing pressures on business to improve efficiencies through human capital reductions bearing in mind the trade-offs that businesses must anticipate as employees respond to job insecurity in ways that are counterproductive to organizational purpose.

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews, which assess the risk of bias in included studies, are increasingly used to develop environmental hazard assessments and public health guidelines. These research areas typically rely on evidence from human observational studies of exposures, yet there are currently no universally accepted standards for assessing risk of bias in such studies. The risk of bias in non-randomised studies of exposures (ROBINS-E) tool has been developed by building upon tools for risk of bias assessment of randomised trials, diagnostic test accuracy studies and observational studies of interventions. This paper reports our experience with the application of the ROBINS-E tool. METHODS: We applied ROBINS-E to 74 exposure studies (60 cohort studies, 14 case-control studies) in 3 areas: environmental risk, dietary exposure and drug harm. All investigators provided written feedback, and we documented verbal discussion of the tool. We inductively and iteratively classified the feedback into 7 themes based on commonalities and differences until all the feedback was accounted for in the themes. We present a description of each theme. RESULTS: We identified practical concerns with the premise that ROBINS-E is a structured comparison of the observational study being rated to the 'ideal' randomised controlled trial. ROBINS-E assesses 7 domains of bias, but relevant questions related to some critical sources of bias, such as exposure and funding source, are not assessed. ROBINS-E fails to discriminate between studies with a single risk of bias or multiple risks of bias. ROBINS-E is severely limited at determining whether confounders will bias study outcomes. The construct of co-exposures was difficult to distinguish from confounders. Applying ROBINS-E was time-consuming and confusing. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that the ROBINS-E tool does not meet the need for an international standard for evaluating human observational studies for questions of harm relevant to public and environmental health. We propose that a simpler tool, based on empirical evidence of bias, would provide accurate measures of risk of bias and is more likely to meet the needs of the environmental and public health community.

Carotenoid pigments are a widespread source of ornamental coloration in vertebrates and expression of carotenoid-based colour displays has been shown to serve as an important criterion in female mate choice in birds and fishes. Unlike other integumentary pigments, carotenoids cannot be synthesized; they must be ingested. Carotenoid-based coloration is condition-dependent and has been shown to be affected by both parasites and nutritional condition. A controversial hypothesis is that the expression of carotenoid-based coloration in wild vertebrates is also affected by the amount and types of carotenoid pigments that are ingested. We tested this carotenoid-limitation hypothesis by sampling the gut contents of moulting house finches and comparing the concentration of carotenoid pigments in their gut contents with the colour of growing feathers. We found a positive association: males that ingested food with a higher concentration of carotenoid pigments grew brighter ornamental plumage. We also compared the concentration of carotenoids in the gut contents of males from two subspecies of house finches with small and large patches of carotenoid-based coloration. Consistent with the hypothesis that carotenoid access drives the evolution of carotenoid-based colour displays, males from the population with limited ornamentation had much lower concentrations of carotenoids in their gut contents than males from the population with extensive ornamentation. These observations support the idea that carotenoid intake plays a part in determining the plumage brightness of male house finches.

Abstract We investigate the pricing of risk-neutral skewness in the stock options market by creating skewness assets comprised of two option positions (one long and one short) and a position in the underlying stock. The assets are created such that exposure to changes in the underlying stock price (delta), and exposure to changes in implied volatility (vega) are removed, isolating the effect of skewness. We find a strong negative relation between risk-neutral skewness and the skewness asset returns, consistent with a positive skewness preference. The returns are not explained by well-known market, size, book-to-market, momentum, short-term reversal, volatility, or option market factors.

The technology acceptance model (TAM) asserts that ease of use and usefulness are two primary determinants of behavioral intention and usage. A parallel research stream emphasizes voluntariness, a key social influence and contextual variable, as a critical factor in information technology (IT) adoption, but pays little attention to its role in TAM. This paper addresses this particular absence by investigating the impact of environment-based voluntariness on the relationships among the four primary TAM constructs. A meta-analysis of 71 empirical studies provides strong support for the hypotheses that environment-based voluntariness moderates the effects of ease of use and usefulness on behavioral intention, but not the effect of ease of use on usefulness. Moreover, inconsistent with our expectations, environment-based voluntariness does not moderate the effects of ease of use and usefulness on usage. By further analyzing the data set, we suggest this may be because of the relatively small sample size, the presence of other factors, or the inappropriate measurement of usage in previous studies. The current study contributes not only to the distinction between user-based and environment-based voluntariness but also to a more complete understanding of user acceptance of IT across system-use environments.

BACKGROUND: It is important to engage in regular physical activity in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle however a large portion of the population is insufficiently active. Understanding how different types of motivation contribute to exercise behavior is an important first step in identifying ways to increase exercise among individuals. The current study employs self-determination theory as a framework from which to examine how motivation contributes to various characteristics of exercise behavior. METHODS: Regular exercisers (N = 1079; n = 468 males; n = 612 females) completed inventories which assessed the frequency, intensity, and duration with which they exercise, as well as the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire including four additional items assessing integrated regulation. RESULTS: Bivariate correlations revealed that all three behavioral indices (frequency, intensity, and duration of exercise) were more highly correlated with more autonomous than controlling regulations. Regression analyses revealed that integrated and identified regulations predicted exercise frequency for males and females. Integrated regulation was found to be the only predictor of exercise duration across both genders. Finally, introjected regulation predicted exercise intensity for females only. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exercise regulations that vary in their degree of internalization can differentially predict characteristics of exercise behavior. Furthermore, in the motivational profile of a regular exerciser, integrated regulation appears to be an important determinant of exercise behavior. These results highlight the importance of assessing integrated regulation in exercise settings where the goal of understanding motivated behavior has important health implications.

PURPOSE: This systematic review summarizes evidence for intensity of treatment and constraint-induced language therapy (CILT) on measures of language impairment and communication activity/participation in individuals with stroke-induced aphasia. METHOD: A systematic search of the aphasia literature using 15 electronic databases (e.g., PubMed, CINAHL) identified 10 studies meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria. A review panel evaluated studies for methodological quality. Studies were characterized by research stage (i.e., discovery, efficacy, effectiveness, cost-benefit/public policy research), and effect sizes (ESs) were calculated wherever possible. RESULTS: In chronic aphasia, studies provided modest evidence for more intensive treatment and the positive effects of CILT. In acute aphasia, 1 study evaluated high-intensity treatment positively; no studies examined CILT. Four studies reported discovery research, with quality scores ranging from 3 to 6 of 8 possible markers. Five treatment efficacy studies had quality scores ranging from 5 to 7 of 9 possible markers. One study of treatment effectiveness received a score of 4 of 8 possible markers. CONCLUSION: Although modest evidence exists for more intensive treatment and CILT for individuals with stroke-induced aphasia, the results of this review should be considered preliminary and, when making treatment decisions, should be used in conjunction with clinical expertise and the client's individual values.

Moral Capital is a provocative rereading of the origins of late eighteenth-century British antislavery. Beautifully written and elegantly paced, Christopher Leslie Brown's study revisits an enduring question: Why in the 1780s did so many British subjects, seemingly overnight, turn against the slave trade and initiate what would become a movement to end slavery throughout the British Empire? Whether or not Brown provides a clear answer to this puzzle, he focuses, in new and compelling ways, on how the American Revolution featured in the rise of abolitionist thought. Much of Moral Capital deals with the years before the 1780s when neither British subjects nor American colonists, even those in antislavery ranks, were committed to elimination of slavery or the slave trade. Employing a definition of “moral capital” as a critical aspect of state-building (from John Kane's The Politics of Moral Capital [2001]), Brown traces with great subtlety the history of the moral idea of abolishing forced labor and human trafficking through the interplay of abolitionists' evolving consciousness and their particular historical circumstances. He masterfully crafts the larger imperial implications of ending slavery in chapter 5, “Africa, Africans, and the Idea of Abolition.” In the final chapters, where his own research is strongest, Brown also demonstrates how American Quakers exercised great authority over British Quakers on antislavery, and he paints judicious portraits of the Clapham Sect as Christian missionaries and of Thomas Clarkson as a revolutionary hero. The loss in the Revolutionary War, Brown argues throughout, made all the difference for British abolitionists. The “American Revolution touched of a transformation in the public perception of antislavery action in the British Isles, as well as in the North American colonies,” by providing “new pertinence to what had been a question of marginal interest” and making “conceivable a program that had seemed a fantasy, at best” (p. 461). In short, the defeat at the hands of self-styled liberty-loving Americans forced many Britons to reexamine their credibility as self-styled defenders of liberty in global affairs. The elimination of the slave trade was the logical place to start.

Book Review| January 01 2018 The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity, and UFOs in the American Uncanny The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity, and UFOs in the American Uncanny. By Susan Lepselter. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2016. Pp. 181, notes, bibliography, index.). Glynn Custred Glynn Custred California State University East Bay Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of American Folklore (2018) 131 (519): 109–111. https://doi.org/10.5406/jamerfolk.131.519.0109 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Glynn Custred; The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity, and UFOs in the American Uncanny. Journal of American Folklore 1 January 2018; 131 (519): 109–111. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/jamerfolk.131.519.0109 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressJournal of American Folklore Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2018 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2018 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Book Reviews You do not currently have access to this content.

While many studies have found that perceived usefulness—an extrinsic motivator—is the strongest determinant of using utilitarian systems, others have found that it is less important than perceived enjoyment—an intrinsic motivator—in predicting hedonic system usage. In light of these interesting but mixed findings, our research applies the motivation theory to investigate the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators on system-use behavior in utilitarian, hedonic, and dual-purposed contexts. We then construct associated hypotheses and empirically test them by analyzing data collected from the literature. The results generally confirm our prediction that, in the context of utilitarian systems, extrinsic motivators are more important than intrinsic motivators, whereas, in the context of hedonic systems, intrinsic motivators play a more critical role than extrinsic motivators. The results thus substantiate our contention that, when information systems vary from utilitarian to hedonic, the most important determinants shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivators. This paper contributes not only to a new application of the motivation theory to IT adoption, but also to an integrated and in-depth analysis of motivators, which may reorient IS scholars toward potentially more fruitful avenues for studying user behavior.