The Egyptian Cardiothoracic Surgeon (ECTS - E-Journal)
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Establishments' Use of Temporary Agency Workers: The Influence of Institutions and Establishments' Employment Strategies
No full textComparative institutional analyses have added much to our understanding of HRM in different countries, providing powerful arguments against the need for flexible labour markets to boost economic performance. However, existing research has tended to downplay the possibility that variation within countries may result in a well-protected core of workers that grows ever smaller alongside increasing numbers of precarious workers. We draw on data from the World Economic Forum and the European Company Survey to examine how institutions influence establishments’ use of temporary workers in 29 European countries plus Turkey. We analyse the data using 1) principal components analysis to categorize the countries in our analysis, 2) a two-step cluster analysis to draw up groups of establishments by their use of temporary workers, and 3) a multilevel logistic regression to examine how the institutional setting of establishments and key establishment characteristics interact to influence workplaces’ use of temporary workers. We show that institutional characteristics shape the prevalence of temporary workers in the 28 European Union member states plus FYR Macedonia and Turkey; however, institutions are not deterministic and important variation in the use of temporary workers depends upon the interaction between establishment characteristics and the establishment’s business system
A mathematical model for plasticity and damage: A discrete calculus formulation
No full textIn this article we propose a discrete lattice model to simulate the elastic, plastic and failure behaviour of isotropic materials. Focus is given on the mathematical derivation of the lattice elements, nodes and edges, in the presence of plastic deformations and damage, i.e. stiffness degradation. By using discrete calculus and introducing non-local potential for plasticity, a force-based approach, we provide a matrix formulation necessary for software implementation. The output is a non-linear system with allowance for elasticity, plasticity and damage in lattices. This is the key tool for explicit analysis of micro-crack generation and population growth in plastically deforming metals, leading to macroscopic degradation of their mechanical properties and fitness for service. An illustrative example, analysing a local region of a node, is given to demonstrate the system performance
Training Entrepreneurs and Policy Makers for Poverty Reduction in Africa:Spirituality in Business Perspective.
No full textSymptoms and the body: Taking the inferential leap
No full textThe relationship between the conscious experience of physical symptoms and indicators of objective physiological dysfunction is highly variable and depends on characteristics of the person, the context and their interaction. This relationship often breaks down entirely in the case of “medically unexplained” or functional somatic symptoms, violating the basic assumption in medicine that physical symptoms have physiological causes. In this paper, we describe the prevailing theoretical approach to this problem and review the evidence pertaining to it. We then use the framework of predictive coding to propose a new and more comprehensive model of the body-symptom relationship that integrates existing concepts within a unifying framework that addresses many of the shortcomings of current theory. We describe the conditions under which a close correspondence between the experience of symptoms and objective physiology might be expected, and when they are likely to diverge. We conclude by exploring some theoretical and clinical implications of this new account.<br/
Report on Temporary Employment Agencies and Temporary Agency Work:A comparative analysis of the law on temporary work agencies and the social and economic implications of temporary work in 13 European countries
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The Origins of the Sicilian Mafia:the Market for Lemons
No full textSince its first appearance in the late 1800s, the origins of the Sicilian mafia have remained a largely unresolved mystery. Both institutional and historical explanations have been proposed in the literature through the years. In this paper, we develop an argument for a market structure-hypothesis, contending that mafia arose in towns where firms made unusually high profits due to imperfect competition. We identify the market for citrus fruits as a sector with very high international demand as well as substantial fixed costs that acted as a barrier to entry in many places and secured high profits in others. We argue that the mafia arose out of the need to protect citrus production from predation by thieves. Using the original data from a parliamentary inquiry in 1881-86 on all towns in Sicily, we show that mafia presence is strongly related to the production of orange and lemon. This result contrasts recent work that emphasizes the importance of land reforms and a broadening of property rights as the main reason for the emergence of mafia protection.<br/
