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The Relationships between National Culture and Employee Performance Among US Multinational Companies in Bangkok
No full textThis paper aims to study the relationships between National Culture (Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, and Uncertainty Avoidance) and Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction). This research using descriptive research with survey questionnaire. The selected 400 respondents are low-to-middle management level employees, who are working with the US Multinational Corporation (MNC) located in Bangkok during June 2013 to August 2013. Employees are classified by gender of which this study have normally distributed to 49.5 percent male (198 respondents) and 50.5 percent female (202 respondents). Methodology used in this research is Pearson Correlation Analysis testing relationships between National Culture and Employee Performance. All hypotheses show that there is a significant relationship between National Culture and Employee Performance. The research result supported by Newman and Stanley (1996), suggested that National Culture is the central principle of organization as it also the principle of employee understanding of their work and which type of action is preferable by others. Additionally, study of Taras, Steel, and Kirkman (2011) indicated that National Culture does influence Employee Performance base on the nature of the job. They believe National Culture affect peoples' attitudes, perception, and behavior which does influence on performance but whether in good or bad way depends on the fit between culture and individual nature of the job.This research will benefit 3 parties including, organization with US MNC management style to understand the relationship of National Culture and Employee Performance. So they can manage to run their organization more effectively with better performance and lead to better profit. This research would benefit the readers who have no idea about US MNC, this research would give them an insightful information of what US MNC is all about. Lastly this research would benefit the researcher herself as she is now working in the US MNC. Conducting this research allows the researcher to know deep information of the US MNC in terms of strong and weak point, number of imports and export between US and Thailand each year, and the signifying relationship between National Culture and Employee Performance. Keywords: National Culture, Employee Performance, Multinational Company (-ies
Effects of Active-Site Modification and Quaternary Structure on the Regioselectivity of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase.
No full textCatechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an important therapeutic target in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, is also being developed for biocatalytic processes, including vanillin production, although lack of regioselectivity has precluded its more widespread application. By using structural and mechanistic information, regiocomplementary COMT variants were engineered that deliver either meta- or para-methylated catechols. X-ray crystallography further revealed how the active-site residues and quaternary structure govern regioselectivity. Finally, analogues of AdoMet are accepted by the regiocomplementary COMT mutants and can be used to prepare alkylated catechols, including ethyl vanillin
Personal recovery in personality disorder:Systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative methods studies.
No full textBACKGROUND AND AIMS:Support of personal recovery represents the aim for many modern mental health services. There is a lack of conceptual clarity around the application of the term however and this is particularly problematic with regard to the personality disorder diagnoses. This study sought to review the existing qualitative methods literature in relation to the experience of personal recovery in personality disorder.METHODS:A systematic literature search was conducted. Identified studies were incorporated through meta-synthesis in order to develop higher order descriptive themes representative of the individual experience described within included studies.RESULTS:Three studies were identified and incorporated into the meta-synthesis. Three novel higher order themes were developed: Safety and containment as a prerequisite to recovery, social networks and autonomy in the recovery process and identity construction as a process of change.CONCLUSION:Personal recovery in personality disorder is revealed as a complex process reflecting both personal and social experiences or desires. These findings have important implications for clinical practice - emphasising the need to work closely with individuals and to develop an understanding of both their social experience and networks. Further research, taking greater account of social context in the recovery process, is necessary
Genome-wide autozygosity is associated with lower general cognitive ability
No full textInbreeding depression refers to lower fitness among offspring of genetic relatives. This reduced fitness is caused by the inheritance of two identical chromosomal segments (autozygosity) across the genome, which may expose the effects of (partially) recessive deleterious mutations. Even among outbred populations, autozygosity can occur to varying degrees due to cryptic relatedness between parents. Using dense genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, we examined the degree to which autozygosity associated with measured cognitive ability in an unselected sample of 4854 participants of European ancestry. We used runs of homozygosity-multiple homozygous SNPs in a row-to estimate autozygous tracts across the genome. We found that increased levels of autozygosity predicted lower general cognitive ability, and estimate a drop of 0.6 s.d. among the offspring of first cousins (P=0.003-0.02 depending on the model). This effect came predominantly from long and rare autozygous tracts, which theory predicts as more likely to be deleterious than short and common tracts. Association mapping of autozygous tracts did not reveal any specific regions that were predictive beyond chance after correcting for multiple testing genome wide. The observed effect size is consistent with studies of cognitive decline among offspring of known consanguineous relationships. These findings suggest a role for multiple recessive or partially recessive alleles in general cognitive ability, and that alleles decreasing general cognitive ability have been selected against over evolutionary time.</p
Experience of burden in carers of people with dementia on the margins of long-term care
No full textObjectives: This study aimed to identify the factors determining carer burden in a group of carers supporting people with dementia (PwD) deemed to be at high risk of moving to long-term residential or nursing home care. Design: National data collected as part of the European RightTimePlaceCare project were analysed. This included 81 dyads of community-dwelling people with dementia and their informal carers. Methods: Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in North West England between June 2011 and April 2012. Interviews collected data relating to the person with dementia (cognitive functioning, activities of daily living, neuropsychiatric symptoms and formal and informal dementia care resource use) and carers’ level of burden (22-item Zarit Burden Index), hours spent caring and availability of additional informal support. Results: Logistic regression analysis identified five factors associated with high carer burden: neuropsychiatric symptomatology in the PwD, intensive supervision of the PwD by the carer, being a female carer, being an adult–child carer and absence of informal carer support. Use of home care or day care services was unrelated to burden. Conclusion: Support programmes focusing on challenging behaviours and risk management may be of benefit to carers. More individually tailored interventions for specific carer groups including female or younger carers may be warranted. The implementation of peer support networks could be beneficial to carers who lack additional family support
Increased peri-ductal collagen micro-organization may contribute to raised mammographic density
No full textBackground High mammographic density is a therapeutically modifiable risk factor for breast cancer. Although mammographic density is correlated with the relative abundance of collagen-rich fibroglandular tissue, the causative mechanisms, associated structural remodelling and mechanical consequences remain poorly defined. In this study we have developed a new collaborative bedside-to-bench workflow to determine the relationship between mammographic density, collagen abundance and alignment, tissue stiffness and the expression of extracellular matrix organising proteins. Methods Mammographic density was assessed in 22 post-menopausal women (aged 54–66 y). A radiologist and a pathologist identified and excised regions of elevated non-cancerous X-ray density prior to laboratory characterization. Collagen abundance was determined by both Masson’s trichrome and Picrosirius red staining (which enhances collagen birefringence when viewed under polarised light). The structural specificity of these collagen visualisation methods was determined by comparing the relative birefringence and ultrastructure (visualised by atomic force microscopy) of unaligned collagen I fibrils in reconstituted gels with the highly aligned collagen fibrils in rat tail tendon. Localised collagen fibril organisation and stiffness was also evaluated in tissue sections by atomic force microscopy/spectroscopy and the abundance of key extracellular proteins was assessed using mass spectrometry. Results Mammographic density was positively correlated with the abundance of aligned periductal fibrils rather than with the abundance of amorphous collagen. Compared with matched tissue resected from the breasts of low mammographic density patients, the highly birefringent tissue in mammographically dense breasts was both significantly stiffer and characterised by large (>80 μm long) fibrillar collagen bundles. Subsequent proteomic analyses not only confirmed the absence of collagen fibrosis in high mammographic density tissue, but additionally identified the up-regulation of periostin and collagen XVI (regulators of collagen fibril structure and architecture) as potential mediators of localised mechanical stiffness. Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that remodelling, and hence stiffening, of the existing stromal collagen microarchitecture promotes high mammographic density within the breast. In turn, this aberrant mechanical environment may trigger neoplasia-associated mechanotransduction pathways within the epithelial cell population
A role for HLA-DBB1*1101 and DRB1*0801 in cognitive ability and its decline with age
No full textCognitive abilities (memory, processing speed, vocabulary, and fluid intelligence) are correlated with educational attainment and occupational status, as well as physical and mental health. The variation in cognitive abilities observed within a population has a substantial genetic contribution (heritability ∼50%) and yet the identification of genetic polymorphisms from both genome-wide association and candidate studies have to date only uncovered a limited number of genetic variants that exert small genetic effects. Here we impute human leukocyte antigens (HLA) using existing genome-wide association data from 1,559 non-pathological elderly volunteers who have been followed for changes in cognitive functioning between a 12- and 18-year period. Specifically, we investigate DRB1*05 (*11/*12) and DRB1*01, which have previously been associated with cognitive ability. We also analyze DRB1*0801, which shares close sequence homology with DRB1*1101. Together with DRB1*1101, DRB1*0801 has been associated with several diseases including multiple sclerosis and primary biliary cirrhosis, which themselves are associated with cognitive impairment. We observed that both DRB1*0801 and DRB1*1101 were significantly associated with vocabulary ability (cross-sectional and longitudinal scores) and that the effects were in opposite directions with DRB1*0801 associated with lower score and faster decline. This opposing affect is similar to that reported by other groups in systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes, and primary biliary cirrhosis. DRB1*0801 was also significantly associated with reduced memory ability. We observed no associations between cognitive abilities and DRB1*01 or DRB1*12
Aramid/Epoxy composites with angle-laid reinforcement constructions for ballistic protection
No full textThis paper investigates the ballistic impact mechanism of multi-ply aramid/epoxy composites with different laying up structures. Ballistic impact behaviour of the composites was evaluated by their energy absorption capacity and high-speed video observation and analysis. Plain woven aramid fabrics were used as reinforcements and the Seemann composites resin infusion moulding process (STRIMP) was employed for manufacturing composites with ARALDITE LY 564 epoxy matrix in this study. Angle-laid dry fabric assembles were used as reinforcements in parallel to the align-laid fabric assemblies. The energy loss during penetration process was used to characterise the ballistic performance of the composites experimentally. The results of the investigation indicate that for three-layered composites, [0/45/0] and [0/30/60] angle-laid constructions absorb 3% and 10% more energy than the composite with align-laid reinforcement. However, for the four-layered composites, angle-laid composites demonstrate lower ballistic resistance than the align-laid composites, which calls for further investigation
Impact of the recent recession on self-harm: Longitudinal ecological and patient-level investigation from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England.
No full textBACKGROUND: Economic recessions are associated with increases in suicide rates but there is little information for non-fatal self-harm. AIMS: To investigate the impact of the recent recession on rates of self-harm in England and problems faced by patients who self-harm. METHOD: Analysis of data from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England for 2001-2010 and local employment statistics for Oxford, Manchester and Derby, including interrupted time series analyses to estimate the effect of the recession on rates of self-harm. RESULTS: Rates of self-harm increased in both genders in Derby and in males in Manchester in 2008-2010, but not in either gender in Oxford, results which largely followed changes in general population unemployment. More patients who self-harm were unemployed in 2008-10 compared to before the recession. The proportion in receipt of sickness or disability allowances decreased. More patients of both genders had employment and financial problems in 2008-2010 and more females also had housing problems, changes which were also largely found in employed patients. LIMITATIONS: We have assumed that the recession began in 2008 and information on problems was only available for patients having a psychosocial assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Increased rates of self-harm were found in areas where there were greater rises in rates of unemployment. Work, financial and housing problems increased in people who self-harmed. Changes in welfare benefits may have contributed. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: None