Educating Part-Time MBAs For The Global Business Environment

To be successful managers in the business world of the 21st century, MBA students must acquire global skills of business acumen, reflection, cultural sensitivity, and multi-cultural teamwork. Developing these skills requires international experience, but educating part-time MBAs creates a special challenge demanding both rigor and efficiency.  This paper describes an innovative way to address this challenge.  Based on the study tour concept, the course incorporates a three-part multinational opportunity analysis project for a full semester, and provides students a chance to interact with professors and students from a university in another country.  The students develop critical global skills with only an abbreviated travel experience abroad

Flora of Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll, Northern Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati

This paper is a compilation and analysis of all vascular plants that have been reported on Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll in the Northern Line Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. It is based on field inventories conducted by the authors on six field visits to the atoll between 1996 and 2012 plus available published and unpublished records of vascular plant collections and observations made on the atoll. The total number of vascular plant species that have been recorded at some time on Kiritimati, including all indigenous and introduced species (whether in cultivation or not) is 168, plus three hybrids and three additional varieties, making a total of 174 taxa. Of these, three records are doubtful, leaving a reliably reported total of 171 taxa in 166 species. Only 10 of the reported taxa were not seen by one or other of us in the period 1996–2012, and of these at least six have probably died out on the island, leaving an extant flora of around 165 reliably recorded taxa (including the hybrids and varieties) in 160 species. There have been no ferns or gymnosperms recorded on the island. Probably only 15 (9%) or perhaps up to 19 of the reliably reported species are native, and most of the present-day flora is made up of deliberate or unintentional introductions made since the date of European discovery of the atoll. Of these, at least 54 and perhaps up to 59 species have naturalized

Robotic Applications in Cardiac Surgery

Traditionally, cardiac surgery has been performed through a median sternotomy, which allows the surgeon generous access to the heart and surrounding great vessels. As a paradigm shift in the size and location of incisions occurs in cardiac surgery, new methods have been developed to allow the surgeon the same amount of dexterity and accessibility to the heart in confined spaces and in a less invasive manner. Initially, long instruments without pivot points were used, however, more recent robotic telemanipulation systems have been applied that allow for improved dexterity, enabling the surgeon to perform cardiac surgery from a distance not previously possible. In this rapidly evolving field, we review the recent history and clinical results of using robotics in cardiac surgery

Preference for Managerial Boundary Setting in Relation to Empowerment: Adding Clarity to the Role of Boundaries

This study explores the role of manager and employee preference for managerial boundary setting in empowerment. Research has shown a clear relationship between managers’ empowerment practices and employee psychological empowerment, but confusion persists in the empowerment literature about the role played by boundaries in creating empowerment. We add clarity to the role of boundary setting by considering how the individual difference variable of manager and employee preference for managerial boundary setting impacts empowerment. Results indicate that higher preference for managerial boundary setting was associated with greater utilization of empowerment practices by managers and with greater psychological empowerment of employees. For managers there was a positively-accelerating quadratic relationship between preference for managerial boundary setting and empowerment practices. We also confirm the positive relationship between managers’ empowerment practices and employee psychological empowerment, and we found that employee preference for boundary setting did not moderate this relationship, except in the model for competence

Perceptions of Well-Being Among Rural Nebraskans

Nebraska’s economy has been relatively stable during the past year. However, some rural areas continue to be economically challenged. How do rural Nebraskans perceive their quality of life? Do their perceptions differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their occupation? This report details 2,482 responses to the 2006 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eleventh annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding their individual well-being. Trends for these questions are examined by comparing data from the ten previous polls to this year’s results. In addition, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged: • More rural Nebraskans report being satisfied with their job opportunities this year as compared to previous years. After reaching a low of 34 percent in 2004, the proportion satisfied with their job opportunities increased to 42 percent this year (the highest proportion in all 11 years). (page 5) • Persons with the highest household incomes are more likely than persons with lower incomes to feel they are better off compared to five years ago, are better off compared to their parents when they were their age, and will be better off ten years from now. For example, 52 percent of respondents with household incomes of $60,000 or more think they will be better off ten years from now. However, only 22 percent of respondents with household incomes under$20,000 believe they will be better off ten years from now. (page 6) • More rural Nebraskans believe people are powerless to control their own lives this year as compared to past years. The proportion that either strongly agree or agree with the statement that people are powerless to control their own lives each year has averaged about 34 percent. The proportion agreeing with the statement increased slightly, to 38 percent this year, which matches the highest proportion in the 11 years of the Poll (1997 and 1999 were the other two years). (page 4) • Persons with lower education levels are more likely than persons with more education to believe that people are powerless to control their own lives. Forty-six percent of persons with a high school diploma or less education agree that people are powerless to control their own lives. However, only 25 percent of persons with a four-year college degree share this opinion. (page 9) • Rural Nebraskans continue to be generally positive about their current situation. Except in 2003, each year the proportion of rural Nebraskans that say they are better off than they were five years ago has been greater than the proportion saying they are worse off than they were five years ago. Approximately 36 percent each year have reported that they were better off than they were five years ago. This year, 35 percent believe they are better off then they were five years ago and 21 percent think they are worse off. (page 2) • Similarly, rural Nebraskans continue to be generally positive about their future. The proportion that say they will be better off ten years from now has always been greater than the proportion saying they will be worse off ten years from now (although the two were virtually identical in 1996). The proportion stating they will be better off ten years from now has generally remained about 36 percent. This year, the proportion was 34 percent. Twenty-one percent believe they will be worse off ten years from now. (page 3) • Following trends in previous years, rural Nebraskans are most satisfied with their marriage, family, friends, religion/spirituality and the outdoors. They continue to be less satisfied with job opportunities, current income level and financial security during retirement. (page 5

Perceptions of Latin American Immigration Among Rural Nebraskans

In an earlier Nebraska Rural Poll report (August 2006), rural Nebraskans were asked their opinions of newcomers in general to their community. Some parts of rural Nebraska have seen significant growth of a specific group of newcomers, Latin American immigrants. How do rural Nebraskans view recent immigrants from Latin America? How do they view various immigration policies? Do their views differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their education level? This report details 2,482 responses to the 2006 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eleventh annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions of current issues and conditions. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding immigrants from Latin America and immigration policies. Comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc

HICSS Panel Report on Cognitive Foreshadowing: Next Steps in Applying Neuroscience and Cognitive Science to Information Systems Research

The use of neurophysiological tools in the information systems domain has received increased attention over the last decade. The Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences has helped provide a home for rigorously exploring such work through related minitracks and symposia. This paper reports on a panel presented at the 49th HICSS conference held in 2016 during a symposium organized to help orient interested researchers to the usefulness of cognitive neuroscience in IS research. This paper first introduces the rise in the IS discipline for integrating the methodologies and tools of cognitive neuroscience. It then presents individual viewpoints from the varying panel members at the symposium as they addressed questions of longevity, applicability, and next steps for the neuroIS subdiscipline. The four panel members included Alan Dennis, Angelika Dimoka, Allen Lee, and Ofir Turel

Lymphatic vasculature mediates macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in mice

Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) refers to the mobilization of cholesterol on HDL particles (HDL-C) from extravascular tissues to plasma, ultimately for fecal excretion. Little is known about how HDL-C leaves peripheral tissues to reach plasma. We first used 2 models of disrupted lymphatic drainage from skin — 1 surgical and the other genetic — to quantitatively track RCT following injection of [3H]-cholesterol–loaded macrophages upstream of blocked or absent lymphatic vessels. Macrophage RCT was markedly impaired in both models, even at sites with a leaky vasculature. Inhibited RCT was downstream of cholesterol efflux from macrophages, since macrophage efflux of a fluorescent cholesterol analog (BODIPY-cholesterol) was not altered by impaired lymphatic drainage. We next addressed whether RCT was mediated by lymphatic vessels from the aortic wall by loading the aortae of donor atherosclerotic Apoe-deficient mice with [2H]6-labeled cholesterol and surgically transplanting these aortae into recipient Apoe-deficient mice that were treated with anti-VEGFR3 antibody to block lymphatic regrowth or with control antibody to allow such regrowth. [2H]-Cholesterol was retained in aortae of anti–VEGFR3-treated mice. Thus, the lymphatic vessel route is critical for RCT from multiple tissues, including the aortic wall. These results suggest that supporting lymphatic transport function may facilitate cholesterol clearance in therapies aimed at reversing atherosclerosis