Effect on disturbance type (fire and harvesting) on the ecological diversity of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP.) forests of eastern Manitoba

Disturbance, especially fire, is a crucial part of boreal forest succession, returning the forest to return to an early successional stage. In the boreal forest, fire had been the main disturbance type on the landscape until advances in mechanical harvesting methods allowed for large scale harvesting. At the same time as these advances in harvesting, there has been an increase in fire suppression by active firefighting (Smith et al. 2000). Large-scale harvests are becoming the main disturbance type on the landscape, causing fire-initiated succession to become a threatened process (Kimmins 1997, Niemela 1999). With harvesting now becoming a significant disturbance, forest health must be quantified to determine whether harvesting has the same impact on the forest as fires. Forest health can be assessed using bioindicators. Bioindicators are a group of organisms (that can be from various taxonomic levels) used to represent the diversity patterns of all other organisms in an ecosystem (National Research Council 2000). Choosing the most suitable indicator is based on a combination of the following three criteria: how representative the indicator is of the ecosystem, ease of identification of the indicator, and the time and cost of sampling (Anderson 1999). Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) ecophysiological adaptations (Thiele 1977) and their ability to cope with disturbances in forests make them ideal bioindicators of forest health (Rainio and Niemela 2003). Carabid fauna in several parts of the world, has been investigated in forested systems, including Poland (Fedorenko 1999), Finland (Niemela et al. 1994b), the United Kingdom (Jukes et al.2001), and Canada (Holliday 1991, Niemela et al. 1993)..

An analysis of the relationships between international diversification, product diversification, firm resources and performance

There have been numerous studies that have examined the relationships between international diversification, product diversification, firm resources, and performance. However, these studies have largely ignored the interrelationships and the causal linkages among the variables in consideration It was the purpose of this study, to overcome these limitations and to provide a better understanding of how these variables are related to each other. We have studied a sample of 211 firms for a 6-year period between 1995-2000. The results of the analyses have provided some interesting results. First, international diversification has been found to have a positive effect on innovation assets rather than the other way around. Second, the results show innovation assets lead to higher performance with a time lag. Further, there is also support that firms with little or no product diversification are more likely to benefit from international diversification. Finally, product diversification has been found to lead to lower investments in innovation assets

Optimal geographic diversification and firm performance:evidence from the U.K.

This paper examines the relationship between multinationality and firm performance. The analysis is based on a sample of over 400 UK multinationals, and encompasses both service sector and manufacturing sector multinationals. This paper confirms the non-linear relationship between performance and multinationality that is reported elsewhere in the literature, but offers further analysis of this relationship. Specifically, by correcting for endogeneity in the investment decision, and for shocks in productivity across countries, the paper demonstrates that the returns to multinationality are greater than those that have been reported elsewhere, and persist to higher degrees of international diversification

Effect of autoclave sterilisation and heat activated sodium hypochlorite irrigation on the performance of nickel-titanium rotary files against cyclic fatigue

The present study aims to assess the impact of heat-activated sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and/or autoclave sterilisation on the cyclic fatigue resistance (CFR) of heat-treated nickel-titanium rotary files used in root canal treatment. The CFR of One Curve (OC) files was evaluated under the following conditions: as received (Group 1; control), immersion in NaOCl at 23 ± 1ºC (Group 2), immersion in NaOCl at 60 ± 1ºC (Group 3), autoclave sterilisation at 135 1ºC (Group 4), combined treatment of autoclave sterilisation and immersion in NaOCl at 23 ± 1ºC (Group 5), and combined treatment of autoclave sterilisation and immersion in NaOCl at 60 ± 1ºC (Group 6). A simulated root canal in a zirconia block was utilised to test the performance of the files. All the types of treatments resulted in significant reductions in fracture resistance of the OC files. Immersion of the files in NaOCl at 23ºC revealed the smallest reduction, while combined treatment of autoclaving and immersion in NaOCl at 60ºC caused the greatest reduction. Autoclave sterilisation or exposure of OC files to 2.5% NaOCl adversely affect the cyclic fatigue life and increasing solution temperature or combined treatment caused additionally significant reduction in CFR

Multinationality and performance literature: a critical review and future research agenda

The literature on the relationship between the degree of multinationality (M) and performance (P) in the context of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has attracted a large volume of research in the past 50 years. Yet, the theoretical foundations and the empirical conclusions concerning the nature of M–P relationship vary greatly, thus call for a critical review and assessment. We examine 135 articles in 39 leading scholarly journals and classic books published during the period 1960–2015. We use an inductive approach and a qualitative content analysis methodology for our comprehensive and critical review of the literature. We incorporate international business, finance, and accounting perspectives in our analysis. We review the conceptualization and measurement of M, P, the findings on M–P relationships, methodologies, and geographic focus. We identify six key inconsistencies in the existing research, which cause ambiguity in the relevant findings. We make eight recommendations for future research to address these inconsistencies. Thus, our study contributes to the central debate in this research field

Comparative analysis of managerial values in the USA and China

Purpose – China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has become a major tradingpartner with the USA. However, trading with Chinese involves major cultural barriers. The Chineseand US cultures differ widely in their values, which produces different attitudes and behaviors. Thisstudy purports to add to the existent knowledge on the managerial values in the USA and China byempirically comparing and contrasting these values along several dimensions.Design/methodology/approach – This empirical investigation examines the differences inmanagerial values between US and Chinese managers through independent sample t-tests based onsurvey responses from 1,741 US and 982 Chinese managers.Findings – The findings indicate that significant cultural differences exist between the two samples.Results show that US managers are more individualistic than their Chinese counterparts. Themanagerial values of the US sample are also characterized by lower power distance, uncertaintyavoidance, and work ethics than the Chinese sample.Practical implications – The findings provide support for the conventional wisdom regarding thedifferences between the US and Chinese cultures.Originality/value – The large sample sizes in the research study provide strong empirical supportto existent theory

Experience with vaginoplasty

We did 27 vaginoplasties (7 gracilis musculocutaneous flaps, 8 pudendal thigh flaps, 12 full-thickness skin grafts) during the period 1994-2000. The preoperative assessment and postoperative follow up were done in collaboration with the gynaecologists. All patients had vaginal agenesis. With the gracilis flaps we found it difficult to achieve an adequate blood supply. With pudendal thigh flaps we achieved perfect innervation and a good contour, but they did tend to be hairy. With full-thickness skin grafts the innervation was not perfect, but the contour was good. Having compared the three operations during a follow up period ranging from 1-5 years we think that the full-thickness skin graft gives the best results