Increasing the number of Buniputro entrepreneurs

Increasing the supply of entrepreneurs and expanding the pool of entrepreneurial talent has become a key ingredient in promoting economic development, because without the entrepreneur a developing region or country stands little chance in promoting its economic growth. This paper is concerned with developing a "delivery system" which will increase the supply of small scale Malay (Wananchi) entrepreneurs. It argues that developing small-scale entrepreneurs involves reducing the role strain the Malay encounters when he makes a business decision in an environment whose social and cultural structure places little value on making correct business decisions. The research is based upon a similar program which was designed to promote entrepreneurial talent in the Appalachian region of the United States. The success of that program and its recognition of the vital influences the Appalachian culture has an entrepreneurial decision making prompted the MARA Institute of Technology in Malaysia to underwrite a similar research effort. The research results indicate that Malay entrepreneurs can be promoted by adopting a similar "delivery system" to the one developed for the Appalachian region of the United States

Therapeutic radiographers' perceptions of the barriers and enablers to effective smoking cessation support

Introduction: Tobacco smoking during and post radiotherapy is associated with increased treatment toxicity and increased cancer related mortality. Routine delivery of smoking cessation advice is inconsistent in practice. This study identifies the key barriers and facilitators to the provision of effective smoking cessation conversations in radiotherapy practice. Methods: A baseline questionnaire (n ¼ 43) was used to identify current practice, barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation in radiotherapy and to inform a topic guide for follow up focus groups (n ¼ 5). Ethical approval was obtained through the 4 NHS trusts and the Health Research Authority. Focus group transcription was coded by two researchers. Results: Therapeutic Radiographers initiate health behaviour conversations with patients; there are a number of factors that facilitate the likelihood of a health behaviour conversation; indication that a patient smokes anatomical site and presence of acute effects. Key barriers to smoking cessation provision include; lack of training, limited knowledge, limitations as a result of poor clinical infrastructure, local culture and perceptions that patients do not prioritise smoking cessation during treatment. Conclusion: Therapeutic Radiographers have the motivation to provide smoking cessation advice, however they require further training to develop knowledge and skills in relation to benefits of smoking cessation and cessation strategies. Therapeutic Radiographers also expect that patients will respond negatively to smoking cessation advice, and that this might be damaging to the therapeutic relationship. Departmental culture and trust infrastructure can also significantly inhibit the provision of smoking cessation in radiotherapy practice and further support to implement NICE guidance is required

Growing pains: work-life impacts in small-to-medium sized construction firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to compare the quality of work-life experiences of workers in construction firms of differing sizes and explored the work conditions and circumstances that impact upon the work-life experiences of workers in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected in two stages. First, data from a sub-set of construction industry workers were extracted from a large scale survey of workers in Victoria, Australia (the VicWAL survey). The survey measured work-life interference using the Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI). Next a subset of survey respondents was identified and interviewed to gain more detailed explanatory information and insight into work-life experiences. Findings - The survey results indicated that respondents who reported working for a construction firm with between 16 and 99 employees reported significantly higher AWALI scores (indicating high work-life interference) than workers in organisations employing 15 or less or more than 100 workers. The follow-up interviews revealed that workers in small construction organisations were managed directly and personally by the business owner/manager and able to access informal work-life supports that were provided on an "as needs" basis. In comparison workers in medium-sized firms perceived higher levels of work pressure and an expectation that work would be prioritised over family life. Research limitations/implications - The research shows that the findings of work-life balance research undertaken in large construction organisations cannot be generalised to SMEs. Organisation size should also be treated as an important variable in work-life balance research in construction. Practical implications - The research suggests that a better understanding of how workers in SME construction firms experience work-life balance is important in the design and development of work-life balance programs

Analytic approach to the evolutionary effects of genetic exchange

We present an approximate analytic study of our previously introduced model of evolution including the effects of genetic exchange. This model is motivated by the process of bacterial transformation. We solve for the velocity, the rate of increase of fitness, as a function of the fixed population size, $N$. We find the velocity increases with $\ln N$, eventually saturated at an $N$ which depends on the strength of the recombination process. The analytical treatment is seen to agree well with direct numerical simulations of our model equations

The sources of adaptive variation

The role of natural selection in the evolution of adaptive phenotypes has undergone constant probing by evolutionary biologists, employing both theoretical and empirical approaches. As Darwin noted, natural selection can act together with other processes, including random changes in the frequencies of phenotypic differences that are not under strong selection, and changes in the environment, which may reflect evolutionary changes in the organisms themselves. As understanding of genetics developed after 1900, the new genetic discoveries were incorporated into evolutionary biology. The resulting general principles were summarized by Julian Huxley in his 1942 book Evolution: the modern synthesis. Here, we examine how recent advances in genetics, developmental biology and molecular biology, including epigenetics, relate to today's understanding of the evolution of adaptations. We illustrate how careful genetic studies have repeatedly shown that apparently puzzling results in a wide diversity of organisms involve processes that are consistent with neo-Darwinism. They do not support important roles in adaptation for processes such as directed mutation or the inheritance of acquired characters, and therefore no radical revision of our understanding of the mechanism of adaptive evolution is needed

Kierkegaard and Optical Linguistics

Kierkegaard and Optical Linguistic

Stress begins in kindergarten: A look at behavior during standardized testing

Kindergarten children’s behavior before, during, and after standardized achievement testing was explored through a qualitative study in two classrooms (n = 36). Simultaneously quantitative data were collected in one of the classrooms (n = 21) before and during the testing. Data were collected through observations in the classrooms, interviews with children and teachers, and audio and video taping of the children. For the quantitative component of the study, frequencies of stress behaviors were observed using a scan sampling method. Qualitative findings indicated an increase in behaviors reported to be stress related during the testing and a decrease in those behaviors following the testing. Copying and calling out answers during the testing were also observed frequently. Children also marked incorrect answers, but when interviewed after the test, could respond correctly. Quantitative results supported the qualitative with a statistically significant increase in the proportion of stress behaviors observed during testing (M = .77; n = 21) when compared with the proportion during normal classroom activities (M = .25; t[20] = -13.37, p \u3c.001). © 1992 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

The geology of the Curlew Mountains pericline

Abstract Not Provided

Non-neutral processes drive the nucleotide composition of non-coding sequences in Drosophila

The nature of the forces affecting base composition is a key question in genome evolution. There is uncertainty as to whether differences in the GC contents of non-coding sequences reflect differences in mutational bias, or in the intensity of selection or biased gene conversion. We have used a polymorphism dataset for non-coding sequences on the X chromosome of Drosophila simulans to examine this question. The proportion of GC→AT versus AT→GC polymorphic mutations in a locus is correlated with its GC content. This implies the action of forces that favour GC over AT base pairs, which are apparently strongest in GC-rich sequences