Management approaches of First Nations businesses in Saskatchewan

This study is a comparative analysis of the level of high-involvement management (HIM) in a group of First Nations businesses in Saskatchewan and a matched sample group of non-Aboriginal businesses in Saskatchewan. The level of high-involvement management in the businesses was measured using an existing survey questionnaire based on one developed by Long (2001). This questionnaire is targeted to both managers and employees in each company. The researcher hypothesized that the level of high-involvement management in the First Nations businesses would be higher than that in the non-Aboriginal businesses. The rationale for this hypothesis was that the First Nations businesses would exhibit a cultural effect that would make the management of the businesses congruent with the traditional high-involvement organizational approach of the Plains Cree and Assiniboine First Nations in Saskatchewan prior to their confinement to reserves. This research has demonstrated that the management approach of First Nations companies is not more high-involvement oriented than a matched sample of non-Aboriginal businesses using a high-involvement management scale. Several techniques were utilized to try to identify a cultural effect. Means testing, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were all utilized to try to identify a cultural effect, all to no avail. Only when the data was analyzed based on various other dimensions were significant differences identified between First Nations and non-Aboriginal firms in terms of high-involvement management. Even in these cases, the differences are the opposite of that which was hypothesized for this study. In each of these cases, First Nations firms were significantly lower in high-involvement management than non-Aboriginal firms. Management and employee responses to the research instrument were shown not to be significantly different. Possible explanations for these results are discussed

Elephant Training and Ride Operations, Part I: Animal Health, Cost/Benefit and Philosophy

Results from a survey, conducted by the authors as employees of the Burnet Park Zoo, show that very few captive elephants in zoos (18 in the USA) are trained for ride operations. Trained elephants are easily accessable for treatment, are less bored , and overall are healthier than non-trained elephants, which may be manifested in a longer life span. The benefits derived from a well planned elephant training and ride operation clearly outweigh the costs incurred

Visual function before and after the removal of bilateral congenital cataracts in adulthood

AbstractSubject Peter Doyle (PD) had congenital bilateral cataracts removed at the age of 43. Pre-operatively PD's visual acuity was 20/80, with a resolution limit around 15 cpd, and he experienced monocular diplopia with high contrast stimuli. Post-operatively PD's visual acuity improved to approximately 20/40, with a resolution limit around 25 cpd. Using a variety of pre- and post-operative tests we have documented a wide range of neural adaptations to his limited and distorted visual input, and have found a limited amount of post-operative adaptation to his newly improved visual input. These results show that the human visual system is capable of significant adaptation to the particular optical input that is experienced

NF93-113 Proper Way to Ear Notch Pigs

This NebFact offers instruction in pig ear notching

Some Observations of Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus, Ecology on Arctic Tundra, Yukon, Canada

We investigated nesting behavior, food habits, and interspecific interactions of Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) within an arctic tundra raptor community on Herschel Island and Komakuk Beach, northern Yukon, Canada. Short-eared Owls were the least common nesting raptor. We found only three nests, all on Herschel Island. All nests were on relatively elevated sites with fairly substantial vegetative cover. All nests failed in the egg stage, from a combination of human disturbance and possible predation by Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) or Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). Short-eared Owls nested only in years when small rodent densities were at least 4 to 5 individuals per hectare in the spring. Short-eared Owls ate Northern Collared Lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus), Brown Lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus), and Tundra Voles (Microtus oeconomus) almost exclusively, without clear selectivity. Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) killed two adult Short-eared Owls. In northern Yukon, the Short-eared Owl remains an uncommon summer resident and uses the region as a migration route. Spring rodent densities and interspecific predation are prominent limiting factors, and human disturbance also limits nesting success. We recommend restricting access to most tundra areas during periods when the birds are mating, initiating nesting, and incubating eggs. We recommend that human infrastructure be designed so that it cannot support novel nesting (and therefore local range expansion) by other nesting raptors that compete with and prey on Short-earned Owls

Characterization of a molecular switch system that regulates gene expression in mammalian cells through a small molecule

Abstract Background Molecular switch systems that activate gene expression by a small molecule are effective technologies that are widely used in applied biological research. Nuclear receptors are valuable candidates for these regulation systems due to their functional role as ligand activated transcription factors. Previously, our group engineered a variant of the retinoid × receptor to be responsive to the synthetic compound, LG335, but not responsive to its natural ligand, 9-cis-retinoic acid. Results This work focuses on characterizing a molecular switch system that quantitatively controls transgene expression. This system is composed of an orthogonal ligand/nuclear receptor pair, LG335 and GRQCIMFI, along with an artificial promoter controlling expression of a target transgene. GRQCIMFI is composed of the fusion of the DNA binding domain of the yeast transcription factor, Gal4, and a retinoid × receptor variant. The variant consists of the following mutations: Q275C, I310M, and F313I in the ligand binding domain. When introduced into mammalian cell culture, the switch shows luciferase activity at concentrations as low as 100 nM of LG335 with a 6.3 ± 1.7-fold induction ratio. The developed one-component system activates transgene expression when introduced transiently or virally. Conclusions We have successfully shown that this system can induce tightly controlled transgene expression and can be used for transient transfections or retroviral transductions in mammalian cell culture. Further characterization is needed for gene therapy applications.</p

Ariel - Volume 2 Number 3

Editors Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhoff News Editors Richard Bonanno Daniel B. Gould Robin A. Edwards Lay-Out Editor Carol Dolinskas Sports Editor James J. Nocon Contributing Editors Michael J. Blecker Lin Sey Edwards Jack Guralnik W. Cherry Light Features Editor Steven A. Ager Donald A. Bergman Stephen P. Flynn Business Manager Nick Greg