3,418 research outputs found
The management of expatriates : contemporary developments and future challenges
The rapid growth of international business at a time when many multinational companies (MNCs) are under increasing cost pressures has led these organisations to take a much closer look at their expatriation policies and practices. Faced with unprecedented levels of foreign competition at home and abroad, firms are beginning to recognise not only that international business is high on top management's list of priorities but that finding and nurturing the human resources required to implement an international strategy is of critical importance (Dowling et al., 1994). Much of the research on the management of expatriates currently available is drawn from research focused on North American multinationals. Adler (1997) commented that most research on international human resource management was concerned with American expatriates and continues to be written from an American rather than an international perspective. This introduction seeks to highlight the growth of research into expatriation to set the context for the five papers in this special edition that both add to some traditional areas of expatriate research and open up new fields relevant to this area of enquiry in international management and international business
P53 mutations in human adrenocortical neoplasms
The mechanisms of tumorigenesis of adrenocortical neoplasms have not been elucidated as yet. However, loss of heterozygosity at chromosomal locus 17p has been consistently observed in adrenocortical cancer. p53 is a recessive tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 17p. Mutations in the p53 gene play an important role in the tumorigenesis of diverse types of human neoplasms including breast and colon cancers. More than 90% of all mutations discovered in such tumors have been detected in 4 hot spot areas that lie between exons 5 and 8. In contrast to wild-type p53, mutant p53 accumulates intracellularly and can be easily detected by immunohistochemistry. We therefore investigated the frequency of p53 mutations in human adrenocortical neoplasms using molecular biology and immunohistochemistry techniques. Five patients with adrenocortical adenomas (5 female; ages 39-72 yr), 11 patients with adrenocortical carcinomas (8 female, 3 male; ages 15- 50 yr), and two adrenocortical tumor cell lines were studied. After DNA extraction from frozen tumor tissue or paraffin-embedded material, exons 5 through 8 were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction and directly sequenced by the dideoxy termination method. Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin-embedded tumor specimens obtained during adrenalectomy using a monoclonal antibody reacting with both wild-type and mutant p53. Prevalence of mutations was adenomas, 0/5, carcinomas, 3/11, and adrenocortical cell lines, 2/2. Single point mutations were detected in 3 cases (exons 5, 6, and 7, respectively), and rearrangements of exon 7/8 and 8 were found in 2 cases. Immunohistochemistry detected strong nuclear and/or cytoplasmic p53 immunoreactivity in all adrenocortical carcinomas with point mutations of the p53 gene but not in adenomas and carcinomas with the wild-type sequence or with deletion/rearrangement of the p53 gene. We conclude that p53 plays a role in the tumorigenesis of adrenocortical carcinomas but is of less importance to benign adenomas
Blowtooth: a provocative pervasive game for smuggling virtual drugs through real airport security
In this paper we describe a pervasive game, Blowtooth, in which players use their mobile phones to hide virtual drugs on nearby airline passengers in real airport check-in queues. After passing through airport security, the player must find and recover their drugs from the innocent bystanders, without them ever realizing they were involved in the game. The game explores the nature of pervasive game playing in environments that are not, generally, regarded as playful or “fun”. This paper describes the game’s design and implementation as well as an evaluation conducted with participants in real airports. It explores the players’ reactions to the game through questionnaire responses and in-game activity. The technologies used in Blowtooth are, intentionally, simple in order for the enjoyment of the game to be reliant more on the physical environment rather than the enabling technologies. We conclude that situating pervasive games in unexpected and challenging environments, such as international airports, may provide interesting and unique gaming experiences for players. In addition, we argue that pervasive games benefit most from using the specific features and nature of interesting real-world environments rather than focusing on the enabling technologies
‘Everyone should do it’: Client experience of a 12-week dialectical behaviour therapy group programme – An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Objective: There is a dearth of practice-based evidence of adapted or ‘DBTinformed’
transdiagnostic models, which could provide services and
clinicians with information of what works and for whom, in which
settings. This paper aims to bridge this gap by exploring the client
experience of a 12-week transdiagnostic dialectical behaviour therapy
(DBT) group programme in a private psychiatric hospital. Method: Five
participants with varied clinical diagnoses and previous therapeutic
experiences were interviewed following completion of one or more of the
same adapted DBT programme, comprising of the standard four modules
over 12 weeks, including a weekly skills group and 1:1 therapy.
Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was applied to give voice
to the clients’ lived experience of the group. Results: Three master themes
were identified: ‘Pre DBT: Crisis & Desperation’; ‘In-session: Belonging’;
and ‘The Real World: Living’, each characterised by four sub-themes,
highlighting helpful and hindering factors of clients’ current and previous
therapeutic experiences. Conclusion: Overall this version of DBT in a
transdiagnostic setting was experienced as helpful and positive by
participants; main outcomes included being able to build a life worth
living, feel hope and joy, build DBT skills into a lifestyle, and develop
reflective practice. Implications for clinical practice, service delivery and
policy are also discussed. The article aims to provide clinicians with
practice-based evidence to inform the delivery of DBT as well as
supporting the case for the use of DBT with various disorders, thus paving
the way for future research in this area
Disentangling emotion processes in borderline personality disorder: Physiological and self-reported assessment of biological vulnerability, baseline intensity, and reactivity to emotionally evocative stimuli.
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