Does Globalization Impact Entrepreneurship?

Purpose: This paper examines the effect of the globalization phenomenon and its impact on the dynamic development of entrepreneurship based on changing economic, cultural, and business environments both within and between nations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use theoretical perspectives and analyze literature reviews to identify the effect of the relationship that exists between globalization and entrepreneurship, which plays a variety of important roles in the business world. Findings: The findings of the study show that while there is a significant statistical difference between U.S. and international entrepreneurs regarding the importance of cross-cultural considerations, there are no statistical differences regarding the importance of global entrepreneurial innovation, business environment, and the effect of globalization on the economy. Research limitations/implications: The paper presents a critical analysis of the impact of globalization on entrepreneurs in the U.S. and internationally. Practical implications: The authors investigate the characteristics necessary for entrepreneurs to be successful, such as skills, knowledge, experience, and the abilities needed to apply technology and innovation, and they navigate complex cultural differences that may exist between business members and stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Paper type: Research pape

Does Globalization Impact Entrepreneurship?

Purpose: This paper examines the effect of the globalization phenomenon and its impact on the dynamic development of entrepreneurship based on changing economic, cultural, and business environments both within and between nations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use theoretical perspectives and analyze literature reviews to identify the effect of the relationship that exists between globalization and entrepreneurship, which plays a variety of important roles in the business world. Findings: The findings of the study show that while there is a significant statistical difference between U.S. and international entrepreneurs regarding the importance of cross-cultural considerations, there are no statistical differences regarding the importance of global entrepreneurial innovation, business environment, and the effect of globalization on the economy. Research limitations/implications: The paper presents a critical analysis of the impact of globalization on entrepreneurs in the U.S. and internationally. Practical implications: The authors investigate the characteristics necessary for entrepreneurs to be successful, such as skills, knowledge, experience, and the abilities needed to apply technology and innovation, and they navigate complex cultural differences that may exist between business members and stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Paper type: Research pape

High Protein Diets Improve Liver Fat and Insulin Sensitivity by Prandial but Not Fasting Glucagon Secretion in Type 2 Diabetes

Glucagon (GCGN) plays a key role in glucose and amino acid (AA) metabolism by increasing hepatic glucose output. AA strongly stimulate GCGN secretion which regulates hepatic AA degradation by ureagenesis. Although increased fasting GCGN levels cause hyperglycemia GCGN has beneficial actions by stimulating hepatic lipolysis and improving insulin sensitivity through alanine induced activation of AMPK. Indeed, stimulating prandial GCGN secretion by isocaloric high protein diets (HPDs) strongly reduces intrahepatic lipids (IHLs) and improves glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, the role of GCGN and circulating AAs in metabolic improvements in 31 patients with T2DM consuming HPD was investigated. Six weeks HPD strongly coordinated GCGN and AA levels with IHL and insulin sensitivity as shown by significant correlations compared to baseline. Reduction of IHL during the intervention by 42% significantly improved insulin sensitivity [homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) or hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps] but not fasting GCGN or AA levels. By contrast, GCGN secretion in mixed meal tolerance tests (MMTTs) decreased depending on IHL reduction together with a selective reduction of GCGN-regulated alanine levels indicating greater GCGN sensitivity. HPD aligned glucose metabolism with GCGN actions. Meal stimulated, but not fasting GCGN, was related to reduced liver fat and improved insulin sensitivity. This supports the concept of GCGN-induced hepatic lipolysis and alanine- and ureagenesis-induced activation of AMPK by HPD

Diurnal distribution of carbohydrates and fat affects substrate oxidation and adipokine secretion in humans.

BACKGROUND: A diet in which fat is mainly eaten in the morning and carbohydrates mainly in the evening (compared with the reverse order) was recently shown to worsen glycemic control in people with prediabetes. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of these dietary patterns on energy metabolism, and on the daily profiles of circulating lipids, adipokines, and inflammatory markers. DESIGN: In a randomized controlled crossover trial, 29 nonobese men (with normal glucose tolerance, n = 18; or impaired fasting glucose/glucose tolerance, n = 11) underwent 2 isocaloric 4-wk diets: 1) carbohydrate-rich meals until 1330 and fat-rich meals between 1630 and 2200 (HC/HF); or 2) the inverse sequence of meals (HF/HC). During a 12-h clinical investigation day after each intervention period, 2 meal tolerance tests were performed, at 0900 and 1540, respectively. Substrate oxidation and concentrations of circulating lipids, adipokines, and cytokines were assessed pre- and postprandially. The postprandial inflammatory response in leukocytes was analyzed ex vivo. RESULTS: Fasting carbohydrate oxidation decreased (P = 0.004) and lipid oxidation increased (P = 0.012) after the HC/HF diet. Fasting concentrations of blood markers did not differ between diets. The diets modulated the daily profiles of carbohydrate oxidation, lipid oxidation, and β-hydroxybutyrate, although the average daily values of these parameters showed no difference between the diets, and no interaction between diet and glucose tolerance status. Diurnal patterns of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, leptin, visfatin, and of LPS-induced cytokine secretion in blood leukocytes were also modulated by the diets. Average daily concentrations of leptin (P = 0.017) and visfatin (P = 0.041) were lower on the HF/HC diet than on the HC/HF diet. CONCLUSIONS: Diurnal distribution of carbohydrates and fat affects the daily profiles of substrate oxidation, circulating lipids, and cytokine secretion, and alters the average daily concentrations of adipokine secretion in nonobese nondiabetic humans. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02487576

Integrating Instructional Technology into Higher Education

This dissertation presents the findings of an in-depth study conducted at two universities in New England. The study focused on how the faculties of the two universities are integrating instructional technology into their teaching practices. The research takes an organization-wide view of the higher education institutions' instructional technology initiatives. The researcher examined instructors' perceptions and attitudes related to the instructional technology as it applies to the learning process. The purpose of this study is to identify the reasons why higher education faculties are not fully embracing instructional technology. The objective of the study is to determine what could be done to encourage faculty to fully integrate instructional technology into their instructional activities in order to promote more efficient and cost effective higher education while also improving educational outcomes. This study investigated higher education faculty attitudes toward instructional technology and technology augmented instruction and content development activities. Research data was derived from academic literature and instructor surveys. Findings suggest that many faculty members view the instructional technology to be difficult to apply to existing instructional methodologies. In addition, existing technology infrastructure appears to be inadequate and unreliable. While technical problems persist, the primary cause of faculty resistance at this time relates to a lack of adequate faculty development and training resources. Results suggest, given the increasing sophistication of instructional technology, institutions should require a higher degree of technological proficiency then most faculty members currently possess. Keywords: instructional technology, Learning Management System, Learning Desig

Perceived Job-Anxiety and General Psychosomatic Symptom Load and Perceived Social Support - Is there a Relationship?

Job-related distress has often been found to be related with low social support at work. The question is whether dimensions of social support outside work have a similar relation with job-anxiety or whether they are independent. A sample of 154 employed inpatients from a psychosomatic rehabilitation center (70% women) participated in this study. Participants completed self-rating questionnaires on perceived symptom load in the domain of work (job-anxiety) and in general life (general psychosomatic symptom load), and on perceived social support at work and outside work. Job-anxiety showed moderate correlations with the perceived level of social support through colleagues. Thereby the social support dimensions of "consolation and encouragement" and "criticism, overload, rejection" were more strongly related to job-anxiety than the dimension of "practical support". There were no significant correlations between job-anxiety and social support through household members, leisure time partners or neighbors. Social support is in a specific way important in the context of work other than concerning general mental health outside the work-context. Job-anxiety is a domain-specific clinical phenomenon and independent from perceived social support outside the workplace

Social Network of psychosomatic Rehabilitation Inpatients

Die Vernetzung der medizinischen Rehabilitation betrifft nicht nur die Zusammenarbeit verschiedener Fachkräfte, sondern verlangt auch eine Berücksichtigung und Kooperation mit dem sozialen Netz, das heißt den Sozialpartnern von Patienten. Patienten mit psychischen Erkrankungen sind häufig nicht nur bezüglich der beruflichen, sondern auch generell der sozialen Teilhabe beeinträchtigt. Rehabilitation hat zum Ziel, die soziale Teilhabe zu fördern. Das soziale Netz hat zudem auch große Bedeutung für die Krankheitsbewältigung und stellt somit einen wichtigen Kontextfaktor gemäß der ICF dar. Zur Beschreibung des sozialen Netzes bei Patienten in psychosomatischer Rehabilitation wurden 230 Patienten mit der Selbstratingform des Multidimensionalen Sozialkontakt-Kreises (MuSK) untersucht, der ermöglicht, die Größe des sozialen Netzes sowie den Grad der emotionalen und praktischen Unterstützung und der sozialen Belastung zu quantifizieren. Der MuSK ermöglicht auf einfache Weise eine differenzierte Erhebung, Beschreibung, Quantifizierung und Beurteilung des sozialen Netzes beim einzelnen Patienten und ist für den Einsatz in der Rehabilitation praktikabel. Zusätzlich wurden Zusammenhänge von Psychopathologie und erlebter sozialer Unterstützung und Belastung in verschiedenen Lebensbereichen untersucht. 40,8% der Befragten gaben an, über „kaum“ praktische soziale Unterstützung zu verfügen, 32,4% erlebten kaum oder gar keine emotionale Unterstützung. Patienten, die stärker unter psychischen Symptomen litten, hatten schlechtere Sozialbeziehungen und gaben geringere Unterstützung an, vor allem am Arbeitsplatz und im Freundeskreis, während der unmittelbare familiäre Bereich weniger beeinträchtigt scheint. Die medizinische und berufliche Rehabilitation darf nicht nur am einzelnen Patienten ansetzen, sondern sollte den Patienten teilhabeorientiert in seinem sozialen Netz über die verschiedenen Lebensbereiche hin behandeln