Factors Affecting Social Attainment Among Individuals: Evidence from the National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988-2000

This study draws from extant literature on social attainment to examine what factors affect the attaining of higher incomes, education, and occupational ranks. Research on five distinct factors is examined and analyzed using a sample of about 6,000 students from a national longitudinal study across the United States between 1988-2000 as they transitioned from eight grade through high school and into the labor force: (1) background characteristics: household type, race, and gender, (2) social capital, (3) cultural capital, (4) academic ability, and (5) parental social class. The results revealed that these factors affect social attainment. I also examined if parental socio-economic status interacts with other factors. The results of the study showed that the gap between rich and poor has grown over the last 30 years. The rich are getting further ahead in the race for social attainment

Hitting the ‘reset button’: The role of digital reorientation in successful turnarounds

Seismic shifts in industries brought about by radical technological innovations usually lead to a misalignment between the capabilities of many incumbent firms and the requisites of their new environment, and eventually, organizational decline. The current turnaround literature, while emphasizing operating and strategic responses to organizational decline that focus on efficiency and fine tuning product/market strategy respectively, ignores such organizational decline that requires fundamental reengineering of the whole firm and its value chain. This paper introduces the concept of digital reorientation as a long term turnaround strategy to respond to situations in which a firm’s environment has been fundamentally restructured. Digital reorientation is a technology-enabled, simultaneous and multilevel change that transforms the organization’s core architecture and the way it serves its customers. We develop a framework to understand this turnaround strategy relative to traditional operational and strategic options and formulate propositions on internal and external contingencies that will likely influence the effectiveness of its implementation. Finally, using the newspaper publishing industry as an example of an environment that has undergone such disruptive change driven by digital technological innovations, we examine how the use of digital reorientation could help declining firms in that industry successfully turnaround their performance

Estimation of genetic parameters for preweaning and postweaning growth traits in the Gudali beef cattle using multiple trait derivative free restricted maximum likelihood

Records on pedigree information and growth traits of Gudali beef calves were obtained from the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Cameroon. Data were edited to have complete information on calf, sire and dam identity, sex, dates and season of birth, herd and weights at birth (BWT), 6 months (6 MWT), weaning (WWT), 12 months (12 MWT), yearling (YWT), 18 months (18 MWT), 24 months (24 MWT) and 36 months (36 MWT). Genetic parameters were estimated using multiple trait derivative free restricted maximum likelihood (MTDFRML) program. The estimated direct (h2a) and maternal (h2m) heritabilities for BWT, 6 MWT, WWT, YWT, 18 MWT, 24 MWT and 36 MWT obtained were 0.39, 0.10, 0.25, 0.21, 0.18, 0.25, 0.18 and 0.05, 0.07, 0.11, 0.10, 0.05, 0.09, 0.07, respectively. Estimates of maternal genetic variance and corresponding heritabilities (h2m) were lower than estimates for direct additive variance and heritability (h2a). The genetic correlation between direct and maternal influence were negative. The across-trait direct and maternal genetic correlation estimates were medium to high with the exception of BWT and 18 MWT; BWT and 36 MWT, had negative values. The positive values reported for the additive and maternal correlations between the growth parameters indicate that selection for one trait resulted in genetic improvement in the other. The moderate values of heritabilities indicate that selection for growth traits was effective.Key words: Covariance, heritability, genetic correlation, growth traits

Performance Implications of Customer Relationship Management Strategy and Market orientation organizational Capabilities

Customer relationship management can be a costly solution to implement and many of these initiatives fail to deliver their intended results. Several reasons may exist that explain why such programs fail, and this study attempts to explain CRM in terms of its use as a company strategy that when combined with the market orientation of a firm, can lead to improved company performance. By using contingency theory to develop that a match between culture and strategy allows a firm to better perform, an attempt will be made to establish a relationship between CRM strategy implementation and market orientation. A methodology whereby U. S. banks where surveyed is described and the results of the hypothesis test reported. Finally, implications and conclusions are provided

Is laparoscopic surgery the answer to generalised purulent peritonitis from complicated appendicitis?

Aim To compare the different outcomes in a single institution between patients with generalised purulent peritonitis from complicated appendicitis diagnosed intraoperatively which were managed laparoscopically to those managed via the open approach. Methods Data was collected from all cases admitted at Sebokeng Hospital over the past two years (2008 & 2009) with an intraoperative diagnosis of generalised purulent peritonitis from complicated appendicitis. Cases which were managed laparoscopically or by the open approach were analysed. The parameters analysed were the demographic findings, the theater duration, complications, and days to the commencement of full ward diet, and length of hospital stay. Results During the study period, a total of 120 cases of appendicectomies with generalised purulent peritonitis were performed. Of these, 58 cases underwent open appendicectomy (OA) and 62 cases had laparoscopic appendicectomy (LA). Both groups were comparable in the demographics and preoperative findings. The theater duration was significantly higher in the LA group (115.8 minutes for LA compared to 86.7 minutes for OA. The rate of intraabdominal sepsis was also higher in the LA group (12.9% for LA and 8.6% for OA). Both groups showed no statistical significant difference between the wound sepsis or port site sepsis rate, the days to commencement of full ward diet and length of hospital stay. More time was spent in ICU/HCU in the OA group an average of 3.7 days as opposed to 2 days in the LA group. However age, the duration of symptoms, the clinical presentation and the white blood cell count (WBC) were influencing factors to the outcome of the OA group. Conclusion Generalised purulent peritonitis from complicated appendicitis can be managed successfully laparoscopically. Both approaches are feasible, safe and have comparable outcomes. Where facilities are adequately skilled and resourced, the laparoscopic approach should be considered the procedure of choice for complicated purulent appendicitis because it is less influenced by preoperative findings and shows a trend towards less postoperative complications

Top Management Team Tenure Diversity and Performance: The Moderating Role of Behavioral Integration

Integrating insights from organizational information processing theory and social categorization theory, we examine how top management team (TMT) tenure diversity affects team performance. We propose a theoretical framework that examines how these two conflicting processes occur simultaneously within diverse TMTs by arguing that TMT tenure variety influences information processing while TMT tenure separation influences the social categorization process. We argue for the presence of nonlinear relationships between tenure variety, tenure separation, and team performance. Furthermore, we propose that these relationships are moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Based on a sample of 357 senior managers from 126 firms in China, we find that both TMT tenure variety and TMT tenure separation have opposing and nonlinear relationships with TMT performance, and the relationship between TMT tenure separation and TMT performance is moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Our results help clarify the conflicting conclusions of previous TMT tenure diversity research. Our findings suggest that the effect of diversity depends on the type of diversity as they affect different processes. Our findings also explain how the opposing effects of both information processing and social categorization can occur simultaneously in the TMT. Furthermore, the effects of both processes are not linear while the level of diversity variety and diversity separation can affect the marginal effects. Finally, TMT behavioral integration processes affect how tenure diversity plays its role in team performance

Is there a “Dark Side” to Monitoring? Board and Shareholder Monitoring Effects on M&A Performance Extremeness

Research summary: We investigate the effects of monitoring by boards of directors and institutional shareholders on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance extremeness using a sample of M&A deals from 1997 to 2006. Both governance research and legal reforms generally have espoused a “raise all boats” view of monitoring. We instead investigate whether monitoring may serve as a double-edged sword that limits CEO discretion to undertake both value-destroying M&A deals and value-creating ones. Our findings indicate that the relationship between monitoring and M&A performance is more complex than previously believed. Rather than “raising all boats” in a shift towards better M&A outcomes, monitoring instead is associated with lower M&A losses, but also with lower M&A gains

Trade of fish imported from Sub-Saharan Africa in the Cape Town Business district

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (LAS) (Land and Agrarian Studies)Fish remains a vital source of food, income, nutrition and livelihoods for millions of people in Africa. This study investigated the modalities of trading in fish imported from sub-Saharan Africa into South Africa in the Cape Town Metropolitan area. The research analyses the opportunities and constraints faced by retail fish traders and importers regarding the South African and Southern African Development Community (SADC) policies that are in place, to ascertain how far the policies go in facilitating the intra-regional fish trade. In addition, the study analyses consumer factors underlying the attractiveness of imported fish, the channels used for importation as well as the types and forms of fish imported into South Africa. The study employs a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with purposively selected key informant retailers, traders and City of Cape Town officials to collect the information. Findings show that shop owners and traders face challenges in relation to obtaining the required documents for trading, sanitary and phytosanitary certification and tariff and non-tariff barriers at borders. Some of these challenges include long and tedious procedures to acquire documents, as well as the limitations placed on the amount of goods traders can import. Consumers (mostly from the diaspora) prefer the taste of fish that they are used to, thereby creating an increasing demand for imported fish. National and regional policies put in place do not facilitate the trade in fish as well as current municipal regulations for retailing imported fish and other food types. The study also raises critical questions about the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary standards by officials in the food shops. The thesis concludes that is it critical for national and regional policies to be coordinated and harmonised for enhanced intra-regional fish trade, which could contribute towards increased food security, nutrition and livelihoods

A heuristic approach and heretic view on the technical issues and pitfalls in the management of penetrating abdominal injuries

There is a general decline in penetrating abdominal trauma throughout the western world. As a result of that, there is a significant loss of expertise in dealing with this type of injury particularly when the patient presents to theatre with physiological instability. A significant percentage of these patients will not be operated by a trauma surgeon but, by the "occasional trauma surgeon", who is usually trained as a general surgeon. Most general surgeons have a general knowledge of operating penetrating trauma, knowledge originating from their training years and possibly enhanced by reading operative surgery textbooks. Unfortunately, the details included in most of these books are not extensive enough to provide them with enough armamentaria to tackle the difficult case. In this scenario, their operative dexterity and knowledge cannot be compared to that of their trauma surgeon colleagues, something that is taken for granted in the trauma textbooks. Techniques that are considered basic and easy by the trauma surgeons can be unfamiliar and difficult to general surgeons

Carcass and organ characteristics of finishing broilers fed diets containing probiotics (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

A five-week study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding varying levels of S. cerevisiae on carcass and organ characteristics of finishing broilers. One hundred and twenty 4-weeks old broilers of cobb strain were randomly assigned to four treatments (T1 = 0.6 g Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) kg–1 diet; T2 = 0.8 g SC kg–1 diet; T3 = 1.0 g SC kg–1 diet and T4 = 0.0 g SC kg–1 diet) with 30 birds per treatment and replicated twice with 15 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. Feed and water were provided ad libitum to the birds in a deep litter system. In the end, data on growth, carcass and organ indices generated from the study were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) among the treatments in the birds’ growth performance indices. However, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the birds’ values for liver weight, heart weight, shank length and thigh length with birds in T3 recording highest values of 61.30 g, 16.93 g and 12.00 cm for liver weight, heart weight and thigh length, respectively. It was thus concluded that finishing broilers fed 1.0 g of S. cerevisiae had superior carcass and organ characteristics than birds on the control and lower levels of inclusion