256 research outputs found
National Culture, Education, and Antecedent Values of Corporate Social Responsibility
This study investigated the relationship national culture has on two antecedent values of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) operationalized as concern for the environment and trust in social institutions. Random samples from World Value Surveys (WVS) for the two countries Sweden and Taiwan were utilized. Results showed antecedent values of CSR to be different for the two countries that are at opposite ends of Hofstede’s (2001) cultural value dimensions. Results also demonstrated education to have significant influences on antecedent values of CSR for the Taiwanese sample but not for the Swedish sample. Implications and direction for future research are discussed
The Impact Of Consumer Attitudes About Bioengineering On Purchase Behavior Intentions: Moderating Effects Of Innate Consumer Innovativeness And Anxiety
Biotechnology is anticipated to be the next generation of innovations and is predicted to surpass the IT revolution in terms of economic prosperity (Darby and Zucher, 2003). But available behavioral and social research relating to biotechnology is at its infant stage. Most studies are qualitative in nature (i.e., focus groups) and are limited to public policy issues such as awareness, knowledge, and perception of risks (Bredahl, 1999; Frewer et al., 1997; Frewer, Howard, and Shepherd, 1997). According to Bredahl, 2001, few research projects have yet to determine how consumer attitudes can be expected to influence subsequent purchase behavior intentions with genetically modified products. As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to approve more and more inventions of biotechnology (i.e., foods such as genetically engineered potatoes and rice; industrial plastic from genetically modified organisms; and life saving pharmaceuticals for diseases such as cancer, HIV, and Alzheimer’s) there is a need for research that investigates how consumer attitudes about genetically modified products influence their purchase intentions and subsequent purchase behavior. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate how consumer attitudes about bioengineering influence their purchase behavior intentions. Second, the influence of two personal variables innate consumer innovativeness and general anxiety about bioengineering as they relate to purchase behavior intentions will be investigated. Finally, the study also makes an attempt to determine if the relationship between attitude and behavior intentions is moderated by the two personal variables innate consumer innovativeness and general anxiety about bioengineering. Personal variables such as these can reasonably be expected to have a differential impact on the relationship between attitude about bioengineering and purchase behavior intentions. That is, the strength of the relationship between attitude and purchase behavior intentions is likely to be stronger for consumers that are innovative and less anxious about bioengineering than others. The study results have implications for both researchers and promoters of bioengineering. For researchers, it should be noted that an extensive literature search was unable to find any empirical research to date that have investigated the moderating effects on the relationship between attitude about bioengineering and purchase behavior intentions. For practitioners, the study will aid biotechnology firms in their efforts in building a more positive attitude about biotechnology in general and to identify the profile of consumers that are more likely to purchase and use products of this technology
Angular reconstruction of high energy air showers using the radio signal spectrum
The Hellenic Open University extensive air shower array (also known as
Astroneu array) is a small scale hybrid detection system operating in an area
with high levels of electromagnetic noise from anthropogenic activity. In the
present study we report the latest results of the data analysis concerning the
estimation of the shower direction using the spectrum of the RF system. In a
recent layout of the array, 4 RF antennas were operating receiving a common
trigger from an autonomous detection station of 3 particle detectors. The
directions estimated with the RF system are in very good agreement with the
corresponding estimations using the particle detectors demonstrating that a
single antenna has the potential for reconstructing the shower axis angular
direction
Identification and differential expression dynamics of peach small GTPases encoding genes during fruit development and ripening
The function of monomeric GTPases of the RAS superfamily in fruit development and ripening has been partially characterized. Here the identification of peach (Prunus persica) small GTPases of the RAS superfamily expressed in fruit and the characterization of their expression profiles during fruit development are described. Extensive searches on expressed sequence tag (EST) databases led to the selection of a total of 24 genes from peach encoding proteins with significant similarity to Arabidopsis small GTPases. Sequence similarity analyses and identification of conserved motifs, diagnostic of specific RAS families and subfamilies, enabled bona fide assignment of fourteen PpRAB, seven PpARF/ARL/SAR, two PpROP and one PpRAN GTPases. Transcriptional expression profiles of peach monomeric GTPases, analysed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, were obtained for mesocarp samples, collected in two consecutive years. Reproducible patterns of expression could be identified for five peach RAB-encoding genes (PpRABA1-1, PpRABA2, PpRABD2-1, PpRABD2-2, and PpRABC2), two ARFs (PpARFA1-1 and PpARLB1), and two ROPs (PpROP3 and PpROP4). Interestingly, the transient transcriptional up-regulation of PpARF genes and of PpRAB genes of the A and D clades, putatively controlling the exocytic delivery of cell wall components and modifying enzymes, appeared to coincide with peaks of growth speed and sugar accumulation and with the final phases of ripening. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the co-ordinated differential expression of a set of genes encoding small GTPases of the ARF and RAB families which takes place during key moments of fruit development and maturation
Entanglement Entropy from a Holographic Viewpoint
The entanglement entropy has been historically studied by many authors in
order to obtain quantum mechanical interpretations of the gravitational
entropy. The discovery of AdS/CFT correspondence leads to the idea of
holographic entanglement entropy, which is a clear solution to this important
problem in gravity. In this article, we would like to give a quick survey of
recent progresses on the holographic entanglement entropy. We focus on its
gravitational aspects, so that it is comprehensible to those who are familiar
with general relativity and basics of quantum field theory.Comment: Latex, 30 pages, invited review for Classical and Quantum Gravity,
minor correction
A primary electron beam facility at CERN -- eSPS Conceptual design report
The design of a primary electron beam facility at CERN is described. The
study has been carried out within the framework of the wider Physics Beyond
Colliders study. It re-enables the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) as an
electron accelerator, and leverages the development invested in Compact Linear
Collider (CLIC) technology for its injector and as an accelerator research and
development infrastructure. The facility would be relevant for several of the
key priorities in the 2020 update of the European Strategy for Particle
Physics, such as an electron-positron Higgs factory, accelerator R\&D, dark
sector physics, and neutrino physics. In addition, it could serve experiments
in nuclear physics. The electron beam delivered by this facility would provide
access to light dark matter production significantly beyond the targets
predicted by a thermal dark matter origin, and for natures of dark matter
particles that are not accessible by direct detection experiments. It would
also enable electro-nuclear measurements crucial for precise modelling the
energy dependence of neutrino-nucleus interactions, which is needed to
precisely measure neutrino oscillations as a function of energy. The
implementation of the facility is the natural next step in the development of
X-band high-gradient acceleration technology, a key technology for compact and
cost-effective electron/positron linacs. It would also become the only facility
with multi-GeV drive bunches and truly independent electron witness bunches for
plasma wakefield acceleration. A second phase capable to deliver positron
witness bunches would make it a complete facility for plasma wakefield collider
studies. [...
Understanding the Interplay Among Regulatory Self-Efficacy, Moral Disengagement, and Academic Cheating Behaviour During Vocational Education: A Three-Wave Study
The literature has suggested that to understand the diffusion of unethical conduct in the workplace, it is important to investigate the underlying processes sustaining engagement in misbehaviour and to study what occurs during vocational education. Drawing on social-cognitive theory, in this study, we longitudinally examined the role of two opposite dimensions of the self-regulatory moral system, regulatory self-efficacy and moral disengagement, in influencing academic cheating behaviour. In addition, in line with the theories highlighting the bidirectional relationship between cognitive processes and behaviour, we aimed to also examine the reciprocal influence of behaviour on these dimensions over time. Overall, no previous studies have examined the longitudinal interplay between these variables. The sample included 866 (62.8% female) nursing students who were assessed three times annually from the beginning of their vocational education. The findings from a cross-lagged model confirmed that regulatory self-efficacy and moral disengagement have opposite influences on cheating behaviour, that regulatory self-efficacy negatively influences not only the engagement in misconduct but also the justification mechanisms that allow the divorce between moral standards and action, and that moral disengagement and cheating behaviour reciprocally support each other over time. Specifically, not only did moral disengagement influence cheating behaviour even when controlling for its prior levels, but also cheating behaviour affected moral disengagement one year later, controlling for its prior levels. These findings suggest that recourse to wrongdoing could gradually lead to further normalising this kind of behaviour and morally desensitising individuals to misconduct
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