Participative Budgeting and Participant Motivation: A Review of the Literature

In their discussion - Participative Budgeting and Participant Motivation: A Review of the Literature - by Frederick J. Demicco, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, The Pennsylvania State University and Steven J. Dempsey, Fulton F. Galer, Martin Baker, Graduate Assistants, College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the authors initially observe: “In recent years behavioral literature has stressed the importance of participation In goal-setting by those most directly affected by those goals. The common postulate is that greater participation by employees in the various management functions, especially the planning function, will lead to improved motivation, performance, coordination, and functional behavior. The authors analyze this postulate as it relates to the budgeting process and discuss whether or not participative budgeting has a significant positive impact on the motivations of budget participants.” In defining the concept of budgeting, the authors offer: “Budgeting is usually viewed as encompassing the preparation and adoption of a detailed financial operating plan…” In furthering that statement they also furnish that budgeting’s focus is to influence, in a positive way, how managers plan and coordinate the activities of a property in a way that will enhance their own performance. In essence, framing an organization within its described boundaries, and realizing its established goals. The authors will have you know, to control budget is to control operations. What kind of parallels can be drawn between the technical methods and procedures of budgeting, and managerial behavior? “In an effort to answer this question, Ronen and Livingstone have suggested that a fourth objective of budgeting exists, that of motivation,” say the authors with attribution. “The managerial function of motivation is manipulative in nature.” Demicco, Dempsey, Galer, and Baker attempt to quantify motivation as a psychological premise using the expectancy theory, which encompasses empirical support, intuitive appeal, and ease of application to the budgetary process. They also present you with House\u27s Path-Goal model; essentially a mathematics type formula designed to gauge motivation. You really need to see this. The views of Argyris are also explored in particular detail. Although, the Argyris study was primarily aimed at manufacturing firms, and the effects on line-supervisors of the manufacturing budgets which were used to control and evaluate their performance, its application is relevant to the hospitality industry. As the title suggests, other notables in the field of behavioral motivation theory, and participation are also referenced. “Behavioral theory has been moving away from models of purported general applicability toward contingency models that are suited for particular situations,” say the authors in closing. “It is conceivable that some time in the future, contingency models will make possible the tailoring of budget strategies to individual budget holder personalities.

The influence of wildlife water developments and vegetation on rodent abundance in the Great Basin Desert

Rodent communities have multiple functions including comprising a majority of the mammalian diversity within an ecosystem, providing a significant portion of the available biomass consumed by predators, and contributing to ecosystem services. Despite the importance of rodent communities, few investigations have explored the effects of increasing anthropogenic modifications to the landscape on rodents. Throughout the western United States, the construction of artificial water developments to benefit game species is commonplace. While benefits for certain species have been documented, several researchers recently hypothesized that these developments may cause unintentional negative effects to desert-adapted species and communities. To test this idea, we sampled rodents near to and distant from wildlife water developments over 4 consecutive summers. We employed an asymmetrical before-after-control-impact (BACI) design with sampling over 4 summers to determine if water developments influenced total rodent abundance. We performed an additional exploratory analysis to determine if factors other than free water influenced rodent abundance. We found no evidence that water developments impacted rodent abundance. Rodent abundance was primarily driven by vegetation type and year of sampling. Our findings suggested that water developments on our study area do not represent a significant disturbance to rodent abundance and that rodent abundance was influenced by the vegetative community and temporal factors linked to precipitation and primary plant production. Our findings represent one of the 1st efforts to determine the effects of an anthropogenic activity on the rodent community utilizing a manipulation design

Hopewell Newsletter- June 2010

1. Small Scale Geoarchaeological Investigations of Earthen Wall Construction at the Hopeton Earthworks (33RO 26) Several geoarchaeological and geophysical investigations have been conducted at the Hopeton Earthworks (33RO26) and met with good success (Figure 1). As such, soil cores excavated in the summer of 2007 were studied using a two-pronged methodology of soil profile characterization and magnetic susceptibility testing. These techniques were employed to closely examine three sections of earthen wall at different locations at Hopeton as a means of understanding the soil composition of the walls and assessing possible uniformity in wall construction across the site. The following focuses solely on the geoarchaeological study of the selected locations. 2. The Role of Geophysics at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is best known for its earthwork complexes built by the Hopewell during the Middle Woodland period. The park was originally established in 1923 to preserve the Mound City site after its use as a World War I training camp. In the past two decades, the park has added four additional earthworks—Hopeton Earthworks, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, and High Bank Works—and recently had its boundaries increased to include Spruce Hill. The recent growth in land located within the park has provided opportunities for archaeological research, most of which used some sort of geophysical technique. 3. Recent Investigations at the Mound City Group Ohio Hopewell earthworks have been studied extensively, both in historic and in modern times. Mound excavations during historic and modern times have revealed much about the construction and use of mound space. More recent research at Hopewell sites in Ohio has focused on non-mound areas both within and adjacent to the earthworks. This article focuses on current research conducted outside of the enclosure at the Mound City Group. 4. Clues to the Relationship of the Riverbank Site (33RO1059) to other Ohio Hopewell Sites Through Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis on Pottery Excavations were conducted at the Riverbank Site (33RO1059), located by the Hopewell Site (33RO27), in 2004 and 2006 to gather data from the site before it is eroded away by the Paint Creek and to improve understanding of the role of small sites located near large Hopewell earthworks. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was conducted on pottery from the Riverbank Site to help clarify its relationship with other nearby sites. Fifteen sherds from the site were sent to the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) for INAA, and the results were compared to the larger database of Hopewell ceramics. Based on the results, which show that the fifteen sherds formed a unique trace element compositional group, the site likely represents a shortterm occupation, possibly for a pilgrimage to the Hopewell Site, and the ceramics were likely either locally constructed for use at the site or constructed elsewhere to carry items on the way to Hopewell. 5. Feature Finds from the Riverbank Site, 33RO1059 Located just south and east of the Hopewell site’s Square Enclosure by about 225 meters is the Riverbank site, 33RO1059, which represents multiple occupations spanning the Archaic through historic periods, and includes a significant Middle Woodland component. Particularly noteworthy are two impressive pit features that were encountered in 2006 during a data recovery project undertaken by the Midwest Archeological Center. These pits, Features 7 and 8, would have been contemporaneous with Hopewell activities at the nearby earthwork complex, and the material culture recovered from them provides an intriguing glimpse of activities outside of the earthwork walls. 6. The Initial Phase of the Magnetic Investigations of the Mound City Group (32RO 32) at the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Ross County, Ohio The Mound City Group (Site 32RO32) covers approximately 13 acres. It contained at least 23 mounds when Squier and Davis made the first study of the mound complex in 1846. In the summer of 2009, the Midwest Archeological Center conducted the initial phase of a magnetic survey of the entire site. The magnetic survey in the southern portion of the site covered 11,200 m2 or 2.77 acres. The magnetic data indicated the presence of numerous magnetic anomalies associated with the Hopewell occupation and with the World War I training facility of Camp Sherman

High-Resolution Habitat and Bathymetry Maps for 65,000 sq. km of Earth’s Remotest Coral Reefs

With compelling evidence that half the world’s coral reefs have been lost over the last four decades, there is urgent motivation to understand where reefs are located and their health. Without such basic baseline information, it is challenging to mount a response to the reef crisis on the global scale at which it is occurring. To combat this lack of baseline data, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation embarked on a 10-yr survey of a broad selection of Earth’s remotest reef sites—the Global Reef Expedition. This paper focuses on one output of this expedition, which is meter-resolution seafloor habitat and bathymetry maps developed from DigitalGlobe satellite imagery and calibrated by field observations. Distributed on an equatorial transect across 11 countries, these maps cover 65,000 sq. km of shallow-water reef-dominated habitat. The study represents an order of magnitude greater area than has been mapped previously at high resolution. We present a workflow demonstrating that DigitalGlobe imagery can be processed to useful products for reef conservation at regional to global scale. We further emphasize that the performance of our mapping workflow does not deteriorate with increasing size of the site mapped. Whereas our workflow can produce regional-scale benthic habitat maps for the morphologically diverse reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the more depauperate reefs of the Atlantic, accuracies are substantially higher for the former than the latter. It is our hope that the map products delivered to the community by the Living Oceans Foundation will be utilized for conservation and act to catalyze new initiatives to chart the status of coral reefs globally

Clinical reappraisal of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Screening Scales (CIDI‐SC) in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS)

A clinical reappraisal study was carried out in conjunction with the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) All‐Army Study (AAS) to evaluate concordance of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM‐IV) diagnoses based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Screening Scales (CIDI‐SC) and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist (PCL) with diagnoses based on independent clinical reappraisal interviews (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV [SCID]). Diagnoses included: lifetime mania/hypomania, panic disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder; six‐month adult attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and 30‐day major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and substance (alcohol or drug) use disorder (abuse or dependence). The sample ( n  = 460) was weighted for over‐sampling CIDI‐SC/PCL screened positives. Diagnostic thresholds were set to equalize false positives and false negatives. Good individual‐level concordance was found between CIDI‐SC/PCL and SCID diagnoses at these thresholds (area under curve [AUC] = 0.69–0.79). AUC was considerably higher for continuous than dichotomous screening scale scores (AUC = 0.80–0.90), arguing for substantive analyses using not only dichotomous case designations but also continuous measures of predicted probabilities of clinical diagnoses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102145/1/mpr1398.pd

Device-measured physical activity, adiposity and mortality: a harmonised meta-analysis of eight prospective cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: The joint associations of total and intensity-specific physical activity with obesity in relation to all-cause mortality risk are unclear. METHODS: We included 34 492 adults (72% women, median age 62.1 years, 2034 deaths during follow-up) in a harmonised meta-analysis of eight population-based prospective cohort studies with mean follow-up ranging from 6.0 to 14.5 years. Standard body mass index categories were cross-classified with sample tertiles of device-measured total, light-to-vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time. In five cohorts with waist circumference available, high and low waist circumference was combined with tertiles of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. RESULTS: There was an inverse dose-response relationship between higher levels of total and intensity-specific physical activity and mortality risk in those who were normal weight and overweight. In individuals with obesity, the inverse dose-response relationship was only observed for total physical activity. Similarly, lower levels of sedentary time were associated with lower mortality risk in normal weight and overweight individuals but there was no association between sedentary time and risk of mortality in those who were obese. Compared with the obese-low total physical activity reference, the HRs were 0.59 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.79) for normal weight-high total activity and 0.67 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.94) for obese-high total activity. In contrast, normal weight-low total physical activity was associated with a higher risk of mortality compared with the obese-low total physical activity reference (1.28; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.67). CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower risk of mortality irrespective of weight status. Compared with obesity-low physical activity, there was no survival benefit of being normal weight if physical activity levels were low

Genomewide association studies of suicide attempts in US soldiers

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139960/1/ajmgb32594.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139960/2/ajmgb32594_am.pd

Complete Genome Sequence of Francisella tularensis Subspecies holarctica FTNF002-00

Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica FTNF002-00 strain was originally obtained from the first known clinical case of bacteremic F. tularensis pneumonia in Southern Europe isolated from an immunocompetent individual. The FTNF002-00 complete genome contains the RD23 deletion and represents a type strain for a clonal population from the first epidemic tularemia outbreak in Spain between 1997–1998. Here, we present the complete sequence analysis of the FTNF002-00 genome. The complete genome sequence of FTNF002-00 revealed several large as well as small genomic differences with respect to two other published complete genome sequences of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica strains, LVS and OSU18. The FTNF002-00 genome shares >99.9% sequence similarity with LVS and OSU18, and is also ∼5 MB smaller by comparison. The overall organization of the FTNF002-00 genome is remarkably identical to those of LVS and OSU18, except for a single 3.9 kb inversion in FTNF002-00. Twelve regions of difference ranging from 0.1–1.5 kb and forty-two small insertions and deletions were identified in a comparative analysis of FTNF002-00, LVS, and OSU18 genomes. Two small deletions appear to inactivate two genes in FTNF002-00 causing them to become pseudogenes; the intact genes encode a protein of unknown function and a drug:H+ antiporter. In addition, we identified ninety-nine proteins in FTNF002-00 containing amino acid mutations compared to LVS and OSU18. Several non-conserved amino acid replacements were identified, one of which occurs in the virulence-associated intracellular growth locus subunit D protein. Many of these changes in FTNF002-00 are likely the consequence of direct selection that increases the fitness of this subsp. holarctica clone within its endemic population. Our complete genome sequence analyses lay the foundation for experimental testing of these possibilities

Device-measured physical activity, adiposity and mortality: a harmonised meta-analysis of eight prospective cohort studies

Background: The joint associations of total and intensity-specific physical activity with obesity in relation to all-cause mortality risk are unclear. Methods: We included 34 492 adults (72% women, median age 62.1 years, 2034 deaths during follow-up) in a harmonised meta-analysis of eight population-based prospective cohort studies with mean follow-up ranging from 6.0 to 14.5 years. Standard body mass index categories were cross-classified with sample tertiles of device-measured total, light-to-vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time. In five cohorts with waist circumference available, high and low waist circumference was combined with tertiles of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results: There was an inverse dose–response relationship between higher levels of total and intensity-specific physical activity and mortality risk in those who were normal weight and overweight. In individuals with obesity, the inverse dose–response relationship was only observed for total physical activity. Similarly, lower levels of sedentary time were associated with lower mortality risk in normal weight and overweight individuals but there was no association between sedentary time and risk of mortality in those who were obese. Compared with the obese-low total physical activity reference, the HRs were 0.59 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.79) for normal weight-high total activity and 0.67 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.94) for obese-high total activity. In contrast, normal weight-low total physical activity was associated with a higher risk of mortality compared with the obese-low total physical activity reference (1.28; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.67). Conclusions: Higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower risk of mortality irrespective of weight status. Compared with obesity-low physical activity, there was no survival benefit of being normal weight if physical activity levels were low.publishedVersio

Being Tamil, being Hindu:Tamil migrants’ negotiations of the absence of Tamil Hindu spaces in the West Midlands and South West of England

This paper considers the religious practices of Tamil Hindus who have settled in the West Midlands and South West of England in order to explore how devotees of a specific ethno-regional Hindu tradition with a well-established UK infrastructure in the site of its adherents’ population density adapt their religious practices in settlement areas which lack this infrastructure. Unlike the majority of the UK Tamil population who live in the London area, the participants in this study did not have ready access to an ethno-religious infrastructure of Tamil-orientated temples and public rituals. The paper examines two means by which this absence was addressed as well as the intersections and negotiations of religion and ethnicity these entailed: firstly, Tamil Hindus’ attendance of temples in their local area which are orientated towards a broadly imagined Hindu constituency or which cater to a non-Tamil ethno-linguistic or sectarian community; and, secondly, through the ‘DIY’ performance of ethnicised Hindu ritual in non-institutional settings