Does ISO 9000 certification benefit service firms?

This paper examines whether ISO 9000 certification benefits service firms in terms of their financial performance and promotes sustainable improvement. We argue that in a developing country setting such as China, the massive benefits brought by the signalling effect of the certification can discourage firms' motivation to fully implement the standard of certification and lead to the decline of investment on productivity-improving activities. In other words, the certification may have negative effects on the productivity of certified firms. We investigate 89,024 firms in Chinese service industries to assess the impacts of the certification on sales, productivity and profitability of these firms. To address the potential selection bias of ISO 9000 certification, the Propensity Score Matching method and Coarsened Exact Matching method were used. Our key findings are that the ISO 9000 certification does help to increase the total amount of sales, but it decreases the productivity and profitability of these certified service firms. We also find that earlier certifiers seem to gain larger advantage in sales but more reduction in productivity, and firms with higher level of technology intensity seem to obtain a larger increase in sales and less productivity loss after receiving their ISO 9000 certification

Validity of job satisfaction survey scale in Chinese

The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the scale of Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), and its divergent and convergent validity in Chinese population. Data were collected with JSS from 1073 urban employees in Liaoning. Four alternative models were tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The first two models are models validated in the US, while the third and fourth models are composed of five commonly used dimensions of job satisfaction taken from JSS. The research found a poor model fit for the first two models, suggesting a possible national difference between China and the US. However, model three and model four displayed a good model fit, suggesting that the five dimensions in JSS (satisfaction with nature of work, with supervision, with co-worker, with promotion, and with pay) are five distinct dimensions. The correlations between these five facet job satisfaction and PA and NA demonstrated convergent and divergent validity of the scales for these five dimensions of job satisfaction

The role of positive and negative affectivity on job satisfaction and life satisfaction

This study examines the relationship between positive affectivity, negative affectivity, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction using a sample of 558 urban employees from Dalian. Positive and negative affectivity were measured with Watson\u27s PANAS scale, job satisfaction was measured with Spector\u27s JSS scale, and life satisfaction was measured with the International Wellbeing Group\u27s PWI scale. All the scales are well established multi-item scales that have been validated both in English speaking populations and in China. The statistical analysis found that affectivity is a source of both job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction, supporting the spillover theory. Job satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between affectivity and life satisfaction. The practical implications for managers is that because of the dispositional source of job and life satisfaction, managers need to put more emphasis on improving job satisfaction and subjective quality of life by improving the workplace environment. ©2009 IEEE

Novel link between E2F1 and Smac/DIABLO: proapoptotic Smac/DIABLO is transcriptionally upregulated by E2F1

Deregulated expression of E2F1 not only promotes S-phase entry but also induces apoptosis. Although it has been well documented that E2F1 is able to induce p53-dependent apoptosis via raising ARF activity, the mechanism by which E2F induces p53-independent apoptosis remains unclear. Here we report that E2F1 can directly bind to and activate the promoter of Smac/DIABLO, a mitochondrial proapoptotic gene, through the E2F1-binding sites BS2 (−542 ∼ −535 bp) and BS3 (−200 ∼ −193 bp). BS2 and BS3 appear to be utilized in combination rather than singly by E2F1 in activation of Smac/DIABLO. Activation of BS2 and BS3 are E2F1-specific, since neither E2F2 nor E2F3 is able to activate BS2 or BS3. Using the H1299 ER-E2F1 cell line where E2F1 activity can be conditionally induced, E2F1 has been shown to upregulate the Smac/DIABLO expression at both mRNA and protein levels upon 4-hydroxytamoxifen treatment, resulting in an enhanced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Reversely, reducing the Smac/DIABLO expression by RNA interference significantly diminishes apoptosis induced by E2F1. These results may suggest a novel mechanism by which E2F1 promotes p53-independent apoptosis through directly regulating its downstream mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factors, such as Smac/DIABLO

Design of antipodal Vivaldi antenna with better performances for ultra wideband applications

Abstract. Two different antipodal Vivaldi antennas design with better performances are proposed. The one is a small antipodal Vivaldi antenna for a 4.1-20 GHz frequency range, and its dimension is only 34 × 50 mm 2 . Another proposed high gain antenna can achieve the maximum gain of 15.2 dBi within its operating band. Measured results of the manufactured antipodal Vivaldi antennas are in good agreement with the simulated ones. Besides the |S11|, far field radiation pattern, current distribution, phase, gain, and group delay which are important parameters of impulse distortion in ultra-wide band antenna are well analyzed. All results show that the proposed antipodal Vivaldi antennas have better performances and they are well suited for ultra-wide band communications

Subjective well-being, personality and environmental satisfaction in Urban China

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction, and Big Five personality traits on subjective well-being. Data were collected from white-collar workers across four Chinese cities in 2009. All the research variables were measured with multi-item instruments with good psychometric properties. The research found that environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction, conscientiousness and extraversion have a positive effect on subjective well-being. In addition, individuals married, managers and working in state sector were found to be happier in their lives than individuals who are single, in non-managerial position and in private sector. However, the research found no relationship between neuroticism, agreeableness and subjective well-being. The finding of a positive relationship between environmental satisfaction and subjective well-being suggests that by pursuing a balance between economic development and environmental protection, urban residents' SWB could be enhanced

Experimental study on mechanical properties of filling-bulk ce-menting combination body

In order to study the influence of caved rocks in the goaf on the backfilling body in the backfilling mining, uniaxial compression test are carried out on the backfilling body-cemented granular body combination with different granular heights, discrete element lithology and backfilling body strength. The uniaxial compression failure of the combination body specimen is monitored in real time by using the three-dimensional acoustic emission positioning technology. The deformation and failure corresponding to the AE events in the loading process is characterized by combining the time parameters of AE events with the starting time points of the four stages of the stress-strain curve. Based on this, the failure model for the interface of the combination body is established. The results show that the height of granular is negatively correlated with the strength of the combination body, and the uniaxial compressive strength of the combination body with the backfilling height ratio of 1:4 is only 55.0 % of that of the single backfilling body. The discrete element lithology and the strength of backfilling body are positively correlated with the strength of the combination body. Although high-strength backfilling body can improve the uniaxial compressive strength of the combination body, the higher the strength of filling body in the combination body, the more serious the strength reduction of the combination body. When the particle lithology in cemented bulk is siltstone with low strength, the uniaxial compressive strength of the combination body is only 42.9% of that of single combination body. The siltstone with smaller compressive strength will have a fracture plane due to shear failure during the failure, and the limestone with larger compressive strength can withstand shear load by using the shear strength of the granular particles. When the cementing matrix in the cemented granular fails or the particles in the cemented granular are broken, the interface of the backfilling body and the cemented granular undergoes non-uniform compression deformation, resulting in the stress concentration on the backfilling body on the interface damaged by the cemented granular, resulting in the shear failure of the upper backfilling body locally, and the failure of backfilling body is the contribution of both axial stress and non-uniform deformation of the interface

Banna Virus, China, 1987–2007

Banna viruses (BAVs) have been isolated from pigs, cattle, ticks, mosquitoes, and human encephalitis patients. We isolated and analyzed 20 BAVs newly isolated in China; this finding extends the distribution of BAVs from tropical zone to north temperate climates and demonstrate regional variations in BAV phylogeny and mosquito species possibly involved in BAV transmission