The zinc cluster proteins Upc2 and Ecm22 promote filamentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by sterol biosynthesis-dependent and -independent pathways.

The transition between a unicellular yeast form to multicellular filaments is crucial for budding yeast foraging and the pathogenesis of many fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans. Here, we examine the role of the related transcription factors Ecm22 and Upc2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae filamentation. Overexpression of either ECM22 or UPC2 leads to increased filamentation, whereas cells lacking both ECM22 and UPC2 do not exhibit filamentous growth. Ecm22 and Upc2 positively control the expression of FHN1, NPR1, PRR2 and sterol biosynthesis genes. These genes all play a positive role in filamentatous growth and their expression is upregulated during filamentation in an Ecm22/Upc2-dependent manner. Furthermore ergosterol content increases during filamentous growth. UPC2 expression also increases during filamentation and is inhibited by the transcription factors Sut1 and Sut2. The expression of SUT1 and SUT2 in turn is under negative control of the transcription factor Ste12. We suggest that during filamentation Ste12 becomes activated and reduces SUT1/SUT2 expression levels. This would result in increased UPC2 levels and as a consequence to transcriptional activation of FHN1, NPR1, PRR2 and sterol biosynthesis genes. Higher ergosterol levels in combination with the proteins Fhn1, Npr1 and Prr2 would then mediate the transition to filamentous growth.The project was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grant HO 2098/5

The influence of boards of directors’ characteristics on strategic decision-making: Evidence from Greek companies

This article is available open access from the publisher’s website at the link below.This study explores the influence Boards of Directors’ demographic characteristics on the process of making strategic decisions. Empirical testing is based on a sample of 105 Greek companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. The results suggest that educational level affect both the financial reporting and the hierarchical decentralisation in the strategic decision-making process. Also, functional background of executives was found to be related with financial reporting. However, the educational specialty did not appear to have any significant influence on the strategic decision-making process. In light of these findings, implications for practitioners are made and avenues for future research are suggested

Strategic decision-making processes as a mediator of the effect of board characteristics on company innovation: A study of publicly-listed firms in Greece

Based on the Upper Echelons Theory that suggests the demographic characteristics of executives are linked to organisational processes and outcomes, the paper proposes that strategic decision-making processes mediate the relationship between board members’ demographic characteristics and corporate innovation relating to product, process and organization. Based on questionnaires completed by 101 CEOs of Greek listed firms, the findings confirm that reporting and formalization as decision processes mediate the effect of board characteristics on innovation. Sound financial and formal mechanisms encourage Greek executives to take risks and invest in product or service innovation. Findings show that the executives’ educational level is positively associated with financial reporting and rule formalization activities due to the changes that have been occurred in the Greek education system over recent decades. Functional background is found to influence only financial reporting activities. Finally, the managerial implications of this study are discussed

Learning Membership Functions in a Function-Based Object Recognition System

Functionality-based recognition systems recognize objects at the category level by reasoning about how well the objects support the expected function. Such systems naturally associate a ``measure of goodness'' or ``membership value'' with a recognized object. This measure of goodness is the result of combining individual measures, or membership values, from potentially many primitive evaluations of different properties of the object's shape. A membership function is used to compute the membership value when evaluating a primitive of a particular physical property of an object. In previous versions of a recognition system known as Gruff, the membership function for each of the primitive evaluations was hand-crafted by the system designer. In this paper, we provide a learning component for the Gruff system, called Omlet, that automatically learns membership functions given a set of example objects labeled with their desired category measure. The learning algorithm is generally applicable to any problem in which low-level membership values are combined through an and-or tree structure to give a final overall membership value.Comment: See http://www.jair.org/ for any accompanying file

Comparing human robot interaction scenarios using live and video based methods: towards a novel methodological approach

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.---- Copyright IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE. DOI : 10.1109/AMC.2006.1631754This paper presents results of a pilot study that investigated whether people’s perceptions from live and video HRI trials were comparable. Subjects participated in a live HRI trial and videotaped HRI trials in which the scenario for both trials was identical, and involved a robot fetching an object using different approach directions. Results of the trials indicated moderate to high levels of agreement for subjects’ preferences, and opinions for both the live and video based HRI trials. This methodology is in its infancy and should not be seen as a replacement for live trials. However, our results indicate that for certain HRI scenarios videotaped trials do have potential as a technique for prototyping, testing, developing HRI scenarios, and testing methodologies for use in definitive live trials

Evaluating the impact of the rural dimension of specialism

Commissioned by the Specialist Schools and Academies TrustThe rural dimension is intended to offer the opportunity to schools to enhance and extend the curriculum. Its focus is the understanding of environmental issues and the countryside, and it is seen as relevant to all schools, including those in urban areas. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) wishes to evaluate the extent to which the rural dimension is effective in raising standards. The aim of this study, commissioned by the SSAT, was to ascertain the extent to which the work schools undertake as part of their rural dimension has a demonstrable impact on achievement and attainment - in particular concerning: 1) attainment (pupil performance and school standards); 2) behaviour and attendance (on the part of pupils); 3) engagement (pupil interest and motivation, and raising aspirations among pupils and their families). The approach taken in the study is chiefly an interpretative and illuminative one with the aim of throwing light on how the rural dimension acts as an influence within the school context. Rather than looking for linear cause-and-effect, methodologically it was seen as more helpful to view organisations as complex processes of continual interaction in which any one initiative is the catalyst to multiple interpretations and reactions which generate further initiatives. Qualitative data are particularly helpful in throwing light on these processes. An exploratory case study approach was used, generating both qualitative and quantitative data in order to reflect the complexity of practice and experience in the rural dimension. Six case study schools were selected from rural dimension schools which expressed a wish to participate in the study. Criteria were used to maximise the variation in the sample used, although those with relatively large farms are over-represented. Each of the six case study schools was visited by one or more of the research team. Visits involved interviews, observation and perusal and collection of documentary data (including schools’ websites). This report also includes a selective literature review, highlighting some of the issues concerning research into specialisms and the value of education for sustainable development

Modified brinley plots: advantages and disadvantages

Accepted manuscrip

Clustering and networking among small independent hotels: developments over ten years

This paper reports on networking activities amongst a cluster of independent hotels with a view to analysing key variables in network development for SMEs. A comparative, longitudinal element is introduced by reference to an earlier study of the same phenomenon, ten years earlier. Of particular interest is the influence of various forms of social capital in the development of informal networks and the inter-play between co-operation and competition over time. Given the time gap between the two studies, the effect of sectoral changes on network development is also examined. The research revisits and extends a previous study of many of the same hotels which were investigated in 1995 over their formal and informal links that were found to be influenced by such factors across two classifications - the business as unit (proximity, perceptions of quality) and the individual respondent (personal social networks and ethnicity). Extending that analysis, social capital concepts and relevant references to embedded networks and kinship groups and co-operative game rules will be introduced in this paper. A highly concentrated population of small, independent hotels in Central London had been identified in the previous research project and it is from this sample that the current research drew and extended its own sample of hotels. With such a high number of hotels in the area a mixture of ‘snowball’ sampling and self-selection was successfully employed. Of the original 29 hotels, 22 have been re-interviewed and complemented by another 19. Of the remainder of the original sample, several had subsequently merged or failed to survive the intervening period. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with owner-managers in all cases using a structured questionnaire that replicated as much as possible of the original questionnaire, with both open and closed questions to allow some individual expression on relevant topics. The quantitative data obtained will be analysed using UCINET software to generate visual representations of networks alongside statistical and cluster analyses. Both academic and policy implications are likely to arise from this research, such as novel insights from such an unique periodic comparison of networks development, the influence of social capital on (formal and informal) network activities and the changing influence and consolidation of hotel groups through mergers and franchising

Reflections on the Role of Consultation in the Delivery of Effective Educational Psychology Services

For many years educational and school psychologists from all over the world have emphasised the importance of consultation as a key approach to delivering effective services. However, there is a considerable body of literature indicating that the approach has not been widely adopted by educational psychologists in the UK and elsewhere. This paper considers some interconnected factors that might explain why educational psychologists may be reluctant to wholeheartedly embrace this approach. First, it considers the possibility that educational psychologists, who may claim to work in a ‘traditional’ way, are in fact using consultation regularly in their everyday practice, although not in the way that it is often defined in the literature. Second, the influence of the history of the profession, in which educational psychologists were described as being experts in psychometric assessment, may be acting as a barrier to adopting alternative practices. Third, unintentionally perhaps, the efforts of professional associations to promote educational and school psychology may reinforce the importance of maintaining traditional practices based on individual psychometric assessments of children thought to have special educational needs and disabilities. Finally the paper discusses the skills and competencies needed to work effectively as a school-based consultant and suggests that these pose particular challenges to new entrants to the profession who wish to work in this way. The paper concludes by suggesting that debates about the relative importance of individual work versus consultation present a false dichotomy. Both roles are central to the delivery of effective psychological services. Educational psychologists need to have the necessary skills and confidence in all areas of professional practice, being able to strike the right balance between the two approaches and sensitive to the situations where each is likely to be effective in dealing with the range of problems with which they are presented