The Impact of Organizational Cynicism on Organizational Commitment: An Applied Study on Teaching Hospitals in Egypt

This research examines the effects of organizational cynicism on organizational commitment.  Drawing on the literature review, there are some studies regarding organizational cynicism. In Egypt, limited research has been conducted, but the present study attempts to find out whether there is a relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational commitment. This study was conducted at Teaching Hospitals in Egypt from 2012/9 through 2013/2. It is the first empirical work so far in the field of organizational cynicism and its effect on organizational commitment at Teaching Hospitals in Egypt. This survey-type research is descriptive in terms of the data collection. The authors investigate the attitudes of employees in regards to organizational cynicism and organizational commitment. Ultimately, it elucidates the effect of organizational cynicism on organizational commitment. Three groups of employees at Teaching Hospitals in Egypt were examined. Three hundred and fifty seven questionnaires were distributed and 297 usable questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 83%. The findings revealed differences among the three groups of employees based upon their evaluative attitudes towards organizational cynicism and organizational commitment. The present study provides a number of recommendations for managers and practitioners to consider. Finally, the implications of this study are discussed. Keywords: Organizational cynicism, organizational commitment, Egypt, hospitals, management

Cybersecurity Strategy and Strategic Decision-making: An Examination from Dynamic Capability and Judgment-based View Perspectives

With the increasing power and frequency of cyber-attacks world-wide, organizations are becoming cognizant for the need to have not only cybersecurity measures, but a strategy itself for cybersecurity and an effective approach to its development. Thus, an investigation of the cybersecurity strategy development process has become particularly important for organizations. This importance of this research endeavor, however, is heightened when I examine the state of the literature around cybersecurity and strategy-making. I contend that cybersecurity strategy-making research in the strategic management discipline is exceedingly rare, while research streams in cybersecurity research are heavily focused on the technical aspects of it with little discussion of strategy. With respect to the strategic management literature, while there is much written around strategy development, the tendency has been to create models or frameworks of strategy-making that applies to functions (such as marketing) or to the organization-level. It is not realistic to attempt to take another model or framework in an “off-the-shelf” manner and apply that to cybersecurity strategy-making, as we see with the growth in research around digitization strategies, as cybersecurity strategy should cross functional boundaries and business units. The consequences of cybersecurity failures can also be immense and wipe out entire business overnight. As such, it is necessary to develop a framework for cybersecurity strategy-making that accounts for both the need to be adaptive to maintain strategic fit while also coping with great uncertainty. This research sought to address this knowledge and research gap by identifying the factors affecting cybersecurity strategy development and to create a framework for cybersecurity strategy development. To do this, a thorough review of the literature revealed appropriate theoretical lenses to guide this work in the Teecian dynamic capability (1997 onwards) tradition and Foss and Klein’s (2012, 2015) judgment-based theory. Since dynamic capabilities determine the firm's ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external resources and functional competencies to address turbulent and everchanging business environments (Teece et al., 1997), the Dynamic capability theory served as an overarching theory in this work. This theory dovetails well with the judgment-based theory of Foss and Klein (2012, 2015) that explains the acts of strategy-making and decision-making as the allocation and reallocation of firm resources under uncertainty. As cybersecurity activities are inherently uncertain, these theories combined are appropriate lenses for examining the cybersecurity strategy development process. The research aim, then, is to develop a framework to materialize cybersecurity strategy-making, stemming from understanding its development process and going through its practical implementation. With a qualitative study approach using interview data gathered from a series of fourteen in-depth interviews, I investigated the strategy development and decision-making process in the cybersecurity domain. Through the interview participants’ executive roles, significant expertise and industry diversifications, I went beneath the surface of cybersecurity strategy-making to get clearer image on the issue of strategy-making and cybersecurity strategy implementation. My qualitative research discovered deeper activities in organizations’ cybersecurity strategy-making process and gained an understanding on how those activities developed with time. Employing NVivo software to aid with coding and thematic analysis, my research results shows that cybersecurity strategy, as a practice revolves, around 11 main concepts (e.g., roles & responsibilities, risk appetite, decision-making, finance/budget, awareness, type of business etc) with other related sub-concepts (e.g., intuition, resources etc) that evolved from my comprehensive data analysis. From the research findings and data analysis I developed a non-technical and strategy-focused framework for cybersecurity strategy development that is valuable to strategic management scholars and practitioners alike so that both constituents have a basis to work from for centralizing cybersecurity strategy and strategic management in both practice and models of strategy-making going forward. In my research, I went through the journey of understanding all aspects influencing the cybersecurity strategy-making process from how strategic decisions are made, to ideas and norms key informants discussed during the development of cybersecurity strategy, and how organizational stakeholders understand and interpret their cybersecurity strategy. Taken together, this allowed me to provide a comprehensive but practical framework that can make a difference in advancing the cybersecurity discipline as a major strategic influencer in today’s business world, where cyber-attacks can at happen anytime and the need for effective strategy is paramount

Online) An Open Access

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between investment opportunities and earnings stability of firms in Tehran securities exchange. This research is applied in terms of purpose, is descriptive-surveying in terms of method, and is correlation in terms of relation between variables. Statistical population of this research includes all Tehran listed firms. The number of firms is 480 that we selected 115 firms as statistical sample. We used 3 New Result software and information banks of Tehran securities exchange site for collecting data. We used annual reports and financial statements of Tehran listed firms for collecting data that are related to research hypotheses. Statistical analysis was conducted by E Views software. Finally, research hypotheses were tested by t test, F-Fisher and determination coefficient (R 2 ). Research finding show that there is not a meaningful relationship between investment opportunities and earnings stability. INTRODUCTION The purpose of research centers and organizations that can provide necessary information for correct decision making of investors directs more individuals towards exchange for investment in securities (Jahanjhani & Ghorbani, 2005) Investors always require information that can implement them in their strategic decisions. Stock holders mainly invest in companies and economic organizations in future. Therefore, factors that are representative of continuous profitability and sustainable growth of a corporate can be suitable measures for the establishment of value. Stock holders believe that the establishment of value means the establishment of interests that result from investment, and are more than the implemented cost. Therefore, it is necessary to find an index that according to it we can explain the established value with acceptable reliability. Stock holders as the owners of trade unit want to increase their wealth, and according to this fact that the increase of wealth results from the performance of trade unit, it is important for owners to evaluate trade unit (Nauravesh, 2004) Investors estimate expected return using financial information of firms. In addition, investors rely more on earnings-related information than other indices of performance like cash earnings and cash flows. Therefore, reported earnings is one of the measures that determines the expected return of investors. In addition, the figure of reported earnings is important for investors, and influences their decision. Investors pay special attention to qualitative characteristics of earnings as one of the dimensions of earnings information (Pareto & Poryanasab, 2001). Despite the presence of theoretical researches about the importance of the impact of investment opportunities and earning stability, there are a few applied and empirical researches that evaluate the importance of this subject. Previous researches did not consider investment opportunities as an influential factor on earnings stability. In addition, recent studies don't include this variable as control variable (DeAngelo et al., 2006)

The pattern of acute poisoning in hospitalized children under 18 years old of Yazd, Iran

Acute poisoning is a common cause of emergency department visits in childhood and can increase children’s morbidity and mortality. Since the causes of child poisoning in different parts of Iran may differ due to cultural differences, this study was conducted to evaluate the most common causes of poisoning in Yazd. This retrospective cross-sectional study is based on the medical records of children less than 18 years of age admitted to the pediatric emergency department at Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd during 2018. The collected data included demographic information, the cause, and the outcome of acute poisoning. Out of 105 cases, 61.9% were boys. The highest poisoning rates were in the age group of 1 to 4 years (55.2%). In 50% of the participants, the family size was five or more, and 91% had Iranian nationality. Drugs were identified as the most common causes of poisoning (51.4%), and opioid analgesics were the most frequent drugs. The most common complaint at the time of referral in patients was the loss of consciousness (33%). The mean hospital stay was 56 hours, and no death was reported. According to the findings of this study in Yazd, the probability of accidental poisoning in boys under four years and due to different types of drugs, especially opioids, was higher than others. It seems that increasing parents’ awareness about keeping drugs used by family members in a safe place and out of children’s reach is essential in preventing poisoning

Accelerometer-Based Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with ADHD

Background: Self-reported studies showed that physical activity is associated with health-related quality of life in children with ADHD. Considering the limitations of self-reporting methods, we aimed to assess the association between accelerometer-measured physical activity and health-related quality of life among children with ADHD.Methods: 68 participants (28 girls, mean age of 10.22±1.55 years) wore the accelerometer for seven consecutive days. PedsQL was used to measure health-related quality of life. Mann-Whitney U, Spearman correlation test, and regression analysis were used to analyze data.Results: On average, the daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was 36.46 minutes, which is below the WHO guideline. Boys engaged significantly more in daily MVPA than girl. Moreover, gender significantly predicted health-related quality of life (F = 4.58, p = 0.03, Adjusted R2 = 0.08, β = 0.75). Sedentary time% has inversely predicted health-related quality of life (F = 2.81, p = 0.04, Adjusted R2 = 0.03, β = 0.53). Finally, daily MVPA predicted health-related quality of life (F = 5.73, p = 0.02, Adjusted R2 = 0.09, β = 0.13).Conclusion: These finding indicate that physical activity and quality of life are critical concerns for children with ADHD. Accordingly, it is necessary to adopt appropriate strategies to develop more active lifestyles among this populatio

The Effect of Antenatal Maternal Anxiety, Depression, and Stress on Infant Development at 6 Months of Age

Background: Mental disorders can significantly impact maternal health and neonatal health and development. This study investigated maternal anxiety, depression, and stress during pregnancy concerning their children's development.Methods: In this follow-up study, all pregnant women with gestational age > 12 weeks referring to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic affiliated with Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences over six months were included. Data on mothers were collected using a personal information questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-42 standard questionnaire. Finally, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the children of 73 mothers were included in the study. Infant development was assessed based on the Persian version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at six months postpartum.Data analysis was conducted using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis. Statistical analyzes were carried out using SPSS 21. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: In this study, 39.7%, 63%, and 56.2% of women suffered from depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. In this study, a significant relationship was found between antenatal maternal depression and gross motor (P: 0.022), fine motor (P: 0.003), personal-social (P: 0.009), and communication skills (P: 0.0180). Moreover, there was a significant relationship between maternal anxiety and personal-social (P: 0.012) and gross motor domains (P: 0.008). Also, a significant association was observed between personal-social skills and maternal stress (P: 0.030).Conclusion: As shown by the results, antenatal maternal mental illness can interfere with the development of children. Therefore, paying attention to the mental health of pregnant women is necessary

Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part I—an examination of cancellous bone architecture in the hindlimb bones of theropods

This paper is the first of a three-part series that investigates the architecture of cancellous (‘spongy’) bone in the main hindlimb bones of theropod dinosaurs, and uses cancellous bone architectural patterns to infer locomotor biomechanics in extinct non-avian species. Cancellous bone is widely known to be highly sensitive to its mechanical environment, and has previously been used to infer locomotor biomechanics in extinct tetrapod vertebrates, especially primates. Despite great promise, cancellous bone architecture has remained little utilized for investigating locomotion in many other extinct vertebrate groups, such as dinosaurs. Documentation and quantification of architectural patterns across a whole bone, and across multiple bones, can provide much information on cancellous bone architectural patterns and variation across species. Additionally, this also lends itself to analysis of the musculoskeletal biomechanical factors involved in a direct, mechanistic fashion. On this premise, computed tomographic and image analysis techniques were used to describe and analyse the three-dimensional architecture of cancellous bone in the main hindlimb bones of theropod dinosaurs for the first time. A comprehensive survey across many extant and extinct species is produced, identifying several patterns of similarity and contrast between groups. For instance, more stemward non-avian theropods (e.g. ceratosaurs and tyrannosaurids) exhibit cancellous bone architectures more comparable to that present in humans, whereas species more closely related to birds (e.g. paravians) exhibit architectural patterns bearing greater similarity to those of extant birds. Many of the observed patterns may be linked to particular aspects of locomotor biomechanics, such as the degree of hip or knee flexion during stance and gait. A further important observation is the abundance of markedly oblique trabeculae in the diaphyses of the femur and tibia of birds, which in large species produces spiralling patterns along the endosteal surface. Not only do these observations provide new insight into theropod anatomy and behaviour, they also provide the foundation for mechanistic testing of locomotor hypotheses via musculoskeletal biomechanical modelling

Bone turnover markers in sheep and goat: a review of the scientific literature

Bone turnover markers (BTMs) are product of bone cell activity and are generally divided in bone formation and bone resorption markers. The purpose of this review was to structure the available information on the use of BTMs in studies on small ruminants, especially for monitoring their variations related to diet, exercise, gestation and metabolic lactation state, circadian and seasonal variations, and also during skeletal growth. Pre-clinical and translational studies using BTMs with sheep and goats as animal models in orthopaedic research studies to help in the evaluation of the fracture healing process and osteoporosis research are also described in this review. The available information from the reviewed studies was systematically organized in order to highlight the most promising BTMs in small ruminant research, as well as provide a wide view of the use of sheep and goat as animal models in orthopaedic research, type of markers and commercial assay kits with cross-reactivity in sheep and goat, method of sample and storage of serum and urine for bone turnover markers determination and the usefulness and limitations of bone turnover markers in the different studies, therefore an effective tool for researchers that seek answers to different questions while using BTMs in small ruminants.José Arthur de A. Camassa acknowledges to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil, for his PhD scholarship 202248/2015-1.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio