Organizational commitment, attitudes toward information, and the use of formal and informal information in evaluating the performance of subordinates

Formal information is information developed by the organization which is recognized and sanctioned by senior management. All other information is, by definition, informal. In this regard, this study was performed to gain insights into the relationship between Relative Attitude toward Formal Information (as opposed to informal information) and Relative Use of Formal Information (as opposed to informal information) in the performance appraisal process. Additionally, this study was undertaken to gain insights into the relationship between Organizational Commitment and Relative Use of Formal Information in the performance appraisal process. Data was collected from members of the Institute for Supply Management (formerly National Association of Purchasing Management) using a questionnaire survey instrument. The primary statistical analysis technique employed in the study was multiple regression with univariate procedures used to a lesser extent. While the results of the study do not suggest the existence of a relationship between Organizational Commitment and Relative Use of Formal Information, the results of the study do suggest that appraisers in this sample used relatively more formal information when making termination decisions than when making other performance-related decisions (i.e., periodic performance reviews, merit pay adjustments, and promotion decisions). This finding seems extremely plausible given the legal and regulatory environment surrounding the termination process. In turn, this finding should “give comfort” to all stakeholders in the performance appraisal process. Additionally, the results of this study suggest that the Information Coverage dimension of Relative Attitude toward Formal Information is positively associated with Relative Use of Formal Information with respect to periodic performance reviews, merit pay adjustments, and promotion decisions. In contrast, Relative Use of Formal Information with respect to termination decisions is positively associated with the Information Accuracy dimension of Relative Attitude toward Formal Information as well as two appraiser attributes—Years in Current Position and Union Membership of Subordinates

REINVENTING THE APPROACH TO PERSONALITY-TYPE AND ETHICAL IDEOLOGY: A NEW MODEL

As unethical managerial behavior is increasing, people are looking to understand why. The result has led to a lack of trust in managers. One area being explored is managers\u27 ethical behavior. Based on previous models, the relationship between ethical ideology (idealism & relativism) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is examined. Results show a significant relationship between idealism and the mental function (cognitive style) and dominant auxiliary function of the MBTI. In addition, the most innovative result shows a more salient model by combining ethical ideology and the dominant-auxiliary function. This new model strengthens the relationship between personality type theory and ethical ideology

Learning The Ropes: An Introductory Tax Return Case

In extant literature, there are few tax return cases appearing in journals.  We present a complex case using a realistic scenario that is designed to be an introductory tax return assignment used in an individual federal income taxation course.  The case is designed to teach students how to manually prepare a federal income tax return using the actual forms and schedules prepared by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  This case is timely for two reasons.  1) Often tax return assignments in textbooks involve concepts that a student has yet to learn.  For example, a textbook assignment often includes itemized deductions and credits, even though these topics are typically taught towards the end of an individual tax course.  2) In addition, with the availability of information on the internet, students have greater access to solutions to textbook assignments.  This case comprehensively examines concepts typically covered in the first three or four chapters of an individual tax text: various types of income, exclusions, personal and dependency exemptions, capital gains and losses, and the standard deduction.&nbsp

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Human genetic variation in VAC14 regulates Salmonella invasion and typhoid fever through modulation of cholesterol.

Risk, severity, and outcome of infection depend on the interplay of pathogen virulence and host susceptibility. Systematic identification of genetic susceptibility to infection is being undertaken through genome-wide association studies, but how to expeditiously move from genetic differences to functional mechanisms is unclear. Here, we use genetic association of molecular, cellular, and human disease traits and experimental validation to demonstrate that genetic variation affects expression of VAC14, a phosphoinositide-regulating protein, to influence susceptibility to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi) infection. Decreased VAC14 expression increased plasma membrane cholesterol, facilitating Salmonella docking and invasion. This increased susceptibility at the cellular level manifests as increased susceptibility to typhoid fever in a Vietnamese population. Furthermore, treating zebrafish with a cholesterol-lowering agent, ezetimibe, reduced susceptibility to S Typhi. Thus, coupling multiple genetic association studies with mechanistic dissection revealed how VAC14 regulates Salmonella invasion and typhoid fever susceptibility and may open doors to new prophylactic/therapeutic approaches

Human genetic variation in VAC14 regulates Salmonella invasion and typhoid fever through modulation of cholesterol

Risk, severity, and outcome of infection depend on the interplay of pathogen virulence and host susceptibility. Systematic identification of genetic susceptibility to infection is being undertaken through genome-wide association studies, but how to expeditiously move from genetic differences to functional mechanisms is unclear. Here, we use genetic association of molecular, cellular, and human disease traits and experimental validation to demonstrate that genetic variation affects expression of VAC14, a phosphoinositide-regulating protein, to influence susceptibility to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi) infection. Decreased VAC14 expression increased plasma membrane cholesterol, facilitating Salmonella docking and invasion. This increased susceptibility at the cellular level manifests as increased susceptibility to typhoid fever in a Vietnamese population. Furthermore, treating zebrafish with a cholesterol-lowering agent, ezetimibe, reduced susceptibility to S Typhi. Thus, coupling multiple genetic association studies with mechanistic dissection revealed how VAC14 regulates Salmonella invasion and typhoid fever susceptibility and may open doors to new prophylactic/therapeutic approaches