University of Auckland

About: University of Auckland is a education organization based out in Auckland, New Zealand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 28049 authors who have published 77706 publications receiving 2689366 citations. The organization is also known as: The University of Auckland & Auckland University College.

Grand challenges in chronic non-communicable diseases

Abstract: The top 20 policy and research priorities for conditions such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Hofstede never studied culture

Abstract: The continuation of accounting research utilising Hofstede’s cultural indices suggests an absence of sufficient consideration for the reasons behind the rejection of such a universalist approach in anthropology and sociology. These reasons include the assumption of equating nation with culture and the difficulty, and limitations on an understanding of culture by means of numeric indices and matrices. Alternative approaches for research on national differences in accounting are suggested. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. In 1967, employees in an organization, IBM, were asked to complete an attitude survey. IBM had organized incidental surveys of parts of its organization since 1950, but it was decided to standardize an international survey in order to provide a management tool for organization development. This survey process repeated until 1973, resulting in 117,000 responses from88,000 employees in 66 countries. The results of this data led the head of the international teamconducting the survey, Geert Hofstede, to develop cultural indices. These indices provided four dimensions of national culture for each one of the countries surveyed. Twenty years later, accounting research is one of numerous disciplines which utilize Hofstede’s classification and quantification of cultural differences. This study acknowledges the variety of applications of Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences— International Differences in Work-Related Values (1980) (hereafter referred to as Culture’s Consequences) in accounting research, and then examines the development of ideas about culture and its quantification by Hofstede, and the theoretical bases for Hofstede’s cultural measurements. This review identifies problems such as: (i) the assumption of equating nation with culture (ii) the difficulties of, and limitations on, a quantification of culture represented by cultural dimensions and matrices; and (iii) the status of the observer outside the culture. Possible alternative and multiple explanations of national differences in accounting systems are also described. A further problemis a general lack of confidence in the assumption of stability of cultural differences, considering the twenty years since the 1980 publication of Culture’s Consequences. Cultural diffusion and the dynamism of both national and ethnic shifts may be problematic where reification and indexation of culture is concerned. The outcome of this examination suggests that the manner in which Hofstede established the dimensions of culture, and the subsequent reification of ‘‘culture’’ as a variable in cross-national studies in accounting research, led to a misleading

Tuning Oxygen Vacancies in Ultrathin TiO2 Nanosheets to Boost Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation up to 700 nm

Abstract: Dinitrogen reduction to ammonia using transition metal catalysts is central to both the chemical industry and the Earth's nitrogen cycle. In the Haber-Bosch process, a metallic iron catalyst and high temperatures (400 °C) and pressures (200 atm) are necessary to activate and cleave NN bonds, motivating the search for alternative catalysts that can transform N2 to NH3 under far milder reaction conditions. Here, the successful hydrothermal synthesis of ultrathin TiO2 nanosheets with an abundance of oxygen vacancies and intrinsic compressive strain, achieved through a facile copper-doping strategy, is reported. These defect-rich ultrathin anatase nanosheets exhibit remarkable and stable performance for photocatalytic reduction of N2 to NH3 in water, exhibiting photoactivity up to 700 nm. The oxygen vacancies and strain effect allow strong chemisorption and activation of molecular N2 and water, resulting in unusually high rates of NH3 evolution under visible-light irradiation. Therefore, this study offers a promising and sustainable route for the fixation of atmospheric N2 using solar energy.

Role of patients' view of their illness in predicting return to work and functioning after myocardial infarction: longitudinal study

Abstract: Objective: To examine whether patients9 initial perceptions of their myocardial infarction predict subsequent attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation course, return to work, disability, and sexual dysfunction. Design: Patients9 perceptions of their illness were measured at admission with their first myocardial infarction and at follow up three and six months later. Setting: Two large teaching hospitals in Auckland, New Zealand. Subjects: 143 consecutive patients aged under 65 with their first myocardial infarction. Main outcome measures: Attendance at rehabilitation course; time before returning to work; measures of disability with sickness impact profile questionnaire for sleep and rest, social interaction, recreational activity, and home management; and sexual dysfunction. Results: Attendance at the rehabilitation course was significantly related to a stronger belief during admission that the illness could be cured or controlled (t=2.08, P=0.04). Return to work within six weeks was significantly predicted by the perception that the illness would last a short time (t=-2.52, P=0.01) and have less grave consequences for the patient (t=-2.87, P=0.005). Patients9 belief that their heart disease would have serious consequences was significantly related to later disability in work around the house, recreational activities, and social interaction. A strong illness identity was significantly related to greater sexual dysfunction at both three and six months. Conclusions: Patients9 initial perceptions of illness are important determinants of different aspects of recovery after myocardial infarction. Specific illness perceptions need to be identified at an early stage as a basis for optimising outcomes from rehabilitation programmes. Key messages Patients9 beliefs about their illness seem to influence recovery and rehabilitation on discharge from hospital Patients9 ideas about their illness cluster around five cognitive dimensions: identity, cause, time line, consequences, and beliefs about cure or control In this study a belief that the illness could be controlled or cured was related to subsequent attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation course. Perceptions that the illness would last a long time and have serious consequences were associated with a longer delay before returning to work The early identification of illness perceptions could improve the outcome of cardiac rehabilitation programmes