Showing papers by "University of South Carolina published in 1985"

Corporate board size, composition and corporate failures in retailing industry[1]

Abstract: In recent years some activists have advanced proposals to reform corporate boards, notably their structure and process, to assure desirable corporate governance. the empirical question, however, is whether such formal board changes would guarantee good governance. This paper examines this issue by studying the differences in the board size and board composition of 21 pairs of failed and non-failed firms. the results suggest that the non-failed retailing firms, as compared to failed ones, tend to have bigger boards within the size range suggested by the activists. the differences in the percent of outsider directors and multiple offices held by C.E.O.s between the failed and non-failed firms were not significant. Implications of the results for the evaluation of board reforms are discussed.

The social dimensions of correctional officer stress

Abstract: Based on a survey of line staff in a southern correctional system, we analyzed how various stressors, coping factors, and status characteristics influenced three types of stress: work stress, job dissatisfaction, and life stress. The stressors of role problems and perceived dangerousness were positively related to multiple forms of stress. While supervisory support mitigated both work stress and job dissatisfaction, the effects of other coping factors were variable. Black and educated officers had higher levels of dissatisfaction, while female officers experienced more stress on the job. Taken together, the independent variables in our framework accounted for a large amount of the variance of work stress, a moderate amount of job dissatisfaction, and a relatively low amount of life stress. Apart from the specific findings, the data suggest that theoretical models of officer stress must incorporate coping factors and specify how the dimensions of an officer's occupational role and personality differentiall...

Pore Pressure Diffusion and the Mechanism of Reservoir-Induced Seismicity

Abstract: The study of reservoir-induced seismicity offers a controlled setting to understand the physics of the earthquake process. Data from detailed investigations at reservoirs in South Carolina suggested that the mechanism of transmission of stress to hypocentral locations is by a process of diffusion of pore pressure (Pp). These results were compared with available worldwide data. The ‘seismic’ hydraulic diffusivity, α s , was estimated from various seismological observations, and was found to be a good estimate of the material hydraulic diffusivity, α. Application of these results to a dedicated experiment to understand RIS at Monticello Reservoir, S.C., suggested that the diffusing Pp front plays a dual role in the triggering of seismicity. The spatial and temporal pattern of RIS can be explained by the mechanical effect of diffusion of Pp with a characteristic hydraulic diffusivity within an order of magnitude of 5 × 104 cm2/s, corresponding to permeability values in the mtl¨¹darcy range. The triggering of seismicity is due to the combined mechanical effect of Pp in reducing the strength and, possibly, the chemical effect in reducing the coefficient of friction between the clays in the pre-existing fractures and the rocks that enclose these fractures.

The insular lobe in primates including humans.

Abstract: The insular lobe reaches its greatest extent and morphologic differentiation in primates culminating in humans. It consists of four to six gyri that appear like a fan covered by the frontal, parietal, and temporal opercula. The human insula has three cytoarchitectonic subdivisions that are similar to those described for the rhesus macaque. Recent studies have addressed the myelo- and chemoarchitectonics of the primate insula. With the aid of a variety of methods investigators have demonstrated that the insular lobe has connections with: (1) portions of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes as well as of the cingulate gyrus, (2) the basal nuclei especially the tail of the caudate, putamen, and claustrum, (3) the amygdaloid body and other limbic constitutents, and (4) the dorsal thalamus. Experimental studies coupled with observations in humans provide the basis for a number of suggestions regarding the functional aspects of the insular lobe. The insula may play a role as a: (1) visceral sensory area, (2) visceral motor area, (3) supplementary motor area, (4) vestibular area, and (5) an area related to certain aspects of speech and/or language. While the broad concept of the insula has been outlined, the elucidation of its connections and functions remains to be completed by future researchers.

Children's Depression Inventory : Sex and grade norms for normal children

Abstract: Etude menee sur une population d'enfants normaux âges de 7 a 16 ans (N=1463): differences mineures en fonction de l'âge et du niveau scolaire, dans les donnees normatives du CDI

Common Factors Underlying Barriers to Export: Studies in the U.S. Paper Industry

Abstract: This paper identifies five factors that cluster belief about the importance of barriers to export held by executives in strategic business units involved in export of paper products or contemplating such export. These factors were evaluated in respect to the international business literature and labeled as national export policy, comparative marketing distance, lack of export commitment, exogenous economic constraints, and competitive rivalry. This analysis revealed a minor appreciation of the importance of competitive rivalry and a high appreciation of the barrier provided by exogenous economic constraints. The other three factors assumed intermediate positions of importance among the five factors.

Socio-Politics and the Woman-at-Home Ideology

Abstract: Archaeologists, as explorers and discoverers, have maintained the myth of objective research far longer than have researchers in other social science disciplines. Focused on action, the “cowboys of science” (Alaskan bumper sticker 1981) have dabbled little in self-reflective criticism. Now at 50, however, the discipline is becoming aware that our notions of the past, our epistemologies, our research emphases, the methods we employ in our research, and the interpretations we bring to and distill from our investigations, are far from value-neutral.

The fit between technology and structure as a predictor of performance in nursing subunits.

Abstract: Regression analyses of field study data from 27 nursing subunits supported the hypothesis that a simple measure of fit between technology and structure is a better predictor of quality of care than...

Meta-analysis of consultation outcome studies.

Abstract: The results of 54 controlled studies of psychological consultation using mental health, behavioral, and organization development models were synthesized using meta-analysis. The results supported the continued use of consultation as an effective practice in modifying consultee and, to a lesser extent, client behavior and attitudes. On the average, consultees showed improvements greater than 71% and clients showed improvements greater than 66% of untreated comparable groups. No differences were found in terms of effectiveness among the three models.

Microbial Degradation of the Leachable and Lignocellulosic Components of Leaves and Wood from Rhizophora Mangle in a Tropical Mangrove Swamp

Abstract: Preparations of uniformly [I4C]labeled mangrove leaves and specifically radiolabeled [14C-lignin]lignocelluloses and [14C-polysaccharide]lignocelluloses from mangrove leaves and wood were used in experiments to determine the microbial rates of mineralization of the leachable and lignocellulosic components of mangrove detritus in aerobic and anaerobic sediments of a tropical mangrove swamp. The bulk of the leachable fraction from mangrove leaves was mineralized relatively rapidly and was assimilated into microbial biomass with high efficiency (30 %). In contrast, rates of mineralization of the lignocellulosic component of mangrove leaves and wood were lOfold lower than mineralization rates of the leachable fraction. The polysaccharide component of the lignocelluloses was mineralized at rates 2 times higher than rates of mineralization of the lignin component, indicating that mangrove detritus becomes relatively enriched in lignin-derived carbon with time. Anaerobic rates of mineralization of the leachable and lignocellulosic components of mangrove leaves and wood were 10 to 30 times lower than respective aerobic mineralization rates, suggesting a very long residence time for mangrove detritus in anaerobic sediments. Comparison of the rates of degradation of mangrove detritus in sediments from a mangrove swamp and a salt marsh demonstrated that the lignocellulolytic potential in sediments of the two marine ecosystems are similar, but that lignocellulose from mangroves is less biodegradable than lignocellulose from the salt-marsh plants, Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemen'anus.

Social Support and Adolescent Mothers: Action Research Contributions to Theory and Application

Abstract: Two longitudinal studies examined the influences of social support, networks, and support interventions on the adjustment of teenage mothers and their babies. Structured interviews were conducted prenatally and during postnatal follow-up in both studies. Group and home-based educational support interventions were also conducted through the baby's first year of life. Perceived support, social network resources, and support interventions were related to better postpartum adjustment for young mothers and improved health and development for their babies. Some negative effects were also suggested. The results confirm the importance of assessing specific sources of support and of distinguishing between the concepts of perceived support and social networks. Implications for future social support research and interventions are discussed.

Monitoring multinomial processes

Abstract: Suppose a process produces items each of which may be classified on the basis of quality into mutually exclusive categories. Two classes of procedures are proposed to monitor such processes. The first uses a Pearson x2 statistics; the second depends upo..

The Adolescent Suicide Problem.

Abstract: The suicide rate of young people in the United States rose 237 percent between 1960 and 1980. This paper addresses three related issues. First, is this change an epidemic or an artifact? Second, what is there about adolescence as a life-stage in modern society that makes it stressful, even suicide producing? Finally, what are the distinctive traits of the lifestyles or careers of a random sample of young Chicago suicides?

Geochemical evidence for the tectonic setting of the Coast Range ophiolite: A composite island arc–oceanic crust terrane in western California

Abstract: The Middle to Late Jurassic age Coast Range ophiolite (CRO) of California contains two geochemically distinct volcanic rock associations that formed in different tectonic settings. Volcanic rocks from the southern CRO (Point Sal, Cuesta Ridge, Stanley Mountain, Llanada, Quinto Creek, and Del Puerto) and parts of the northern CRO (Healdsburg, Elder Creek) are similar to low-K tholeiites and calc-alkaline rocks of the island-arc suite. The thin volcanic sections of these ophiolite remnants suggest formation by intra-arc rifting. In contrast, volcanic rocks from Stonyford seamount and Paskenta in the northern CRO are transitional subalkaline metabasalts with geochemical characteristics similar to enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts or ocean-island tholeiites. These rocks are associated with Tithonian radiolarian cherts and may be part of the Franciscan Complex. Alternatively, they may represent a change in tectonic setting within the CRO during the Late Jurassic. Regardless, the CRO as currently conceived cannot be considered a single terrane with one mode of origin.

Factors influencing the salinity regime of Lake Pontchartrain, Lousiana, a shallow coastal lagoon: Analysis of a long-term data set

Abstract: Lake Pontchartrain., Louisiana is a 1,630 km2 shallow brackish lagoon with a mean salinity from 1.2‰ in the west to 5.4‰ in the east., The construction of a 120 km long deep-water connection to the Gulf of Mexico in 1963, was expected to cause a 5‰ increase in lagoon salinity. However, the actual increase was everywhere in the lagoon less than 2‰ Analysis of 31 years of daily salinity and discharge records indicates that discharge is the most important factor controlling salinity variations in Lake Pontchartrain., Seventy-four percent of low-frequency salinity variations are explained by freshwater discharge and the completion of the deep-water canal. Lake Pont.-chartrain experiences annual variations of salinity as high as 8‰ This salinity signal has remained constant since the beginning of the salinity records in 1946. It appears that the deep-water canal is not responsible for observed die-back of freshwater swamps and retreat of lagoon shorelines.

Longest paths and cycles in K1,3-free graphs

Abstract: In this article we show that the standard results concerning longest paths and cycles in graphs can be improved for K1,3-free graphs. We obtain as a consequence of these results conditions for the existence of a hamiltonian path and cycle in K1,3-free graphs.

In vitro precipitation of calcium phosphate under intracellular conditions: formation of brushite from an amorphous precursor in the absence of ATP

Abstract: Release of mitochondrial calcium has been shown to occur concomitant with mineral ion loading of matrix vesicles at the onset of mineralization in epiphyseal growth plate cartilage. Matrix vesicles contain amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), a mineral form that usually results from rapid precipitation at high initial levels of Ca2+ and/or inorganic P (Pi). Since the cytosol of growth plate chondrocytes has been found to contain high levels of Pi, rapid release of mitochondrial Ca2+ into the cytosol may cause local precipitation of calcium phosphate and thus be coupled with matrix vesicle formation. Studies were carried out to determine the kinetics and nature of mineral formation that occur when small amounts of Ca2+ are added under various conditions to a Pi buffer composed of electrolytes matched in concentrations and pH to that of the cytosol of epiphyseal chondrocytes. Depending on the manner in which Ca2+ was added, ACP, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), or apatite (HA) first formed. In the presence of ATP, ACP was the only solid phase detected, being stable for at least 24 h. However, in its absence, ACP rapidly transformed into DCPD. Increasing the pH of the reaction buffer from 6.9 to 7.5 increased the amount of ACP initially formed, but DCPD was consistently found upon ACP transformation. Yet at pH 8.0, ACP persisted for at least 24 h. The amount of precipitate formed was proportional to the level of added Ca2+; precipitates formed when as little as 1.0 mmole was added per liter of buffer. Our findings support the possibility that rapid release of mitochondrial Ca2+ may cause localized intracellular precipitation of ACP. Since nascent ACP is known to stimulate membrane fusion and blebbing of vesicles, these findings may explain the presence of ACP in matrix vesicles. The rapid conversion of ACP to DCPD in the absence of ATP under these conditions may also explain the reported occurrence of DCPD in samples of early mineralizing tissue.