Showing papers by "University of Warwick published in 2001"
TL;DR: Positive results of crowding include enhancing the collapse of polypeptide chains into functional proteins, the assembly of oligomeric structures and the efficiency of action of some molecular chaperones and metabolic pathways.
2,104 citations
TL;DR: Multiple microbial interactions involving bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere are shown to provide enhanced biocontrol in many cases in comparison with biocOntrol agents used singly.
Abstract: The loss of organic material from the roots provides the energy for the development of active microbial populations in the rhizosphere around the root. Generally, saproptrophs or biotrophs such as mycorrhizal fungi grow in the rhizosphere in response to this carbon loss, but plant pathogens may also develop and infect a susceptible host, resulting in disease. This review examines the microbial interactions that can take place in the rhizosphere and that are involved in biological disease control. The interactions of bacteria used as biocontrol agents of bacterial and fungal plant pathogens, and fungi used as biocontrol agents of protozoan, bacterial and fungal plant pathogens are considered. Whenever possible, modes of action involved in each type of interaction are assessed with particular emphasis on antibiosis, competition, parasitism, and induced resistance. The significance of plant growth promotion and rhizosphere competence in biocontrol is also considered. Multiple microbial interactions involving bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere are shown to provide enhanced biocontrol in many cases in comparison with biocontrol agents used singly. The extreme complexity of interactions that can occur in the rhizosphere is highlighted and some potential areas for future research in this area are discussed briefly.
1,818 citations
TL;DR: Relevant studies were retrieved through comprehensive searches of different database systems to enable a thorough assessment of the major issues in compliance to prescribed medical interventions.
Abstract: Low compliance to prescribed medical interventions is an ever present and complex problem, especially for patients with a chronic illness With increasing numbers of medications shown to do more good than harm when taken as prescibed, low compliance is a major problem in health care Relevant studies were retrieved through comprehensive searches of different database systems to enable a thorough assessment of the major issues in compliance to prescribed medical interventions The term compliance is the main term used in this review because the majority of papers reviewed used this term Three decades have passed since the first workshop on compliance research It is timely to pause and to reflect on the accumulated knowledge The enormous amount of quantitative research undertaken is of variable methodological quality, with no gold standard for the measurement of compliance and it is often not clear which type of non-compliance is being studied Many authors do not even feel the need to define adherence Often absent in the research on compliance is the patient, although the concordance model points at the importance of the patient's agreement and harmony in the doctor-patient relationship The backbone of the concordance model is the patient as a decision maker and a cornerstone is professional empathy Recently, some qualitative research has identified important issues such as the quality of the doctor-patient relationship and patient health beliefs in this context Because non-compliance remains a major health problem, more high quality studies are needed to assess these aspects and systematic reviews/meta-analyses are required to study the effects of compliance in enhancing the effects of interventions
1,772 citations
TL;DR: Di Tella et al. as mentioned in this paper showed that the costs of inflation in terms of unemployment can be measured by the relative size of the weights attached to these variables in social well-being.
Abstract: Modern macroeconomics textbooks rest upon the assumption of a social welfare function defined on inflation, p, and unemployment, U. However, no formal evidence for the existence of such a function has been presented in the literature. Although an optimal policy rule cannot be chosen unless the parameters of the presumed W(p, U) function are known, that has not prevented its use in a large theoretical literature in macroeconomics. This paper has two aims. The first is to show that citizens care about these two variables. We present evidence that inflation and unemployment belong in a well-being function. The second is to calculate the costs of inflation in terms of unemployment. We measure the relative size of the weights attached to these variables in social well-being. Policy implications emerge. Economists have often puzzled over the costs of inflation. Survey evidence presented in Robert J. Shiller (1997) shows that, when asked how they feel about inflation, individuals report a number of unconventional costs, like exploitation, national prestige, and loss of morale. Skeptics wonder. One textbook concludes: “we shall see that standard characterizations of the policy maker’s objective function put more weight on the costs of inflation than is suggested by our understanding of the effects of inflation; in doing so, they probably reflect political realities and the heavy political costs of high inflation” (Blanchard and Fischer, 1989 pp. 567–68). Since reducing inflation is often costly, in terms of extra unemployment, some observers have argued that the industrial democracies’ concern with nominal price stability is excessive—and have urged different monetary policies. This paper proposes a new approach. It examines how survey respondents’ reports of their well-being vary as levels of unemployment and inflation vary. Because the survey responses are available across time and countries, we are able to quantify how self-reported well-being alters with unemployment and inflation rates. Only a few economists have looked at patterns in subjective happiness and life satisfaction. Richard Easterlin (1974) helped to begin the literature. Later contributions include David Morawetz et al. (1977), Robert H. Frank (1985), Ronald Inglehart (1990), Yew-Kwang Ng (1996), Andrew J. Oswald (1997), and Liliana Winkelmann and Rainer Winkelmann (1998). More recently Ng (1997) discusses the measurability of happiness, and Daniel Kahneman et al. (1997) provide an axiomatic defense of experienced utility, and propose applications to economics. Our paper also borders on work in the psychology literature; see, for example, Edward Diener (1984), William Pavot et al. (1991), and David Myers (1993). Section I describes the main data source and the estimation strategy. This relies on a regressionadjusted measure of well-being in a particular year and country—the level not explained by individual personal characteristics. This residual macroeconomic well-being measure is the paper’s focus. * Di Tella: Harvard Business School, Morgan Hall, Soldiers Field, Boston, MA 02163; MacCulloch: STICERD, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, England; Oswald: Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, England. For helpful discussions, we thank George Akerlof, Danny Blanchflower, Andrew Clark, Ben Friedman, Duncan Gallie, Sebastian Galiani, Ed Glaeser, Berndt Hayo, Daniel Kahneman, Guillermo Mondino, Steve Nickell, Julio Rotemberg, Hyun Shin, John Whalley, three referees, and seminar participants at Oxford University, Harvard Business School, and the NBER Behavioral Macro Conference in 1998. The third author is grateful to the Leverhulme Trust and the Economic and Social Research Council for research support. 1 See, for example, Olivier Blanchard and Stanley Fischer (1989), Michael Burda and Charles Wyplosz (1993), and Robert E. Hall and John Taylor (1997). Early influential papers include Robert J. Barro and David Gordon (1983). 2 N. Gregory Mankiw (1997) describes the question “How costly is inflation?” as one of the four major unsolved problems of macroeconomics. 3 A recent contribution to this debate in the United States is Paul Krugman’s piece, “Stable Prices and Fast Growth: Just Say No,” The Economist, August 31, 1996.
1,757 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that research results will be richer and more reliable if different research methods, preferably from different (existing) paradigms, are routinely combined together.
Abstract: This paper puts forward arguments in favor of a pluralist approach to IS research. Rather than advocating a single paradigm, be it interpretive or positivist, or even a plurality of paradigms within the discipline as a whole, it suggests that research results will be richer and more reliable if different research methods, preferably from different (existing) paradigms, are routinely combined together. The paper is organized into three sections after the Introduction. In §2, the main arguments for the desirability of multimethod research are put forward, while §3 discusses its feasibility in theory and practice. §4 outlines two frameworks that are helpful in designing mixed-method research studies. These are illustrated with a critical evaluation of three examples of empirical research.
1,544 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present several studies that examine organizational change including an examination of the multiple contexts and levels of analysis in studying organizational change, the inclusion of time, history, process and action, the link between change processes and organizational performance, the investigation of international and cross-cultural comparisons, the study of receptivity, customization, sequencing, pace and episodic versus continuous change and the partnership between scholars and practitioners in studying change.
Abstract: This article presents several studies that examine organizational change. The authors note that certain issues should be addressed when examining the studies including an examination of the multiple contexts and levels of analysis in studying organizational change, the inclusion of time, history, process and action, the link between change processes and organizational performance, the investigation of international and cross-cultural comparisons, the study of receptivity, customization, sequencing, pace and episodic versus continuous change and the partnership between scholars and practitioners in studying change. The authors discuss how these issues are related to the concepts in the studies and note their research has not addressed these issues at this point in time.
1,528 citations
TL;DR: The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the pitfalls that have been identified in application papers under each of these headings and to suggest protocols to avoid the pitfalls and guide the application of the methodology.
1,374 citations
TL;DR: The authors fit nonlinearly mean-reverting models to real dollar exchange rates over the post-Bretton Woods period, consistent with a theoretical literature on transactions costs in international arbitrage.
Abstract: We fit nonlinearly mean-reverting models to real dollar exchange rates over the post-Bretton Woods period, consistent with a theoretical literature on transactions costs in international arbitrage. The half lives of real exchange rate shocks, calculated through Monte Carlo integration, imply faster adjustment speeds than hitherto recorded. Monte Carlo simulations reconcile our results with the large empirical literature on unit roots in real exchange rates by showing that when the real exchange rate is nonlinearly mean reverting, standard univariate unit root tests have low power, while multivariate tests have much higher power to reject a false null hypothesis.
1,122 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that the addition of crowding agents should become as routine as controlling pH and ionic strength if the authors are to meet the objective of studying biological molecules under more physiologically relevant conditions.
1,002 citations
TL;DR: A large-scale analysis of the Arabidopsis transcriptome during oxidative stress identified 175 non-redundant expressed sequence tags that are regulated by H(2)O(2), and a substantial proportion have predicted functions in cell rescue and defense processes.
Abstract: Oxidative stress, resulting from an imbalance in the accumulation and removal of reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), is a challenge faced by all aerobic organisms In plants, exposure to various abiotic and biotic stresses results in accumulation of H2O2 and oxidative stress Increasing evidence indicates that H2O2 functions as a stress signal in plants, mediating adaptive responses to various stresses To analyze cellular responses to H2O2, we have undertaken a large-scale analysis of the Arabidopsis transcriptome during oxidative stress Using cDNA microarray technology, we identified 175 non-redundant expressed sequence tags that are regulated by H2O2 Of these, 113 are induced and 62 are repressed by H2O2 A substantial proportion of these expressed sequence tags have predicted functions in cell rescue and defense processes RNA-blot analyses of selected genes were used to verify the microarray data and extend them to demonstrate that other stresses such as wilting, UV irradiation, and elicitor challenge also induce the expression of many of these genes, both independently of, and, in some cases, via H2O2
918 citations
TL;DR: Gonzalez-Sprinberg and Verdier as discussed by the authors interpreted the McKay correspondence as an isomorphism on K theory, observing that the representation of G is equal to the G-equivariant K theory of C2.
Abstract: The classical McKay correspondence relates representations of a finite subgroup
G ⊂ SL(2,C) to the cohomology of the well-known minimal resolution of the
Kleinian singularity C2/G. Gonzalez-Sprinberg and Verdier [10] interpreted the
McKay correspondence as an isomorphism on K theory, observing that the representation
ring of G is equal to the G-equivariant K theory of C2. More precisely,
they identify a basis of the K theory of the resolution consisting of the classes of
certain tautological sheaves associated to the irreducible representations of G.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied latent entrepreneurship across nations and found that large numbers of people in the industrial countries say they would prefer to be self-employed, while the probability of being employed is strongly increasing with age.
TL;DR: This article investigated the impact of patriotism, nationalism and internationalism as antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism in Turkey and the Czech Republic, and found that internationalism does not have a significant effect on consumer ethnocentricity in either country.
Abstract: The study investigates the impact of patriotism, nationalism and internationalism as antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism in Turkey and the Czech Republic. Controlling for demographics, the findings indicate that the impact of patriotism and nationalism is not consistent across the two countries. Consumer ethnocentrism in Turkey is fueled by patriotism, and in the Czech Republic by nationalism. Internationalism does not have a significant effect on consumer ethnocentrism in either country. Managerial implications of these findings are considered and future research directions are identified.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the most recent developments in organic weed control is presented, focusing on the need for flexibility and a combination of weed biology knowledge, cultural methods and direct weed control to maintain weed populations at manageable levels.
Abstract: Concern about potential increases in weed populations without the use of herbicides has limited the uptake of organic farming. However, as both public demands for organic produce and the profile of organic farming have increased in recent years, so too has the range of weed control options. Progress in cultural methods of weed control has included the use of novel weed-suppressing cover crops, and the identification of specific crop traits for weed suppression. Direct weed control has also seen developments, with new implements appearing on the market that could benefit in the future from sophisticated machine guidance and weed detection technology. Advances in novel techniques such as steaming have also been made. Many weed control operations in organic systems present the grower with conflicts, and both these and many of the most recent developments in organic weed control are reviewed. An increase in our understanding of weed biology and population dynamics underpins long-term improvements in sustainable weed control. The outcome of these studies will benefit conventional and organic growers alike. Emphasis is given to the need for flexibility and a combination of weed biology knowledge, cultural methods and direct weed control to maintain weed populations at manageable levels.
TL;DR: A rotaxane is described in which a macrocycle moves reversibly between two hydrogen-bonding stations after a nanosecond laser pulse and has properties characteristic of an energy-driven piston.
Abstract: A rotaxane is described in which a macrocycle moves reversibly between two hydrogen-bonding stations after a nanosecond laser pulse. Observation of transient changes in the optical absorption spectrum after photoexcitation allows direct quantitative monitoring of the submolecular translational process. The rate of shuttling was determined and the influence of the surrounding medium was studied: At room temperature in acetonitrile, the photoinduced movement of the macrocycle to the second station takes about 1 microsecond and, after charge recombination (about 100 microseconds), the macrocycle shuttles back to its original position. The process is reversible and cyclable and has properties characteristic of an energy-driven piston.
TL;DR: The availability of Cl in the soil, the roles and distribution of Cl within the plant, the magnitude of Cl-fluxes across membranes and between tissues, the mechanisms of Cl−transport across membranes, the electrical characteristics and molecular biology of Cl −channels are reviewed.
TL;DR: The authors found that a spell of unemployment carries a wage penalty of about 6% on re-entry in Britain, and after three years, they are earning 14% less compared to what they would have received in the absence of unemployment.
Abstract: Joblessness leaves permanent scars on individuals. They not only lose income during periods of joblessness they are also further scarred by these experiences when they find employment. A spell of unemployment is found to carry a wage penalty of about 6% on re-entry in Britain, and after three years, they are earning 14% less compared to what they would have received in the absence of unemployment. The scars are also carried into their second employment spell. The first spell of joblessness is found to cause the most damage. Redundancy seems to be less stigmatising.
TL;DR: The authors assess the progress made by the profession in understanding real exchange rate behavior through a selective and critical, but nonetheless expository, review of the literature and conclude that purchasing power parity might be viewed as a valid long-run international parity condition when applied to bilateral exchange rates obtaining among major industrialized countries, and that mean reversion in real exchange rates displays significant nonlinearities.
Abstract: We assess the progress made by the profession in understanding real exchange rate behavior through a selective and critical, but nonetheless expository, review of the literature. Our reading of the literature leads us to the main conclusions that purchasing power parity might be viewed as a valid long-run international parity condition when applied to bilateral exchange rates obtaining among major industrialized countries, and that mean reversion in real exchange rates displays significant nonlinearities. However, further work investigating the effects of real shocks on the long-run equilibrium level also seems warranted. Copyright 2002, International Monetary Fund
TL;DR: In this paper, a method for the determination of the magnetic field strength in coronal closed magnetic structures, based on the analysis of flare-generated oscillations of coronal loops, was developed.
Abstract: We develop a new method for the determination of the absolute value of the magnetic field strength in coronal closed magnetic structures, based on the analysis of flare-generated oscillations of coronal loops. Interpretation of the oscillations observed in terms of global standing kink waves allows to connect the period of the oscillations and the loops length with the magnetic field strength in the loops. For loop oscillations observed with TRACE on 14th July 1998 and 4th July 1999, we estimate the magnetic field strength as 4-30 G. Using TRACE 171 A and 195 A images of the loop, taken on 4th July 1999 to determine the plasma density, we estimate the magnetic field in the loop as 13 +- 9 G. Improved diagnostic of the loop length, the oscillation period, and the plasma density in the loop will significantly improve the method's precision.
TL;DR: Tomato fruits ripened 95, 65, 46 and 42 d after flower opening when plants were grown under controlled environmental conditions at 14, 18, 22 and 26 °C, respectively, and were more sensitive to elevated temperature in their later stages of maturation.
TL;DR: A literature review of the knowledge management and learning organization literatures demonstrates the lack of learning from one discourse to another and major differences in the concerns and issues that they address.
Abstract: This paper provides evidence on the emergence and diffusion of the discourse of knowledge management. A literature review of the knowledge management and learning organization literatures demonstrates the lack of learning from one discourse to another and major differences in the concerns and issues that they address. At the same time, evidence on the level of interest in each discourse shows a tendency towards a normal curve distribution. Analytically, these findings suggest that the widespread diffusion of knowledge management might be explained in terms of the management fashion model. However, further consideration of the professionally-differentiated appropriation of knowledge management concepts by the information systems and human resource communities suggests that the fashion model provides only a partial explanation for the observed diffusion of knowledge management.
TL;DR: It is suggested that Ultraviolet‐B exposure leads to the generation of ROS, from multiple sources, and NO, through increased NOS activity, giving rise to parallel signaling pathways mediating responses of specific genes to UV‐B radiation.
TL;DR: A characterisation of statecraft under the Blair government in terms of the politics of depoliticisation is given in this paper, where the authors argue that the government has fused aspects of traditional economic management with new initiatives to create a powerful tool of governing organized on the basis of the principle of debolicisation.
Abstract: A number of commentators in the 1980s sought to explain the character of the Thatcher administration. By contrast, relatively little work has been produced that seeks to analyse the principles and governing strategies of the Blair government. Focusing primarily on economic management, this article offers a characterisation of statecraft under Blair in terms of the politics of depoliticisation. In summary, it argues that the Blair government has fused aspects of traditional economic management with new initiatives to create a powerful tool of governing organised on the basis of the principle of depoliticisation. Depoliticisation as a governing strategy is the process of placing at one remove the political character of decision-making. State managers retain arm's-length control over crucial economic and social processes whilst simultaneously benefiting from the distancing effects of depoliticisation. As a form of politics it seeks to change market expectations regarding the effectiveness and credibility of policy-making in addition to shielding the government from the consequences of unpopular policies.
TL;DR: It is noted that a quantity of purely apoplastic Ca2+ transport to the xylem is indicated, which would enable the root to fulfil the demand of the shoot for calcium without compromising intracellular [Ca2+]cyt signals.
Abstract: Calcium is an essential plant nutrient. It is acquired from the soil solution by the root system and translocated to the shoot via the xylem. The root must balance the delivery of calcium to the xylem with the need for individual root cells to use [Ca2+]cyt for intracellular signalling. Here the evidence for the current hypothesis, that Ca2+ travels apoplastically across the root to the Casparian band which it then circumvents via the cytoplasm of the endodermal cell, is critically reviewed. It is noted that, although Ca2+ channels and Ca2+-ATPases are present and could catalyse Ca2+ influx and efflux across the plasma membrane of endodermal cells, their transport capacity is unlikely to be sufficient for xylem loading. Furthermore, there seems to be no competition, or interactions, between Ca2+, Ba2+ and Sr2+ for transport to the shoot. This seems incompatible with a symplastic pathway involving at least two protein-catalysed transport steps. Thus, a quantity of purely apoplastic Ca2+ transport to the xylem is indicated. The relative contributions of these two pathways to the delivery of Ca2+ to the xylem are unknown. However, the functional separation of symplastic Ca2+ fluxes (for root nutrition and cell signalling) and apoplastic Ca2+ fluxes (for transfer to the shoot) would enable the root to fulfil the demand of the shoot for calcium without compromising intracellular [Ca2+]cyt signals. This is also compatible with the observed correlation between transpiration rate and calcium delivery to the shoot.
TL;DR: The Starkey and Madan (2001) report is a useful entry point into the debate about what kind of management research, but it defines the issues too narrowly and seeks solutions too particularly The big strategic issues about management research are about capacity, capability and delivery as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: If the duty of the intellectual in society is to make a difference, the management research community has a long way to go to realize its potential The Starkey and Madan (2001) report is a useful entry point into the debate about what kind of management research, but it defines the issues too narrowly and seeks solutions too particularly The big strategic issues about management research are about capacity, capability and delivery In an era of knowledge production after modernism there is a more receptive context to meet the double hurdles of management research Research without scholarly quality will satisfy no one and will certainly disable our capacity to meet the double hurdle of scholarly quality and relevance A more contextualist and dynamic view of knowing needs to be supported by a re-engagement of management researchers with social scientists and users, a re-engagement between European management researchers and their colleagues in the USA and a period of experimentation and learning with all the potential partners out there waiting to engage with us
TL;DR: A model of strategic information systems (IS) investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is developed, which is termed the focus-dominance model, and reports that IS investment is strongly influenced by an SME's strategic context.
Abstract: Based on multiple-case research, this paper develops a model of strategic information systems (IS) investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). IS investment is modelled as a function of an SME's strategic context as defined by its strategic focus, i.e. cost reduction versus value added and its market positioning, i.e. few versus many customers. The paper first investigates the ways in which IS may add value to organizations. It then outlines the use of IS in SMEs. This is followed by an analysis of competitiveness in small businesses. The paper develops an analytical model, which is termed the focus-dominance model, analyses case studies of 27 firms and reports that IS investment is strongly influenced by an SME's strategic context. Four cases are presented in order to illustrate the four different IS profiles identified. Finally, the implications for theory and practice are discussed.
TL;DR: A new methionine sulfoxide reductase is identified, which is referred to as MsrB, the gene of which is present in genomes of eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eucaryotes and is required for cadmium resistance of E. coli.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a literature review and three mini-case studies to explore the issues in the branding debate and to illustrate how brand management is changing in response to market and environmental changes.
Abstract: Recent academic work has introduced a series of innovative concepts to the branding debate. In particular, the concept of brands that are embedded throughout the organisation has come to the fore. This paper uses a literature review and three mini‐case studies to explore the issues in the branding debate and to illustrate how brand management is changing in response to market and environmental changes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the results of an analysis of the determinants of the academic performance of undergraduate students leaving UK universities in 1993, based on a unique data-set which matches the administrative records of the full cohort of students at ‘old universities' with DfEE information on the characteristics of the last school attended by each student prior to university entrance.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of an analysis of the determinants of the academic performance of undergraduate students leaving UK universities in 1993. The analysis is based on a unique data-set which matches the administrative records of the full cohort of students at ‘old universities’ with DfEE information on the characteristics of the last school attended by each student prior to university entrance. The data also include information on students’ prior qualifications and on their social class background. At a time when the UK government is implementing a series of policy initiatives into the higher education sector, there are a number of motivations for our analysis of the factors influencing university students’ academic performance. Our first motivation concerns the current debate surrounding the recent
TL;DR: Both their presence in many diverse bacteria and their simplified assembly with biliverdin suggest that BphPs are the progenitors of phytochrome-type photoreceptors.
Abstract: Phytochromes comprise a principal family of red/far-red light sensors in plants. Although phytochromes were thought originally to be confined to photosynthetic organisms, we have recently detected phytochrome-like proteins in two heterotrophic eubacteria, Deinococcus radiodurans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we show that these form part of a widespread family of bacteriophytochromes (BphPs) with homology to two-component sensor histidine kinases. Whereas plant phytochromes use phytochromobilin as the chromophore, BphPs assemble with biliverdin, an immediate breakdown product of haem, to generate photochromic kinases that are modulated by red and far-red light. In some cases, a unique haem oxygenase responsible for the synthesis of biliverdin is part of the BphP operon. Co-expression of this oxygenase with a BphP apoprotein and a haem source is sufficient to assemble holo-BphP in vivo. Both their presence in many diverse bacteria and their simplified assembly with biliverdin suggest that BphPs are the progenitors of phytochrome-type photoreceptors.