An examination of the joint venture market entry option in China : a case study of an Australian company's international marketing experience in China

There is a widely held view in the literature that foreign companies looking to invest in the China market should opt for joint ventures rather than wholly foreign-owned enterprises for many reasons, ranging from a smaller capital commitment to utilising the market knowledge of local Chinese partners. This paper examines this issue in the light of the experience of the Foster's Brewing Group which established three joint ventures in China only to reject this form of market entry option within a few years. The paper looks at some of the reasons behind Foster's rejection of the joint venture option and proposes some key guidelines that foreign companies should follow if they are to successfully establish joint ventures in China.

The role of human resource management (HRM) in Australian-Malaysian joint ventures

This article examines human resource management (HRM) for successful Australian-Malaysian joint ventures (JVs), on the basis of survey data and case studies. The findings suggest that each phase of JV development had its own pattern of HR practices. Three phases of development were distinguished - initiation, transitional, and maturational. The first phase involved selecting, recruiting and training a skilled workforce and formulating rudimentary human resource policies. Cultural differences were most marked in this phase. The second phase, after three years of operation, involved evolution of human resource policies better suited to local conditions, and more polycentric management staffing. The final phase, after six years of operation, saw the development of a distinctive human resources system, and the minimisation of cultural differences as an operational issue. In this phase there was also a move to more geocentric management staffing.

Joint space-time trellis decoding and channel estimation in correlated fading channels

This letter addresses the issue of joint space-time trellis decoding and channel estimation in time-varying fading channels that are spatially and temporally correlated. A recursive space-time receiver which incorporates per-survivor processing (PSP) and Kalman filtering into the Viterbi algorithm is proposed. This approach generalizes existing work to the correlated fading channel case. The channel time-evolution is modeled by a multichannel autoregressive process, and a bank of Kalman filters is used to track the channel variations. Computer simulation results show that a performance close to the maximum likelihood receiver with perfect channel state information (CSI) can be obtained. The effects of the spatial correlation on the performance of a receiver that assumes independent fading channels are examined.

Personality and responses to appetitive and aversive stimuli: the joint influence of behavioural approach and behavioural inhibition systems

Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) posits two separable neurological systems involved in the regulation of personality and behaviour. The behavioural approach and inhibition systems facilitate the expression of appetitive (impulsive-sensation seeking traits) and aversive motivation (anxiety traits), respectively. Inconsistent findings regarding associations between measures of personality and behavioural responses to appetitive and aversive stimuli has led to a modification of RST including the notion that, rather than separable as first hypothesised, the two systems jointly influence behaviour. The current study was designed to investigate this proposal with an additional focus on the role of reinforcement expectancies. Seventy-eight participants completed two questionnaire measures of BIS/BAS activity (EPQ-R, SPSRQ) and two behavioural measures (Q-TASK, Card Arranging Reward Responsivity Objective Task). Findings were in general consistent with the original separable systems approach, however they also showed that aversive responses were highest in high BAS/high BIS individuals, thus suggesting an interactive account of BIS/BAS processes. Further, stronger positive correlations between self-report BAS traits and behavioural reward responsiveness were found for participants who perceived the task as more rewarding than initially expected. Discussion focuses on the role of reward expectancies and on the issue regarding separable vs. joint BIS/BAS systems.

Continuity of care and general wellbeing of patients with comorbidities requiring joint replacement

Aim. The aim of this paper is to examine the continuity of care and general wellbeing of patients with comorbidities undergoing elective total hip or knee joint replacement.
Background. Advances in medical science and improved lifestyles have reduced mortality rates in most Western countries. As a result, there is an ageing population with a concomitant growth in the number of people who are living with multiple chronic illnesses, commonly referred to as comorbidities. These patients often require acute care services, creating a blend of acute and chronic illness needs. For example, joint replacement surgery is frequently performed to improve impaired mobility associated with osteoarthritis.
Method. A purposive sample of twenty participants with multiple comorbidities who required joint replacement surgery was recruited to obtain survey, interview and medical record audit data. Data were collected during 2004 and 2005.
Findings. Comorbidity care was poorly co-ordinated prior to having surgery, during the acute care stay and following surgery and primarily entailed prescribed medicines. The main focus in acute care was patient throughput following joint replacement surgery according to a prescribed clinical pathway. General wellbeing was less than optimal: participants reported pain, fatigue, insomnia and alterations in urinary elimination as the chief sources of discomfort during the course of the study.
Conclusion. Continuity of care of comorbidities was lacking. Comorbidities affected patient general wellbeing and delayed recovery from surgery. Acute care, clinical pathways and the specialisation of medicine and nursing subordinated the general problem of patients with comorbidities. Systems designed to integrate and co-ordinate chronic illness care had limited application in the acute care setting. A multidisciplinary, holistic approach is required. Recommendations for further research conclude this paper.

MMP2 and MMP9 plasma levels as markers of bone remodeling : a study on young male tennis players

Introduction
Our goal is to study the effects of tennis practice in pre-pubescent boys on bone remodeling, by means of enzyme activity involved in balance of matrix remodeling (MMP2 and MMP9).
Results
Mineral bone density has been found higher in the dominant arm (P < 0.0001) as well as MMP2 and MMP9 levels in plasma (P < 0.05).
Conclusion
Tennis practice in children increases bone remodeling, which can be assessed by MMP dosage, in addition of densitometry technique.

Understanding the factors contributing to inter-partner trust in joint ventures

Forming an international joint venture (IJV) with a local (Chinese) partner is one of the popular ways available for an overseas investor to enter into small and medium business sectors in China. A joint venture is commonly viewed as a cooperative, rather than a competitive, business relationship between two or more partners. Interpartner trust is widely acknowledged as a key prerequisite for genuine cooperation between joint venture partners. Although the importance of trust in the context of joint ventures is well recognized, the question of how interpartner trust is formed has received only scant attention in academic as well as professional literatures. Drawing from diverse academic literature bearing on the formation of trust between partner firms, this paper explores the factors that may contribute to inter-partner trust in the context of joint ventures. The primary argument in this paper is that trust between IJV partners is determined by observable and objective social, economic and structural factors. In other words, it is argued that interpartner trust is rational and it does not require a 'leap of faith'.

Ageing effects on knee and ankle joint angles at key events and phases of the gait cycle.

The objective of this research was to determine whether joint angles at critical gait events and during major energy generation/absorption phases of the gait cycle would reliably discriminate age-related degeneration during unobstructed walking. The gaits of 24 healthy adults (12 young and 12 elderly) were analysed using the PEAK Motus motion analysis system. The elderly participants showed significantly greater single (60.3% versus 62.3%, p < 0.01) and double ( p < 0.05) support times, reduced knee flexion (47.7° versus 43.0°, p < 0.05) and ankle plantarflexion (16.8° compared to 3.3°, p = 0.053) at toe off, reduced knee flexion during push-off and reduced ankle dorsiflexion (16.8° compared to 22.0°, p < 0.05) during the swing phase. The plantarflexing ankle joint motion during the stance to swing phase transition (A₂) for the young group (31.3°) was about twice ( p < 0.05) that of the elderly (16.9°). Reduced knee extension range of motion suggests that the elderly favoured a flexed-knee gait to assist in weight acceptance. Reduced dorsiflexion by the elderly in the swing phase implies greater risk of toe contact with obstacles. Overall, the results suggest that joint angle measures at critical events/phases in the gait cycle provide a useful indication of age-related degeneration in the control of lower limb trajectories during unobstructed walking.

Joint range of motion limitations in children and young adults with spinal muscular atrophy

Objectives
To elicit descriptive data about limited joint range of motion (ROM) in subjects with type II or III spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and to examine the relation between the number of motions with limited range and both age and functional ability.
Design
Descriptive cross-sectional study.
Setting
Neurologic pediatric outpatient clinic at a hospital in Taiwan.
Participants
Twenty-seven subjects with SMA type II (mean age, 9.8±6.5y) and 17 with SMA type III (mean age, 12.2±8.7y).
Intervention
Measurement with transparent goniometers of joint ROM bilaterally of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle.
Main outcome measures
The proportion of participants with each ROM limitation compared with all participants with the same SMA type, age distribution of the participants with each ROM limitation, mean range loss of each motion limitation, and the contracture index (risk index of joint contracture).
Results
Eighty-nine percent of the participants with SMA type II experienced knee extension limitation. Approximately 50% of the participants with both types of SMA had ankle dorsiflexion limitation. The motions of knee and hip extension and ankle dorsiflexion also had a relatively high contracture index. The number of motions with limited range positively correlated (P<.001) with age and upper-extremity functional grade (the higher the functional grade, the poorer the functional ability) for SMA type II.
Conclusions
We found varying degrees of joint ROM limitation. Certain motions were noted to be high risks for the development of contractures. This risk was higher mostly in younger children.

Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases : report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation

This report examines the science base of the relationship between diet and physical activity patterns and the major nutrition-related chronic diseases. Recommendations are made to help prevent death and disability from major nutrition-related chronic diseases.

Joint associations of multiple leisure-time sedentary behaviours and physical activity with obesity in Australian adults

Background
Television viewing and physical inactivity are independently associated with risk of obesity. However, how the combination of multiple leisure-time sedentary behaviours (LTSB) and physical activity (LTPA) may contribute to the risk of obesity is not well understood. We examined the joint associations of multiple sedentary behaviours and physical activity with the odds of being overweight or obese.

Methods
A mail survey collected the following data from adults living in Adelaide, Australia (n = 2210): self-reported height, weight, six LTSB, LTPA and sociodemographic variables. Participants were categorised into four groups according to their level of LTSB (dichotomised into low and high levels around the median) and LTPA (sufficient: ≥ 2.5 hr/wk; insufficient: < 2.5 hr/wk). Logistic regression analysis examined the odds of being overweight or obese (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) by the combined categories.

Results
The odds of being overweight or obese relative to the reference category (low sedentary behaviour time and sufficient physical activity) were: 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20–1.98) for the combination of low sedentary behaviour time and insufficient physical activity; 1.55 (95% CI: 1.20–2.02) for the combination of high sedentary behaviour time and sufficient physical activity; and 2.26 (95% CI: 1.75–2.92) for the combination of high sedentary behaviour time and insufficient physical activity.

Conclusion
Those who spent more time in sedentary behaviours (but were sufficiently physically active) and those who were insufficiently active (but spent less time in sedentary behaviour) had a similar risk of being overweight or obese. Reducing leisure-time sedentary behaviours may be as important as increasing leisure-time physical activity as a strategy to fight against obesity in adults.

The role of trust in joint venture control : a theoretical framework

This paper develops a theoretical framework and a number of propositions for systematically studying the role of trust in the control and performance of Joint Ventures, a prominent form of inter-firm alliance. The proposed framework is more complete than the frameworks available in the extant literature because it incorporates both transaction related risks and the partner related risks which are likely to impact on the reliance on particular control patterns. Partner-related risks in joint ventures are represented by the level of inter-partner trust, while transaction-related risks are represented by the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) variables of asset specificity, task complexity, performance measurability, and environmental uncertainty.

The framework also links one of the established management control typologies (i.e., behaviour, outcome, and social) to two of the alliance control patterns (bureaucratic-based pattern, and trust-based pattern) identified in the literature on alliance control.

A generalized joint inference approach for citation matching

Citation matching is the problem of extracting bibliographic records from citation lists in technical papers, and merging records that represent the same publication. Generally, there are three types of data- sets in citation matching, i.e., sparse, dense and hybrid types. Typical approaches for citation matching are Joint Segmentation (Jnt-Seg) and Joint Segmentation Entity Resolution (Jnt-Seg-ER). Jnt-Seg method is effective at processing sparse type datasets, but often produces many errors when applied to dense type datasets. On the contrary, Jnt-Seg-ER method is good at dealing with dense type datasets, but insufficient when sparse type datasets are presented. In this paper we propose an alternative joint inference approach–Generalized Joint Segmentation (Generalized-Jnt-Seg). It can effectively deal with the situation when the dataset type is unknown. Especially, in hybrid type datasets analysis there is often no a priori information for choosing Jnt-Seg method or Jnt-Seg-ER method to process segmentation and entity resolution. Both methods may produce many errors. Fortunately, our method can effectively avoid error of segmentation and produce well field boundaries. Experimental results on both types of citation datasets show that our method outperforms many alternative approaches for citation matching.