Novel gene and uses therefor

The present invention relates generally to a nucleic acid molecule which encodes a protein associated with the modulation of obesity, diabetes and metabolic energy levels. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a nucleic and a recombinant and purified naturally occurring protein encoded thereby and their uses in therapeutic and diagnostic protocols for conditions such as obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance. The subject nucleic acid molecule and protein and their derivatives, homologues, analogues and mimetics are proposed as therapeutic and diagnostic agents for obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance.

Tourist benefits research : old and new issues and uses in a cultural tourism context

Benefits sought and gained by tourists are relevant to developing tourist markets for cultural attractions and experiences as this paper will demonstrate. The main objectives of this paper are to identify benefit variables commonly used in tourism marketing, their purpose of use, and associated issues by reviewing existing empirical research of tourism benefits and specifically examining the applications to date in cultural tourism contexts. For the benefits most commonly found in tourist benefit research and of relevance to tourists’ cultural experiences, a benefits typology from the allied area of leisure (Driver & Bruns, 1999) is applied to categorise these benefits and develop a conceptual typology for consideration. Research propositions for future research of tourists’ cultural experiences are also proposed including new uses for benefit variable dimensions.

A gene and uses therefor

The present invention relates generally to a nucleic acid molecule which encodes a protein associated with the modulation of obesity, diabetes and metabolic energy levels. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a nucleic and a recombinant and purified naturally occurring protein encoded thereby and their uses in therapeutic and diagnostic protocols for conditions such as obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance. The subject nucleic acid molecule and protein and their derivatives, homologues, analogues and mimetics are proposed as therapeutic and diagnostic agents for obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance.

Book review : Ethics and organizational practice : questioning the moral foundations of management

The arena of ethics and business is a colossus: thousands of books, multiple dedicated journals, de rigueur organizational ethics policies and CSR initiatives - most of which we can be fairly confident would receive poor reviews by the editors and authors of Ethics and organizational practice: Questioning the moral foundations of management. This edited collection is a self-identified ‘critical’ take on business ethics, one that according to the editors’ introduction wishes to ‘expose business ethics to its crises’ and ‘critically investigate(s) what ethics means’. The ‘critical’ which Muhr, Sørensen and Vallentin invoke is one that would be familiar to authors and readers of Critical Management Studies – that is, to use Fournier and Grey’s (2000) oft-referenced depiction, the study of management and organization that is non-performative with regards to managerialist concerns of efficiency and profitability, that seeks to denaturalize taken-for-granted legitimations, and the normalization of current organizational practices and ideologies, and one which demonstrates significant reflexivity with regard to the philosophies and methodologies it deploys. To the above, we may also add pluralism, and indeed some playfulness, with a wide diversity of conceptual, theoretical, historical and popular sources mined for their potential to help us reconsider the organizational present.

Cloud computing services : theoretical foundations of ethical and entrepreneurial adoption behaviour

Clouicomputing is an emerging service technology that has ethical and entrepreneurial implications. Due to technological innovations increasing the attention placed on cloud computing services, more people are focusing on the security and privacy issues determined by ethical guidelines and how the technology is evolving as an entrepreneurial service innov.ation. This paper presents a theoretical perspective on how a person adopts cloud computing. The literature on technology innovation and adoption behaviour is examined with a focus on social cognitive theory. A theoretical framework is then presented, which indicates a number of propositions to describe the intention of a person to adopt cloud computing services. The role of technology marketing capability, sustained learning and outcome expectancy are included in helping to understand the role of cloud computing applications. Suggestions for future research and practical implications are stated.

Book review : The making of the European Union : foundations, institutions and future trends

Whilst there are many books on the European Union (EU), this recently published book by four scholars is a comprehensive and important addition to the research on Europe. As the title of the book suggests, the EU is impacted by historical events and is shaped by future trends. The authors of this book include eight chapters on the EU that range from an analysis of the EU's development from a free trading area to having a common currency to how the EU is changing in terms of diversity and consumer trends. The book contains the most recent figures that are available on the EU and these figures are presented in useful tables to explain developments in the EU. This book stands out from the existing books on the EU by combining a cultural and historical analysis together with current discourse on the EU. The book is easy to read and is very suitable for both scholars, public policy practitioners and general readers who want a holistic book that incorporates a diverse range of topics on the EU.

An investigation into the drivers of Australian REIT merger and acquisition announcements

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use Australian Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) data to empirically examine potential influencing factors on A-REITs becoming a bidder or a target in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) area.

Design/methodology/approach – This study uses logistic regression analysis to investigate the odds of publically traded A-REITs being either a bidder or a target as a function of a number of financial and corporate governance variables.

Findings – Prior research in the US REIT M&A area has shown that target size is inversely related to takeover likelihood; in contrast, the authors’ Australian results show that size has a positive impact. Prior research on share price and asset performance has shown that underperformance increases the odds of an entity becoming a target, but this paper’s results further support these findings and provide confirmation of the inefficient management hypothesis. For acquirers it was found that leverage, cash balances, management structure, the level of shares held by related parties and the global financial crisis have an important impact on bidder likelihood.

Practical implications – Given that the literature suggests that investors can earn significant positive abnormal returns by owning targets, but incur significant abnormal losses by owning bidders, at announcement, this study will be useful to fund managers and other investors in A-REITs by investigating the characteristics of those firms that become targets and bidders.

Originality/value – This paper adds to the recent US REIT M&A literature by examining the second biggest REIT market in the world and reporting a number of factors that might influence A-REITs to become targets or bidders.

Performance indicators and the deeper foundations of performance

Critics of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) argue that KPIs culture rewards the immediate production of tangible outcomes sometimes at the expense of social engagement and cooperative behaviour. The need to gain immediate outcomes in the current KPIs performance culture focuses many individuals onto forms of productivity that gain high KPIs but at what cost? What effect does this single minded focus have on developing organisational loyalties and commitments? Some scholars have suggested that a singular focus on performance indicator success may crowd out other positive social capital in institutions.

Who uses new walking and cycling infrastructure and how? Longitudinal results from the UK iConnect study

Objective
To examine how adults use new local walking and cycling routes, and what characteristics predict use.

Methods
1849 adults completed questionnaires in 2010 and 2011, before and after the construction of walking and cycling infrastructure in three UK municipalities. 1510 adults completed questionnaires in 2010 and 2012. The 2010 questionnaire measured baseline characteristics; the follow-up questionnaires captured infrastructure use.

Results
32% of participants reported using the new infrastructure in 2011, and 38% in 2012. Walking for recreation was by far the most common use. In both follow-up waves, use was independently predicted by higher baseline walking and cycling (e.g. 2012 adjusted rate ratio 2.09 (95% CI 1.55, 2.81) for > 450 min/week vs. none). Moreover, there was strong specificity by mode and purpose, e.g. baseline walking for recreation specifically predicted walking for recreation on the infrastructure. Other independent predictors included living near the infrastructure, better general health and higher education or income.

Conclusions
The new infrastructure was well-used by local adults, and this was sustained over two years. Thus far, however, the infrastructure may primarily have attracted existing walkers and cyclists, and may have catered more to the socio-economically advantaged. This may limit its impacts on population health and health equity.

The inter-section of political history and health policy in Asia - the historical foundations for health policy analysis

One of the challenges for health reform in Asia is the diverse set of socio-economic and political structures, and the related variability in the direction and pace of health systems and policy reform. This paper aims to make comparative observations and analysis of health policy reform in the context of historical change, and considers the implications of these findings for the practice of health policy analysis. We adopt an ecological model for analysis of policy development, whereby health systems are considered as dynamic social constructs shaped by changing political and social conditions. Utilizing historical, social scientific and health literature, timelines of health and history for five countries (Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia, North Korea and Timor Leste) are mapped over a 30-50 year period. The case studies compare and contrast key turning points in political and health policy history, and examines the manner in which these turning points sets the scene for the acting out of longer term health policy formation, particularly with regard to the managerial domains of health policy making. Findings illustrate that the direction of health policy reform is shaped by the character of political reform, with countries in the region being at variable stages of transition from monolithic and centralized administrations, towards more complex management arrangements characterized by a diversity of health providers, constituency interest and financing sources. The pace of reform is driven by a country's institutional capability to withstand and manage transition shocks of post conflict rehabilitation and emergence of liberal economic reforms in an altered governance context. These findings demonstrate that health policy analysis needs to be informed by a deeper understanding and questioning of the historical trajectory and political stance that sets the stage for the acting out of health policy formation, in order that health systems function optimally along their own historical pathways.