A hazai vállalatok pénzügyi teljesítményének alakulása 1994 és 2009 között = The financial performance of Hungarian firms between 1994 and 2009

Kutatásunkban Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem Vállalatgazdaságtan Intézete által az 1995 és 2010 között lebonyolított „Versenyben a világgal” kutatási program kérdőívei alapján a hazai vállalatok versenyképességét befolyásoló tényezőket vizsgáltuk. Eredményeink szerint a krízis hatására az adók versenyképességi jelentősége megnőtt, s – különösen a nagy visszaesést elszenvedőknél – gyakoribbak lettek a piac megőrzését célzó stratégiák. A válság hatását mélyítette, hogy a vállalatok devizakockázat-kezelése nem megfelelő, s a bankok sem tökéletesen szolgálják ki a vállalatok igényeit. Az utóbbi 10-15 esztendőben a késve fizetés egyre gyakoribb lett, s e trendet a válság csak erősítette. _____ Our paper investigates the factors influencing the competitiveness of the Hungarian enterprises based on the research questionnaires of the research program “Companies and competitiveness” of the Business Economics Department at Corvinus University of Budapest carried out between 1995 and 2010. Our results show that due to the crisis the role played by taxes in competitiveness has gained importance, and especially at firms suffering from heavy losses the strategies firstly aiming at keeping markets became more frequent. The effects of the global turndown have been amplified by the weak currency risk management of the Hungarian firms, and by the fact that the service provided by local banks is lagging behind expectations of the companies. During the last 10-15 years the late payment of receivables became more and more frequent in Hungary, a trend that has been even enforced by the depression.

The effects of sex of teacher, sex of scenario principal, and leadership style on the performance ratings of scenario principals by teachers

This study was designed to address questions regarding the effects of sex and leadership style on teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness. On a researcher-designed instrument, middle school teachers rated the effectiveness of a scenario principal's response in several situations. The responses reflected varying levels of Task and Relationship Behavior.^ The design incorporated two between subjects factors (Teacher Sex and Principal Sex) and one within subjects factor (Leadership Style) which was treated as a repeated measure. An analysis of variance revealed no significant effects except for Leadership Style. Overall, High Task/High Relationship behavior rated significantly higher and Low Task/Low Relationship rated significantly lower than the others. The null hypothesis concerning differences could not be rejected and the stated research hypotheses were not supported.^ Additional analyses of variance were conducted substituting subject demographic variables for Teacher Sex in the research design. No significant interactions or main effects other than Leadership Style were noted when either Age or Ethnicity were substituted.^ A significant two-way interaction was noted for Teacher Experience and Leadership Style (p =.0316). Less experienced teachers rated principal's performance lower when exhibiting High Task/Low Relationship style than did more experienced teachers. A significant three-way interaction was noted for Administrative Aspiration x Principal Sex x Leadership Style (p =.0294). Teachers who indicated an intent to enter administration differed more on their ratings between male and female principals exhibiting mixed styles of High Task/Low Relationship and Low Task/High Relationship than did teachers who indicated no or undecided.^ Sex of the teacher appears less important than sex of the principal on performance ratings. Results suggest further study of the effects of teacher experience and teacher administrative aspiration on perceptions of principal effectiveness. ^

A comparative analysis of self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported work and in sheltered workshop environments

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported employment and in sheltered workshop environments. The instrument, Job Observation and Behavior Scale: Opportunity for Self-Determination (JOBS: OSD; Brady, Rosenberg, & Frain, 2006), was administered to 38 adults with mental retardation from sheltered workshops and 32 adults with mental retardation from supported employment environments. Cross-tabulations with Chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate differences between the two groups, sheltered workshop and supported work. Two Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) were conducted to determine the effect of work environment on Quality of Performance (QP) and Types of Support (TS) test scores and their subscales. ^ This study found that there were significant differences between the groups on the QP Behavior and Job Duties subscales. The sheltered workshop group perceived themselves as performing significantly better on job duties than the supported work group. Conversely, the supported work group perceived themselves to have better behavior than the sheltered workshop group. However, there were no significant differences between groups in their perception of support needs for the three subscales. ^ The findings imply that work environment affects the self-determined evaluations of work performance by adults with mental retardation. Recommendations for further study include (a) detailing the characteristics of supported work and sheltered workshops that support and/or discourage self-determined behaviors, (b) exploring the behavior of adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and supported work environments, and (c) analysis of the support needs for and understanding of them by adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and in supported work environments. ^

Cognitive Performance May be Impaired by Exercise in a Hot, Humid Environment: A Preliminary Investigation

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute active dehydration by exercise in a hot, humid environment on cognitive performance. Our findings were inconclusive compared to previous studies that reported decreased cognitive performance in manual laborers and military personnel working in extreme environmental conditions.

Performance in Private Clubs: Criteria Utilized by Managers

As the first step toward developing performance benchmarks for non profit private clubs, the authors identify the criteria that club managers use to evaluate club performance. Responses from 254 club managers across the US. indicate that all 16 performance criteria included in the survey were utilized to some extent, but the top three were membership satisfaction, quality of services offered, and quality of staff.

Method development for the analysis of smokeless powders and organic gunshot residue by ultra performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

The goal of this project was to develop a rapid separation and detection method for analyzing organic compounds in smokeless powders and then test its applicability on gunshot residue (GSR) samples. In this project, a total of 20 common smokeless powder additives and their decomposition products were separated by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM). Some of the targeted compounds included diphenylamines, centralites, nitrotoluenes, nitroglycerin, and various phthalates. The compounds were ionized in the MS source using simultaneous positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI) with negative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in order to detect all compounds in a single analysis. The developed UPLC/MS/MS method was applied to commercially available smokeless powders and gunshot residue samples recovered from the hands of shooters, spent cartridges, and smokeless powder retrieved from unfired cartridges. Distinct compositions were identified for smokeless powders from different manufacturers and from separate manufacturing lots. The procedure also produced specific chemical profiles when tested on gunshot residues from different manufacturers. Overall, this thesis represents the development of a rapid and reproducible procedure capable of simultaneously detecting the widest possible range of components present in organic gunshot residue.^

The effects of sex of teacher, sex of scenario principal and leadership style on the performance ratings of scenario principals by teachers

This study was designed to address questions regarding the effects of sex and leadership style on teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness. On a researcher-designed instrument, middle school teachers rated the effectiveness of a scenario principal's response in several situations. The responses reflected varying levels of Task and Relationship Behavior. The design incorporated two between subjects factors (Teacher Sex and Principal Sex) and one within subjects factor (Leadership Style) which was treated as a repeated measure. An analysis of variance revealed no significant effects except for Leadership Style. Overall, High Task/High Relationship behavior rated significantly higher and Low Task/Low Relationship rated significantly lower than the others. The null hypothesis concerning differences could not be rejected and the stated research hypotheses were not supported. Additional analyses of variance were conducted substituting subject demographic variables for Teacher Sex in the research design. No significant interactions or main effects other than Leadership Style were noted when either Age or Ethnicity were substituted. A significant two-way interaction was noted for Teacher Experience and Leadership Style (p = .0316). Less experienced teachers rated principal's performance lower when exhibiting High Task/Low Relationship style than did more experienced teachers. A significant three-way interaction was noted for Administrative Aspiration x Principal Sex x Leadership Style (p = .0294). Teachers who indicated an intent to enter administration differed more on their ratings between male and female principals exhibiting mixed styles of High Task/Low Relationship and Low Task/High Relationship than did teachers who indicated no or undecided. Sex of the teacher appears less important than sex of the principal on performance ratings. Results suggest further study of the effects of teacher experience and teacher administrative aspiration on perceptions of principal effectiveness.

Environmental analysis of polar herbicides in complex organic-rich matrices by high performance liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-API-MS)

A comprehensive forensic investigation of sensitive ecosystems in the Everglades Area is presented. Assessing the background levels of contamination in these ecosystems represents a vital resource to build up forensic evidence required to enforce future environmental crimes within the studied areas. This investigation presents the development and validation of a fractionation and isolation method for two families of herbicides commonly applied in the vicinity of the study area, including phenoxy acids like 2,4-D, MCPA, and silvex; as well as the most common triazine-based herbicides like atrazine, prometyne, simazine and related metabolites like DIA and DEA. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) were used to isolate the analytes from abiotic matrices containing large amounts of organic material. Atmospheric-pressure ionization (API) with electrospray ionization in negative mode (ESP-), and Chemical Ionization in the positive mode (APCI+) were used to perform the characterization of the herbicides of interest.

Microphytobenthos composition in Heron Reef, Australia, by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) (July 2012)

We quantified pigment biomarkers by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to obtain a broad taxonomic classification of microphytobenthos (MPB) (i.e. identification of dominant taxa). Three replicate sediment cores were collected at 0, 50 and 100 m along transects 5-9 in Heron Reef lagoon (n=15) (Fig. 1). Transects 1-4 could not be processed because the means to have the samples analysed by HPLC were not available at the time of field data collection. Cores were stored frozen and scrapes taken from the top of each one and placed in cryovials immersed in dry ice. Samples were sent to the laboratory (CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, Australia) where pigments were extracted with 100% acetone during fifteen hours at 4°C after vortex mixing (30 seconds) and sonication (15 minutes). Samples were then centrifuged and filtered prior to the analysis of pigment composition with a Waters - Alliance HPLC system equipped with a photo-diode array detector. Pigments were separated using a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C8 stainless steel 150 mm x 4.6 mm ID column with 3.5 µm particle size (Agilent Technologies) and a binary gradient system with an elevated column temperature following a modified version of the Van Heukelem and Thomas (2001) method. The separated pigments were detected at 436 nm and identified against standard spectra using Waters Empower software. Standards for HPLC system calibration were obtained from Sigma (USA) and DHI (Denmark).

Children's Planning Performance in the Zoo Map Task (BADS-C) : Is It Driven by General Cognitive Ability, Executive Functioning, or Prospection?

Peer reviewed

Study of the mechanisms by which carbohydrate administration during prolonged muscle contractions increases performance = Étude des mécanismes par lesquels l'administration de glucides améliore la performance durant des contractions prolongées du muscle

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Study of the mechanisms by which carbohydrate administration during prolonged muscle contractions increases performance = Étude des mécanismes par lesquels l'administration de glucides améliore la performance durant des contractions prolongées du muscle

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Physical activity in the school setting: cognitive performance is not affected by three different types of acute exercise

Recent studies indicate that a single bout of physical exercise can have immediatepositive effects on cognitive performance of children and adolescents. However, thetype of exercise that affects cognitive performance the most in young adolescents isnot fully understood. Therefore, this controlled study examined the acute effects ofthree types of 12-min classroom-based exercise sessions on information processingspeed and selective attention. The three conditions consisted of aerobic, coordination,and strength exercises, respectively. In particular, this study focused on the feasibilityand efficiency of introducing short bouts of exercise in the classroom. One hundredand ninety five students (5th and 6th grade; 10–13 years old) participated in a doublebaseline within-subjects design, with students acting as their own control. Exercise typewas randomly assigned to each class and acted as between-subject factor. Before andimmediately after both the control and the exercise session, students performed twocognitive tests that measured information processing speed (Letter Digit SubstitutionTest) and selective attention (d2 Test of Attention). The results revealed that exercisingat low to moderate intensity does not have an effect on the cognitive parameters testedin young adolescents. Furthermore, there were no differential effects of exercise type.The results of this study are discussed in terms of the caution which should be takenwhen conducting exercise sessions in a classroom setting aimed at improving cognitive performance.

Improved electrochemical performance of Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.4Nb0.1O6-δ -Sm0.2Ce0.8O2-δ composite cathodes by a one-pot method for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

In this paper, Sr₂Fe_1.5Mo_0.4Nb_0.1O_6-δ (SFMNb)-xSm_0.2Ce_0.8O_2-δ (SDC) (x = 0, 20, 30, 40, 50 wt%) composite cathode materials were synthesized by a one-pot combustion method to improve the electrochemical performance of SFMNb cathode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The fabrication of composite cathodes by adding SDC to SFMNb is conducive to providing extended electrochemical reaction zones for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrates that SFMNb is chemically compatible with SDC electrolytes at temperature up to 1100 °C. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicates that the SFMNb-SDC composite cathodes have a porous network nanostructure as well as the single phase SFMNb. The conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient of the composite cathodes decrease with the increased content of SDC, while the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) exhibits that SFMNb-40SDC composite cathode has optimal electrochemical performance with low polarization resistance (R_p) on the La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O₃ electrolyte. The R_p of the SFMNb-40SDC composite cathode is about 0.047 Ω cm² at 800 °C in air. A single cell with SFMNb-40SDC cathode also displays favorable discharge performance, whose maximum power density is 1.22 W cm^-2 at 800 °C. All results indicate that SFMNb-40SDC composite material is a promising cathode candidate for IT-SOFCs.