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This paper aims to investigate the role of aripiprazole once monthly as a maintenance treatment in a sample of patients with schizophrenia comorbid with alcohol and substance use disorder (AUD/SUD).

A sample of 24 Italian adult patients has been recruited and treated with aripiprazole once monthly after clinical stabilization with oral aripiprazole during May 2021 and June 2022. Clinical evaluations have been performed at the baseline (T0) and after 12 (T1) and 24 (T2) weeks.

During the study period, an improvement of both the clinical condition and general health from baseline was observed, as well as a reduction of craving for alcohol/substances. However, from T0, the number of patients who continued with this study decreased at T1 (n = 8) and then at T2 (n = 4). No serious adverse events were reported, including changes in weight, lipid/glucose metabolism, electrocardiogram and extra-pyramidal side effects.

Although limited by the high number of drop outs, this observational real-world study provided insights into the use of aripiprazole once monthly among a sample of patients with schizophrenia and comorbid SUD/AUD. Further studies of longer duration and on a larger sample are needed.

The problem of rotating a single large mass through a given angular distance so that the performance shall meet given specifications is considered. Initially it is assumed that the general nature of the torque which can be applied is prescribed, but that certain parameters are at our disposal; the practical determination of the best values of the parameters is considered. For the analogous electrical problem, this is equivalent to determining the best values of certain resistances, capacitances and inductances in a given network containing variable elements. But in order to solve the problem it is more effective to make alterations and additions to the network, so that it becomes equivalent to one having the required performance, and the way in which this can be achieved for the single rotating mass is discussed. The restriction to a single‐mass system is merely for convenience and simplicity; the procedure here discussed is perfectly general.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of social isolation of minors with a parent or grandparent suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to determine whether the psychological support offered by an Italian no-profit association helped them to manage stress.

Methodology: This study followed a qualitative research design. The participants responded to in-depth interviews that were processed with inductive thematic analysis.

Findings: Five themes emerged: feedback on the psychological intervention; learning and changes after the intervention; discourses on illness and death in the family; experiences and difficulties during the lockdown and suggestions for other peers who might face the same situation.

Social Implications: Psychological support is necessary for these minors, and it helped them to manage both the stress of living with ALS and the limitations of social relationships during the pandemic. It showed the importance of authentic and honest communication about illness and death that allowed minors to manage anxiety and fear. Positive reinterpretation of these experiences by transforming them into opportunities was also revealed.

Originality: Studies on families with ALS patients are numerous, but studies on children of these patients are still rare, and no study has investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these children. This research investigated a topic that has not been covered previously and it also provided the opportunity to know how these children, preadolescents and adolescents living in an already complex environment, have experienced lockdown and restrictions. The study also enriched the literature on this important issue.

The Flemish Examination Centre designed an intervention to establish a professional learning community on the topic of writing assessment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of this intervention and explain how this intervention succeeded in establishing a professional learning community.

A mixed method design was used to answer the research questions. Quantitative analysis of comparative judgement data provided insight into the effects of the intervention. More specifically was analysed whether examiners judged more in line after the intervention. Qualitative analysis of the conversations within the intervention served to examine how interdependent examiners behaved in the professionalisation exercises and to gain insight into how a professional learning community was established.

The analysis showed that the intervention of the Flemish Examination Centre facilitated the formation of a professional learning community. This was visible in the quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis showed that highly interdependent activities were helpful in establishing the professional learning community.

This study shows that interactions of high interdependence are beneficial to facilitate professional learning communities.

This study shows that the assessment data can guide a well-thought out design of interventions to establish professional learning communities among assessors. Assessment data can be a guidance for supportive group constellations and discussions to improve assessment practices. The key in this regard lies in the level of interdependence that is created among participants.

Long-run changes in living standards occupy an important place in development and growth economics, as well as in economic history. An extensive literature uses heights to study historical living standards. Most historical heights data, however, come from selected subpopulations such as volunteer soldiers, raising concerns about the role of selection bias in these results. Variations in sample mean heights can reflect selection rather than changes in population heights. A Roy-style model of the decision to join the military formalizes the selection problem. Simulations show that even modest differential rewards to the civilian sector produce a military heights sample that is significantly shorter than the cohort from which it is drawn. Monte Carlos show that diagnostics based on departure from the normal distribution have little power to detect selection. To detect height-related selection, we develop a simple, robust diagnostic based on differential selection by age at recruitment. A companion paper (H. Bodenhorn, T. Guinnane, and T. Mroz, 2017) uses this diagnostic to show that the selection problems affect important results in the historical heights literature.

IN the Douglas Super DC‐3 twin‐engined commercial transport, now being demonstrated throughout North and South America, may be seen an instructive example of what has come to be known in the aircraft industry as ‘bread‐and‐butter engineering’—the extension of the normal life‐span of a well‐tried design by rebuilding to modern operational and airworthiness standards. The ubiquitous DC‐3, from which the ‘super’ version is derived, has itself long been the bread‐and‐butter work‐horse of the air transport world, but its days are numbered under promulgated I.C.A.O. regulations which become operative in 1953. By rebuilding and modernizing the DC‐3 to international civil airworthiness standards, Douglas are out to show operators that the Super DC‐3 is the logical post‐war replacement in the twin‐engined short‐haul category.

The purpose of this article is to explain recent enforcement trends under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), providing examples of recent cases.

The paper describes recent trends in FCPA enforcement, including increased enforcement by US authorities, greater vigilance by private industry, and global anti‐corruption efforts. It provides an overview of the FCPA, including the original reason why the Act was passed, its anti‐bribery provisions, the need to show corrupt intent, the interstate commerce requirement, exceptions and affirmative defenses, record‐keeping and control provisions, and penalties. It describes recent FCPA prosecutions and enforcement actions and draws conclusions on how to reduce FCPA risk.

The FCPA is a Watergate‐era law that was passed in response to disclosures by a number of large US corporations that they had made illicit payments to foreign government officials. The FCPA applies to bribes by any US issuer or domestic concern, paid to any foreign official, foreign political party, official or candidate, or official of a public international organization in order to assist in obtaining, retaining, or directing business. To prosecute, the government must show corrupt intent. The FCPA also contains provisions that require accurate record‐keeping and internal controls of US issuers. Violations of the FCPA are subject to both criminal and civil penalties.

The paper presents a thorough explanation, practical advice, and examples of recent violations and penalties by experienced lawyers specializing in FCPA compliance as well as white‐collar defense, securities regulatory matters, internal investigations, and anti‐money laundering.

We explore the effects of three organizational variables (country of origin of the multinational company (MNC), the timing of entry into the European Union and the mode of establishment of the MNC subsidiary unit) on the human resource management (HRM) practices being pursued by subsidiaries of large MNCs operating in selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union. Furthermore, we examine whether the degree of autonomy afforded to the subsidiary over its preferred HR recipes is related to overall local unit performance.

We profile the HRM practices of 379 foreign owned subsidiaries located in Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Using descriptive statistics, we present the general characteristics of the sample and we then use bivariate statistical analysis to test our hypotheses relating to the impact of different organizational factors on the HR practice mix implemented in the MNC subsidiaries covered in our survey.

We find a significant correlation between the annual training budget, the importance of knowledge flow from headquarters (HQs) to the subsidiary and the perceived criticality of training and development and whether the subsidiary is a greenfield site or an acquisition. A correlation was also found between the national timing of EU membership (older members, newer and then candidate countries and non-EU members) and three HR practice variables: the use of expatriates, external service providers and employee relations practices.

Our research calls attention to the issue of balancing the efficiencies of standardization with the local preferences and traditions of customization which results in more successful MNC control and ultimately higher levels of performance. It also calls attention to the challenges in pursuing research of this nature over time in the CEE region, especially given the dynamic nature of the MNC mix in each of the countries.

Our findings serve to reduce the information gap on foreign-owned companies in CEE and the Former Soviet Union.

Despite some 30 years of transition, there remains a paucity of empirical research on the HR practices of MNCs across a number of countries in the CEE region. For a decade and a half, the CEEIRT group[1] has been systematically gathering empirical evidence. The combination of the breadth (10 countries) and depth (numerous items related to MNC subsidiary relationships with corporate HQs and patterns of HR practices and roles) characterizing the ongoing research effort of the CEEIRT collaboration serves as a mechanism for augmenting the empirical base on HRM in the region.

The paper addresses the following research question: how do decision-makers use heuristics in their international business (IB) environment? Whereas, the literature has focused on entrepreneurial companies, here contrasting approaches to learning and using heuristics in international marketing (IM) decisions are examined and discussed.

The paper aims to address a gap in the study of micro-foundations of internationalization, exploiting research from other disciplinary fields. It combines a multidisciplinary literature review and longitudinal case studies to illustrate different approaches in learning and using heuristics by international marketers.

International marketers can adopt “closed” heuristics that are consolidated and consistently followed, or “open” heuristics, which are constantly being adapted and learned. Established multinationals learn heuristics in international marketing decision-making, following both “closed” and “open” models.

This paper offers an original contribution by presenting different approaches not yet examined in the literature, focusing on how international marketers make decisions through learning and using heuristic rules. The focus is on established exporters, in contrast to the literature that has largely paid attention to the effectiveness of heuristics in new entrepreneurial firms.