bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Demonstration of a Borst–Jadassohn-Like Phenomenon in Sebaceous Carcinoma of the Eyelid
Authors: Stagner Anna M. , Jakobiec Frederick A.
Published: May 2015

A 77-year-old male presented with a diffuse, papular erythematous conjunctival mass that demonstrated on pathologic examination lobules of tumor in the conjunctival substantia propria and tarsus. The cells displayed numerous cytoplasmic vacuoles with extreme nuclear pleomorphism, consistent with sebaceous carcinoma. The overlying palpebral conjunctival epithelium exhibited regions of carcinoma in situ containing some vacuolated cells, alternating with a more classical appearance of pagetoid spread among normal surviving keratinocytes. Further analysis disclosed vesicular positivity for adipophilin and positive nuclear staining for androgen receptor. One tumor focus harbored exaggerated collections of intraepithelial tumor cells. These simulated the Borst–Jadassohn phenomenon of large nests of alien appearing cells normally encountered within the epidermis of the skin. This is the first description of this pattern created by an eyelid sebaceous carcinoma growing within the conjunctival epithelium.
Spontaneous Giant Pseudomeningocele in the Middle Cranial Fossa as a Cause of Pulsatile Proptosis
Authors: Nguyen Chinh T. , Guiney Anthony J. , Iseli Tim A. , King James A. J. , Hardy Thomas G.
Published: May 2015

The authors report a case of a 70-year-old man who presented with a long history of left pulsatile proptosis, irritation, and a pressure sensation behind the eye. Initial computed tomography brain demonstrated the presence of a suspected ethmoid sinus mucocele. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed to drain the mucocele. On cautious opening of the nasal mucosa, cerebrospinal fluid was encountered requiring subsequent repair with local mucosal flap and fat graft. On further magnetic resonance imaging, the lesion was confirmed to be giant pseudomeningocele arising from the sphenoid sinus, with extensive invasion and erosion of the middle cranial fossa including the left lateral orbital wall. Here, the authors report, to the best of their knowledge, the first case of spontaneous giant pseudomeningocele in the middle cranial fossa causing pulsatile proptosis. In examining this case, the authors will also discuss the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of giant pseudomeningoceles, especially in the situation of a misdiagnosis.
Treatment of Blepharospasm in Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome: Botulinum Toxin A Injection or Surgery
Authors: Kashkouli Mohsen Bahmani , Shahrzad Sahab , Jazayeri Anis Alsadat , Abtahi Mohammad Bagher
Published: May 2015

Schwartz-Jampel syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease that comprises facial and musculoskeletal deformity. Hereby, the authors report 2 cases of Schwartz-Jampel syndrome and surgical method of their management. The first case was a boy who was result of twin delivery whose sibling was completely normal. The second case was a girl who was the first child of her family. Both were born to a consanguineous marriage. Both had developed characteristic facial expressions of Schwartz-Jampel syndrome between 18 and 24 months of age. They had Botulinum toxin A injection (twice in the first and ones in the second case) with no improvement. Both were referred because of being functionally blind due to inability to open the eyelids around age 3.5 years. Orbicularis oculi myectomy, partial corrugator muscle excision, levator tucking, and lateral tarsal strip procedure was performed on both cases. No complication and no recurrence of eyelid contraction were observed after 4 years and 6 months follow up in the first and second case, respectively.
Quantifying crowd size with mobile phone and
Twitter
data
Authors: Botta Federico , Moat Helen Susannah , Preis Tobias
Published: May 2015

Being able to infer the number of people in a specific area is of extreme importance for the avoidance of crowd disasters and to facilitate emergency evacuations. Here, using a football stadium and an airport as case studies, we present evidence of a strong relationship between the number of people in restricted areas and activity recorded by mobile phone providers and the online service
Twitter
. Our findings suggest that data generated through our interactions with mobile phone networks and the Internet may allow us to gain valuable measurements of the current state of society.
Dynamics of an Expanding Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis Minor) Population
Authors: Law Peter R , Fike Brad , Lent Peter C.
Published: May 2015

Population dynamics is a central component of demography and critical for meta-population management, especially of endangered species. We employed complete individual life records to construct census data for a reintroduced black rhinoceros population over 22 years from its founding and investigated that population’s dynamics to inform black rhinoceros meta-population management practice and, more generally, megaherbivore ecology. Akaike’s information criterion applied to scalar models of population growth based on the generalized logistic unambiguously selected an exponential growth model (r= 0.102 ± 0.017), indicating a highly successful reintroduction, but yielding no evidence of density dependence. This result is consistent with, but does not confirm, the threshold model of density dependence that has influenced black rhinoceros meta-population management. Our analysis did support previous work contending that the generalized logistic is unreliable when fit to data that do not sample the entire range of possible population sizes. A stage-based matrix model of the exponential population dynamics exhibited mild transient behaviour. We found no evidence of environmental stochasticity, consistent with our previous studies of this population that found no influence of rainfall on demographic parameters. Process noise derived from demographic stochasticity, principally reflected in annual sex-specific recruitment numbers that differed from deterministic predictions of the matrix model. Demographically driven process noise should be assumed to be a component of megaherbivore population dynamics, as these populations are typically relatively small, and should be considered in managed removals and introductions. We suggest that an extended period of exponential growth is common for megaherbivore populations growing from small size and that an increase in age at first reproduction with increasing population size, manifest in the study population, may provide a warning of density feedback prior to detectable slowing of population growth rate for megaherbivores.
Targeted modification of gene function exploiting homology-directed repair of TALEN-mediated double strand breaks in barley
Authors: Budhagatapalli Nagaveni , Rutten Twan , Gurushidze Maia , Kumlehn Jochen , Hensel Goetz
Published: May 2015

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) open up new opportunities for targeted mutagenesis in eukaryotic genomes. Similar to zinc-finger nucleases, sequence-specific DNA-binding domains can be fused with effector domains like the nucleolytically active part of FokI in order to induce double strand breaks (DSBs) and thereby modify the host genome on a predefined target site via non-homologous end joining. More sophisticated applications of programmable endonucleases involve the use of a DNA repair template facilitating homology-directed repair (HDR) so as to create predefined rather than random DNA sequence modifications. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of editing the barley genome by precisely modifying a defined target DNA sequence resulting in a predicted alteration of gene function. We usedgfp-specific TALENs along with a repair template that, via HDR, facilitates conversion ofgfpintoyfpwhich is associated with a single amino acid exchange in the gene product. As a result of co-bombardment of leaf epidermis, we detected YFP accumulation in about 3 out of 100 mutated cells. The creation of a functionalyfpgene via HDR was unambiguously confirmed by sequencing of the respective genomic site. Predictable genetic modifications comprising only a few genomic base pairs rather than entire genes are of particular practical relevance, because they might not fall under the European regulation of genetically engineered organisms. In addition to the allele conversion accomplishedin planta,a readily screenable marker system is introduced that might be useful for optimization approaches in the field of genome editing.
Deconvolution of gene expression noise into physical dynamics of cognate promoters
Authors: Goñi-Moreno Ángel , Benedetti Ilaria , Kim Juhyun , Lorenzo Víctor de
Published: May 2015

When facing recalcitrant pollutants, soil bacteria exploit noise of catabolic promoters for deploying environmentally beneficial phenotypes such as metabolic bet-hedging an/or division of biochemical labor. While the origin of such noise in terms of upstream promoter-regulator interplay is hardly understood, its dynamics has to be somehow encrypted in the patterns of flow-cytometry data delivered by transcriptional reporter fusions. On this background, we have examined the behaviour of thePmpromoter of the environmental bacteriumPseudomonas putidaand its cognate 3-methylbenzoate-responsive regulator XylS under different conditions by following expression ofPm-GFP fusions in single cells. Using mathematical modeling and computational simulations we elucidated the kinetic properties of the system and use them as a baseline code to interpret the observed fluorescence output in terms of upstream regulator variability. Transcriptional noise was predicted to depend on the intracellular physical distance between the regulator source (where the e.g. XylS is being produced in the cells) and the target promoter. Experiments with engineered bacteria where this distance is either minimized or enlarged proved the effects of proximity on noise patterns as predicted by the model. This approach not only allowed deconvolution of cytometry data into mechanistic information on the gene expression flow. But it also provided a mechanistic basis for selecting a given level of noise in engineered regulatory nodes e.g. in Synthetic Biology constructs.
Diaphony, a measure of uniform distribution, and the Patterson function
Authors: Hornfeck Wolfgang , Kuhn Philipp
Published: May 2015

This paper reviews the number-theoretic concept ofdiaphony, a measure of uniform distribution for number sequences and point sets based on a Fourier theory approach, and its relation to crystallographic concepts like the largest interplanar spacing of a lattice, the structure-factor equation and the Patterson function.
Bottleneck detection for improvement of Emergency Department efficiency
Authors: Zhao Yuancheng , Peng Qingjin , Strome Trevor , Weldon Erin , Zhang Michael , Chochinov Alecs
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce a method of the bottleneck detection for Emergency Department (ED) improvement using benchmarking and design of experiments (DOE) in simulation model.

Design/methodology/approach

– Four procedures of treatments are used to represent ED activities of the patient flow. Simulation modeling is applied as a cost-effective tool to analyze the ED operation. Benchmarking provides the achievable goal for the improvement. DOE speeds up the process of bottleneck search.

Findings

– It is identified that the long waiting time is accumulated by previous arrival patients waiting for treatment in the ED. Comparing the processing time of each treatment procedure with the benchmark reveals that increasing the treatment time mainly happens in treatment in progress and emergency room holding (ERH) procedures. It also indicates that the to be admitted time caused by the transfer delay is a common case.

Research limitations/implications

– The current research is conducted in the ED only. Activities in the ERH require a close cooperation of several medical teams to complete patients’ condition evaluations. The current model may be extended to the related medical units to improve the model detail.

Practical implications

– ED overcrowding is an increasingly significant public healthcare problem. Bottlenecks that affect ED overcrowding have to be detected to improve the patient flow.

Originality/value

– Integration of benchmarking and DOE in simulation modeling proposed in this research shows the promise in time-saving for bottleneck detection of ED operations.
Constraint-based reasoning on declarative process execution with the logics workbench
Authors: Lam Vitus
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– An integral part of declarative process modelling is to guarantee that the execution of a declarative workflow is compliant with the respective business rules. The purpose of this paper is to establish a formal framework for representing business rules and determining whether any business rules are violated during the executions of declarative process models.

Design/methodology/approach

– In the approach, a business rule is phrased in terms of restricted English that is related to a constraint template. Linear temporal logic (LTL) is employed as a formalism for defining the set of constraint templates. By exploiting the theorem-proving feature of the Logics Workbench (LWB), business rule violations are then detected in an automatic manner.

Findings

– This study explored the viability of encoding: first, process executions by means of LTL and second, business rules in terms of restricted English that built upon pattern-oriented templates and LTL. The LWB was used for carrying out temporal reasoning through automated techniques. The applicability of the formal verification approach was exemplified by a case study concerning supply chain management. The findings showed that practical reasoning could be achieved by combining declarative process modelling, restricted English, pattern-oriented templates, LTL and LWB.

Originality/value

– First, new business rule templates are proposed; second, business rules are expressed in restricted English instead of graphical constructs; third, both finite execution trace and business rules are grounded in LTL. There is no need to deal with the semantic differences between different formalisms; and finally, the theorem prover LWB is used for the conformance checking of a finite execution trace against business rules.
Agile, a guiding principle for health care improvement?
Authors: Tolf Sara , Nyström Monica E. , Tishelman Carol , Brommels Mats , Hansson Johan
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increased understanding of the concept agile and its potential for hospital managers to optimize design of organizational structures and processes to combine internal efficiency and external effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

– An integrative review was conducted using the reSEARCH database. Articles met the following criteria: first, a definition of agility; second, descriptions of enablers of becoming an agile organization; and finally, discussions of agile on multiple organizational levels. In total, 60 articles qualified for the final analysis.

Findings

– Organizational agility rests on the assumption that the environment is uncertain, ranging from frequently changing to highly unpredictable. Proactive, reactive or embracive coping strategies were described as possible ways to handle such uncertain environments. Five organizational capacities were derived as necessary for hospitals to use the strategies optimally: transparent and transient inter-organizational links; market sensitivity and customer focus; management by support for self-organizing employees; organic structures that are elastic and responsive; flexible human and resource capacity for timely delivery. Agile is portrayed as either the “new paradigm” following lean, the needed development on top of a lean base, or as complementary to lean in distinct hybrid strategies.

Practical implications

– Environmental uncertainty needs to be matched with coping strategies and organizational capacities to design processes responsive to real needs of health care. This implies that lean and agile can be combined to optimize the design of hospitals, to meet different variations in demand and create good patient management.

Originality/value

– While considerable value has been paid to strategies to improve the internal efficiency within hospitals, this review raise the attention to the value of strategies of external effectiveness.
Service quality in contracted facilities
Authors: Rabbani Fauziah , Pradhan Nousheen Akber , Zaidi Shehla , Azam Syed Iqbal , Yousuf Farheen
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the readiness of contracted and non-contracted first-level healthcare facilities in Pakistan to deliver quality maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. A balanced scorecard (BSC) was used as the assessment framework.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a cross-sectional study design, two rural health centers (RHCs) contracted out to Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan were compared with four government managed RHCs. A BSC was designed to assess RHC readiness to deliver good quality MNH care. In total 20 indicators were developed, representing five BSC domains: health facility functionality, service provision, staff capacity, staff and patient satisfaction. Validated data collection tools were used to collect information. Pearsonχ2, Fisher’s Exact and the Mann-Whitney tests were applied as appropriate to detect significant service quality differences among the two facilities.

Findings

– Contracted facilities were generally found to be better than non-contracted facilities in all five BSC domains. Patients’ inclination for facility-based delivery at contracted facilities was, however, significantly higher than non-contracted facilities (80 percent contracted vs 43 percent non-contracted,p=0.006).

Practical implications

– The study shows that contracting out initiatives have the potential to improve MNH care.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to compare MNH service delivery quality across contracted and non-contracted facilities using BSC as the assessment framework.
Exploring the effect of complex patients on care delivery tasks
Authors: Ozkaynak Mustafa , Johnson Sharon A. , Tulu Bengisu , Donovan Jennifer L. , Kanaan Abir O. , Rose Adam
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The needs of complex patients with chronic conditions can be unpredictable and can strain resources. Exploring how tasks vary for different patients, particularly those with complex needs, can yield insights about designing better processes in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to explore the tasks required to manage complex patients in an anticoagulation therapy context.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors analyzed interviews with 55 staff in six anticoagulation clinics using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) work system framework. The authors qualitatively described complex patients and their effects on care delivery.

Findings

– Data analysis highlighted how identifying complex patients and their effect on tasks and organization, and the interactions between them was important. Managing complex patients required similar tasks as non-complex patients, but with greater frequency or more intensity and several additional tasks. After complex patients and associated patient interaction and care tasks were identified, a work system perspective was applied to explore how such tasks are integrated within clinics and the resulting implications for resource allocation.

Practical implications

– The authors present a complex patient management framework to guide workflow design in specialty clinics, to better support high quality, effective, efficient and safe healthcare.

Originality/value

– The complex patient framework presented here, based on the SEIPS framework, suggests a more formal and integrated analysis be completed to provide better support for appropriate resource allocation and care coordination.
Striving for job security
Authors: Barsoum Ghada
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it seeks to voice the concerns of educated youth in Egypt as they describe their work options and preferences. Second, it seeks to highlight the gravity of the policy gap in addressing work informality, drawing on some of the international experience in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews, desk-review of policies, and descriptive statistical analysis of a recent national survey of labour in Egypt.

Findings

– A large proportion of educated youth work within the realm of informality and there is a clear policy gap in addressing this issue. Contrary to what would be expected, young people value access to social security and work stability. They face systemic hurdles related to access to such benefits. Because of the legacy of guaranteed government hiring of the educated in Egypt, young people express a great appreciation of work in the government, for virtually being the only employer offering job stability and social security in the labour market.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper addresses a gap in the literature on youth employment in Egypt, where there is a dearth of research focusing on the lived experience of employment precariousness. The majority of studies in this field relies on statistics with little qualitative research voicing the views of this group.

Practical implications

– Reforms are more urgent than timely to extend social security and other measures of social protection to workers within the informal economy.

Originality/value

– The paper builds on primary data and provides insights about the way educated youth perceive their working conditions and options. The paper also provides a discussion of the social security system in Egypt, its coverage, and possible reform approaches.
Examining search as opposed to experience goods when investigating synergies of internet news articles and banner ads
Authors: Micu Anca C. , Pentina Iryna
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the economics of information-driven product categorization – search vs experience products – when investigating online brand advertising and news synergies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Randomized controlled post-test experiment with over 400 participants in three treatment groups involving exposures to paid advertising (banner ad-plus-banner ad) and publicity (news article-plus-banner ad and banner ad-plus-news article) for four products. Questionnaire upon web site exit tested differences in brand attitudes among treatment groups and product categories.

Findings

– Findings indicate that including news about the brand in the online brand communication mix – either before or after ads – generates higher brand attitude scores for experience products. For search products sequence matters and brand attitudes are more positive when consumers are exposed to news articles first followed by advertisements.

Research limitations/implications

– Findings limited to the four product categories and student participants.

Practical implications

– When promoting search goods online, brand managers should include publicity only before display advertising efforts. For experience goods, publicity generates higher brand attitude scores when included either before or while running display advertising.

Originality/value

– First study examining online publicity and advertising synergies from an economics of information theory perspective separating search from experience goods when promoting new/unknown brands online. In the online environment, the line between journalistic/news and promotional/advertising text-based content has become increasingly blurred. Compared to paid online advertising, using third-party attributed communications sources like publicity increases message credibility. Adding product-related news and blog articles to banner advertisements may benefit from synergistic effects and have consumers process the brand message more extensively. The order of exposure to the different brand messages matters when promoting search as opposed to experience products online.
Explaining the internet usage of SMEs
Authors: Caniëls Marjolein C. J. , Lenaerts Heidi K. L. , Gelderman Cees J.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are underrepresented in market orientation and internet-related research. Yet, marketing-related issues represent some of the most important problems for SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to explain why SMEs use the internet in business processes and to explore the relationship between market orientation and internet usage.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study amalgamates the technology acceptance model, the motivation model and the integrated model of technology acceptance into one model. Hypotheses are tested with survey data from Belgian SMEs using partial least squares.

Findings

– One of the findings is that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are positively significantly related to internet usage intention. No significant relationships were found between behavioural norms and perceived ease of use and between perceived ease of use and the intention to use the internet.

Practical implications

– Managerial implications include that SME-internet training providers should focus on methods to increase the user’s perceived enjoyment (intrinsic motivation) instead of emphasizing the perceived ease of use of the internet.

Originality/value

– Researchers as well as practitioners have stressed the gains from implementing market-orientated strategies in firms. Together with the prominence of studies about patterns and characteristics of internet usage, this calls for studies that integrate these two streams of literature. The study shows in what way market orientation is related to the capability to use internet to a firm’s long term advantage. Up till now the relationship between market orientation and internet use has hardly received attention.
Antecedents ofhalalbrand personality
Authors: Ahmad Muhamad Fazil
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to create and managehalalbrands as valuable business assets based on a proposedhalalBrand Personality dimension in the micro-spectrum of halalan (lawful) Tayyiba (good) concept in Malaysia. The chances of using Brand personality attributes as a mechanism to get the primary dimensions ofhalalbranding attributes are high.

Design/methodology/approach

– Methods of interviews and surveys were conducted based on personality traits to construct key dimensions and attributes of thehalalBrand Personality. A structured interview with sevenhalalcertification experts from The Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia – JAKIM) and factor analysis method were based on non-probability, basic sampling using questionnaire surveys on 135 personnel from the Department of Islamic Affairs, Terengganu (Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Terengganu, Malaysia – JHEAT) that were involved directly or indirectly in monitoringhalalcertification.

Findings

– The author aims to cultivate a theoretical framework for thehalalBrand Personality. The paper introduces five dimensions, namely, Purity, Excitement, Safety, Sophistication and Righteousness.

Originality/value

– The extraction of the five factors that contribute to thehalalBrand Personality has been considered to be an assurance and screening process forhalalproducts and services. It embodies values that are not just for Muslims but for everyone.
Islamic challenges to advertising: a Saudi Arabian perspective
Authors: Abdul Cader Akram
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to synthesize the existing research on Islam and advertising with the perspective of the Salafi authority of Saudi Arabia. This study is an exploration of the impact of the conservative interpretation of Islam on advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study critically reviews the literature on advertising in Islam, specifically in the context of the conservative religious Saudi Arabia, Islam and advertising and its connection with the interpretations of the religiously conservative segment of Saudi Arabian society. This systematic review covered 42 studies in Islamic advertising and Salafist/Hanbalijurisprudence, ranging from 1980 to 2014. These studies were validated through data triangulation using a meta-synthesis of 39 articles with 5 articles on Salafism and 5Hanbalijuristic texts.

Findings

– The investigation concludes that there are several factors to be considered when developing advertising messages and content for the conservative segment of Islam. The considerations are as follows: (C1) avoidance of Islamic creedal taboos and displays of immorality; (C2) avoiding usage of musical instruments and taboo entertainment; (C3) women must be dressed appropriately, and gender roles must be in conjunction with Islamic texts; and (C4) avoiding deceptive marketing, defaming competition, and ambiguous transactions. Although there was a general consensus onC1andC3, few studies discussedC2andC4.Hanbalijurisprudence, the official school of thought in Saudi Arabia, was found to be in agreement with all four considerations. Additionally, the study synthesizes previous studies and contributes more knowledge to the few existing literature on the topic of Islam and advertising. A better understanding of the conservative interpretation of Islam can contribute to scholarship in the field of Islamic marketing.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper was limited to the Salafist/Wahhabist interpretation of Islam based onHanbalijurisprudence found in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this paper can be extended and validated through studying the attitudes of Salafists in different regions toward advertising messages and content.

Practical implications

– This paper was limited to the Salafist/Wahhabist interpretation of Islam based onHanbalijurisprudence found in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this paper can be extended and validated through studying the attitudes of Salafists in different regions toward advertising messages and content.

Originality/value

– This study adds to the limited research on Islamic attitudes and challenges toward advertising in the Middle East. The study reviews existing research and utilizes religious rulings to research the conservative Islamic perspective of advertising.
Collective information structure model for Information Security Risk Assessment (ISRA)
Authors: Shamala Palaniappan , Ahmad Rabiah , Zolait Ali Hussein , bin Sahib Shahrin
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Information security has become an essential entity for organizations across the globe to eliminate the possible risks in their organizations by conducting information security risk assessment (ISRA). However, the existence of numerous different types of risk assessment methods, standards, guidelines and specifications readily available causes the organizations to face the daunting tasks in determining the most suitable method that would augur well in meeting their needs. Therefore, to overcome this tedious process, this paper suggests collective information structure model for ISRA.

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed ISRA model was developed by deploying a questionnaire using close-ended questions administrated to a group of information security practitioners in Malaysia (N = 80). The purpose of the survey was to strengthen and add more relevant additional features to the existing framework, as it was developed based on secondary data.

Findings

– Previous comparative and analyzed studies reveals that all the six types of ISRA methodologies have features of the same kind of information with a slight difference in form. Therefore, questionnaires were designed to insert additional features to the research framework. All the additional features chosen were based on high frequency of more than half percentage agreed responses from respondents. The analyses results inspire in generating a collective information structure model which more practical in the real environment of the workplace.

Practical implications

– Generally, organizations need to make comparisons between methodologies and decide on the best due to the inexistence of agreed reference benchmark in ISRA methodologies. This tedious process leads to unwarranted time, money and energy consumption.

Originality/value

– The collective information structure model for ISRA aims to assist organizations in getting a general view of ISRA flow and gathering information on the requirements to be met before risk assessment can be conducted successfully. This model can be conveniently used by organizations to complete all the required planning as well as to select the suitable methods to complete the ISRA.
An empirical investigation into the adoption of open source software in Information Technology outsourcing organizations
Authors: Ramanathan Lakshmanan , Krishnan Sundaresan
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of outsourcing on open-source software (OSS) and further investigate the factors that impact the adoption of OSS in global information technology (IT) outsourcing organizations serviced by Indian IT services organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors developed a conceptual model that describes the factors influencing the OSS adoption by using the technology-organization-environment framework. This quantitative explanatory study used self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 482 middle and top management employees of Indian IT services organizations. The authors analyzed the data using partial least squares to test this conceptual model.

Findings

– The proposed conceptual model identified the factors which play a significant role in OSS adoption such as reliability, legal concern, software costs, management support, OSS support availability and software vendor. In contrast, this study did not find enough evidence that IT outsourcing was a significant determinant of OSS adoption.

Research limitations/implications

– The main limitation of the research is that it is focused on global IT outsourcing organizations (clients) serviced by Indian IT services providers (vendors). Hence, the authors cannot generalize the finding to other regions. Also, the analysis is based on the view point of employees in vendors. Views of clients’ employees must be analyzed and triangulated with current evidence.

Practical implications

– IT services providers can offer “OSS as a service” for its clients and help them address the gaps in support availability and achieve reduction in total cost of ownership of software.

Originality/value

– IT services providers can use this research model to increase their understanding of why some IT outsourcing organizations choose to adopt OSS, while seemingly similar ones facing similar market conditions do not.
A bibliometric analysis of green manufacturing and similar frameworks
Authors: Sangwan Kuldip Singh , Mittal Varinder Kumar
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the green manufacturing and similar frameworks in order to trace the origin, definitions, scope, similarities, differences, and publications of these manufacturing frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach

– A review of 113 research articles is conducted for various terms, namely, green manufacturing (GM); environmentally conscious manufacturing; environmentally responsible manufacturing; environmentally benign manufacturing; sustainable manufacturing; clean manufacturing; cleaner production; sustainable production with reference to triple bottom line, product life cycle engineering, systems approach, resource and energy efficiency, supply chain, pollution prevention and closed loop system/6R.

Findings

– It can be said with reasonable confidence that all these eight frameworks have been used interchangeably by researchers but it requires some standardization. It has been observed during literature review that to standardize the terminology researchers have to clear emphatically in their research the use of various life cycle engineering approach; clarity on the end-of-life strategies used; clarity in use of various components of triple bottom line perspectives; inclusion of the whole supply chain and integration of environmental improvement strategies with the business strategy.

Research limitations/implications

– The literature reviewed for the study is the literature available online using Google scholar.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first known studies to review the GM and similar frameworks for their origin, definition, scope, similarities, and differences.
Performance of biochar and filtralite as polishing step for on-site greywater treatment plant
Authors: Moges Melesse Eshetu , Eregno Fasil Ejigu , Heistad Arve
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of biochar and fine filtralite as a polishing filter material in further removing organic matter, phosphorous, nitrogen, turbidity and indicator microorganisms from effluents of a compact greywater treatment plant (GWTP).

Design/methodology/approach

– A filtration experiment was carried out using columns filled with biochar and fine filtralite as filter material and unfilled column as a control. The effluent from the GWTP was pumped using a peristaltic pump at a rate of 280 l/m2-d and was fed in upward flow into the columns. The quality parameters of the raw greywater, effluents from the GWTP and the polishing columns were studied for six months of operation period.

Findings

– The results indicate that the process of polishing considerably improved the effluent quality of the system. Biochar performed best in removing organic matter, total N, turbidity and odor. Filtralite was superior in removing P. The contribution of the polishing step in removing total coliform bacteria (TCB) andEscherichia coli(E. coli) was remarkable. Additional log reduction of 2.18, 2.26 and 1.81 for TCB and 2.26, 2.70 and 2.01 forE. coliwas obtained compared to the GWTP due to biochar, filtralite and control column, respectively.

Practical implications

– This study demonstrates the opportunities for improving the performance of decentralized greywater treatment systems by integrating locally available polishing materials to achieve a better quality effluent.

Originality/value

– The present study identifies efficient polishing system for decentralized and compacted greywater treatment system. The recommended polishing materials potentially improve the quality of effluents and add social, economic and environmental values.
Organizational play: within and beyond managing
Authors: Tökkäri Virpi
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to synthetize qualitative research on play in the organizational context.

Design/methodology/approach

– Through a metasynthesis, the research premises and findings of 12 individual empirical studies were examined.

Findings

– The findings of the metasynthesis showed that the research on organizational play has focussed on three central themes addressing play as fun, pros and cons of organizational play, and management of play. In interpreting the findings, seven perspectives of organizational play are constructed as follows: authenticity, belongingness, experience, social activities, generating, functions, and artifacts. The perspectives are conceptualized into three dimensions of play as the orientation of being-in-the-world, play as meaning-making and enactment, and play as creations.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample consisted of 12 studies, which provided a limited insight into organizational play. However, following the guidelines of metasynthesis, the sample was appropriate and of good quality. The research suggests guidelines for further research into organizational play.

Practical implications

– Achieving psychosocial well-being at work and success in management requires understanding of essential personal and social processes, such as play. The findings provide knowledge that can be applied in management and other workplace practices.

Originality/value

– The study highlights the divergent perspectives of the organizationally important phenomenon of play. The paper contributes to a better understanding and the development of play in organizations.
Evolving emotional experiences following organizational change: a longitudinal qualitative study
Authors: Giæver Fay , Smollan Roy K.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– There is a lack of qualitative longitudinal studies in the literature exploring the complexity and dynamism of affective experience during phases of organizational change. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and intensity of emotional reactions to change and the contextual triggers that made them vary.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 11 nurses in a Norwegian public hospital were interviewed at three points in time about a change in technology, one month prior to implementation, three months after implementation and one year after implementation. They were asked to reflect “forwards” and “backwards” about their emotional experiences to the technical change in particular and to other changes occurring at work.

Findings

– The informants reported mixed emotional experiences to change at all three interviews. Emotion terms such as “uncertainty”, “joy” and “resignation” were reported at all times, “anxiety and “excitement” were only reported at Times 1 and 2 whereas “frustration” and “cynicism” were only reported at Times 2 and 3.

Research limitations/implications

– A larger group of informants would have produced greater insight into the evolving emotional change experiences. Further research could explore other contexts and a wider range of data collection methods.

Originality/value

– This is a rare qualitative study of emotional change experiences where the informants were interviewed three times.
Impact of executive citizenship and organizational commitment on corporate social responsibility
Authors: Mahenthiran Sakthi , Terpstra-Tong Jane Lai Yee , Terpstra Robert , Rachagan Shanthy
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This Malaysian study aims to use upper echelons theory and social identity theory variables to determine the chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics and attitudes associated with economic corporate social responsibility (CSR), legal-ethical CSR and discretionary CSR in Malaysian firms. The authors hypothesize that CSR engagements in the form of altruistic behaviour, with executives being part of the upper echelon, would tend to be expressing their values at individual level through the firm if they are affectively committed to their company.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a sample of 151 Malaysian firms that took part in an annual CEO survey in 2010, the study measures executive citizenship as CEOs’ having critical attitude towards public issues such as public transportation, public education and crime. Hierarchical regression analyses are used to associate the CEO attitudes with the firms CSR.

Findings

– The authors find that executive citizenship attitude is significant and positively related to firm’s legal–ethical CSR. The authors also find that executive organizational commitment has a significant positive impact on dimensions of CSR. Additionally, the executive tenure impacts the level of philanthropic CSR of the firm.

Originality/value

– In Malaysia, firms have a strong incentive to engage in CSR to enhance their reputation and legitimacy because of the government’s influence on commercial activities. Our study is the first to examine how this notion of legitimization efforts at the individual level affects firms CSR activities.
The business-case for community investment: evidence from Fiji’s tourism industry
Authors: Bradly Andrew
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to argue that the rationale for community investment in developing countries is broader and more complex than in the West, and that the usual drivers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviour are less explicit and robust in these settings.

Design/methodology/approach

– Development of descriptive theory using the results of a qualitative study of 42 firms in Fiji’s tourism industry. The primary data were derived from in-depth interviews with senior managers about their firm’s CSR values and practices. This paper focuses on one aspect of CSR practice, community investment, and provides a comparative analysis of the results from the interview data.

Findings

– The paper presents evidence that shows that the rationale for engaging with and supporting local communities is more concerned with long-term sustainability than short-term profitability. The findings reveal that issues of legitimacy, interdependence and risk management are important strategic reasons for undertaking community investment.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper adds to theoretical understanding of the nature of CSR practices in developing countries. In particular, it reveals the importance of institutional factors in community investment decision-making and argues for an expanded theory of the business-case for CSR.

Originality/value

– This research adds to the growing number of developing-country case studies by focusing on a region that has been largely absent from empirical CSR research.
Market timing and selectivity performance of socially responsible funds
Authors: Das Praveen K. , Rao S. P. Uma
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the market timing and stock selection abilities of socially responsible (SR) mutual funds. Some high-profile SR fund managers try to embrace market timing and security selection plans to add value to the performance. Market timing relies on forecasting the equity market and shifting assets into or out of the market in anticipation of market movements. The selectivity measure assesses fund managers ability to select undervalued securities. Furthermore, the authors examine whether fund characteristics play any role in market timing and security selection ability.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use Treynor and Mazuy's’ (1966) and Henriksson and Mertons’ (1981) model to examine the market timing and security selection ability. The study uses a decade of monthly returns to examine the skills of fund managers in the SR industry for the period from July 2002 to June 2012.

Findings

– The main findings are that the managers – though not very successful – do indulge in stock selection and market timing activities. It was found that 48 funds have positive statistically significant stock selectivity coefficients and only a very small number of five funds with positive statistically significant market timing coefficients. Results suggest that there is a trade-off between the two activities. It was found that aggressive funds, funds with higher growth rate and riskier funds are more likely to engage in market timing rather than stock selection.

Practical implications

– The implication is that SR managers cannot achieve superior stock selection and market timing ability simultaneously. Risk-averting investors in SR funds expect SR behavior from the managers. This means that managers of SR funds, with very little evidence of market timing ability, may have to refrain from market timing of SR funds.

Originality/value

– Using a Morningstar dataset comprising almost all SR funds in existence as of June 2012, this is probably the most exhaustive long-term study to date on market timing and stock selection abilities of SR fund managers.