bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do union-management learning partnerships reduce workplace conflict?
Authors: Bennett Tony
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross-section of managers and union officials engaged in joint learning projects on the impact more generally on the employee relations climate in those organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 union representatives and managers engaged in promoting learning in a number of case study projects in North West England.

Findings

– Findings suggest that union-led learning and development has a clear impact on pre-empting potential performance issues for individuals in terms of better equipping them with the skills to achieve expected performance levels, assisting individuals with managing work-related stress and also to prevent discrimination against workers. Collectively, the managing of downsizing in particular through union-led learning support to retrain in order to redeploy effected staff or better prepare them for new employment opportunities was also a significant finding.

Research limitations/implications

– The research suggests that successful union-management learning partnerships can also have a positive impact on managing conflict in those organisations. However, further research is needed to test these assertions in other union organised sectors.

Practical implications

– There are implications for management in recognising the “added value” that partnership working with their unions on learning can bring in terms of also both pre-empting and resolving individual and collective disputes in the workplace.

Originality/value

– The research is one of few studies that focuses on the link between promoting learning through union-management partnerships and managing conflict in organisations and offers a clear insight into how this can be achieved in practice.
Risk information source preferences in construction workers
Authors: Burns Calvin , Conchie Stacey
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– Many researchers have investigated the determinants of workers’ risk-taking/unsafe behaviours as a way to improve safety management and reduce accidents but there has been a general lack of research about workers’ risk information seeking behaviours or their source preferences for risk information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether occupational risk information source preference was risk independent (i.e. whether workers prefer to receive occupational risk information from proximal sources like supervisors and workmates regardless of the nature of the risk or the source's expertise regarding that risk, or if they discriminated between information sources based on the type of risk being considered).

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from 106 frontline construction workers who were recruited from a single building site within the UK with the help of the safety officer on site. The source from which workers preferred to receive information about a range of risks was measured using a ranking exercise. Specifically, workers were asked to rank five occupational sources (HSE, safety manager, project manager, supervisor, workmates) according to how much they preferred each one to deliver information about eight different risks (asbestos, back pain, site transport, heights, slips/trips, housekeeping, and site-specific and job-specific risks).

Findings

– The paper found that supervisors and safety managers were the most preferred sources of risk information overall, but a correspondence analysis suggested that workers’ risk information source preference is risk dependent and might be driven by source expertise.

Practical implications

– The findings have important practical implications for the role of safety managers in risk communication and for building trust within high-hazard organisations.

Originality/value

– To the author's knowledge, this is the first study to investigate risk information source preferences in an occupational setting.
Taking part in school life: views of children
Authors: Olufisayo John-Akinola Yetunde , Gavin Aoife , Elizabeth O’Higgins Siobhán , Nic Gabhainn Saoirse
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– Child participation is increasingly a global phenomenon as stated by Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on Children's Rights. This supports the first principle, Democracy, of the Health Promoting School movement. The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a three-phase participatory research process (PRP) to document the views of children about participation in school.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 248 primary school pupils aged nine to 13 years participated: the first group of pupils answered two questions on individual coloured paper; the second group categorised these data separately, by question, assigning labels for each of the categories; and the third group used the categories to develop schema. The analysis was inductive.

Findings

– The most common categories for what made pupils feel a part of their school were school uniforms, sports, friends, teachers and their school/classroom environment. Increase in the number of school activities, encouraging friendship and equal participation were key indicators of how pupils would ensure that everybody felt a part of the school. The findings indicate that interpersonal relationships and belonging are in the opinion of children important for taking part in school life.

Originality/value

– The paper illustrates children's understanding of what taking part in school means to them. The PRP encouraged pupils to have control of the three-phase research process, and demonstrated the ability of children to work together in groups while having fun at the same time.
Behaviour change and sexual health; SHARE programme evaluation
Authors: Dale Hannah , Raftery Bronagh , Locke Heather
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine a national sexual health and relationships education (SHARE) educational package for behaviour change techniques (BCTs) utilised in order to make recommendations for further improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using BCTs taxonomy (BCT V1), two coders independently examined the 22 session plans within SHARE for their utilisation of BCTs. All three authors then examined the results, and agreed on any discrepancies.

Findings

– The SHARE package utilises only a small range of BCTs detailed in BCT V1. SHARE makes use of a range of techniques which may impact on the distal factors that influence sexual risk taking, such as self-esteem and building confidence to say “no” to sex.

Practical implications

– SHARE – and perhaps other sexual health education programmes – may need to draw on more BCTs, particularly those supported by evidence, in order to effectively reduce risky sexual behaviours among young people. Programmes may also benefit from including broader elements around pleasure, self-examination and screening behaviour.

Originality/value

– Sexual health packages rarely encounter such scrutiny, particularly being examined in relation to the BCTs. The new and rigorous way of rating the SHARE package has enabled a range of recommendations relating to BCTs to be made both for improving the package and other sexual health education programmes.
A strategy-based method of assessing information technology investments
Authors: Analia Sánchez Marisa , Carlos Gastaud Maçada Antonio , del Valle Sagardoy Marcela
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to present a theoretical framework and the preliminary results of a research on how to assess information technology (IT) investments so as to deliver maximum business value.

Design/methodology/approach

– To see whether IT projects fit strategy, the Strategy Map provides a framework for defining the portfolio value and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to measure the efficiency of project portfolios. Subsequently, an application that illustrates the value of the framework is described.

Findings

– The authors offer a framework that integrates the Strategy Map and IT project portfolio management (PPM) and suggest that this conceptual framework will allow an organization to enhance the value of IT investments.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is supported by a case study using secondary data only.

Practical implications

– The suggested method could help CEOs to understand the interactions between projects and strategy and thus supports decision making to prioritize and track IT investments. The paper illustrates how the proposed framework is applied. It also provides the basis for further research.

Originality/value

– By explicitly linking IT investment with organizational goals, this approach produces results that differ from those of previous studies and provides a strategy-based approach to PPM.
Introducing sustainability to interior design students through industry collaboration
Authors: Afacan Yasemin
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this study was to introduce a sustainability course to interior design students and explore how working with industry could address challenges with integrating sustainability education into and ensuring student motivation in non-studio courses.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a case study presenting qualitative evaluation from the 15-week “IAED 342 Sustainable Design for Interiors” course with a sample of 98 third-year interior architecture students at Bilkent University, Turkey.

Findings

– The findings were analyzed from the perspectives of two processes learning and working with industry. The results revealed that an active learning environment and industry collaboration positively influenced students' awareness of sustainable design, increased their ability to integrate sustainability knowledge to design studio projects and improved academic outcomes.

Originality/value

– This study is a unique effort by the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Bilkent University by being the first to introduce a sustainability course and create a responsive and social learning environment through industry collaboration. The results of the study highlighted that better outcomes are achieved by working directly with industry than by performing theoretical exercises.
Shared governance and the sustainable college
Authors: B. Kurland Nancy
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This project aims to examine interpersonal interactions at the committee level that lead to shared governance of a college's environmental responsibilities. It demonstrates the important role shared governance plays in integrating sustainability into a liberal arts college.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper combines participant observation and case study techniques. From September 2010 to October 2012, the author participated in 46 meetings and conducted 14 interviews with key informants.

Findings

– Key challenges to efficiency and effectiveness of the shared governance process differ depending on whether the committee was involved in visioning or validation work. Key drivers included mid-level leadership, a commitment to the mandate, and a willingness to engage in an ongoing process of shared understanding.

Research limitations/implications

– This study's findings are limited insofar as inaccuracies may arise due to respondents' poor recall, the interviewer's questions, if the interviewee gives the interviewer what she wants to hear, and if events observed may have proceeded differently because it was being observed.

Practical implications

– This study provides insight into the process of change leading up to implementation of sustainability practices. It highlights strategic and value convergence, provides a clear example of mid-level leadership driving change through an emergent process, and which required commitment to the original mandate, the ongoing ability to create shared understanding, and the ability of faculty and administrators to move from independent to consultative action.

Originality/value

– Sustainability in higher education often begins with shared governance in a committee. However, little research on shared governance exists at the committee level, and none focuses on the unique challenge of systemic change for sustainability. This project begins to fill that gap.
Sustainable consumption: a teaching intervention in higher education
Authors: Álvarez-Suárez Pedro , Vega-Marcote Pedro , Garcia Mira Ricardo
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse a teaching strategy designed to increase the awareness of trainee teachers and educate them with regard to sustainable consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ninety-four subjects (trainee teachers) were assessed on their knowledge of the environmental impacts of consumerism, their attitudes to sustainable consumption and their behavioural intentions before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the teaching intervention took place.

Findings

– Statistical analysis of the results obtained revealed that subjects increased their knowledge of the social and environmental impacts of consumerism, became more aware of the need to take action in this regard, and developed behaviours oriented towards a sustainable model of consumption.

Research limitations/implications

– The proper application of an educational strategy of this nature requires more time than that actually assigned to the teaching intervention itself. This obstacle was overcome by using the time envisaged by the European Space for Higher Education, but the outcome could not be monitored.

Practical implications

– A reduction of individual and collective consumption in universities.

Originality/value

– The study demonstrates the possibilities of an educational strategy that when applied to trainee teachers in higher education promotes sustainable consumption.
A comparative study of education for sustainable development in one British university and one Chinese university
Authors: Lu Shaoming , Zhang Hui-shu
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to identify learning points and inspirations from two different approaches by examining how education for sustainable development (ESD) initiatives are delivered in the University of X in the UK and Tongji University in China.

Design/methodology/approach

– Through comparison of case studies, the pros and cons of each approach are made clear. The paper adopts semi-structured interviewing among staff and group interviewing among students as its main data collection methods. A snowball sampling strategy is employed to select potential interviewees in addition.

Findings

– Learning points are drawn from each institution which could be useful in informing the strategy of other higher education institutions. The main learning points for UoX are: first, engage as many students as possible through linking extra-curriculum activities back to the curriculum and offer opportunities for students to take part in campus operations. Second, a project-oriented approach could be employed to enhance interdisciplinary cooperation. The main learning points for Tongji are: pedagogic changes are required to realize a transformative education and additions of more active learning into the curriculum are needed. Third, policy support is necessary to promote the ESD agenda but only when the top-down approach mixes with a bottom-up approach significant changes will happen.

Practical implications

– ESD is transformative education rather than traditional education. It will guide students to study and live in a more sustainable way, which is promoted in both the formal curriculum and informal areas (including campus greening and extra-curriculum activities) in UoX as a model for developed countries and Tongji as a model for developing countries. As a dynamic whole, both of them comprise students' learning and living experiences in a microcosm of a pilot sustainable community through inter-disciplinary approaches.

Originality/value

– Little comparative and international research has been done in the field of educational ESD. The research seeks to address the deficiency by comparing the ESD approaches in one British and one Chinese university.
Devising a framework for assessing the subjectivity and objectivity of information taxonomy projects
Authors: Alexander Fran
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to summarise research to determine if a framework for assessing the subjectivity and objectivity of information taxonomy work can usefully be applied in practice. Theories proposed by US philosopher Helen Longino formed the basis for the framework, which was used to assess 16 contemporary taxonomy projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative naturalistic enquiry, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with information professionals, was undertaken. The transcripts were coded, scored, statistically analysed, and correlated to identify trends or themes. Participants were invited to comment on and amend all research outputs. Triangulation with external sources was undertaken as far as possible.

Findings

– Following analysis using the framework, projects were ranked, grouped, and compared to German sociologist Max Weber's characterisation of political hierarchies. This illuminated a number of interesting aspects of practical taxonomy work.

Research limitations/implications

– Practical limitations constrained the depth and extent of the study. Creative interpretation of the qualitative data collected was required. Results obtained highlight points of interest rather than offering quantitative comparisons.

Practical implications

– Taxonomy practitioners are concerned with usability and accessibility, so a framework for assessing subjectivity and objectivity of taxonomy projects could provide a useful tool, set of heuristics, guide, or checklist.

Originality/value

– There has been little research carried out on contemporary taxonomy projects in commercial and corporate environments and how knowledge organisation systems can enhance or constrain an individual's ability to access online content. No similar frameworks appear to have been developed.
The use of rhetorical strategies in Q&A discussion
Authors: Savolainen Reijo
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The major aim of this study is to specify the ways in which rhetorical strategies are employed in Q&A (question and answer) discussion, and how information sources are used to support such strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on the analysis of 944 answers provided to the questions about global warming in Yahoo! Answers. The answers were analysed by means of descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

Findings

– Twelve rhetorical strategies serving the ends of classic rhetorical appeals, i.e. ethos, pathos and logos, were identified. The answerers drew most frequently on strategies related to logos (for example, appeal to reason) and ethos (for example, appeal to authority), while the strategies serving the ends of pathos (for example, argument ad hominem) were less popular. To support the rhetorical strategies, the answerers mainly used scientific sources such as websites of research organizations and persuasive material like Youtube videos.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings are based on the analysis of a Q&A site focusing on a controversial issue providing fertile ground for the use of rhetorical arguments.

Practical implications

– The findings can be used in information literacy instruction. It would be easier for the users to evaluate the relevance and credibility of information if they become aware of the specific ways in which askers and answerers on Q&A sites make use of persuasive communication.

Originality/value

– The study is unique in that it elaborates the ways in which rhetorical strategies are employed as ways of persuasive communication in Q&A discussion.
Successful researchers publicizing research online
Authors: Más-Bleda Amalia , Thelwall Mike , Kousha Kayvan , F. Aguillo Isidro
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to explore the link creating behaviour of European highly cited scientists based upon their online lists of publications and their institutional personal websites.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 1,525 highly cited scientists working at European institutions were first identified. Outlinks from their online lists of publications and their personal websites pointing to a pre-defined collection of popular academic websites and file types were then gathered by a personal web crawler.

Findings

– Perhaps surprisingly, a larger proportion of social scientists provided at least one outlink compared to the other disciplines investigated. By far the most linked-to file type was PDF and the most linked-to type of target website was scholarly databases, especially the Digital Object Identifier website. Health science and life science researchers mainly linked to scholarly databases, while scientists from engineering, hard sciences and social sciences linked to a wider range of target websites. Both book sites and social network sites were rarely linked to, especially the former. Hence, whilst successful researchers frequently use the Web to point to online copies of their articles, there are major disciplinary and other differences in how they do this.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to analyse the outlinking patterns of highly cited researchers' institutional web presences in order to identify which web resources they use to provide access to their publications.
Leadership in the fluid moral economy of conspicuous consumption
Authors: Riad Sally
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– In the last few years, signs of material excess by organizational and political leaders have often evoked public outcry. The paper aims to argue that there is insight to be gleaned from drawing together strands from the leadership literature with the literatures on moral economy and conspicuous consumption. The premise is that views of leader conspicuous consumption are shaped by their moral economy, the interplay between moral attitudes and economic activities. The paper seeks to juxtapose tales of Cleopatra and Antony's display of wealth with current media accounts to contribute to the leadership literature on ethics, specifically its intersection with power and narrative representation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopts an analytic approach, with an international orientation and an interdisciplinary perspective. It acknowledges the role of narrative representation in shaping leadership and the psychological ambivalence with which societies approach their leaders' practices, focus here on desire-disdain and discipline-decadence. Cleopatra and Antony's conspicuous consumption generated a legacy of condemnation for millennia. Drawing from the retellings of their story, four moralizing representations – by Plutarch, Shakespeare, Sarah Fielding and Hollywood – are analyzed and juxtaposed with current media accounts. Altogether, the paper combines the interest in leadership across history with moralizing perspectives on the display of wealth by leaders.

Findings

– The intersection of the literatures on leadership, moral economy and conspicuous consumption draws together several dynamics of relevance to leadership. First, evaluations of the display of wealth on the part of a leader are contextual: they change across time and place. Second, interpretations of conspicuous consumption involve aesthetic judgment and so sit at the nexus of morality and taste. Third, following tragedies, tales of leader conspicuous consumption offer critics another knife to dig into the fallen tragic hero. Fourth, views of conspicuous consumption are gendered. Last, conspicuous consumption by leaders attracts condemnation through support for social responsibility and sustainability.

Originality/value

– The paper establishes a novel articulation between the literatures on leadership, moral economy and conspicuous consumption.
Audit fee stickiness
Authors: de Villiers Charl , Hay David , (Janice) Zhang Zhizi
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to contribute to the understanding of audit pricing and the competitiveness of the audit fee market by examining audit fee stickiness.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors explore the price behavior of audit fees in response to changes in the variables that are usually seen as their determinants, such as size, complexity, and risk in order to examine audit fee stickiness and the competitiveness of the market for audit services.

Findings

– The authors find that audit fees are sticky, i.e. audit fees do not immediately or fully adjust to changes in their determinants. Audit fees also respond to changes leading to an increase more quickly than they respond to changes leading to a decrease. The difference between positive and negative fee adjustments declines over periods longer than one year and is no longer significant when four-year periods are considered.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited to companies in the USA from 2000 to 2008. Future research should examine this issue in other settings and periods.

Practical implications

– The results suggest that the audit market is competitive, at least in the medium term.

Originality/value

– The study helps to explain why the audit fee model does not fully explain the level of audit fees; why audit fees are more likely to be too high than too low; and why auditor switches are commonly associated with larger changes in audit fees. The findings provide evidence that may be useful to managers and audit committees when managing their audit fees, auditors when considering the risks and opportunities associated with changes in the determinants of audit fees, and regulators concerned with the competitiveness of the audit market.
Fabrication of a micro-cantilever gold plated beams array
Authors: M.M. Kafumbe Said
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The processing techniques and materials utilized in the fabrication of a two-terminal electrostatically actuated micro-electro-mechanical cantilever-arrayed device used for radio frequency tuning applications are presented in this work. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The process, which is based on silicon surface micromachining, uses spin-coated photoresist as the sacrificial layer underneath the electroplated gold structural material and an insulating layer of silicon dioxide, deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), to avoid a short circuit between the cantilever and the bottom electrode in a total of six major fabrication steps. These included the PECVD of the silicon dioxide insulating layer, optical lithography to transfer photomask layer patterns, vacuum evaporation to deposit thin films of titanium (Ti) and gold (Au), electroplating of Au, the dry release of the cantilever beam arrays, and finally the wafer dicing to split the different micro devices. These process steps were each sub-detailed to give a total of 14 micro-fabrication processes.

Findings

– Scanning electron microscope images taken on the final fabricated device that was dry released using oxygen plasma ashing to avoid stiction showed 12 freely suspended micro-cantilevered beams suspended with an average electrostatic gap of 2.29±0.17 μm above a 4,934±3 Å thick silicon dioxide layer. Preliminary dimensional measurements on the fabricated devices revealed that the cantilevers were at least 52.06±1.93 μm wide with lengths varying from 377.97±0.01 to 1,491.89±0.01 μm and were at least 2.21±0.05 μm thick.

Originality/value

– The cantilever beams used in this work were manufactured using electroplated gold, and photoresist was used as a sacrificial layer underneath the beams. Plasma ashing was used to release the beams. The beams were anchored to a central electrode and each beam was designed with varying length.
Service quality in utility industries: the European telecommunications sector
Authors: Pina Vicente , Torres Lourdes , Bachiller Patricia
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic and technological factors that determine the quality of European telecommunications services. The paper test whether the privatisation, the efficiency and the labour factor of telecommunications operators are determinants of service quality and whether competition, technology and infrastructure investment in the telecommunications sector influence that quality.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper use the panel data methodology to analyse the factors that determine the quality of service of telecommunications.

Findings

– The results indicate that the more efficient the company is, the more quality it will deliver. However, the paper finds no evidence that the privatisation and the restructuring of the labour force of the main telecommunications operators, or the competition, technology and investments in the sector, lead to greater quality.

Practical implications

– In order to foster higher quality, effective market competitiveness has to be established to avoid benefitting the incumbent company and to make the development of competition possible in the long run.

Originality/value

– Although previous literature assumes a positive relationship between the performance of privatised companies and quality, this study shows that the privatisation and liberalisation processes do not bring about quality improvements by themselves. The research finds that the efficiency of privatised companies is the primary source of quality.
New service development maturity model
Authors: Jin Dayu , Chai Kah-Hin , Tan Kay-Chuan
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to rigorously devise a new tool that helps analyze and improve NSD processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– An NSD maturity model (NSDMM) is theoretically developed through a combination of the maturity model concept and findings from NSD success studies.

Findings

– NSD success factors can be categorized into four management processes – strategy management, process formalization, knowledge management, and customer involvement. Maturity dimensions and levels are further devised for each process. It is hypothesized that a higher capability to handle these processes positively associates with higher NSD performance.

Research limitations/implications

– Studies on NSD success factors are often descriptive rather than prescriptive. This research identified four management processes which are important to focus on when implementing NSD projects. It is among the first to apply the maturity model in the service industry. That said, this research needs to be tested empirically.

Practical implications

– The proposed NSDMM enables companies to conduct evaluations of their NSD capabilities. By determining the desired maturity levels, companies can engage in continuous improvement so as to calibrate the NSD process.

Originality/value

– By integrating the concept of the maturity model and the NSD success studies, NSDMM serves not only as a diagnostic model to assess current NSD practices, but also as a guideline for continuous NSD process improvement.
Industry, government, and community: power and leadership in a resource constrained DMO
Authors: L. Slocum Susan , Everett Sally
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore a resource-constrained Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) to assess the power struggles inherent in community tourism initiatives when leadership is weakened through shrinking resources.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a comparative instrumental case study approach, this paper analyses three separate studies within Experience Bedfordshire to develop a comprehensive picture of governance within a single tourism destination.

Findings

– The results show that privately held attractions, hospitality businesses, and transportation authorities retain control over key marketing messages. Visitor and stakeholder surveys indicate that a more sustainable form of rural development, based on natural/cultural attractions and the development of bed and breakfast and artisan small businesses is the preferred development path. Unfortunately, the increasing use of Tourism Information Centres by local residents, as opposed to tourists, has reduced support by key power holders in the community, thereby forcing major industry restructure.

Research limitations/implications

– This research was conducted during the transitionary period as the Rural Development Agencies were being dissolved in the UK and the new Local Enterprise Partnership system was being implemented in early 2011. It is still too early to anticipate how this new system will affect destination marketing in the long run.

Practical implications

– This paper argues that commercial interests ultimately control the destination image in this resource-constrained region, and its marketing messages which are currently focused on high adventure and large scale development are pursued to the detriment of local wishes and rural landscape development.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first article to address the transition from the Rural Development Agencies to the Local Enterprise Partnerships within a tourism and destination marketing framework.
Leadership capacity in two Brazilian regional tourism organisations
Authors: José Valente Flávio , Dredge Dianne , Lohmann Gui
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This paper examines the leadership practices of two Brazilian regional tourism organisations (RTOs) using an exploratory case study.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research adopts an embedded case study approach, permitting the comparison of the leadership phenomenon in the “Instituto Estrada Real” (the IER) and the “Associação Circuito do Ouro” (the ACO). Semi-structured interviews (n=14) were undertaken to gather information from the RTOs' executives and actors/followers influenced directly by RTO leadership in order to obtain their perceptions about leadership practice.

Findings

– Four leadership themes emerged: capacity to produce results, capacity to mobilise followers, articulation and communication of goals and actions, and articulation of roles and responsibilities. The findings are discussed in regards to the hierarchical and market governance structures of the two RTOs and the implications for leadership practice. The interviewees identified that transactional forms of leadership dominated the hierarchical governance structure of the ACO and that it was able to mobilise effectively other levels of government. However, this leadership does not deliver results at the speed required by the private sector. The IER is a market-led governance structure and its leadership practices effectively mobilised the private sector. However, it was found to operate in isolation from government and other key tourism stakeholders.

Originality/value

– This paper draws together the regional tourism management and leadership literature, making both theoretical and applied contributions to regional tourism leadership.
From destination governance to destination leadership – defining and exploring the significance with the help of a systemic perspective
Authors: Beritelli Pietro , Bieger Thomas
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– Starting from the tenet that destination management deserves a systemic approach the authors first explain the meaning of systemic leadership and then discuss its relevance for tourist destinations. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it develops a concept of destination leadership based on a systemic perspective and therefore prevents a common misunderstanding, namely that destination leadership may simply generate from organizational leadership. Second, the concept builds on extant literature on destination governance and in so doing it stretches the vector of this research stream (governance) into a supplemental field (leadership).

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on recent empirical research in the field of systemic research in destinations, the concept of destination leadership is elaborated in a wider context of destination management.

Findings

– As a result, a set of dimensions and mechanisms which drive the systemic development of destinations can be distilled. A framework for further research is proposed and tested with the help of an empirical study with a set of influential actors from four destinations in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.

Originality/value

– The results reveal that influence as a proxy for systemic leadership is supported by trust and effective communication. Other leadership dimensions derived from traditional leadership literature such as mutual understanding, accessibility (non-significant) or likeability (negatively affecting influence) prove to be irrelevant to systemic leadership. The implications underline the need to differentiate between leadership in inter-organizational arrangements and leadership in destinations, understood as communities and complex social systems.
Destination leadership: a new paradigm for tourist destinations?
Authors: Pechlaner Harald , Kozak Metin , Volgger Michael
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This special issue of Tourism Review provides an original body of work that complements existing research on tourist destinations, and offers an opportunity for tourism research to contribute to broader leadership theorizing.

Design/methodology/approach

– This editorial introduction embeds the included papers into general reflections about destination leadership.

Findings

– This introduction summarizes how the papers in this special issue contribute to two streams of research: First, the papers use and advance leadership theories that are particularly suited to inter-organizational contexts, such as distributed and systemic leadership. Second, they illustrate that destination leadership needs to be treated and understood in relationship to governance arrangements, power structures, and social networks among leaders.

Originality/value

– Sustainable destination competitiveness greatly depends on effective strategies as well as efficient and inclusive processes and structures. Existing research on destination management and destination governance clearly illustrates the relevance of these requirements. However, the human factor in the form of motivation, inspiration, and role modeling – i.e. destination leadership – is also crucial. Yet, so far leadership has not received the necessary attention in both tourist destinations and networked environments in general. This is all the more remarkable since social networks pose particular challenges for leadership.
Culturable aerobic and facultative bacteria from the gut of the polyphagic dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus
Authors: Hernández Noemi , Escudero José A. , Millán Álvaro San , González‐Zorn Bruno , Lobo Jorge M. , Verdú José R. , Suárez Mónica
Published: December 2013

Unlike other dung beetles, the Iberian geotrupid, Thorectes lusitanicus, exhibits polyphagous behavior; for example, it is able to eat acorns, fungi, fruits, and carrion in addition to the dung of different mammals. This adaptation to digest a wider diet has physiological and developmental advantages and requires key changes in the composition and diversity of the beetle's gut microbiota. In this study, we isolated aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant microbiota amenable to grow in culture from the gut contents of T. lusitanicus and resolved isolate identity to the species level by sequencing 16S rRNA gene fragments. Using BLAST similarity searches and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses, we were able to reveal that the analyzed fraction (culturable, aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant) of beetle gut microbiota is dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Among Proteobacteria, members of the order Enterobacteriales (Gammaproteobacteria) were the most abundant. The main functions associated with the bacteria found in the gut of T. lusitanicus would likely include nitrogen fixation, denitrification, detoxification, and diverse defensive roles against pathogens.
Application of DNA barcoding to the identification of Hymenoptera parasitoids from the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) in China
Authors: Zhou Qing‐Song , Xi Yu‐Qiang , Yu Fang , Zhang Xu , Li Xue‐Jun , Liu Chun‐Lai , Niu Ze‐Qing , Zhu Chao‐Dong , Qiao Ge‐Xia , Zhang Yan‐Zhou
Published: December 2013

Aphis glycines Matsumura is an important pest of soybean in Asia and North America. Hymenoptera parasitoids play a key role in the control of the soybean aphid. The correct identification of parasitoids is a critical step that precedes the assessment of their potential biological control agents. Accurate identification of the majority of the species attacking the soybean aphid often requires elaborate specimen preparation and expert taxonomic knowledge. In this study, we facilitated the identification of soybean aphid parasitoids by applying a DNA barcoding approach following a preliminary morphological identification. We generated DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial COI gene and the D2 region of 28S rDNA to assess the genetic variation within and between parasitoid species emerging from the soybean aphid in China. Fifteen Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to 10 genera of five families were identified with little intra‐specific variation (0.09% ± 0.06% for 28S and 0.36% ± 0.18% for COI) and large inter‐specific divergence (30.46% ± 3.42% for 28S and 20.4% ± 1.20% for COI).
Quantification of the Predominant Immune Cell Populations in Decidua Throughout Human Pregnancy
Authors: Bartmann Catharina , Segerer Sabine E. , Rieger Lorenz , Kapp Michaela , Sütterlin Marc , Kämmerer Ulrike
Published: December 2013

Problem

To date, a multiplicity of factors contributing to the establishment and progression of a successful pregnancy have been postulated. There is emerging evidence that decidual leukocytes could be decisive factors during pregnancy. Despite numerous investigations on immune cells in human early pregnancy decidua, little is known about the physiological composition and proportion of the various immune cell populations during the different phases of pregnancy. In this study, we therefore analyzed the proportion of the dominant decidual leukocytes in human tissue samples derived from all phases of pregnancy.

Methods

Single cell suspensions were prepared from decidual samples from 205 patients at 6–40 weeks of gestation. Cell populations were analyzed by flow cytometry, and immune cell populations were quantified as percentage of decidual CD45+ cells.

Results

There was generally no difference in immune cell counts comparing decidua of healthy gestations and those with systemic inflammation. Overall, the proportion of uNK cells continuously decreased, while the amount of monocytes, immature dendritic cells, and T cells increased until term. Striking modifications in cell counts were seen during the 7th week compared with the 6th and later weeks of gestation.

Conclusion

Studying the proportion of decidual immune cells during pregnancy, we detected a unique pattern which could be useful to design novel therapies for pathological conditions during pregnancy.
Prevalence and outcomes of laser treatment of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity
Authors: Gunn David J , Cartwright David W , Gole Glen A
Published: December 2013

Background

To describe outcomes in a cohort of extremely premature infants treated for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity by diode laser panretinal photocoagulation.

Design

Retrospective study.

Participants

Fifteen eyes in eight infants.

Methods

A review was carried out on infants between 23 and 25.6 weeks gestational age admitted to The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit between 1992 and 2009.

Main Outcome Measures

Success of treatment, visual and refractive outcomes.

Results

Five hundred fifty‐four infants were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit, 373 survived till screening, and 304 had retinopathy of prematurity. Sixty‐six infants required treatment, and eight of these had aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (2.5% of all infants with retinopathy of prematurity). Mean gestational age was 24.2 weeks, mean birthweight was 634 g, and treatment occurred at mean 34.1 weeks post‐menstrual age. The mean total number of burns per eye was 2967. Five of 15 treated eyes required retreatment. Two patients subsequently died of unrelated causes. Regression occurred in 9 of 11 remaining eyes; one eye progressed to stage 4b and another to stage 5 retinopathy of prematurity. Vitrectomy was performed in two eyes. Five eyes had 6/12 vision, one had 3/60, and three had no perception of light. Of the remaining two eyes, one had good fixation and the other had poor fixation.

Conclusions

Despite good structural outcomes, visual outcomes for conventional laser treatment of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity are poor.
Orbital immunoglobulin‐G4‐related disease: case series and literature review
Authors: Mulay Kaustubh , Aggarwal Ekta , Jariwala Mehul , Honavar Santosh G
Published: December 2013

Immunoglobulin‐G4‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) is a distinct group of diseases characterized by elevated serum IgG4 titres and infiltration of affected organs by IgG4‐positive plasma cells. IgG4‐RD can involve any ocular adnexal tissue. They have a distinct prognosis and pattern of tissue involvement and hence need to be differentiated from orbital lesions with similar clinicopathological features. We report three cases of IgG4‐RD and review the literature extensively discussing various aspects of this novel entity.
Nationwide survey of maternal screening for mother‐to‐child infections in Japan
Authors: Yamada Hideto , Tairaku Shinya , Morioka Ichiro , Ebina Yasuhiko , Sonoyama Ayako , Tanimura Kenji , Deguchi Masashi , Nagamata Satoshi
Published: December 2013

Mother‐to‐child infections cause congenital infection with disease and sequelae. To evaluate a state of maternal blood screening for mother‐to‐child infections in Japan, we for the first time conducted a nationwide survey on obstetric facilities where regular maternity checkups were carried out. A questionnaire assessment involved an annual number of deliveries, scale of facilities and a state of maternal blood screening for eight pathogens. A high rate (73.7%) of reply to the questionnaire was achieved from 1990 facilities, covering 75.1% of annual number of delivery in 2011. The performance rates of blood screening were more than 99% for rubella virus, Treponema pallidum, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV‐1), hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus, while the rate was found to be only 4.5% for cytomegalovirus (CMV), and 48.5% for Toxoplasma gondii with large differences in regions. Most of the facilities performed blood tests for rubella virus, Treponema pallidum, HIV, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus once in early pregnancy, while approximately 28% of the facilities performed blood tests for HTLV‐1 once during the 2nd or 3rd trimester. Most of the facilities used HA tests for Toxoplasma gondii, whereas there was a wide variation in antibody measurement methods for CMV. Generally, the obstetric facilities in Japan have performed maternal blood screening properly according to the current recommendations. The results of this survey involve important information and are helpful for clinical practitioners.