bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Behavioural and transcriptomic characterization of the comorbidity between Alzheimer’s disease and Major Depression
Authors: Martín-Sánchez Ana , Piñero Janet , Nonell Lara , Arnal Magdalena , Ribe Elena M. , Nevado-Holgado Alejo , Lovestone Simon , Sanz Ferran , Furlong Laura I. , Valverde Olga
Published: August 2020

Major Depression (MD) is the most prevalent psychiatric disease in the population and is considered a prodromal stage of the Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite both diseases having a robust genetic component, the common transcriptomic signature remains unknown. In this regard, we investigated the cognitive and emotional responses in 3- and 6-month-old in APP/PSEN1-Tg mutant mice, before β-amyloid plaques were detected. Then, we studied the deregulation of genes and pathways in prefrontal cortex, striatum, hippocampus and amygdala, using transcriptomic and functional data analysis. The results demonstrated that depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviours, as well as memory impairments are already present at 3-month-old together with the deregulation of several genes and gene sets, including components of the circadian rhythms, electronic transport chain and neurotransmission. Finally, DisGeNET GSEA provides translational support for common depregulated gene sets related to MD and AD. Altogether, the results demonstrate that MD could be an early manifestation of AD.
Rapid Inactivation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by Tungsten Trioxide-Based (WO3) Photocatalysis
Authors: Ghezzi Silvia , Pagani Isabel , Poli Guido , Perboni Stefano , Vicenzi Elisa
Published: August 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is transmitted person-to-person via respiratory droplets and, likely, via smaller droplet nuclei light enough to remain suspended in the air for hours and contaminate surfaces particularly in indoor conditions. Thus, effective measures are needed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission in indoor environments. In this regard, we have investigated whether a system based on a filter combining Tungsten Trioxide-Based (WO3) photocatalysis and an antiviral fabric treated-copper nanocluster could inactivate SARS-CoV-2. To this purpose, an infectious SARS-CoV-2 suspension was introduced in the upper opening of a closed cylinder containing a WO3filter and a lightbased system that activates WO3and the antiviral fabric. From the bottom exit, aliquots of fluid were collected every 10 min (up to 60 min) and tested for their infectivity by means of a viral plaque assay in Vero cells whereas, in parallel, the viral RNA content was measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR). As we have previously shown for SARS-CoV, a 1:1,000 ratio of plaque forming units (PFU) vs. viral RNA copies was observed also for SARS-CoV-2. After 10 min, the infectious viral content was already decreased by 98.2% reaching 100% inactivation after 30 min whereas the SARS-CoV-2 RNA load was decreased of 1.5 log10after 30 min. Thus, in spite of only a partial decrease of viral RNA, SARS-CoV-2 infectivity was completely abolished by the WO3photocatalysis system by 30 min. These results support the hypothesis that this system could be exploited to achieve SARS-CoV-2 inactivation in indoor environments.
Multiple pools of Protein Phosphatase 2A-B56 function to antagonize spindle assembly, promote kinetochore attachments and maintain cohesion inDrosophilaOocytes
Authors: Jang Janet K. , Gladstein Amy C. , Das Arunika , Sisco Zachary L. , McKim Kim S.
Published: August 2020

Meiosis in female oocytes lack centrosomes, the major microtubule-organizing center, which makes them especially vulnerable to aneuploidy. In the acentrosomal oocytes ofDrosophila, meiotic spindle assembly depends on the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC). Aurora B is the catalytic component of the CPC while the remaining subunits regulate its localization. Using an inhibitor of Aurora B activity, Binucleine 2, we found that continuous Aurora B activity is required to maintain the oocyte spindle during meiosis I, and this activity is antagonized by phosphatases acting on spindle associated proteins such as kinesins. Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) exists in two varieties, B55 and B56. While both antagonize Aurora B, B55 has only minor roles in meiosis I spindle function. The B56 subunit is encoded by two partially redundant paralogs in theDrosophilagenome,wdbandwrd. Knocking down both paralogs showed that the B56 subunit is critical for maintaining sister chromatid cohesion, establishing end-on microtubule attachments, and the metaphase I arrest in oocytes. We found that WDB recruitment to the centromeres depends on BUBR1, MEI-S332, and kinetochore protein SPC105R. While BUBR1 has been shown previously to stabilize microtubule attachments inDrosophilaoocytes, only SPC105R is required for cohesion maintenance during meiosis I. We propose that SPC105R promotes cohesion maintenance by recruiting two proteins that recruit PP2A, MEI-S332, and the Soronin homolog Dalmatian.
A New Model of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Based on (Hydroxy) Chloroquine Activity
Authors: Sheaff Robert J.
Published: August 2020

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (H)CQ are well known anti-malarial drugs, while their use against COVID-19 is more controversial. (H)CQ activity was examined in tissue culture cells to determine if their anti-viral benefits or adverse effects might be due to altering host cell pathways. Metabolic analysis revealed (H)CQ inhibit oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria, likely by sequestering protons needed to drive ATP synthase. This activity could cause cardiotoxicity because heart muscle relies on beta oxidation of fatty acids. However, it might also explain their therapeutic benefit against COVID-19. A new model of SARS-CoV-2 infection postulates virus enters host cell mitochondria and uses its protons for genome release. Oxidative phosphorylation is eventually compromised, so glycolysis is upregulated to maintain ATP levels. (H)CQ could prevent viral infection and/or slow its replication by sequestering these protons. In support of this model other potential COVID-19 therapeutics also targeted mitochondria, as did tobacco smoke, which may underlie smokers’ protection. The mitochondria of young people are naturally more adaptable and resilient, providing a rationale for their resistance to disease progression. Conversely, obesity and diabetes could exacerbate disease severity by providing extra glucose to infected cells dependent on glycolysis. The description of (H)CQ function presented here, together with its implications for understanding SARS-CO-V2 infection, makes testable predictions about disease progression and identifies new approaches for treating COVID-19.
Integration of machine learning and genome-scale metabolic modeling identifies multi-omics biomarkers for radiation resistance
Authors: Lewis Joshua E. , Kemp Melissa L.
Published: August 2020

Resistance to ionizing radiation, a first-line therapy for many cancers, is a major clinical challenge. Personalized prediction of tumor radiosensitivity is not currently implemented clinically due to insufficient accuracy of existing machine learning classifiers. Despite the acknowledged role of tumor metabolism in radiation response, metabolomics data is rarely collected in large multi-omics initiatives such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and consequently omitted from algorithm development. In this study, we circumvent the paucity of personalized metabolomics information by characterizing 915 TCGA patient tumors with genome-scale metabolic Flux Balance Analysis models generated from transcriptomic and genomic datasets. Novel metabolic biomarkers differentiating radiation-sensitive and -resistant tumors were predicted and experimentally validated, enabling integration of metabolic features with other multi-omics datasets into ensemble-based machine learning classifiers for radiation response. These multi-omics classifiers showed improved classification accuracy, identified novel clinical patient subgroups, and demonstrated the utility of personalized blood-based metabolic biomarkers for radiation sensitivity. The integration of machine learning with genome-scale metabolic modeling represents a significant methodological advancement for identifying prognostic metabolite biomarkers and predicting radiosensitivity for individual patients.
Synaptic contributions to cochlear outer hair cell Ca2+homeostasis
Authors: Moglie Marcelo J. , Wengier Diego L. , Elgoyhen A. Belén , Goutman Juan D.
Published: August 2020

For normal cochlear function, outer hair cells (OHCs) require a precise regulation of intracellular Ca2+levels. Influx of Ca2+occurs both at the stereocillia tips and through the basolateral membrane. In this latter compartment, two different origins for Ca2+influx have been poorly explored: voltage-gated Ca2+channels (VGCC) at synapses with type II afferent neurons, and α9α10 cholinergic nicotinic receptors at synapses with medio-olivochlear complex (MOC) neurons. Using functional imaging in rodent OHCs, we report that these two Ca2+entry sites are closely positioned, but present different regulation mechanisms. Ca2+spread from MOC synapses is contained by cisternal Ca2+-ATPases. Considered a weak drive for transmitter release, we unexpectedly found that VGCC Ca2+signals are comparable in size to those elicited by α9α10 and can be potentiated by ryanodine receptors. Finally, we showed that sorcin, a highly expressed gene product in OHCs with reported Ca2+control function in cardiomy-ocytes, regulates basal Ca2+levels and MOC synaptic activity in OHCs.
HDAC1 regulates the chromatin landscape to establish transcriptional dependencies in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Lai Tzung-Huei , Ozer Hatice Gulcin , Gasparini Pierluigi , Nigita Giovanni , Destefano Rosario , Yu Lianbo , Ravikrishnan Janani , Tsai Tzung-Lin , Lapalombella Rosa , Woyach Jennifer , Puduvalli Vinay , Blachly James , Byrd John C , Sampath Deepa
Published: August 2020

HDAC1 is a key regulator of gene expression in cancer. We identified a critical role for HDAC1 in establishing the transcriptional dependencies essential for survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) by profiling HDAC1 with BRD4, H3K27Ac superenhancers, H4K9Ac, chromatin accessibility signatures, Pol2 measurements and expression signatures to generate a regulatory chromatin landscape. Superenhancers marked by high levels of acetylation and BRD4 paradoxically also recruited the highest levels of HDAC1. HDAC inhibition poisoned transcription at these loci to selectively disrupt B-cell transcription factors and B-cell receptor signaling. HDAC1 was also recruited genome-wide at promoters without superenhancers to repress expression; HDAC inhibition induces these genes which include key microRNA networks that reciprocally downregulate CLL specific survival and driver genes. Our work provides a compelling rationale for profiling HDAC1 across cancers to characterize its role in driving the transcriptional dysregulation that is a hallmark of most cancers and develop epigenetic therapeutic strategies.

Significance

Our work definitively establishes the composition of the regulatory chromatin that enables HDAC1 to function as an activator and repressor at distinct target genes within the same tumor to drive transcriptional dysregulation and allow the expression of B cell specific signaling and survival networks that are critical for survival.
Analysis of Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus (rAAV) Sample Morphology Using Negative Staining and High-Resolution Electron Microscopy
Authors: Hendricks Gregory , Sena-Esteves Miguel , Gao Guangping
Published: August 2020

Negative staining is a simple and rapid method for studying the morphology and ultrastructure of small particulate specimens (e.g., viruses, bacteria, cell fragments, and isolated macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids). The technique described in this protocol involves allowing particles or fragments of cells to settle onto a support film, then applying a drop of metal salt solution to the adherent particulate specimen. The stain penetrates the interstices of the particles to bring out detail. In this situation, the preparation dries rapidly. The dissolved substance precipitates out of solution in an amorphous condition at the 0.1-nm level, and it is deposited over the support film and exposed surface of the specimen. The theoretical requirements of a good negative staining are a substance (1) of high density to provide high contrast, (2) at high solubility so that the stain does not come out of solution prematurely but does so only at the final stage of drying, (3) of high melting point and boiling point so that the material does not evaporate at high temperatures induced by the electron beam, and (4) in which the precipitate should be essentially amorphous down to the limit of resolution.
Gender, women, and the future of tobacco control
Authors: Solomon Alexandra
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a gendered analysis of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) benchmarked upon the global commitments to women’s health and well-being in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It reviews evidence of the global consequences of neglecting women’s tobacco use and health, as well as analyzes persistent issues related to sex and gender that compromise the efficacy of tobacco control and science. Actionable recommendations are made to the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC and other key stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws upon empirical studies, literature reviews and global health data at the varying intersections of gender, sex, tobacco and global health.

Findings

The global tobacco control framework and its implementation by state governments have been largely gender blind to date with dire health and economic consequences, including inequitable positive outcomes for men compared to women, and an increase in women’s smoking with associated morbidity and mortality. Gender equitable progress in combatting the tobacco epidemic will not be possible without resolving the gender bias, stigmatization, sexism and lack of intersectionality that plague tobacco control policy, research and interventions for cessation and harm reduction.

Originality/value

This paper provides an updated global overview of current trends in women’s tobacco use and comprehensively details the persistent structural barriers in tobacco control and science that limit their capacity to effectively analyze and address tobacco use and its impact on women.
Discovery Digital Health strategy: COVID-19 accelerates online health care in South Africa
Authors: Moore Amy , Hawarden Verity
Published: August 2020

Learning outcomes

The broad teaching objective is underpinned by the themes of purpose and partnerships. This is taught through application of business model innovation for sustainability where the value proposition is broadened to social and environmental, and multi-stakeholder partnerships in a time of crisis. Students will be expected to analyse the above concepts through a meso (sustainable value), micro (business models) and macro (ecosystems) lens. Upon completion of the case study discussion, successful students will be able to better understand the three features that support sustainable value, explore how a global pandemic can create new business models and partnerships to create social value and analyse how business ecosystems operate against the 6 C framework.

Case overview / synopsis

Discovery Holdings Limited is a leading financial service organisation in South Africa, and its Digital Health division is responsible for the platform which delivers telemedicine offerings to doctors and patients. The case highlights the development of the telemedicine offering and the period that is covered spans from the launch of the Discovery DrConnect platform in 2017 to April 2020. Adrian Moss is the protagonist in the case. He is a manager in the Special Projects, Digital Health team of Discovery Health, responsible for the DrConnect project. His challenge is how to raise more awareness of the DrConnect offering and how to enhance uptake from doctors and patients. COVID-19 and the lockdown in South Africa in March and April of 2020 presented an opportunity for both doctors and patients to use telemedicine as a new way of engagement and treatment.

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for masters, MBA and executive education students focusing on the fields of study of environment of business, strategy, business model innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS: 11 Strategy.
Innovative work behavior in SMEs: the role of transformational leadership
Authors: Knezović Emil , Drkić Amina
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of innovative work behavior (IWB) by examining the moderating role of transformational leadership in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study surveyed 371 employees from SMEs in Bosnia and Herzegovina by adopting convenience sampling. Hierarchical regression was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings supported the authors’ assumptions that IWB determinants such as psychological empowerment, participation in the decision-making process and organizational justice are positively related to IWB. Besides, transformational leadership moderates the relationship between organizational justice and IWB.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this study was collected by using convenience sampling as well as a cross-sectional survey method, which limits the generalization of results.

Practical implications

To spur the IWB among the employees in SMEs, an organization has to create an environment where psychological empowerment is high, employees have a chance to participate in the decision-making process and organizational rules and procedures are fair. In the case of organizational justice, the relationship shall be stronger if transformational leadership is present.

Originality/value

In SMEs, transformational leadership plays an important role. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates the moderating effect of transformational leadership on the relationship between one specific IWB determinant and IWB.
“Poking around and reading the tea leaves”: analysis of issues affecting film and TV unions
Authors: Fuller Ryan P. , Michael Boniface
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This research investigates the issues of concern for American film and television (TV) unions, the features of issues, whether issues are threats, opportunities or mixed evaluations, and unions' distributive or integrative approaches to issues (Walton and McKersie, 1965).

Design/methodology/approach

The first author interviewed 25 union leaders and used thematic analysis to identify issue characteristics and evaluations of issues as threats, opportunities or mixed. Using language analysis, the authors then connected these evaluations to integrative or distributive approaches.

Findings

The findings revealed three larger issues of concern (positioning the union and jurisdiction, shifting patterns of risk and negotiating and enforcing contracts) and five characteristics (locus, boundary, manageability, predictability and scope). These characteristics then determined how interviewees viewed issues as threats, opportunities or mixed evaluations. Three characteristics grouped together to form threats: external locus, indistinct boundaries and low manageability. Indistinct boundaries contributed to assessments of issues as mixed. These issue types, characteristics and interpretations revealed a metaphorical above- and below-the-line differentiation among film and TV unions based on the members continued ownership of their work. With one exception – BTL unions on positioning union and jurisdiction – leaders' language reflected distributive approaches to issues.

Originality/value

This study delves deeper into Walton and McKersie's (1965) classical two-part classification of issues by adding a typology of characteristics and operational definitions to aid in identifying threats, opportunities and mixed evaluations through the novel use of issue analysis in industrial relations.
An integrative review of SHRM research in South Korea: current status and future directions
Authors: Oh Jinuk , Park Junsu
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the current status of strategic human resource management (SHRM) research in the context of Korea as well as to provide specific recommendations for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrative literature review was performed to aggregate a body of studies in the Korean context. In total, 39 articles were carefully selected for inclusion in the present review.

Findings

The review demonstrated that prior studies conducted in Korea have examined whether the established relationship between strategic human resource (HR) practices and organizational outcomes has cross-national validity in Korean contexts, the extent to which the established relationship is moderated by contextual factors, as well as whether a combination of strategic HR practices and the congruence of HR practices with other organizational factors affect organizational outcomes. In addition, the review revealed four unique methodological characteristics of Korea-based studies, namely, the extensive use of self-reported questionnaires, personnel in managerial positions serving as the main sources of primary data, secondary data collected by Korean government research bodies being actively dealt with and an awareness of the necessity of a longitudinal design for causal research.

Originality/value

The present review makes an important contribution to the study of SHRM in general and the strategic human resources management model in Korea in particular. It is clear that more research is required, although it is encouraging to note the quality of prior research concerning Korean contexts and the specific mechanisms by which strategic HR practices influence organizational outcomes. Finally, there is a clear need for future research that explicitly considers employees' perceptions of strategic HR practices and specific contextual factors in Korea, and further, that utilizes more rigorous and diverse research methods to investigate the effectiveness of strategic HR practices in Korea.
Performance, pottery and pliers: rupturing play with bodies and things
Authors: Pennington Casey , Wohlwend Karen , Davis Summer J. , Scott Jill Allison
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine tensions around play, performance and artmaking as becoming in the mix of expected and taken-for-granted discourses implicit in an after-school ceramics makerspace (Perry and Medina, 2011). The authors look closely at one adolescent girl’s embodied performance to see how it ruptures the scripts for compliant bodies in the after-school program. While these performances take place out-of-school and in an arts studio, the tensions and explorations also resonate with broader issues around student embodied, performative and becomings that run counter to normalized school expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

A contemporary approach to nexus analysis (Medina and Wohlwend, 2014; Wohlwend, 2021) unpacked two critical performative encounters (Medina and Perry, 2011) using concepts of historical bodies (Scollon and Scollon, 2004) informed by sociomaterial thing-power (Bennett, 2010).

Findings

Playing while painting pottery collides and converges with the tacitly desired and expected ways of embodying student in this after-school artspace. Emily’s outer-space alien persona ruptured expected discourses when her historical body and embodied performances threatened other children. While her embodied performances facilitated her becoming a fully present participant in the studio, she fractured the line between play and reality in violent ways.

Originality/value

As literacy researchers, the authors are in a moment of reckoning where student embodied performances and historical bodies can collide with all-too-real violent threats in daily lives and community locations. Situating these performances in the nexus of embodied literacies, unsanctioned play and thing-power can help educators respond to these moments as ruptures of tacit expectations for girlhoods in school-like spaces.
What do the business employers want? A sequential mixed methods exploration of information professionals’ competencies
Authors: Awan Waqar Ahmad , Ameen Kanwal
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The job market of library and information professionals has expanded from academic to industrial, special and business libraries. The unique nature of the organizations, their data and clientele demand a different set of competencies. The purpose of this study is to explore the competencies of information professionals from the perspectives of business employers – a comparatively new job place for the library and information management professionals.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used to meet objectives of this study in two phases. In the first phase, qualitative data was extracted from panel discussion. Themes were extracted from this qualitative data. In the second phase, a questionnaire was designed which was based on qualitative themes. The instrument contained the nine-point Likert type scale and was filled by the business and industry human resource managers. The quantitatively gathered data were analysed while using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS version 22.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that work coordination, knowledge of intellectual property rights, online searching ability, leadership qualities, trustworthiness and background knowledge of the prospective organizations are the basic competencies required by the business employers.

Practical Implications

This study will guide the students on which qualities they are required to obtain to qualify for jobs of information professionals in the current employment sector. Additionally, it will provide guidelines to the continuous education programme designers, prompting them to include in their trainings the vital qualities of candidates required by the current job market.

Originality Value

This is the maiden study that has explored the competencies of library and information management professionals through exploratory sequential mixed methods.
The influence of corporate governance on corporate sustainability: new evidence using panel data in the Iberian macroeconomic environment
Authors: Cancela Beatriz Lopes , Neves Maria Elisabete Duarte , Rodrigues Lúcia Lima , Gomes Dias António Carlos
Published: August 2020

Purpose

In the macroeconomic environment of the Iberian Peninsula, this paper aims to examine the influence of corporate governance characteristics on corporate sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to address corporate practices while determining which corporate governance characteristics can improve corporate sustainability, considering, for this purpose, three dimensions of sustainability: economic, environmental and social.

Design/methodology/approach

This sample comprises 99 non-financial companies of the Iberian Peninsula, during the 2013–2017 period. The authors have used the panel data methodology, specifically the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) to test the hypotheses formulated.

Findings

The results obtained have shown that corporate sustainability performance is affected differently depending on the sustainability dimension that is considered. Specifically, the economic dimension is determined by public debt, the board size, board diversity and the existence of an audit committee. Regarding the environmental dimension, the board size and the presence of the audit committee, as well the corporate social responsibility committee, are the most important determinants. Finally, the social dimension was influenced by the board size, audit committee and the control variable of capital structure, which means that in this dimension, the sources of financing used by the company also help in determining its levels of social concern.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a study has been carried out in the Iberian Peninsula on the corporate sustainability using GMM-system model for three dimensions of sustainability. Corporate sustainability depends on external and internal factors of companies. Therefore, regulators and managers should realize that they will have to be more effective in their statements.
Enhancing voice of customer prioritisation in QFD by integrating the competitor matrix
Authors: Iqbal Zafar , Grigg Nigel Peter
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a quality improvement methodology using a system of interrelated matrices, where the influence of any one matrix may meaningfully change the concluding outcomes. In these interconnected matrices, the voice of customer (VOC) matrix and competitor matrix have a strong relationship. The current practice of finding improvement ratios (IRs) does not incorporate competitors' rating in a way that fully utilises competitors' rating information. The aim of this article to enhance VOC importance ratings by utilising the application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with the geometric mean (GM).

Design/methodology/approach

The current practice of computing IRs may divert QFD practitioners' attention from a potentially important VOC to less important VOC. In the first step using the existing competitors' ratings, a matrix of multiple comparisons is generated for all competitors. In the second step GM for each VOC is integrated with present VOC importance ratings to set new ratings.

Findings

A QFD case study from the published literature is used to illustrate the application of new method. It is described how the existing results of the case study may divert to flawed decisions. It is further corroborated that in this way re-ranking of existing VOCs better achieve the goal of customer satisfaction in relation to VOC ratings and competitors' rankings.

Originality/value

By employing this method, competitor rating can be transformed to two dimensional results, which provide a better picture to practitioners in observing their company's position and in improving VOC rating as well.
The Pransky interview: Dr. Tessa Lau, Founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics
Authors: Pransky Joanne
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD-turned successful business leader, regarding the commercialization and challenges of bringing technological inventions to market. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The interviewee is Dr Tessa Lau, an experienced entrepreneur with expertise in AI, machine learning, and robotics, who thrives on the challenges of creating startups. She is currently Founder/CEO at Dusty Robotics, whose mission is to address construction industry productivity by introducing robotic automation on the jobsite. In this interview, Lau discusses her technical and business insights from the startups she built.

Findings

Dr Lau received her BA and BS from Cornell University in computer science and applied & engineering physics; and an MS and PhD degree in computer science from University of Washington. Prior to co-founding Dusty in April 2018, she was CTO/co-founder at Savioke, where she orchestrated the deployment of 75+ delivery robots into hotels and high-rises. Previously, Lau was a research scientist at Willow Garage, where she developed simple interfaces for personal robots. She also spent 11 years at IBM Research working in business process automation and knowledge capture.

Originality/value

Dr Lau, known as the Chief Robot Whisperer, is a robot industry disruptor who is passionate about pioneering technology that gives people super-powers. Lau has built two businesses, large, successful venture capital-funded companies. Lau was named 2017 Woman of Influence by The Silicon Valley Business Journal and one of the most creative business people by Fast Company in 2015. Over the years, Lau has served on program committees for various major HCI and AI conferences and on the board for the CRA-W – the committee for the status of women in computing research.
Study-life integration and young adult students mental health
Authors: Badri Siti Khadijah Zainal
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if study–life integration practice has an influence on young adult students’ mental health. Study–life integration in this paper is viewed from the occurrence of conflict and enrichment between two domains – study life and personal life.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative approach with cross-sectional design. A total of 399 young adults from a university in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, were recruited as respondents. The result was analysed using SPSS hierarchical regression method.

Findings

This paper offers empirical evidence on study–life integration influences on young adults’ mental health. The findings from this paper suggested that higher anxiety and social dysfunction symptoms were linked to frequent conflict caused by interference from study to personal lives. The main sources for these conflicts were high academic stress and excessive academic-related behaviour. The findings also suggested that greater academic achievement, although improving young adults’ personal life, was associated with greater symptoms of social dysfunction. On a positive note, the feeling of positive emotion experienced from study life associated with less social dysfunction.

Originality/value

Providing better access to social and community facilities within the institution is essential to help the young adults to effectively bridge the gap between study life and personal life. Opportunity to pursue personal life in the institution can promote a healthier relationship between the study and personal domains among young adults. A healthy relationship between these two domains can nurture positive emotion, which is a key to improving young adults’ mental health.
Can Husserl’s phenomenology provide the intellectual framework of soft systems? (Part one)
Authors: Stowell Frank
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between Husserl’s phenomenology and soft systems. An important idea arising from the action research programme at the University of Lancaster is the notion of soft systems. The concept of soft systems, that distinguished it from other systems (holistic) thinking of the time, was the conscious link between soft systems thinking and phenomenology. Phenomenology is that the realm of intentional consciousness that enables the phenomenologist to develop a radically unprejudiced justification of his (or her) basic views of the world and of himself and explore their rational interconnections. Similarly, in soft systems, it is acknowledged that reality is formed by sensation and fashioned by experience. It is not exclusively a process of thought (although this may shape how we process our experience), for us the world exists as the result of a subjective appreciation of it. In Part 1, the author explores how phenomenology informs soft systems theory and practice through the work of Husserl and some of those that influenced him and were influenced by him. In Part 2, the author explores a possible relationship between Husserl and Gadamer as a possible intellectual grounding for organisational inquiry.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted by examining published material relating to the development of soft systems ideas and Husserl's phenomenology.

Findings

An analysis of the ideas within the material suggests that phenomenology can be considered as a underpinning the notion of soft systems

Research limitations/implications

There is difficulty tracking down important papers that recorded the development of soft systems (i.e. 1970–1990) as Lancaster University had disposed of all issues. However, the author tracked down a source and was able to use this material as part of the research. In addition to helping research the origins of the idea, it also provides a paper trail for other researchers interested in these ideas.

Practical implications

Tracing the published material relating to soft systems necessitated visits to several universities as many of the important papers where no longer held by the University of Lancaster library.

Social implications

It seems apposite that the ideas behind soft systems are resurrected as they offer an alternative way of thinking about complexity – which the modern world seems increasingly creating

Originality/value

There is a lack of research into soft systems as the publications describing the Lancaster research programme have centred around soft systems methodology (SSM). Checkland remarked a decade or so ago that said SSM should be taken as given and other ideas explored. There is little evidence that the soft ideas have been explored outside variations of SSM, this paper is intended to encourage more research into ‘soft’ systems.
Financial performance of the United Kingdom's national non-profit sport federations: a binary logistic regression approach
Authors: Omondi-Ochieng Peter
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The aim of this study was to predict the financial performance of the United Kingdom's (UK) national non-profit sport federations (NNSFs) using financial effectiveness indicators and financial efficiency ratios, as framed by the resource dependency theory and stakeholder theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The dependent variable was financial performance quantified as net income. The independent variables were financial effectiveness (measured as total assets and revenues) and financial efficiency (indicated as return on assets, sponsorship efficiency and donation efficiency). With the help of panel data, the study utilised binary logistic regression and Kendall’ tau correlations.

Findings

Binary regression results reported a Nagelkerke R2 of 87.5%, with ROA and donation efficiency being the best predictors of financial performance. Results from Kendall’ tau correlations indicated a positive and statistical association between financial performance and financial effectiveness and financial efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The study was delimited to UK non-profit sports organisations that had free, useable and publicly available financial data. For top management, donors and policy advocates, the study highlighted the superiority of financial efficiency over financial effectiveness.

Originality/value

The study adds to research, theory and practitioners' perspectives by offering a new way of evaluating financial performance with the combination of financial effectiveness and efficiency and not opinions, a factor uncommon in previous studies.
The interfacial reliability of through-glass vias for 2.5D integrated circuits
Authors: Ahmed Omar , Jalilvand Golareh , Pollard Scott , Okoro Chukwudi , Jiang Tengfei
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Glass is a promising interposer substrate for 2.5 D integration; yet detailed analysis of the interfacial reliability of through-glass vias (TGVs) has been lacking. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the design and material factors responsible for the interfacial delamination in TGVs and identify methods to improve reliability.

Design/methodology/approach

The interfacial reliability of TGVs is studied both analytically and numerically. An analytical solution is presented to show the dependence of the energy release rate (ERR) for interfacial delamination on the via design and the thermal mismatch strain. Then, finite element analysis (FEA) is used to investigate the influence of detailed design and material factors, including the pitch distance, via aspect ratio, via geometry and the glass and via materials, on the susceptibility to interfacial delamination.

Findings

ERR for interfacial delamination is directly proportional to the via diameter and the thermal mismatch strain. Thinner wafers with smaller aspect ratios show larger ERRs. Changing the via geometry from a fully filled via to an annular via leads to lower ERR. FEA results also show that certain material combinations have lower thermal mismatch strains, thus less prone to delamination.

Practical implications

The results and approach presented in this paper can guide the design and development of more reliable 2.5 D glass interposers.

Originality/value

This paper represents the first attempt to comprehensively evaluate the impact of design and material selection on the interfacial reliability of TGVs.
When the boss is blue: examining the effects of supervisors' negative emotions on subordinates' cognitive work engagement and family undermining
Authors: Chan Xi Wen , Kalliath Thomas , Cheng David
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Research has largely shown that supervisors' negative emotions lead to subordinates' negative emotions and detrimental work outcomes, but recent studies are showing that supervisor negative emotions may yield both negative and positive subordinate behaviours. Drawing on the work–home resources model, this research sought to unpack the interpersonal, cross-domain effects of supervisor negative emotions on subordinate cognitive work engagement and family undermining through subordinate perceived leader effectiveness and self-efficacy to manage work and life.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the relationships, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were conducted on time-lagged dyadic data collected from 372 supervisor–subordinate pairs.

Findings

Results revealed that supervisor negative emotions led to higher levels of subordinate cognitive work engagement and family undermining.

Research limitations/implications

Supervisor negative emotions had unintended consequences on subordinates' work and family outcomes – they enhanced subordinates' cognitive work engagement (positive work outcome) but also increased subordinates' family undermining (negative family outcome). Future studies could benefit from a diary study with a within-subject design since emotions are known to fluctuate in a day.

Practical implications

This research provides supervisors with insights about the consequences of their negative emotions on their subordinates, calls upon organisations to provide cognitive regulation training, and encourages subordinates to develop self-efficacy in managing their work and life.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to incorporate self-efficacy to manage work and life as a personal resource and subordinate family undermining as an outcome of supervisor negative emotions, which enhances understanding of the resource allocation and loss processes between supervisors and subordinates.
Linking professional capital with facilitating in school teams
Authors: Mac Anita , Albertsen Karen
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The project “Public schools in change – collaboration as a resource” was aimed to strengthen professional capital (social- human- and decision-capital) in public schools and as a part of this to strengthen collaboration within teams. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the approach of linking development of professional capital to the development of team competence through facilitating and discuss the adequacy of the methods used to fulfil the purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was designed as a multiple case intervention implemented at four worksites. It was organized as a course consisting of four sessions among 15–20 team coordinators from each school unit. The research group provided insights and methods to increase the team’s ability to manage tasks and cooperate.

Findings

Based on observations of team meetings, the study provides a discussion on the usefulness of the approach of linking team competence and professional capital. Both at theoretical and practical levels, the study finds it is meaningful to combine facilitating as methods to ensure the creation of value in organizational teamwork, in general, with the concept of professional capital pointing on the quality of the core task and particularly developed within an educational context.

Research limitations/implications

The study provide a presentation of two theoretical frameworks and a discussion of the adequacy of linking these frameworks to the development of team competences in a school context.

Practical implications

The study suggests that organizations and educational institutions (of teachers, physicians, and social workers) may benefit from linking professional capital and facilitating and thereby provide employees and students training in professional collaboration.

Social implications

In a still more complex society, collaboration is crucial. The study suggests ways to improve collaboration, quality of the core task along with the relational dimensions in the psychosocial work environment.

Originality/value

Development of professional capital through increased team competences and facilitating skills represents a new and promising approach with theoretical as well as practical implications within a school context. Indeed, not only school teams but also teams in other organizations dealing with social- task- and contextual complexity can benefit from the insights and experiences of this study.
Testosterone‐mediated behaviour shapes the emergent properties of social networks
Authors: Dakin Roslyn , Moore Ignacio T. , Horton Brent M. , Vernasco Ben J. , Ryder T. Brandt
Published: August 2020

Social networks can vary in their organization and dynamics, with implications for ecological and evolutionary processes. Understanding the mechanisms that drive social network dynamics requires integrating individual‐level biology with comparisons across multiple social networks.

Testosterone is a key mediator of vertebrate social behaviour and can influence how individuals interact with social partners. Although the effects of testosterone on individual behaviour are well established, no study has examined whether hormone‐mediated behaviour can scale up to shape the emergent properties of social networks.

We investigated the relationship between testosterone and social network dynamics in the wire‐tailed manakin, a lekking bird species in which male–male social interactions form complex social networks. We used an automated proximity system to longitudinally monitor several leks and we quantified the social network structure at each lek. Our analysis examines three emergent properties of the networks—social specialization (the extent to which a network is partitioned into exclusive partnerships), network stability (the overall persistence of partnerships through time) and behavioural assortment (the tendency for like to associate with like). All three properties are expected to promote the evolution of cooperation. As the predictor, we analysed the collective testosterone of males within each social network.

Social networks that were composed of high‐testosterone dominant males were less specialized, less stable and had more negative behavioural assortment, after accounting for other factors. These results support our main hypothesis that individual‐level hormone physiology can predict group‐level network dynamics. We also observed that larger leks with more interacting individuals had more positive behavioural assortment, suggesting that small groups may constrain the processes of homophily and behaviour‐matching.

Overall, these results provide evidence that hormone‐mediated behaviour can shape the broader architecture of social groups. Groups with high average testosterone exhibit social network properties that are predicted to impede the evolution of cooperation.