bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Behavioural variability and cortical electrophysiological signals depend on recent outcomes during human reinforcement motor learning
Authors: Wiegel Patrick , Spedden Meaghan Elizabeth , Ramsenthaler Christina , Beck Mikkel Malling , Lundbye-Jensen Jesper
Published: April 2021

The history of our actions and the outcomes of these represent important information, which can inform choices, and efficiently guide future behaviour. While unsuccessful (S-) outcomes are expected to lead to more explorative motor states and increased behavioural variability, successful (S+) outcomes lead to reinforcement of the previous action and thus exploitation. Here, we show that during reinforcement motor learning, humans attribute different values to previous actions when they experience S- vs. S+ outcomes. Behavioural variability after S- outcomes is influenced more by the previous outcomes compared to what is observed after S+ outcomes. Using electroencephalography, we show that neural oscillations of the prefrontal cortex encode the level of reinforcement (high beta frequencies) and reflect the detection of reward prediction errors (theta frequencies). The results suggest that S+ experiences ‘overwrite’ previous motor states to a greater extent than S- experiences and that modulations in neural oscillations in the prefrontal cortex play a potential role in encoding the (changes in) movement variability state during reinforcement motor learning.
UBP12 and UBP13 deubiquitinases destabilize the CRY2 blue-light receptor to regulate growth
Authors: Norén Lindbäck Louise , Artz Oliver , Ackermann Amanda , Pedmale Ullas V.
Published: April 2021

All organisms undergo growth, which is precisely controlled by exogenous and endogenous signals. Unchecked growth often leads to neoplasia and other developmental defects, severely affecting an organism’s fitness. Light is a vital exogenous signal sensed by cryptochrome (CRY) blue light receptors to modulate growth and the circadian clock in plants and animals. Yet, how CRYs interpret light quantity to regulate growth in plants remains poorly understood. We show that UBP12 and UBP13 deubiquitinases physically interact with CRY2 in light. UBP12/13 negatively regulated CRY2 protein levels by promoting its ubiquitination and turnover to fine-tune growth. Unexpectedly, the destabilization of CRY2 by UBP12/13 is contrary to the general view that deubiquitinases stabilize proteins by preventing their degradation. Growth and development were explicitly affected in blue light when UBP12/13 was disrupted or overexpressed, indicating their role alongside CRY2. UBP12/13 also interacted and stabilized COP1, which is partially required for the turnover of CRY2. Despite decades of studies on deubiquitinases, the knowledge on how they are regulated is limited. Our study offers an insight into how exogenous signals and their receptors regulate deubiquitinase activity by protein-protein interaction. Altogether, our results provide a new module of cryptochromes and deubiquitinases in sensing and interpreting light cues to control growth at the most appropriate time.
Nanofocusing with aberration-corrected rotationally parabolic refractive X-ray lenses. Corrigendum
Authors: Seiboth Frank , Wittwer Felix , Scholz Maria , Kahnt Maik , Seyrich Martin , Schropp Andreas , Wagner Ulrich , Rau Christoph , Garrevoet Jan , Falkenberg Gerald , Schroer Christian G.
Published: April 2021

A correction in the paper by Seiboth et al. [(2018). J. Synchrotron Rad.
25, 108–115] is made.
Competing logics in a hybrid organization: ICT service provision in the Italian health care sector
Authors: Maran Laura , Lowe Alan
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This paper reports an investigation of a hybrid ex-state-owned enterprise (ex-SOE) providing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services in the Italian healthcare sector (in-house provision). The authors aim to offer a framing that reflects the concerns expressed in the interdisciplinary literature on hybrid SOEs from management, public administration and, more recently, accounting.

Design/methodology/approach

This study operationalizes Besharov and Smith’s (2014) theoretical model on multiple logics to analyze institutional structures and organizational outcomes at an ICT in-house provider. It builds on extensive textual analysis of regulatory, archival, survey and interview data.

Findings

The study results show that the combination of hybridity in the form of layering of multiple logics in the health care sector (Polzeret al., 2016) creates problems for the effectiveness of ICT provision. In particular, the hybrid organization the authors study remained stuck in established competing relationships despite a restructure of regional health care governance. The study findings also reflect on the design of organizational control mechanisms when balancing different logics.

Research limitations/implications

The identified case-study accountability practices and performance system add to the debate on hybrid organizations in the case of ex-SOEs and facilitate the understanding and management of hybrids in the public sector. The authors note policymaking implications.

Originality/value

The authors’ operationalization of Besharov and Smith's (2014) model adds clarity to key elements of their model, notably how to identify evidence in order to disentangle notions of centrality and compatibility. By doing this, the authors’ analysis offers potential insights into both managerial design and policy prescription. The authors provide cautionary tales around institutional reorganization regarding the layered synthesis of logics within these organizations.
Benchmarking framework for sustainable manufacturing based MCDM techniques
Authors: Hichem Aouag , Mohyeddine Soltani , Abdessamed Kobi
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for sustainable manufacturing by adopting a combined approach using AHP, fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy EDAS methods. The proposed model aims to identify and prioritize the sustainable factors and technical requirements that help in improving the sustainability of manufacturing processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed approach integrates both AHP, Fuzzy EDAS and Fuzzy TOPSIS. AHP method is used to generate the weights of the sustainable factors. Fuzzy EDAS and Fuzzy TOPSIS are applied to rank and determine the application priority of a set of improvement approaches. The ranks carried out from each MCDM approach is assessed by computing the spearman's correlation coefficient.

Findings

The results reveal the proposed model is efficient in sustainable factors and the technical requirements prioritizing. In addition, the results carried out from this study indicate the high efficiency of AHP, Fuzzy EDAS and Fuzzy TOPSIS in decision making. Besides, the results indicate that the model provides a useable methodology for managers' staff to select the desirable sustainable factors and technical requirements for sustainable manufacturing.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this paper is that the proposed approach investigates an average number of factors and technical requirements.

Originality/value

This paper investigates an integrated MCDM approach for sustainable factors and technical requirements prioritization. In addition, the presented work pointed out that AHP, Fuzzy EDAS and Fuzzy TOPSIS approach can manipulate several conflict attributes in a sustainable manufacturing context.
COVID-19: main challenges during construction stage
Authors: Sierra Francisco
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This paper reviews the current literature on the major challenges faced by building contractors in the UK due to COVID-19 to create an evaluation framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A PRISMA scoping review systematically maps the information published and establishes the potential challenges, as a precursor to a literature review that synthesises the data available to establish an initial COVID-19 evaluation framework to build a rationale for a future series of studies.

Findings

The research identified these seven challenges: health and safety on-site, economic cost, possible legal exposures, manpower availability, instability of the supply chain and subcontractors, and the uncertainty related to the constant and unpredictable evolution of the pandemic. The magnitude of each challenge was also found to differ depending on the size of the contractor, the rigor of local regulations and the sector where the contractor works.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to increasing understanding on the subject and provides an initial assessment framework, based on these seven parameters, so that contractors can analyse their weaknesses and plan specific priorities so that their companies can remain competitive, minimising the impact of COVID-19 and possible future waves.

Originality/value

This research is timely and relevant as it produces the first academic review on how COVID-19 has affected contractors and the construction stage. This document gives a holistic view of the new scenario created by COVID-19 and creates a self-assessment system for contractors to test their resistance to COVID-19.
The power of balance: interplay effects of exploitative leadership style, work–family balance and family-friendly workplace practices on innovation implementation
Authors: Garlatti Costa Grazia , Aleksić Darija , Bortoluzzi Guido
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inverted U-shaped relationship that exists between exploitative leadership styles and innovation implementation. In addition, drawing on the social cognitive theory, the paper explores the effect of the three-way interaction between exploitative leadership style (ELS), work–family balance (WFB) and family-friendly workplace practices (FFWPs) on innovation implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study of 440 employees from 38 medium and large companies based in Italy and Croatia was conducted, using an online survey. The proposed hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results show that there is an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between ELS and innovation implementation. Furthermore, the findings support the existence of the three-way interaction suggesting that the combination of high-level WFB and high-level FFWPs strengthens the relationship between ELS² and innovation implementation.

Originality/value

This is the first contribution that examines a curvilinear relationship between ELS and innovation implementation. Additionally, it contributes to the work–family literature by providing the first empirical examination of the joint impact of WFB and FFWPs in enhancing innovation implementation. Our results suggest that individuals who perceive a high level of WFB and who work in an organization with family-friendly practices are more accepting of an exploitative leader, and that the positive feelings from the family domain encourage the implementation of innovation. These results may change the attitudes of managers, encouraging them to consider WFB and FFWPs as important for the implementation of innovation.
Efficient path planning of drone swarms over clustered human crowds in social events
Authors: Bulut Faruk , Bektaş Melike , Yavuz Abdullah
Published: April 2021

Purpose

In this study, supervision and control of the possible problems among people over a large area with a limited number of drone cameras and security staff is established.

Design/methodology/approach

These drones, namely unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be adaptively and automatically distributed over the crowds to control and track the communities by the proposed system. Since crowds are mobile, the design of the drone clusters will be simultaneously re-organized according to densities and distributions of people. An adaptive and dynamic distribution and routing mechanism of UAV fleets for crowds is implemented to control a specific given region. The nine popular clustering algorithms have been used and tested in the presented mechanism to gain better performance.

Findings

The nine popular clustering algorithms have been used and tested in the presented mechanism to gain better performance. An outperformed clustering performance from the aggregated model has been received when compared with a singular clustering method over five different test cases about crowds of human distributions. This study has three basic components. The first one is to divide the human crowds into clusters. The second one is to determine an optimum route of UAVs over clusters. The last one is to direct the most appropriate security personnel to the events that occurred.

Originality/value

This study has three basic components. The first one is to divide the human crowds into clusters. The second one is to determine an optimum route of UAVs over clusters. The last one is to direct the most appropriate security personnel to the events that occurred.
Two sides, but not of the same coin: digitalization, productivity and unemployment
Authors: Krutova Oxana , Koistinen Pertti , Turja Tuuli , Melin Harri , Särkikoski Tuomo
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how input from the digital restructuring of the workplace and productivity affects the risk of job loss and unemployment.

Design/methodology/approach

Relying on the concepts of technological unemployment and the productivity paradox as well as the theory of skills-biased technological change, the analysis incorporated micro-level individual determinants of job loss, macro-level economic determinants of input and the contribution from traditional (machinery and equipment) vs innovative (ICT) factors of production. The model has been also controlled for “traditional” indicators of “outsiderness” in the labour market. The Quality of Work Life Survey, which is a broad-based national interview survey produced by Statistics Finland, for 2018, the latest year available (N = 4,110) has been used in the analysis. Binomial logistic regression has been applied in order to estimate the effects of individual- and macro-level factors on the risk of job loss.

Findings

The results support arguments for the divergence between effects from labour- vs total-factor productivity on the risks of job loss, as well as the divergence between effects for temporary (layoff) vs permanent job loss (dismissal or unemployment). While the contribution from “traditional” factors of production to labour productivity potentially decreases the risk of permanent job loss, input from “innovative” factors of production on total-factor productivity potentially causes adverse effects (e.g. growing risks of permanent job loss).

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the theoretical discussion about technological unemployment and productivity by means of including two different concepts into a single econometric model, thus enabling examination of the research problem in an innovative way.
System reliability-redundancy allocation by the multiobjective plant propagation algorithm
Authors: Mellal Mohamed Arezki , Salhi Abdellah
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Increasing the system reliability is one of the most important concerns in an industrial plant to become competitive. However, focusing on the overall system reliability increases the overall design cost. The problem is investigated as a multiobjective optimization problem.

Design/methodology/approach

It implements the Multiobjective Plant Propagation Algorithm (PPA), also known as the Strawberry Algorithm for the system reliability-redundancy allocation problem.

Findings

The Pareto set of a pharmaceutical plant involving ten subsystems connected in series is generated in order to highlight the applicability of the algorithm.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include the study of two objective functions.

Practical implications

It allows the decision-maker to select the best solution according to his target.

Originality/value

This work represents the first implementation of the multiobjective PPA for solving the multiobjective system reliability optimization in the literature.
Exploring demand-side barriers to credit uptake and financial inclusion
Authors: Singh Anshu
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the demand side factors affecting financial inclusion in general and credit uptake in particular.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is descriptive and exploratory in nature and is purely based on primary data. The data collection instrument has been scientifically after thorough review of literature and seeking expert opinion. Primary data have been collected from the respondents of lower socioeconomic class in selected rural areas in the State of Maharashtra, India. Exploratory technique like factor analysis and structural equation modelling have been used to identify the inter-relations between financial inclusion and underlying barriers.

Findings

The study concludes that there are major latent issues that determine the uptake and usage of financial services, major being “operational and implementation challenges”, “financial literacy” and “affordability”. The “usage” aspect further impacts financial inclusion along with “access” variable. These are some of the most important factor for creating demand-driven approach towards financial products and services specially credit. The author concludes that the identified latent barriers with respect to the “usage” dimension of financial inclusion require greater policy attention so that it can complement the supply-side measures.

Practical implications

The study establishes that merely having “access” through bank account ownership will not fulfil the objective of financial inclusion, and it is the “usage”, which is also important to realize the full potential of financial inclusion at the bottom of the pyramid. So, policy actions should be directed toward enhancing the “usage” aspect of financial services. The “usage” dimension could be enhanced through targeted interventions to mitigate the effect of identified latent barriers.

Originality/value

Though researchers have made a mention of demand-side barriers to financial inclusion, detailed study on the topic is missing. The study is one of its kinds in exploring the severity of various demand-side barriers that determine financial inclusion. In the context of emerging economies like India, financial inclusion is often measured in terms of banking outreach and “access”. There are limited studies capturing the “usage” dimension of financial inclusion.
The influence of knowledge management on adoption intention of electric vehicles: perspective on technological knowledge
Authors: Huang Xingjun , Lin Yun , Lim Ming K. , Tseng Ming-Lang , Zhou Fuli
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Technological innovation is one of the remarkable characteristics of electric vehicles (EVs). This study aims to analyze how consumers' technological knowledge affects their intention to adopt EVs.

Design/methodology/approach

Original data were collected via a survey of 443 participants in China. An extended technology acceptance model was constructed to identify the factors influencing consumers' intention to adopt EVs and related technological knowledge pathways.

Findings

The results show that consumer technological knowledge is positively and significantly related to EVs' perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived fun to use and consumers' intention to adopt EVs. In addition, no direct and significant relationship is found between perceived fun to use and willingness to adopt EVs, from the technical knowledge dimension.

Practical implications

Imparting consumers with EV technological knowledge and usefulness may be an effective way to enhance their awareness and willingness to use EVs. Moreover, the role of females in the decision to adopt EVs should not be ignored, especially in decisions to purchase a family car.

Originality/value

Prior studies lack a technological knowledge-based view, and few studies have discussed how to explore the effects of consumer technological knowledge about EVs on their adoption intention. This study fills the research gap.
Citing and referencing habits in medicine and social sciences journals in 2019
Authors: Santos Erika Alves dos , Peroni Silvio , Mucheroni Marcos Luiz
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This article explores citing and referencing systems in social sciences and medicine articles from different theoretical and practical perspectives, considering bibliographic references as a facet of descriptive representation.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of citing and referencing elements (i.e. bibliographic references, mentions, quotations and respective in-text reference pointers) identified citing and referencing habits within disciplines under consideration and errors occurring over the long term as stated by previous studies now expanded. Future expected trends of information retrieval from bibliographic metadata was gathered by approaching these referencing elements from the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) entities concepts.

Findings

Reference styles do not fully accomplish with their role of guiding authors and publishers on providing concise and well-structured bibliographic metadata within bibliographic references. Trends on representative description revision suggest a predicted distancing on the ways information is approached by bibliographic references and bibliographic catalogs adopting FRBR concepts, including the description levels adopted by each of them under the perspective of the FRBR entities concept.

Research limitations/implications

This study was based on a subset of medicine and social sciences articles published in 2019 and, therefore, it may not be taken as a final and broad coverage. Future studies expanding these approaches to other disciplines and chronological periods are encouraged.

Originality/value

By approaching citing and referencing issues as descriptive representation's facets, findings on this study may encourage further studies that will support information science and computer science on providing tools to become bibliographic metadata description simpler, better structured and more efficient facing the revision of descriptive representation actually in progress.
Documenting information making in archaeological field reports
Authors: Huvila Isto , Sköld Olle , Börjesson Lisa
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Sharing information about work processes has proven to be difficult. This applies especially to information shared from those who participate in a process to those who remain outsiders. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of how professionals document their work practices with a focus on information making by analysing how archaeologists document their information work in archaeological reports.

Design/methodology/approach

In total 47 Swedish archaeological reports published in 2018 were analysed using close reading and constant comparative categorisation.

Findings

Even if explicit narratives of methods and work process have particular significance as documentation of information making, the evidence of information making is spread out all over the report document in (1) procedural narratives, (2) descriptions of methods and tools, (3) actors and actants, (4) photographs, (5) information sources, (6) diagrams and drawings and (7) outcomes. The usability of reports as conveyors of information on information making depends more on how a forthcoming reader can live with it as a whole rather than how to learn of the details it recites.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on a limited number of documents representing one country and one scholarly and professional field.

Practical implications

Increased focus on the internal coherence of documentation and the complementarity of different types of descriptions could improve information sharing. Further, descriptions of concepts that refer to work activities and the situation when information came into being could similarly improve their usability.

Originality/value

There is little earlier research on how professionals and academics document and describe their information activities.
Does marketing analytics capability boost firms' competitive marketing performance in data-rich business environment?
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Sabbir , Hossain Md Afnan , Abdel Fattah Fadi Abdel Muniem
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Few well-documented studies have explained the importance of researching firms' marketing analytics capability (FMAC). In spite of its significance, there is scant attention to conceptualising and empirically investigating FMAC and its consequences in a data-driven business context. Thus, this study aims to develop and test a conceptual model that relates FMAC and its repercussions in the data-rich business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analysed the data from 250 managers amongst large and medium-sized manufacturing and service-intensive firms. Furthermore, this research performed an empirical study by using operationalised questionnaire survey method to verify the hypotheses and reach its theoretical and managerial implications. Structural equation modelling with maximum-likelihood estimation method was applied to verify the validity of the proposed research model.

Findings

Multivariate analysis results show that FMAC significantly influences firms' competitive marketing performance (FCMP) with the presence of holistic marketing decision-making (HMDM) as a mediator. Moreover, adoption of artificial intelligence (AAI) enhances the relationship of FMAC-HMDM and FMAC-FCMP linkages.

Practical implications

This study analyses how FMAC can enhance FCMP and contributes to resource-based views and technological capability theories. From a managerial perspective, guidelines are provided for marketers to adopt advance technologies, such as AI, to optimise FMAC and HMDM to achieve competitive marketing performance.

Originality/value

Believing that “how to be competitive in marketing performance under data-rich-environment”, this research is the first to use the data of a firm manager to facilitate the understanding of FMAC, which provides a new direction for improving marketing performance. In addition, HMDM and AAI are also proposed for firms to optimise FCMP.
Exploring the barriers that influence intention to donate and role of the charity shop within the multi-tier supply chain
Authors: Guo Hailan , Xu Xiaoling
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Humanitarian relief organisations such as charities count on donations to provide assistance to people in need when disasters occur. In the UK, about 11,200 charity shops collect second-hand goods from donors to raise funds for their parent charity to support target beneficiaries. As their numbers increase, charity shops are finding it difficult to secure good quality stock. Furthermore, they may need to plan ahead to secure sufficient stock when the economy experiences a downturn. This paper identifies the charity shop's role and its donation flow in the multi-tier supply chain and empirically assesses the barriers that influence intention to donate with a mixed-methods approach.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to explore the charity shop's role within the multi-tier supply chain, this study begins with a literature review and then develops a conceptual model. In order to empirically evaluate the barriers that influence intention to donate, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 charity shop managers and collected 222 usable questionnaires from donors. The interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach was applied to examine the interrelationship among barriers and rank their priority.

Findings

This paper identifies ten significant barriers that influence intention to donate: lack of good quality items for donation; lack of information on how charity shops make use of donations; lack of familiarity with the donation process; lack of information of what items can be accepted by charity shops; lack of awareness of the impact that donations make; the difficulty of being available at the scheduled times for charity shops' free pick-up services; the difficulty of donating during shops' opening hours; the difficulty of finding parking to access charity shops; and living too far away from charity shops. In particular, the questionnaires' results indicate that lack of good quality items is the most significant barrier. This is also reflected in the ISM model, and thus needs more attention.

Practical implications

The results are very useful for charity shops themselves to understand current barriers to securing good quality stock and to develop potential stock-securing interventions based on these barriers' priority.

Originality/value

Although charity shops have been investigated by several researchers, their supply chain remains insufficiently explored. This paper fills this gap by identifying the charity shop's role and its donation flow in the supply chain and by empirically assessing the supply-side barriers with a mixed-methods approach.
The contribution of human capital to foreign direct investment inflows in developing countries
Authors: Abbas Ali , Moosa Imad , Ramiah Vikash
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This paper is about the effect of human capital on foreign direct investment (FDI). The purpose of this paper is to find out if developing countries with high levels of human capital (educated people and well-trained labour force) are more successful in attracting FDI. The underlying hypothesis has been tested repeatedly without reaching a consensus view or providing an answer to the basic question. This is to be expected because FDI is determined by a large number of factors, making the results sensitive to the selected set of explanatory variables, which forms the basis of the Leamer (1983) critique of the use of multiple regression to derive inference. Furthermore, confirmation bias and publication bias entice researchers to be selective in choosing the set of results they report.

Design/methodology/approach

The technique of extreme bounds analysis, as originally suggested by Leamer (1983) and modified by Sala-i-Martin (1997), is used to determine the importance of human capital for the ability of developing countries to attract FDI. The authors use a cross-sectional sample covering 103 developing and transition countries.

Findings

The results show no contradiction between firms seeking human capital and cheap labour. No matter what proxy is used to represent human capital, it turns out that the most important factor for attracting FDI is the variable “employee compensation”, which is the wage bill, implying that multinational firms look for cheap and also skilled labour in the host country.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors follow the procedure prescribed by Leamer (1983), and modified by Sala-i-Martin (1997), using extreme bounds analysis to distinguish between robust and fragile determinants of FDI, with particular emphasis on human capital. Instead of deriving inference from one regression equation by determining the statistical significance of the coefficient on the variable of interest, the extreme bounds or the distribution of estimated coefficients are used to distinguish between robust and fragile variables. This means that emphasis is shifted from significance, as implied by a single regression equation, to robustness, which is based on a large number of equations. The authors conduct tests on three proxies for human capital to find out if they are robust determinants of FDI and also judge the degree of robustness relative to other determinants.
Technology renewal, user resistance, user adoption: status quo bias theory revisited
Authors: Shirish Anuragini , Batuekueno Leslie
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The article provides a conceptual replication and enrichment of the status quo bias theory in the specific context of understanding IT department user resistance and user adoption. The findings can assist technology renewals and associated change management professionals to assess and plan the adoption and active usage of human resource systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used survey method to gather data. All items were based on prior literature. They administrated the survey to employees of GOODTECH (name changed), information systems (IS) department members, situated in France. They obtained 103 valid responses along with usage data from the system to run their path model, in order to validate the proposed research model.

Findings

The study offers an enriched user resistance model (URM) to understand why IT-savvy employees would resist or adopt new human resource tools. Apart from providing partial validity to status quo bias theory in the French context, the enriched model uses behavioral intention to use as an intermediate variable to explain the influence of two key constructs of the original theory: switching cost and switching benefits. This research provides a better explanatory power to understand the cause of user resistance and new IT use.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size used in the study can be considered as a limitation, although power analysis reveals that the results are significant and valid. The context of the study is also limited to one country and to a specific type of IS implementation scenario. Since the purpose of the paper was to offer contextual theory enhancement, the findings are valid for this purpose.

Practical implications

Digital project managers are offered a framework to increase technology adoption of new human resource tools and evaluate how to reduce user resistance at times of technology renewals. Self-efficacy for change and colleagues’ opinion can indirectly impact behavioral intention to use via switching cost and switching benefit perceptions and thus reducing resistance perceptions as well as increasing adoption of new IT tools in post-implementation phases.

Originality/value

The paper enriches the well-established user resistance theory in IS domain in a context of human resource post-implementation phase by studying IT-savvy end user's perceptions. The paper demonstrates the need to integrate user adoption and user resistance variables in one parsimonious framework and extends support to emerging research on dual focus perspective.
Organizational identification of knowledge workers in India: causes, consequences and the relevance of context
Authors: Mazumder Tanusree , Nanda Agarwal Madhushree , Sharma Tanuja
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This research develops and tests a model for organizational identification (OID) in a sample of knowledge workers in India. It calls attention to the relational antecedents of OID that are often overlooked in existing literature. Strong theoretical arguments are also built for context-specific outcome behaviors such as intrinsic motivation (IM) and innovative work behavior (IWB) that are relevant to knowledge work.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 357 IT industry employees in India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and the path model.

Findings

Strong support was found for relational antecedents of OID and the outcome variable IWB. The findings indicated that OID impacts IWB through the mediating mechanism of IM. Overall, the model demonstrated strong predictive power.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that social and relational variables could be strong managerial levers to increase the feeling of belongingness experienced by knowledge workers in India. In turn, OID can impact IWB, which is a significant outcome for knowledge work.

Originality/value

The study finds strong support for hypothesized relationships that have been unexplored or underexplored in mainstream OID literature. Relational antecedents were found to be strong predictors of OID in this sample. Also, the relationship between OID and IWB, an outcome behavior that is specifically relevant to knowledge-driven businesses, has not been explored earlier.
Contractors' adaptation to environmentally sustainable construction: a micro-level implementation framework
Authors: Mensah Sarfo , Nani Gabriel , Ayarkwa Joshua
Published: April 2021

Purpose

There is low adoption rate of existing environmentally sustainable construction frameworks. Contractors have dwindled capability to adapt to environmentally sustainable construction (ESC) towards achievement of SDGs. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework that leverages both theoretical and practical aspects of sustainable construction to enable contractors' adaptation to ESC at the micro level.

Design/methodology/approach

Due to the social constructivism orientation of the objectives of this research, abductive approach and qualitative research strategy were adopted. Data were obtained through interviews and validation focus group discussion. Content analysis and thematic template analyses techniques were employed to conduct qualitative data analyses.

Findings

There are peculiar ESC barriers that need to be overcome by contractors in the study area. Legislative and financing efforts of stakeholders are key contractors' ESC adaptation drivers. Contractors in less affluent societies, such as Ghana, require high resilience, dense and centralized social network structures and isomorphic and coercive drivers to be able to adapt to ESC.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of this research is limited to the data gathered from large construction firms in Ghana, a developing country in the sub-Saharan region.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers that provide guidelines on developing capability of contractors in a developing country to adapt to ESC. The paper addresses the challenge in the ecological modernization theory by adducing empirical evidence to prescribe guidelines on how contractors can increase rate of efficiency through collaborative strategies that engender ESC.
Multidimensional trophic niche revealed by complementary approaches: Gut content, digestive enzymes, fatty acids and stable isotopes in Collembola
Authors: Potapov Anton M. , Pollierer Melanie M. , Salmon Sandrine , Šustr Vladimír , Chen Ting‐Wen
Published: April 2021

Trophic niche differentiation may explain coexistence and shape functional roles of species. In complex natural food webs, however, trophic niche parameters depicted by single and isolated methods may simplify the multidimensional nature of consumer trophic niches, which includes feeding processes such as food choice, ingestion, digestion, assimilation and retention.

Here we explore the correlation and complementarity of trophic niche parameters tackled by four complementary methodological approaches, that is, visual gut content, digestive enzyme, fatty acid and stable isotope analyses—each assessing one or few feeding processes, and demonstrate the power of method combination.

Focusing on soil ecosystems, where many omnivore species with cryptic feeding habits coexist, we chose Collembola as an example. We compiled 15 key trophic niche parameters for 125 species from 40 studies. We assessed correlations among trophic niche parameters and described variation of these parameters in different Collembola species, families and across life‐forms, which represent microhabitat specialisation.

Correlation between trophic niche parameters was weak in 45 out of 64 pairwise comparisons, pointing at complementarity of the four methods. Jointly, the results indicated that fungal‐ and plant‐feeding Collembola assimilate storage, rather than structural polysaccharides, and suggested bacterial feeding as a potential alternative feeding strategy. Gut content and fatty acid analyses suggested alignment between ingestion and assimilation/retention processes in fungal‐ and plant‐feeding Collembola. From the 15 trophic niche parameters, six were related to Collembola family identity, suggesting that not all trophic niche dimensions are phylogenetically structured. Only three parameters were related to the life‐forms, suggesting that species use various feeding strategies when living in the same microenvironments.

Consumers can meet their nutritional needs by varying their food choices, ingestion and digestion strategies, with the connection among different feeding processes being dependent on the consumed resource and consumer adaptations. Multiple methods reveal different dimensions, together drawing a comprehensive picture of the trophic niche. Future studies applying the multidimensional trophic niche approach will allow us to trace trophic complexity and reveal niche partitioning of omnivorous species and their functional roles, especially in cryptic environments such as soils, caves, deep ocean or benthic ecosystems.
Herbivory of a biocontrol agent on a native plant causes an indirect trait‐mediated non‐target effect on a native insect
Authors: He Minyan , Zhang Jialiang , Siemann Evan , Yi Jiahui , Qin Wenchao , Sun Xiao , Ding Jianqing , Huang Wei
Published: April 2021

Identifying food web linkages between biocontrol agents of invasive plants and native species is crucial for predicting indirect non‐target effects. Biocontrol insects can integrate into food webs within recipient habitats and influence native insects through apparent competition (altering shared natural enemies) or density‐mediated exploitation competition (changing density of native plants). However, whether and how trait‐mediated exploitation competition (modifying native plant chemicals and volatiles profiles) can produce indirect non‐target effects remains largely overlooked, despite plant phenotypic responses to insect herbivory being common and widely documented.

The flea beetle Agasicles hygrophila was introduced into China for management of alligator weed Alternanthera philoxeroides, but it also attacks the native congener sessile joyweed Alternanthera sessilis, which may cause indirect non‐target effects on the native tortoise beetle Cassida piperata that also feeds on sessile joyweed. Here, we examined the relationships among abundances of the flea beetle and tortoise beetle, and coverage of sessile joyweed in the field. Then, we investigated the impact of flea beetle herbivory on tortoise beetle development and oviposition, as well as on sessile joyweed primary metabolites and leaf volatiles.

Tortoise beetle abundance was not related to sessile joyweed coverage, but they were less abundant on plants with more flea beetles in the field survey, and produced fewer offspring on plants with more prior flea beetle damage in the field cage experiment. Tortoise beetle development was inhibited by prior flea beetle herbivory in bioassays in enemy‐free conditions and they preferred to oviposit on sessile joyweed that had experienced little or no flea beetle damage. Flea beetle herbivory decreased sessile joyweed foliar glucose and protein, and substantially changed its leaf volatile blend.

Synthesis. Our results show that the flea beetle has major indirect non‐target effects on the tortoise beetle through trait‐mediated exploitation competition, rather than apparent competition or density‐mediated exploitation competition. Our results demonstrate a new example for indirect non‐target effects of biocontrol agents. Furthermore, our results indicate that minor brief negative impacts of biocontrol agents on non‐target plants might propagate to higher trophic levels and such negative impacts can strengthen with increasing intensity of the direct non‐target effect.
Ecosystem engineering structures facilitate ecological resilience: A coral reef model
Authors: Cheung Pak‐Yin , Nozawa Yoko , Miki Takeshi
Published: April 2021

Ecosystem engineers are organisms that affect ecosystem state by modifying the physical habitats in which biological interactions occur. Such engineering effect depends on both the engineers for environmental transformation and the persistency of engineered structures, but the distinction has rarely been considered. Here, we examined their relative effect on ecosystem in terms of ecological resilience. We used a mathematical model of a coral reef that incorporates reciprocal facilitation between corals and herbivores. Coral skeletons create physical habitats and promote habitat complexity, allowing more herbivore grazing on macroalgae, which opens further space for coral colonization. By quantifying resilience in form of its basin of attraction, we found that resilience declined much rapidly with the loss of habitat complexity (engineered structures) than from the loss of either corals (engineers) or herbivores, under the substantial pressures of fishing and eutrophication. This model outcome is in accordance with observed empirical patterns. It arises due to two characteristics of habitat complexity: slow temporal changes and habitat provisioning. Habitat complexity can persist even when corals are lost, facilitating the recovery of herbivores and, in turn, of corals. Our model suggests that, as the persistency of engineered structures increases, their influence on ecosystem dynamics increases and becomes independent from that of ecosystem engineer. Identifying such a distinction and its context are vital to preserving ecosystem resilience and to better avoid catastrophic shifts.
Uterine Transplantation
Authors: Jones BP , Saso S , Yazbek J , Thum M‐Y , Quiroga I , Ghaem‐Maghami S , Smith JR ,   the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Published: April 2021

Plain language summary

A uterine transplant, or womb transplant, provides a potential treatment for women who cannot become pregnant or carry a pregnancy because they do not have a womb, or have a womb that is unable to maintain a pregnancy. This is estimated to affect one in 500 women. Options for those who wish to start a family include adoption and surrogacy, but these are associated with legal, cultural, ethical and religious implications that may not be appropriate for some women and their families. A womb transplant is undertaken when the woman is ready to start a family, and is removed following the completion of their family.

Womb transplants have been performed all over the world, with more than 70 procedures carried out so far. At least 23 babies have been born as a result, demonstrating that womb transplants can work. While the procedure offers a different option to adoption and surrogacy, it is associated with significant risks, including multiple major surgeries and the need to take medications that help to dampen the immune system to prevent rejection of the womb. To date there has been a 30% risk of a transplant being unsuccessful.

Although the number of transplants to date is still relatively small, the number being performed globally is growing, providing an opportunity to learn from the experience gained so far. This paper looks at the issues that have been encountered, which may arise at each step of the process, and proposes a framework for the future. However, long term follow‐up of cases will be essential to draw reliable conclusions about any overall benefits of this procedure.
Informal Learning and WTO Renewal: Using Thematic Sessions to Create More Opportunities for Dialogue
Authors: Wolfe Robert
Published: April 2021

‘Thematic sessions’ bring dynamism to WTO by allowing committees to consider what works well under an agreement, including sharing experiences with implementation, what is not working, and what is next on the agenda. Thematic sessions are a broad class of meetings that are sponsored by or associated with a WTO body in some way, but that are not part of its formal meetings. The WTO held over 100 such sessions in the three years from 2017 to 2019. We found variation in how meetings are organized, which is related to the type of session, and we found variation in how themes are chosen, participation (who speaks), the degree of transparency, and funding. Comprehensive improvement is needed: some committees never hold thematic sessions, participation by capital‐based officials from developing countries is uneven, and too few sessions have a forward‐looking agenda. Enhanced use of thematic sessions can contribute to strengthening the pipeline between Geneva and capitals, and to better understanding in Geneva of what is happening on the ground.