bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How source of funds affects buyer’s judgments of price fairness and subsequent response
Authors: Nguyen Adam , Meng Juan (Gloria)
Published: December 2016

Purpose

This research aims to examine how source of funds (paying with company’s funds versus personal funds) affects buyer’s judgments of price fairness and via these judgments, buyer’s response to prices.

Design/methodology/approach

A scenario-based experiment is used (N= 200). To test the hypotheses, the authors run moderated mediation regression analyses with the help of the PROCESS macro.

Findings

Drawing on fairness heuristics theory, the authors hypothesize and find that relative to when paying with personal funds, when paying with company’s funds, the perceived price difference plays a less significant role, whereas the perceived social acceptability of the pricing practice underlying the price difference plays a more important role in shaping price fairness judgments and, via these judgments, buyer’s response to prices.

Practical implications

The findings generate advice for companies that serve both the business and personal segments (e.g. airlines and hotels). Buyers in the personal segment typically pay with their own money. To persuade these buyers that a price is fair, it is crucial to show that the price represents a good deal for them. Buyers in the business segment often pay with company’s fund. Companies have more flexibility in charging different prices, but they should make sure that the reasons for the price difference are socially acceptable.

Originality/value

This research shows how the relative role of price difference versus social acceptability in price fairness judgments varies as a function of source of funds and how an inconsistency between price difference and its economic impact affects price fairness judgments.
Resale prices in franchising: insights from franchisee perspectives
Authors: Perrigot Rozenn , Basset Guy , Meiseberg Brinja
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a novel perspective on resale pricing in franchising, i.e. from a franchisee perspective, by combining legal and managerial considerations in the European context. The objective is to assess franchisee perceptions regarding resale pricing in their chains.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a qualitative approach and use 46 in-depth interviews with franchisees covering retail and service industries in the French market.

Findings

Many of the interviewed franchisees believe that joining a franchise chain involves respecting the recommended resale prices. For some of the franchisees, in link with the chain uniformity, imposing uniform resale prices throughout the chain represents a strength, because customers who visit different stores within the franchise chain expect to find consistent pricing. Moreover, many franchisees consider that their franchisors have some know-how that they use to set correct resale prices, taking into account the profit margin.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the literature on resale pricing in franchising, as well as the franchising literature in general, by combining legal and managerial considerations, adopting a franchisee perspective, covering retail and service industries and focusing on French and European markets.

Practical implications

This research can be viewed by franchise experts, franchisors, franchisees and franchisee candidates as a synthesis of resale price-related legal aspects, adopted practices and potential conflicts in franchise chains in the French market. It also highlights price-related practices to be avoided to prevent potential conflicts.

Originality/value

The subject of resale pricing in franchise chains is a hot topic, because of its link with customer attraction, chain uniformity, franchisor know-how, franchisee autonomy and the legal dimension.
Effectiveness of measures assessing response to price information
Authors: Desmet Pierre
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Questionnaire measures of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) and price sensitivity are biased, yet these declarative methods can aid managerial decision-making. Additional choices involve which question formats to use (open-ended or discrete choice) and how many questions (unique versus multiple). This paper aims to inform such choices for online data collection with an empirical evaluation of the size of the bias induced by four methods (price acceptability, price judgements, multiple discrete choices and single discrete choices) in a realistic choice context.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental framework collects online data about a staple product whose price should be well known. Price sensitivity, WTP and their confidence intervals are derived from a logistic binary model of acceptability, then ranked to evaluate the size of the bias of each method, relative to an indirect benchmark.

Findings

Online data collections with self-administrated questionnaires lower respondents’ involvement and create substantial bias; hypothetical methods overestimate WTP and underestimate price sensitivity, especially with methods using unique questions (both discrete choice and price acceptability). Multiple questions (price judgements and repeated random discrete choices) increase attention to price information and reduce the bias. The round price effect also is notable in data collected by open-ended methods.

Practical implications

To measure declarative WTP and price sensitivity with online data collections, researchers should use a random discrete choices method. Price acceptability questions and split tests are not recommended. Price judgements provide reliable information about consumer reactions to prices, but the strong round price bias is problematic.

Originality/value

This study adds to marketing and economic literature by comparing actual measurement methods used by firms, rather than hypothetical versions, and offers strong external validity.
How does corporate association influence consumer brand loyalty? Mediating role of brand identification
Authors: Fatma Mobin , Khan Imran , Rahman Zillur
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of two types of corporate associations – corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) – on consumer brand loyalty in retail banks in India.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey on 489 banking consumers was carried out. To achieve research objectives, test hypotheses and analyze data, structural equation modeling was used.

Findings

The findings show that CA and CSR associations were found to have positive and indirect influences on consumer brand loyalty through brand identifications. This indicates that the process of corporate association transforming into loyalty is much more complicated, and there are other factors influencing this process, making brand identification necessary for achieving customer brand loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

The results presented in this study have important managerial implications for banking companies in India. The findings demonstrate the importance of CA and CSR associations in the present business scenario and highlight the need to successfully implement them in management policies.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing body of literature by highlighting the influence of brand identification on brand loyalty through affective commitment and satisfaction.
Store equity and behavioral intentions: the moderating role of the retailer’s technology
Authors: Gil-Saura Irene , Ruiz Molina M. Eugenia , Berenguer-Contri Gloria
Published: December 2016

Purpose

In the current competitive environment in which retailers operate, store equity is seen as a key differentiating factor. In view of the scarce research on the dimensionality and correlates of brand equity related to the retailer, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between store equity and behavioral intentions and the influence of information and communication technology on this relation.

Design/methodology/approach

From a sample of 820 customers of store chains, a multigroup structural equation model is estimated considering the level of technological development of the retailer as a moderating variable.

Findings

The authors find evidence in favor of the positive influence of store equity on consumer behavioral intentions toward the retailer and the role of technology as a moderator in this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides evidence about the multidimensionality of store equity and its positive influence on behavioral intentions towards the retailer. Furthermore, the authors find support for the notion that information and communication technology (ICT) solutions implemented by the retailer contributes to reinforce the positive impact of store equity on behavioral intentions.

Practical implications

Technology may be used to differentiate the retail chain from competitors. The retailer should concentrate its investments in ICT solutions that contribute to enhance the customer experience in the store.

Originality/value

Research on the brand equity concept in the context of retailing is still scarce. The results of this research provide support to the role of loyalty, service quality, product quality and perceived value as the dimensions of store equity. In addition to this, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that addresses the role of technology in the relationship between store equity and behavioral intentions.
Competitive marketing through Confucian values in Malaysia: a case study
Authors: Luechapattanaporn Tossapon , Wongsurawat Winai
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate debate about the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating Confucian values in personnel and marketing practices of a manufacturing firm in an ethnically diverse, emerging economy of Southeast Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data from the direct experience of the company’s manager were combined with secondary sources of information on the business landscape of Malaysia. Key lessons were developed from discussion and reflection on experiences of people involved with the company.

Findings

Cultivating warm, long-term relationships with customers through product dependability and gifts contributed to the firm’s marketing success. Family-like bonds between employees, “not strictly professional by Western standards” succeeded in keeping the turnover low. The paternalistic leadership style, however, came at the expense of a possible loss of constructive conflict through participatory decision-making.

Research limitations/implications

Analysis is restricted to the experience of a single company. Research findings are thus highly context-specific.

Originality/value

The case shows an example of successful implementation of key Confucian values in multiple business areas. The interplay between the East Asian values and the diverse ethnic context of Malaysia is also examined.
When the Nation is in crisis: libraries respond
Authors: Alajmi Bibi
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the role of libraries as community institutions by reflecting on the experience of the Ferguson Municipal Public Library (FMPL), Missouri, USA, during the time of social unrest in the summer of 2014. The research explores the traditional and non-traditional roles of libraries during times of social unrest while focusing on relevant areas of crisis management preparedness and competencies necessary during crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a qualitative approach in investigating the research problem and uses the case study method to collect relevant data.

Findings

This paper reports on the experience of the FMPL staff during this time. Their experience of what happened, how they dealt with it, and what their expectations were after the crisis are all documented.

Originality/value

Several scholars have studied how public libraries respond to disasters, yet little is known about whether public libraries proactively engage in community-wide disaster planning, and if so, what is the nature of those partnerships.
Objective Evaluation of Subclass Characteristics on Breech Face Marks
Authors: Riva Fabiano , Hermsen Rob , Mattijssen Erwin , Pieper Pascal , Champod Christophe
Published: December 2016

Subclass characteristics can be found on the breech face marks left on spent cartridge cases. Even if they are assumed to be rare and their reported number is small, they can potentially lead to false associations. Subclass characteristics have been studied empirically allowing examiners to recognize them and to understand in which conditions they are produced. Until now, however, their influence on the identification process has not been studied from a probabilistic point of view. In this study, we aim at measuring the effect of these features on the strength of association derived from examinations involving subclass characteristics. The study takes advantage of a 3D automatic comparison system allowing the calculation of likelihood ratios (LRs). The similarities between cartridge case specimens fired by thirteen S&W .40S&W Sigma pistols are quantified, and their respective LRs are computed. The results show that the influence of subclass characteristics on the LRs is limited, even when these features are prevalent among the potential sources considered in a case. We show that the proportion of firearms sharing subclass characteristics should be larger than 40% of the pool of potential firearms for the effect to be significant.
“Bath Salts” the New York City Medical Examiner Experience: A 3‐Year Retrospective Review
Authors: deRoux Stephen J. , Dunn William A.
Published: December 2016

“Bath salts” are synthetic derivatives of cathinones, compounds found in the leaves of Catha edulis, which possesses amphetamine‐like properties. At the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, we conducted a 3‐year retrospective analysis of deaths in which cathinones were detected. Two categories emerged; those in which cathinones were a contributory cause of death (15 cases) and those in which they were an incidental finding (15 cases). Of the former group, 13 were associated with additional intoxicants; two deaths were attributed solely to cathinone intoxication, both survived 10 h: a man whose postmortem blood methylone concentration was 0.71 mg/L and a woman whose postmortem blood ethylone concentration was 1.7 mg/L. In the latter category, there were several individuals who had higher concentrations of cathinones than the above two, the highest being a blood methylone of 4.8 mg/L. Based upon our data and the literature presented, lethal concentrations of cathinones cannot be established.
Efficacy of a Novel Granulocyte Monocyte Apheresis Adsorber Device in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Pilot Study
Authors: Di Girolamo Maria , Sartini Alessandro , Critelli Rosina , Bertani Angela , Merighi Alberto , Villa Erica
Published: December 2016

Granulocyte monocyte apheresis (GMA) is a non‐pharmacological treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. In our study, we tested a novel GMA adsorber device in terms of clinical efficacy and safety in patients’ non‐response to pharmacological therapy. Secondary outcomes were the evaluation of adsorber's technical performance, the reduction of inflammatory markers and the improvement of patients' life quality. The prospective study included 18 patients enrolled from 2011 to 2012 with a monitoring of 48 weeks. All patients with Crohn's disease achieved a clinical remission after GMA treatments, sustained until the end of follow up, while 80% of ulcerative colitis patients obtained a clinical benefit, maintained after 48 weeks of monitoring. Leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes and platelets, compared to erythrocytes and lymphocytes, were effectively removed from peripheral blood. There was no statistically significant result about serological markers of inflammation. A consistent improvement of the patients' quality of life was observed up to the end of follow up. No significant side‐effects were recorded. Our study underlines the efficacy and the safety of this novel GMA adsorber device; a prospective randomized clinical trial with adequate sample size should be performed.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Serum Cystatin C for the Evaluation of Renal Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Yang Shi‐kun , Liu Jun , Zhang Xian‐ming , Hu Chun , Zhang Wei , Sun Lin , Zhang Hao
Published: December 2016

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum cystatin C for renal dysfunction in diabetic patients. Eligible trials were searched from multiple databases, the data were extracted into a 2 × 2 table after the quality assessment of included articles. The pooled sensitivity, specificity and other parameters of accuracy of cystatin C were analyzed using Stata version 12.0. Seventeen studies involving 2173 patients were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of serum cystatin C for the diagnosis of renal dysfunction were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.83–0.91) and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82–0.91), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 6.69 (95% CI: 4.83–9.26), negative likelihood ratio was 0.14 (95% CI: 0.10–0.20) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 46.57 (95% CI: 27.76–78.13). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.94. Analysis of the 12 studies that investigated serum creatinine indicated that serum cystatin C was more accurate than serum creatinine for the diagnosis of renal dysfunction. Our results indicate that serum cystatin C is an effective index in diagnosing renal dysfunction comparing serum creatinine, serum cystatin C is more sensitivity for evaluation of renal function in diabetic patients.
Land ownership, agriculture, and household nutrition: a case study of north Indian villages
Authors: Pritchard Bill , Rammohan Anu , Sekher Madhushree
Published: December 2016

In the rural global South, it is increasingly the case that the relationship between landholding status and household nutrition is intermediated by complex associations between intervening variables. These include changes to agricultural practices, the dynamics of how decisions about food are prioritised within household budgets, the gendering of household power relations, the breadth of non‐farm livelihood portfolios, and the effect of landholding status on access to social welfare schemes. This article demonstrates this complexity using a mixed‐methods assessment of livelihoods and nutritional status in two north Indian villages. The study finds that in these villages the role of land for household nutrition is expressed through significantly greater milk consumption by landholding households, but insignificant differences in the consumption of most other major food items. Landholding households' greater consumption of milk is hinged to an ability to grow fodder in between cropping cycles, and manage these activities via prevailing agricultural gender norms in which women and girls are charged with responsibilities for livestock husbandry. In the context where milk provides a crucial source of protein for the mainly vegetarian diets in these villages, landholder households' greater access to milk represents a vital aspect of the local patterning of food and nutrition security. This finding underscores how greater complexity and diversity in the rural social landscapes of the global South are creating increasingly intricate, locally distinctive configurations of food and nutrition (in)security. Such local nuance cannot be readily observed within research traditions that rely on large‐scale national datasets. Mixed‐methods geographical research in the tradition of livelihoods analysis gives important voice to these considerations.
Is late really better than never? The farmer welfare effects of pineapple adoption in Ghana
Authors: Harou Aurélie P. , Walker Thomas F. , Barrett Christopher B.
Published: December 2016

Export agriculture offers potentially high returns to smallholder farmers in developing countries, but also carries substantial market risk. In this article we examine the intertemporal welfare impact of the timing of a farmer's entry into the export pineapple market in southern Ghana. We examine whether farmers who never cultivated pineapple are better or worse off than farmers who decided to adopt pineapple earlier or later relative to their peers and experienced a significant adverse market shock several years prior to our endline survey. We use a two‐stage least squares model to estimate the causal effect of duration of pineapple farming on farmer welfare. Consistent with economic theory, we find that earlier adoption of the new crop brings greater welfare gains than does later uptake. But we find that the gains to later uptake of pineapple—just before the market shock—are small in magnitude, just 0.1 standard deviations of a comprehensive asset index, indicating that the gains to adoption may be precarious and depend on the context, in particular on the severity of prospective market shocks.
Quota prices as indicators of comparative advantage in supply‐managed industries
Authors: Rajsic Predrag , Fox Glenn
Published: December 2016

The Canadian dairy, egg, broiler, and turkey industries operate under supply management, a policy regime that sets product prices and allocates production among provinces and ultimately among farms through quotas. The Canadian Farm Products Agencies Act requires that comparative advantage be used to guide the allocation of new quota when increases in consumer demand necessitate increased production. This requirement, however, has not been met in practice. We develop a proposal by Meilke to use quota prices as measures of comparative advantage. We evaluate the quota price approach and other proposed methods, from a Hayekian and Coasean market process perspective. We conclude that quota prices offer an economically justifiable indicator of provincial comparative advantage. We develop an individual‐level general equilibrium model of quota exchange to illustrate the informational content of quota prices as indicators of comparative advantage. We also discuss potential practical challenges of using quota prices as indicators of comparative advantage.
Time processing impairments in preschoolers at risk of developing difficulties in mathematics
Authors: Tobia Valentina , Rinaldi Luca , Marzocchi Gian Marco
Published: December 2016

The occurrence of time processing problems in individuals with Development Dyscalculia (DD) has favored the view of a general magnitude system devoted to both numerical and temporal information. Yet, this scenario has been partially challenged by studies indicating that time difficulties can be attributed to poor calculation or counting skills, which can support reasoning on time in school‐aged children and adults. Here, we tackle this debate by exploring the performance of young children before they fully develop the symbolic number system. Preschoolers at risk of developing DD were compared with typically developing children in a series of tasks investigating time processing and in their ‘sense of time’, evaluated by parents and teachers. Results yielded a poorer performance in time reproduction of 5‐second intervals and in time discrimination, as well as a weaker ‘sense of time’, in children at risk of DD. These findings provide evidence of a common magnitude system that would be responsible for deficits in both numerical and temporal domains, already at early stages of life.
Temporal dissociation of developmental events in the chick eye under low temperature conditions
Authors: Iida Hideaki , Yang Tiantian , Yasugi Sadao , Ishii Yasuo
Published: December 2016

The chick embryonic eye is an excellent model for the study of vertebrate organogenesis. Key events in eye development involve thickening, invagination and cytodifferentiation of the lens primordium. While these events occur successively at different developmental stages, the extent to which these events are temporally related is largely unknown. Here we show that the lens invagination is highly sensitive to temperature. Lowering of incubation temperature to 29°C at embryonic day 2 delayed the onset of invagination of the lens, but not thickening and cytodifferentiation, leading to abnormal protrusion of the eye. The temperature shift also delayed the inward bending of the underlying retinal primordium, even in the absence of the lens. Taken together, our results suggest that lens invagination is initiated independently of thickening and cytodifferentiation, possibly by mechanisms associated with morphogenesis of the primordial retina.
Interrelationship between Mini‐Mental State Examination scores and biochemical parameters in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Vasantharekha Ramasamy , Priyanka Hannah P. , Swarnalingam Thangavel , Srinivasan Avathvadi Venkatesan , ThyagaRajan Srinivasan
Published: December 2016

Aim

The aim of the present study was to provide first‐hand information about the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India, and examine if there exists a relationship between cognitive functions and biochemical parameters in these patients.

Methods

Surveys were collected from adults, older men and women (n = 3126) from different regions of Tamil Nadu, which were followed up after 12 months for 1337 participants. Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, lipid profile, and liver function tests were carried out in the elderly, MCI and AD patients. Based on the MMSE scores, the elderly population was classified into old control (28.97 ± 1.49;n = 1868), MCI (19.58 ± 1.17;n = 734) and AD (7.18 ± 1.38;n = 304) groups. Peripheral blood samples were collected after overnight fast from both male and female volunteers (n = 40 per group) who were categorized as young adult control, old control, MCI and AD.

Results

AD patients showed lower MMSE scores compared with the young adults, old and MCI groups, and MMSE further decreased at follow‐up examination a year later. In the serum of AD patients, high‐density lipoprotein, alkaline phosphatase activity and bilirubin levels were lower, whereas low‐density lipoprotein, total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were higher. MMSE was positively correlated with high‐density lipoprotein, and negatively correlated with other lipid parameters in AD.

Conclusions

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for AD that might result in neurotoxicity and cognitive impairment. Dysfunction of lipoprotein and heme metabolism might also provide additional targets for AD diagnosis.Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1737–1745.
Secular changes in physical growth and obesity among southwestern American Indian children over four decades
Authors: Vijayakumar P. , Wheelock K. M. , Kobes S. , Nelson R. G. , Hanson R. L. , Knowler W. C. , Sinha M.
Published: December 2016

Background and Objectives

Most studies describing childhood obesity in the United States are based on cross‐sectional surveys and do not include substantial numbers of American Indians (AI). Secular trends in height and weight reflect general health status. This study describes weight trends and transitions among AI children over a 43‐year period.

Methods

Anthropometric data were obtained from a prospective study conducted in a southwestern US AI population (1965 through 2007). For cross‐sectional analysis, 12 377 observations were available from 6529 children across four birth cohorts (1955–1964, 1965–1974, 1975–1984, 1985–1994). Participants were stratified into three age groups: pre‐ (5–9 years), early (10–13) and late (14–17) adolescence. Longitudinal analyses included 1737 children with one exam in each age group.

Results

In early and late adolescence, weight increased across birth cohorts. Prevalence of obesity among pre‐adolescents was 17.5% (95% CI, 15.1%–19.9%) in the 1955–1964 cohort and 33.7% (95% CI, 30.1%–36.4%) in the 1985–1994 cohort. 74% of children overweight in pre‐adolescence in the 1985–1994 cohort became obese by late adolescence; in the 1955–1964 cohort, only 43% made this transition.

Conclusions

This study describes the rising prevalence of childhood obesity. Children obese in pre‐adolescence remained obese in late adolescence, stressing the need for early intervention.
Dual roles of the N‐terminal coiled‐coil domain of an Aplysia sec7 protein: homodimer formation and nuclear export
Authors: Jun Yong‐Woo , Lee Seung‐Hee , Shim Jaehoon , Lee Jin‐A , Lim Chae‐Seok , Kaang Bong‐Kiun , Jang Deok‐Jin
Published: December 2016

Cytohesin family proteins act as guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for the ADP‐ribosylation factor family of small GTP‐binding proteins. Aplysia Sec7 (ApSec7), a member of the cytohesin family in Aplysia, plays key roles in neurite outgrowth in Aplysia neurons. Although ApSec7 has a conserved coiled‐coil (CC) domain, its role was not clear. In this study, we found that the CC domain of ApSec7 and ARNO/cytohesin 2 are involved in homodimer formation, leading to efficient plasma membrane targeting of ApSec7 and ARNO/cytohesin 2 in HEK293T cells. Therefore, deletion of the CC domain of ApSec7 and ARNO/cytohesin 2 may result in a loss of dimerization and reduce plasma membrane localization. In addition, the CC domains of ApSec7 and ARNO/cytohesin 2 have partially or fully CRM1‐dependent nuclear export signals, respectively. Taken together, our results suggest that the CC domain of cytohesin family proteins, including ApSec7 and ARNO/cytohesin 2, has dual roles in intracellular targeting: increased plasma membrane targeting through homodimer formation and nuclear exclusion through either a CRM1‐dependent or a CRM1‐independent pathway.

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Cranial joint histology in the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos): new insights on avian cranial kinesis
Authors: Bailleul Alida M. , Witmer Lawrence M. , Holliday Casey M.
Published: December 2016

The evolution of avian cranial kinesis is a phenomenon in part responsible for the remarkable diversity of avian feeding adaptations observable today. Although osteological, developmental and behavioral features of the feeding system are frequently studied, comparatively little is known about cranial joint skeletal tissue composition and morphology from a microscopic perspective. These data are key to understanding the developmental, biomechanical and evolutionary underpinnings of kinesis. Therefore, here we investigated joint microstructure in juvenile and adult mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos; Anseriformes). Ducks belong to a diverse clade of galloanseriform birds, have derived adaptations for herbivory and kinesis, and are model organisms in developmental biology. Thus, new insights into their cranial functional morphology will refine our understanding of avian cranial evolution. A total of five specimens (two ducklings and three adults) were histologically sampled, and two additional specimens (a duckling and an adult) were subjected to micro‐computed tomographic scanning. Five intracranial joints were sampled: the jaw joint (quadrate‐articular); otic joint (quadrate‐squamosal); palatobasal joint (parasphenoid‐pterygoid); the mandibular symphysis (dentary‐dentary); and the craniofacial hinge (a complex flexion zone involving four different pairs of skeletal elements). In both the ducklings and adults, the jaw, otic and palatobasal joints are all synovial, with a synovial cavity and articular cartilage on each surface (i.e. bichondral joints) ensheathed in a fibrous capsule. The craniofacial hinge begins as an ensemble of patent sutures in the duckling, but in the adult it becomes more complex: laterally it is synovial; whereas medially, it is synostosed by a bridge of chondroid bone. We hypothesize that it is chondroid bone that provides some of the flexible properties of this joint. The heavily innervated mandibular symphysis is already fused in the ducklings and remains as such in the adult. The results of this study will serve as reference for documenting avian cranial kinesis from a microanatomical perspective. The formation of: (i) secondary articular cartilage on the membrane bones of extant birds; and (ii) their unique ability to form movable synovial joints within two or more membrane bones (i.e. within their dermatocranium) might have played a role in the origin and evolution of modern avian cranial kinesis during dinosaur evolution.
Lapse‐and‐Reentry in Variable Annuities
Authors: Moenig Thorsten , Zhu Nan
Published: December 2016

Section 1035 of the current U.S. tax code allows policyholders to exchange their variable annuity policy for a similar product while maintaining tax‐deferred status. When the variable annuity contains a long‐term guarantee, this “lapse‐and‐reentry” strategy allows the policyholder to potentially increase the value of the embedded guarantee. We show that for a return‐of‐premium death benefit guarantee this is frequently optimal, which has severe repercussions for pricing. We analyze various policy features that may help mitigate the incentive to lapse and compare them regarding the insurer's average expense payments and their posttax utility to the policyholder. We find that a ratchet‐type guarantee and a state‐dependent fee structure best mitigate the lapse‐and‐reentry problem, outperforming the typical surrender schedule. Further, when accounting for proper tax treatment, the policyholder prefers a variable annuity with either of these three policy features over a comparable stock investment.
Cost analysis of the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in West Africa
Authors: Isanaka Sheila , Menzies Nicolas A. , Sayyad Jessica , Ayoola Mudasiru , Grais Rebecca F. , Doyon Stéphane
Published: December 2016

We present an updated cost analysis to provide new estimates of the cost of providing community‐based treatment for severe acute malnutrition, including expenditure shares for major cost categories. We calculated total and per child costs from a provider perspective. We categorized costs into three main activities (outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment, and management/administration) and four cost categories within each activity (personnel; therapeutic food; medical supplies; and infrastructure and logistical support). For each category, total costs were calculated by multiplying input quantities expended in the Médecins Sans Frontières nutrition program in Niger during a 12‐month study period by 2015 input prices. All children received outpatient treatment, with 43% also receiving inpatient treatment. In this large, well‐established program, the average cost per child treated was €148.86, with outpatient and inpatient treatment costs of €75.50 and €134.57 per child, respectively. Therapeutic food (44%, €32.98 per child) and personnel (35%, €26.70 per child) dominated outpatient costs, while personnel (56%, €75.47 per child) dominated in the cost of inpatient care. Sensitivity analyses suggested lowering prices of medical treatments, and therapeutic food had limited effect on total costs per child, while increasing program size and decreasing use of expatriate staff support reduced total costs per child substantially. Updated estimates of severe acute malnutrition treatment cost are substantially lower than previously published values, and important cost savings may be possible with increases in coverage/program size and integration into national health programs. These updated estimates can be used to suggest approaches to improve efficiency and inform national‐level resource allocation.
Dietary patterns in Liberian refugees in Buduburam, Ghana
Authors: Ross Wilhelmenia L. , Gallego‐Pérez Daniel F. , Lartey Anna , Sandow Adam , Pérez‐Escamilla Rafael , Hromi‐Fiedler Amber
Published: December 2016

Previous research suggests that acculturation (i.e., exposure and assimilation to local culture) is associated with changes in dietary patterns among immigrants. This study investigates this association in a refugee population using time in refugee settlement as a proxy for acculturation. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among a systematic sample to (a) identify dietary patterns in Liberian refugees and Ghanaians living in or near a refugee settlement, (b) compare adherence to these dietary patterns between groups, and (c) investigate the association between acculturation and dietary patterns in Liberian refugees. Participants were Liberian and Ghanaian women with young children living in the Buduburam refugee settlement or Awutu in Ghana (n = 480; 50% Liberian; mean age 28, SD 6.3, range 16–48 years). Time in settlement was assessed by self‐report; food consumption was assessed by food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to identify dietary patterns; a generalized linear model was used to test the association of interest. Three distinct dietary patterns emerged: Healthy, Sweets, and Fats. Ghanaians were more adherent to the Healthy pattern than Liberians (p < 0.05). Liberians were more adherent to the Sweets and Fats patterns than Ghanaians (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in dietary pattern adherence among the Liberians based on time in settlement. Ghanaians living in Awutu were more adherent to the Healthy pattern than Ghanaians who lived in settlement (p < 0.05). Differences in dietary patterns were observed between Liberian refugees and Ghanaians. These differences were not associated with acculturation and may be related to the food environment in the settlement.
The heterophoria of 3–5 year old children as a function of viewing distance and target type
Authors: Troyer Mary E. , Sreenivasan Vidhyapriya , Peper T. J. , Candy T. Rowan
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Heterophoria is the misalignment of the eyes in monocular viewing and represents the accuracy of vergence driven by all classical cues except disparity. It is challenging to assess restless children using clinical cover tests, and phoria in early childhood is poorly understood. Here we used eye tracking to assess phoria as a function of viewing distance and target in adults and young children, with comparison to clinical cover tests.

Methods

Purkinje image tracking (MCS PowerRefractor) was used to record eye alignment in adults (19–28 years, N = 24) and typically developing children (3–5 years, N = 24). Objective unilateral and alternating cover tests were performed using an infrared filter while participants viewed a pseudo‐randomised sequence of Lea symbols (0.18 logMAR; Snellen: 20/30 or 6/9) and animated cartoon movies at distances of 40 cm, 1 m, and 6 m. For the unilateral cover test, a 10 s binocular period preceded and followed 30 s of occlusion of the right eye. For the alternating cover test, a 10 s binocular period preceded and followed alternate covering of right and left eyes for 3‐s each. Phoria was derived from the difference in weighted average binocular and monocular alignment. A masked prism‐neutralised clinical cover test was performed for each of the conditions for comparison.

Results

Closer viewing distance resulted in greater exophoria for both children and adults (p < 0.001). Phorias were similar for adults and children for each viewing distance and target, with mean differences of less than 2 prism dioptres (pd). Overall, the average PowerRefractor phorias (pooled across protocols) for adults were 1.3, 2.3 and 3.8 pd exophoria and for children were 0.1 pd esophoria, 0.94 and 3.8 pd exophoria for the 6 m, 1 m and 40 cm distances respectively. The corresponding clinical cover test values were 0.7, 1.9, and 4.1 pd exophoria for adults and 0, 1.5 and 3.3 pd exophoria for the children. Refractive states were also similar (≤0.5 D difference) for viewing the Lea symbols or movie for any protocol tested.

Conclusions

Phoria estimation can be challenging for a pre‐school child. These data suggest that by 3–5 years of age objective eye‐tracking measures in a typically developing group are adult‐like at the range of distances tested, and that use of an animated movie produces similar average results to a small optotype (0.18 logMAR; Snellen 20/30 or 6/9).
Intuition, Foundationalism and Explanation – a Response to Mounce
Authors: Knott Hugh A.
Published: December 2016

Wittgenstein's scant remarks on the roots of language in instinctive behaviour have been both difficult to interpret and controversial, not least because they may seem to incline towards forms of explanation that elsewhere he eschewed. Nevertheless, they are of importance in philosophy, not least because they bear upon age‐old questions of foundationalism and concept‐formation. In a recent Discussion Note in this journal (Mounce, Philosophical Investigations, 2016, 39: 385–390), H. O. Mounce is not only attracted by but also champions such explanation – though he finds Wittgenstein's own “explanations” inadequate in important respects, as evidenced in his misguided criticisms of Moore in On Certainty and in his behaviouristic remarks on the roots of the “cause and effect” language‐game. In this response, I try to identify the philosophical roots of this attraction and the points at which Mounce's account departs from the elucidatory and non‐explanatory path established by Wittgenstein.
How Do We Understand Partnership Working? Experiences from a Telecare Project
Authors: Berge Mari S.
Published: December 2016

Abstract

Implementing telecare requires experience and knowledge from different disciplines and sectors; business, technology and care. The uptake of telecare has been slow, which is assumed to be caused by difficulties in co‐operation within telecare partnerships. This article presents a new approach to improve understanding of telecare partnerships. The approach builds on theories of trust and partnership working and is informed by rational choice theory.

Within this article the approach is applied to recent experiences from a telecare project in Norway, to demonstrate how different ways of interpreting the complex social interactions in telecare partnerships yield new insight and understanding. Examples from the Norwegian project illustrate how different understandings of actions and choices affected trust and caused either improved or deteriorated co‐operation in the partnership. The partners that were able to develop trust through a common evaluation of the problems co‐operated better. However, when partners lacked or had insufficient knowledge, either of each other or of the situation, this led to disparate understandings that threatened trust and affected further co‐operation. The new approach presented here is helpful in analyzing and understanding the actions of different partners within a telecare partnership and identifying why things worked well or went wrong. The approach may have wider relevance for other partnerships.
Social Policy Instruments in Motion. Conditional Cash Transfers from Mexico to Peru
Authors: Jenson Jane , Nagels Nora
Published: December 2016

Social policy prescriptions for Latin America have shifted significantly over recent decades. This article tracks a process by which a conditional cash transfer (CCT) to mothers, begun in a Mexican programme with some pretensions to promoting gender equality, was standardized by international organizations, becoming a policy instrument characterized by gender sensitivity, but having little attention to equality. In addition to involving certification by international organizations, this standardization process framed the CCT as an instrument of social investment and was a decontextualization of the Mexican version that had been influenced by Beijing‐style international feminism. The third phase of this trajectory was take‐up of the standard model by Peruvian policymakers and employees of the Juntos programme who overlaid their long‐standing representations of their indigenous clientele onto a supposedly ‘modern’ social policy instrument, thereby rendering it both maternalist and neo‐colonial.
Entre la ciencia y el tradicionalismo: una política de la lengua en Colombia desde Michel de Certeau
Authors: Castiblanco Laura
Published: December 2016

Este artículo propone una interpretación del modo en que la doctrina de Miguel Antonio Caro, en particular sus concepciones de historia, progreso y orden, dieron lugar a un pensamiento sobre la lengua que se configura entre dos tendencias: la antigua y la nueva, la clásica y la moderna. Respecto a esta dinámica oscilante se presenta un análisis de la política de la lengua, implementada por algunos miembros de la Academia Colombiana de la Lengua, teniendo como principal referente teórico el estudio de Michel de Certeau, Dominique Julia y Jacques Revel, acerca de un saber lingüístico definitivo para la comprensión de la lengua nacional y el tratamiento de los patois —dialectos- vigentes en una nación. El argumento central consiste en que la tensión que resulta del acogimiento de una filosofía tradi-cionalista y la adopción de elementos de un saber científico sobre la lengua, permitió que un grupo específico de académicos pensara una forma particular de avanzar en la civilización y consolidación de un Estado-Nación moderno. 
Poderes y saberes: una visita guiada sobre el museo y sus visitantes
Authors: Maceira Ochoa Luz
Published: December 2016

A partir de un estudio empírico en dos museos nacionales mexicanos, se examinan interacciones de las y los visitantes en tanto agentes con capacidades y recursos para relacionarse entre sí y con los conocimientos y narrativas puestos en circulación en el museo. El análisis, basado en distintos campos e intereses contemporáneos de las ciencias sociales, busca desentrañar la dinámica y experimentación de las relaciones de poder como proceso social que son, y presenta distintas maneras en que la historia y otros conocimientos, saberes y habilidades entran en juego en dicho proceso. El ensayo evidencia el carácter social de la construcción del conocimiento histórico, y sus usos o desusos en la enseñanza y en la formación de identidades nacionales y culturales en instituciones estatales, como el museo. 
Cambios macroscópicos de la amalgama dental sometida in vitro a altas temperaturas con fines forenses: el caso de los nódulos de plata / Macroscopic Changes of Dental Amalgam subjected in vitro at High Temperatures with Forensic Purposes: Silver Bullets
Authors: Sinisterra-Sinisterra Gustavo , Marín-Jiménez Liliana , García Angélica , Moreno-Correa Sandra , Moreno-Gómez Freddy
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT. Background: Dental materials, including dental amalgam, undergo macro-structural changes when exposed to high temperatures. Understanding those changes can be useful for dental identification and documentation when conducting medical-legal autopsies of burned, charred, or incinerated bodies to determine type of biomaterial and highest temperature reached. Purpose: Describe the formation of silver nodules on the surface of dental amalgams exposed to high temperatures, in order to identify patterns and reliable markers for forensic dentistry use. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental in vitro study that described the formation of silver nodules in a sample of 45 dental amalgam discs (brands: Contour® Kerr®, Admix® SDI®, and Nu Alloy® New Stetic®) and 45 occlusal fillings in premolars that were exposed to high temperatures (200º C, 400º C, 600º C, and 800º C). Results:  Silver nodules were evident on the amalgam surfaces between 200º C and 400º C and began to disappear at 600º C to form spheres and strips upon reaching 800º C. Conclusions: The formation and disappearance of silver nodules is a recurring feature of new-generation amalgam alloys exposed to extreme temperatures. Therefore, describing them can be used as a marker to identify materials and determine highest temperature reached by human remains.

 