bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Service‐dominant innovation in the built environment
Authors: Sivunen Matti , Pulkka Lauri , Heinonen Jukka , Kajander Juho‐Kusti , Junnila Seppo
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The main aim of this paper is to examine how commercial sustainability innovation projects in real estate and construction industries utilise the contemporary market‐oriented innovation models based on the service‐dominant logic.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of a large set of sustainability innovation projects was conducted and analysed.

Findings

The results show that over a third of the examined projects lack all the necessary innovation components recognised in the literature. Furthermore, very few projects utilised concurrent market feedback in the development phase. The study suggests that sustainability innovations fail commercially in built environment, because they lack active customer participation and value network involvement, and they aim for incremental instead of radical improvements.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should address available ways for companies in the real estate and construction industries to take advantage of their unused potential in climate change mitigation business through innovation.

Practical implications

Organisations striving for sustainability innovations should aim at radical instead of incremental innovation, and focus on customer participation and involvement of the value network. The innovation processes in the construction sector could be organised better by utilising tested service‐dominant models.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to address innovation elements based on the service‐dominant logic in analysing projects aiming at sustainability innovation in real estate and construction industries.
Adoption of high performance building systems in hot‐humid climates – lessons learned
Authors: Nahmens Isabelina , Reichel Claudette
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption process of high performance building technologies, including alternative wall systems, in hot‐humid climates. Challenges faced by homebuilders adopting high performance building technologies, and resulting energy performance are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a case study of four homebuilders using high performance building technologies, including advanced framing, panelised and modular. For each homebuilder, a baseline and a demonstration house were evaluated for energy performance and technology adoption. Homebuilders were interviewed to identify implementation challenges and barriers faced during the construction process.

Findings

The advanced framing, modular and panelised houses used 50 percent, 42 percent, and 35 percent less energy when compared to the traditional stick‐built. Further, the modular appeared to have the greatest opportunity to boost performance for least cost. Participating builders identified cost as the top constraint to a wide adoption of high performance criteria, followed by a slow learning curve and the lack of proper marketing channels to transition from construction to sale.

Research limitations/implications

Several limitations of the research restrict generalisation of findings: results are based on a small sample of homebuilders; and results reflect energy performance in a hot and humid climate. It is likely that relative energy usage will change as the size, scope, and design complexity of the common element changes.

Originality/value

Findings from this study will contribute to a better understanding of the usability of high performance technologies and ease the transition towards implementing high performance criteria into every builder company's culture.
Regenerating organizational strength the employee centric way
Authors: Sharma Rohini , Sahoo C.K.
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the ways and means of creating value and delivering it through people centric initiatives that look beyond technology and reach out to people as instruments in creating a profitable, harmonious and vibrant organization.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study illustrates strategies of a transformational leader to turnaround an organization, whose survival was at stake, with the help of employees by unleashing their potential and communicating the vision, goals, mission and financial health of the organization.

Findings

The paper presents practical case study material from Rourkela Steel Plant – an integral part of Steel Authority of India Limited. It gives a comprehensive picture of employee centric change interventions and reforms that were the epicenter of the turnaround strategies and helped the organization towards recovery and growth after incurring heavy losses. A set of carefully designed workshops provided the framework for the involvement, motivation and engagement of people, which led to the building of a customer responsive, quality conscious, responsible and committed organizational culture.

Originality/value

This paper ascertains some of the key initiatives for value creation and delivery by involving the vital resources of the organization as illustrated by the case study. It demonstrates a number of practical tools HR professionals can utilize to create a vibrant organizational culture that facilitates free flow of ideas and taps the energy, commitment and imagination of employees, in order to increase productivity, profitability and performance of the organization.
Regionalization strategy and performance
Authors: Ruigrok Winfried , Georgakakis Dimitrios , Greve Peder
Published: April 2013

Purpose

This paper contributes to the debate about the performance implications of adopting a regional as opposed to a global strategic posture. The aim of this paper is to argue that the performance effects of a regionalization strategy vary based on the characteristics of the industry in which the MNE operates and the composition of its top management team (TMT).

Design/methodology/approach

This analysis is based on a cross‐sectional dataset of 211 large European MNEs headquartered in four Western European economies at the end of 2005.

Findings

Results show that firms adopting a regional orientation outperform MNEs with global strategic positioning. This positive relationship is less pronounced under conditions of industry dynamism and inter‐regional TMT diversity.

Originality/value

The study contributes to our understanding of whether and under what conditions MNEs benefit from adopting a regional as opposed to a global strategic posture.
Technology and international orientation: sectoral differences in home‐region orientation
Authors: Curran Louise , Thorpe Michael
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to shed light on recent debates in this journal on differences in home‐region orientation depending on type of company and the home region in which they are based.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper looks at the structure of trade (imports and exports) across different types of goods in order to shed light on differences between sectors and types of technology. The paper also explores structures across regions in order to shed light on regional differences.

Findings

This research indicates that there are major differences in structures of trade between different types of goods. However, these differences do not necessarily conform to a clear pattern across different technological levels and differ between regions and the direction of trade. The fact that Asian cultures have greater psychic distance from European and North American cultures is not reflected in higher levels of home‐region orientation.

Research limitations/implications

The paper helps to clarify some of the hypotheses on home‐region orientation recently identified in this journal and, thus, helps to advance theories about why this orientation is so prevalent. The main limitations are related to the methodology. Using trade data, the paper cannot define the boundaries of the firm and, therefore, can only make conclusions at the macro level. These conclusions can, nevertheless, help to orient work at the micro level to further explore the key questions which recent work has raised.

Originality/value

Limited comparative work across sectors or technologies has been undertaken in the context of the debate on home‐region orientation. Differentiating between different types of goods can help to give us insights into why so many companies tend to focus so consistently on their home region, while others are more global.
Knowledge development and transfer in a mindful project‐organization
Authors: Andersen Svein S. , Vidar Hanstad Dag
Published: April 2013

Purpose

In elite sport competitions there are small margins, and small advantages may be the key to big success. Details that in many other setting would be considered insignificant can have a major impact on results. Awareness about risks therefore becomes a key concern in such projects, and this is often viewed as the essence of project management. Compensations for negative outcomes do not make sense. Delays, cost‐overruns or compensations are not viable options. In such situations, success depends on the ability to manage risks with a high degree of reliability, reflects the ability to mobilize, use and develop new knowledge. This paper aims to offer an opportunity to investigate mechanisms for knowledge development and transfer in relation to risk management in a mindful organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The starting point was formal documents and plans, but the main data source is semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with all major actors involved. The data are representative in the sense that they provide a comprehensive mapping of critical elements in Olympic projects, strategies for dealing with them and how knowledge from earlier projects were exploited. As data were collected they were systematized through open coding, identifying recurrent themes relating to major concerns, influence of earlier experience, knowledge sharing, relationships between experiences and new project team members, etc. The next step was to recode descriptive categories in ways that captured underlying analytical or theoretical dimensions relating to different types of risk, knowledge and knowledge carriers.

Findings

The article links risk management to knowledge development and transfer in a mindful organization. Three mechanisms are crucial for successful project‐based learning: relating different competences; reflecting on experiences; and routinizing lessons learned. Such processes are at the core of a mindful organization. Knowledge transfer and risk management are an integrated part of best practice. In Olympiatoppen there is little codification of knowledge in formal systems and detailed operating procedures. Knowledge is mainly carried by individuals – and activated, evaluated and used in a setting where relationships play a key role. The ability to exploit such mechanisms for knowledge transfer is generally attracting attention as an essential success factor in project‐based learning.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature on knowledge development in projects in the following ways: first, knowledge development and transfer is linked to risk management and the concept of mindful organization. In a mindful organization knowledge transfer and risk management are an integrated part of best practice. Second, it pays special attention to the social aspects of knowledge transfer; particularly the role of personal knowledge and problem solving capacities and the importance of social relationships.
ISO 9000 impact on product quality in a defense procurement environment
Authors: Blessner Paul , Mazzuchi Thomas A. , Sarkani Shahram
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between ISO 9001 conformance of suppliers and the quality of products they provide, within a procurement system of a manufacturer operating under contracts with the US Department of Defense.

Design/methodology/approach

Chi‐square tests of independence were performed to compare the receipt acceptance rate of material provided by ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers to that of non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers, for more than 46,000 receipts representing 21 material commodity groups provided by almost 800 suppliers. Acceptance of receipts required conformance to both hardware and paperwork requirements. Tests were also performed on data subsets, to determine the impact of ISO 9001 conformance on product quality for each of the 21 material commodity groups, for manufacturers versus distributors, and for two material control levels.

Findings

For the overall data set, and for the majority of data subsets analyzed, the product quality of non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers was significantly better than that of ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers. When only hardware non‐conformances were considered to cause rejections, the results were similar, but effect sizes were generally smaller.

Research limitations/implications

The quantities of receipts and suppliers included in this investigation were very large; however, care should be exercised in generalizing the results, because of the potential influence of the defense industry‐related requirements imposed upon the material and the suppliers.

Originality/value

This is believed to be the first paper to investigate the impact of ISO 9001 conformance on product quality using a large quantity of actual product data, for both ISO 9001‐conforming and non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers, in contrast to numerous assessments of quality impact performed using interview and survey data.
Regulating sustainable construction in Europe
Authors: van der Heijden Jeroen , van Bueren Ellen
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is first, to gain insight into how the European member states have addressed the concept of sustainability in their building regulatory frameworks; and second, to gain insight in the effects of harmonization attempts of these frameworks by the European Commission (EC).

Design/methodology/approach

Data on the member states' building regulatory regimes were gathered using a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire addressed over 60 different aspects of sustainable construction that may, in various ways, be regulated by the member states.

Findings

The data obtained show mixed results. Some aspects of sustainable construction show far‐reaching homogeneity, whilst others do not. It appears that current EC directives have a positive effect on homogeneity of sustainable construction regulation throughout Europe. However, this does not provide a firm base to advise more directives, as these often appear a too resource‐intensive tool to achieve sustainable construction in a timely fashion. Additional and complementary approaches to such directives are proposed.

Originality/value

The paper presents an overview of how European member states have addressed various aspects of sustainable construction in their construction regulatory frameworks. This provides valuable insights for further studies on regulatory change, regulatory convergence and divergence, and policy outcomes related to sustainable construction in the European Union. Also, the study presents a number of approaches to achieve homogeneity that may complement earlier approaches taken by the EC.
Characteristics of the information content in business sentiment surveys
Authors: Friesner Daniel , Khayum Mohammed , Schibik Timothy
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this manuscript is to quantify exactly how much information and/or predictive content is contained in business sentiment surveys.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses techniques drawn from information theory econometrics, and more specifically the theory of information entropy, to characterize the predictive content of business sentiment surveys. The authors apply these techniques to publicly available information obtained from various editions of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Survey, one of the most popular business sentiment surveys conducted in the USA. Parametric and non‐parametric statistical analyses are used to examine differences in the quantity of predictive content across various questions in the survey.

Findings

The results suggest that business sentiment surveys contain a reasonably high degree of informative content. However, the amount of informative content varies considerably from question to question in the survey. Questions that are more general in nature and ask about current perceptions (as opposed to future expectations) contain more informative content.

Originality/value

Business sentiment surveys are a practical, low‐cost method to assess the current and expected future state of local and regional economies. However, the value of these surveys is questionable if they do not contain much information. This research finds that such surveys do contain a large amount of information, and are worth administering. However, specific types of survey items convey more information that others, which also suggests that business sentiments surveys can be further revised to maximize the amount of content gained from respondents.
Revisiting the role of communication quality in ERP project success
Authors: Aubert Benoit , Hooper Val , Schnepel Alexander
Published: April 2013

Purpose

Communication quality is repeatedly listed among the top success factors to consider when implementing an ERP system. Analysis shows its role is more complex. It helps some aspect of success but has no influence on others. The aim of this paper is to conduct a case study to determine the role of communication quality in the success of an ERP project implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study was conducted to determine the role of communication quality in the success of an ERP project implementation.

Findings

Results suggest that different aspects of communication quality impact different dimensions of project success. Some dimensions of project success did not seem influenced by communication quality. Results also show that, for the dimensions of project success that are influenced by communication quality, the form might be as important as the content of communication.

Research limitations/implications

The literature may be repeating an “accepted truth” without actually testing it. The evaluation of the regularity of the patterns observed will require additional observations. Also, the reasons behind the association between the communication quality attributes and the different components of success will need to be further investigated.

Practical implications

For managers, the findings highlight that communication is not a silver bullet when conducting ERP projects. Managers should also be aware that the form of the communication efforts will likely have as much impact as the content of the communication process. The results specially emphasized the importance of openness in communication.

Originality/value

The study considers nine dimensions of communication quality. By examining the separate effects of the communication content and form on the components of ERP project success, the paper provides a deeper understanding of the role of communication in the implementation of ERP systems.
Organizational commitment and market orientation of Nigerian non‐oil exporting companies
Authors: Oyeniyi Omotayo
Published: April 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to test the relationships between organizational commitment and market orientation within the context of the non‐oil sector of a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross‐sectional data was collected from 190 managers of non‐oil exporting companies. Multiple regression analysis was adopted to test the impact of organizational commitment on market orientation.

Findings

The analysis of the data shows that organizational commitment affects market orientation positively and that top management belief and the organizational reward systems are important in the implementation of market orientation. However, the use of cross‐sectional data limits the measurement of the impact of organization commitment on market orientation over a long period.

Practical implications

Market orientation can be improved upon through concerted efforts in building organizational commitment. This can be achieved either individually or by combining organizational commitment with reward system and top management belief.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the understanding of market orientation antecedents within the non‐oil sector of the Nigerian economy.
A new dimension to neo‐institutional sociology
Authors: Kasumba Stephen
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which institutional pressures can be deployed to reinforce each other in creating and sustaining new budgetary practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopted a qualitative case study to investigate the macro dynamics for the adoption of new budgetary practices in local governments in Uganda, based on Kampala District. Data were collected from archival records and official documents as well as in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with various officials, including those in local governments, central government and aid agencies, such as the World Bank and Danida, which had significant influence in changing the institutional practices of local governments in Uganda.

Findings

The study revealed interconnections and various layers of institutional pressures that influenced the adoption of new budgetary practices in local governments in Uganda. In addition, mimetic actions of the national government of Uganda were not only for the acquisition “best” organisational practices, but were also used as strategic mechanisms for influencing the decisions of donors of resourceful institutions within the organisational field of international development.

Practical implications

This paper demonstrates how institutional pressures for the adoption of new organisational practices can be intertwined with the view of reinforcing each other in creating and sustaining new practices, such as budgetary practices.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new perspective to neo‐institutional sociology for the understanding of the macro dynamics for accounting changes in the context of a developing country.
Species diversity and community similarity in fluctuating environments: parametric approaches using species abundance distributions
Authors: Sæther Bernt‐Erik , Engen Steinar , Grøtan Vidar
Published: April 2013

Here we review recent advances in characterizing pattern of variation in community structure in space and time based on parametric approaches utilizing the full distribution of abundances of species rather than some summary indices.

Assessment of biodiversity based on the structure of rank‐abundance plots or simple species diversity indices, which describe properties of the sample of individuals, may reveal limited information about the underlying species abundance distribution of the community because the number of individuals counted are dependent on the sampling intensity. For instance, assuming Poisson sampling and an underlying lognormal species abundance distribution implies that observed abundances (counts) are a sample from a Poisson lognormal distribution. A convenient property of this distribution is that the estimate of σ2 can be used as an inverse measure of species diversity in a community as well as the number of unobserved species can be estimated approximately without bias for unknown sampling intensities.

If two communities can be described by a bivariate lognormal species abundance model, then the correlation between the log abundances of species in the two communities is an index of similarity that can be estimated without knowledge of sampling intensities using the bivariate Poisson lognormal distribution. This method is even applicable as an approximation when the abundance distribution deviates from the lognormal.

An analysis of the interrelationship between the parameters of the lognormal species abundance distribution in communities of species from a wide variety of taxa shows that the canonical hypothesis of Preston in general, for a given number of species, gives far too large variances in the distribution of log abundances.

A general feature in community dynamics is that a large component of the variance in the species abundance distribution is caused by heterogeneity among species in the population dynamics as well as environmental noise. This pattern is in contrast to the assumptions of the neutral theory of community dynamics.

The choice of species abundance distribution should be a consequence of specific assumptions about the dynamics of the species. We suggest that such specific assumptions for the choice of species abundance model will facilitate more robust comparisons of changes in community structure in time and space.
Verb inflection in monolingual Dutch and sequential bilingual Turkish–Dutch children with and without SLI
Authors: Blom Elma , de Jong Jan , Orgassa Antje , Baker Anne , Weerman Fred
Published: April 2013

Both children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children who acquire a second language (L2) make errors with verb inflection. This overlap between SLI and L2 raises the question if verb inflection can discriminate between L2 children with and without SLI. In this study we addressed this question for Dutch. The secondary goal of the study was to investigate variation in error types and error profiles across groups. Data were collected from 6–8‐year‐old children with SLI who acquire Dutch as their first language (L1), Dutch L1 children with a typical development (TD), Dutch L2 children with SLI, and Dutch L1 TD children who were on average 2 years younger. An experimental elicitation task was employed that tested use of verb inflection; context (3SG, 3PL) was manipulated and word order and verb type were controlled. Accuracy analyses revealed effects of impairment in both L1 and L2 children with SLI. However, individual variation indicated that there is no specific error profile for SLI. Verb inflection use as measured in our study discriminated fairly well in the L1 group but classification was less accurate in the L2 group. Between‐group differences emerged furthermore for certain types of errors, but all groups also showed considerable variation in errors and there was not a specific error profile that distinguished SLI from TD.
Political competition and policy choices: the evidence from agricultural protection
Authors: Fałkowski Jan , Olper Alessandro
Published: April 2013

This article investigates whether political competition plays an important role in determining the level of agricultural protection. In order to do so, we exploit variation in political and economic data from 74 developing and developed countries for the post‐war period. We use two measures of political competition: one that captures the extent to which political power can be freely contested regardless of election results and one based on vote share at last parliamentary elections. Our results, based on static and dynamic panel estimators, show unambiguously that the higher the level of political competitions is, the higher the agricultural protection.
Calculating Bivariate Orthonormal Polynomials By Recurrence
Authors: Rayner John C. W. , Thas Olivier , Pipelers Peter , Beh Eric J.
Published: April 2013

Emerson gave recurrence formulae for the calculation of orthonormal polynomials for univariate discrete random variables. He claimed that as these were based on the Christoffel–Darboux recurrence relation they were more efficient than those based on the Gram–Schmidt method. This approach was generalised by Rayner and colleagues to arbitrary univariate random variables. The only constraint was that the expectations needed are well‐defined. Here the approach is extended to arbitrary bivariate random variables for which the expectations needed are well‐defined. The extension to multivariate random variables is clear.
Characterization of genetic lesions in rhabdomyosarcoma using a high‐density single nucleotide polymorphism array
Authors: Nishimura Riki , Takita Junko , Sato‐Otsubo Aiko , Kato Motohiro , Koh Katsuyoshi , Hanada Ryoji , Tanaka Yukichi , Kato Keisuke , Maeda Daichi , Fukayama Masashi , Sanada Masashi , Hayashi Yasuhide , Ogawa Seishi
Published: April 2013

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a common solid tumor in childhood divided into two histological subtypes, embryonal (ERMS) and alveolar (ARMS). The ARMS subtype shows aggressive clinical behavior with poor prognosis, while the ERMS subtype has a more favorable outcome. Because of the rarity, diagnostic diversity and heterogeneity of this tumor, its etiology remains to be completely elucidated. Thus, to identify genetic alterations associated with RMS development, we performed single nucleotide polymorphism array analyses of 55 RMS samples including eight RMS‐derived cell lines. The ERMS subtype was characterized by hyperploidy, significantly associated with gains of chromosomes 2, 8 and 12, whereas the majority of ARMS cases exhibited near‐diploid copy number profiles. Loss of heterozygosity of 15q was detected in 45.5% of ARMS that had been unrecognized in RMS to date. Novel amplifications were also detected, including IRS2 locus in two fusion‐positive tumors, and KRAS or NRAS loci in three ERMS cases. Of note, gain of 13q was significantly associated with good patient outcome in ERMS. We also identified possible application of an ALK inhibitor to RMS, as ALK amplification and frequent expression of ALK were detected in our RMS cohort. These findings enhance our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying RMS pathogenesis and support further studies for therapeutic development of RMS.
Human endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductin 1‐α is a novel predictor for poor prognosis of breast cancer
Authors: Kutomi Goro , Tamura Yasuaki , Tanaka Tsutomu , Kajiwara Toshimitsu , Kukita Kazuharu , Ohmura Tousei , Shima Hiroaki , Takamaru Tomoko , Satomi Fukino , Suzuki Yasuyo , Torigoe Toshihiko , Sato Noriyuki , Hirata Koichi
Published: April 2013

Human endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductin 1‐α (hERO1‐α) is an oxidizing enzyme that exists in the endoplasmic reticulum and its expression is augmented under hypoxia. It regulates a redox state of various kinds of protein through reoxidation of “client” protein disulfide isomerase. Interestingly, although the expression of hERO1‐α in normal tissues was comparatively limited, various types of cancer cells expressed it in large amounts. Therefore, we examined the role of ERO1‐α in tumor growth using murine breast cancer line 4T1 and found that knockdown of murine ERO1‐α inhibited in vivo tumor growth and decreased lung metastasis compared with wild‐type 4T1. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between expression of hERO1‐α and prognosis in breast cancer patients. Seventy‐one patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery between 2005 and 2006 in Sapporo Medical University Hospital (Sapporo, Japan) were analyzed in this study. Significant differences were found between the hERO1‐α‐positive group (n = 33) and hERO1‐α‐negative group (n = 38) in nuclear grade (P < 0.001) and intrinsic subtype (P = 0.021) in univariate analysis. More importantly, in multivariate analysis of disease‐free survival by Cox regression, expression of hERO1‐α was the only independent prognosis factor (P = 0.035). Finally, in univariate survival analysis, patients positive for hERO1‐α had significantly shorter disease‐free survival and overall survival than those patients negative for hERO1‐α. These findings indicate that the expression of hERO1‐α in cancer cells is associated with poorer prognosis and thus can be a prognostic factor for patients with breast cancer.
Sensory Symptoms in Autism: A Blooming, Buzzing Confusion?
Authors: Pellicano Elizabeth
Published: April 2013

Autism is well known for the way it affects how a person interacts and communicates with others. But autism can affect behavior in other important and debilitating ways, such as in an intense desire for sameness and in sensory systems that work too well or not well enough. Researchers have largely overlooked the latter “sensory symptoms,” but their prominence in forthcoming diagnostic criteria calls for systematic investigation. In this article, I review existing theoretical accounts of autism and provide an overview of a new theoretical account that proposes using Bayesian methods to identify the nature of the (altered) computations involved in autistic sensation and perception. Specifically, the account suggests that sensory symptoms may be due to fewer prior constraints or attenuated “priors.” The possibility that autistic people perceive the world as it really is rather than as imbued by prior experiences may explain the range and idiosyncrasy of their sensory sensitivities and their difficulties dealing with new experiences.
Precious, Pure, Uncivilised, Vulnerable: Infant Embodiment in Australian Popular Media
Authors: Lupton Deborah
Published: April 2013

This article describes how infants' bodies were portrayed in a range of Australian popular media texts. Four main discourses on infant embodiment were identified: the infant as ‘precious’, ‘pure’, ‘uncivilised’ and ‘vulnerable’. While, on the one hand, infants were positioned as the most valuable and affectively appealing of humans, they were alternatively represented as uncivilised. Infant bodies were portrayed as appropriately inhabiting the domestic sphere of the home and as barely tolerated or even as excluded in the public sphere. The discussion looks at how concepts of ‘nature’, civility and Self and Otherness underpinned the identified discourses.
Shared Parenting or Shared Care? Learning from Children's Experiences of a Post‐Divorce Shared Care Arrangement
Authors: Davies Hayley
Published: April 2013

This article examines three issues raised by three primary‐aged siblings experiencing a post‐divorce shared parenting arrangement. It argues that the conceptualisation of shared parenting in academic and policy discourse concentrates on parent–child relationships, overlooks children's relationships with siblings and fails to fully recognise the social and material resources necessary for shared parenting arrangements to work. It suggests that current policy discourse takes for granted that shared parenting promotes gender equality for fathers and mothers, despite the existing and ingrained gendered parenting practices produced and maintained in this UK context.
Domestic Violence, Children's Agency and Mother–Child Relationships: Towards a More Advanced Model
Authors: Katz Emma
Published: April 2013

Although domestic violence research increasingly recognises children's agency, this awareness has not extended to our understanding of children's relationships with their abused mothers. Findings suggesting that some children actively support their mother, and encourage her to leave the perpetrator, have been consistently under‐discussed. This article argues that the model of parent–child relationships used by most domestic violence research sees children as passive and contributes to mother‐blaming discourses. Analysing key quantitative and qualitative research, I suggest that a more sophisticated model of parent–child relationships is needed to understand how children's agency affects them, their mothers and the domestic violence situation.
Effect of insulin degludec versus sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on oral antidiabetic agents
Authors: Philis‐Tsimikas A. , Del Prato S. , Satman I. , Bhargava A. , Dharmalingam M. , Skjøth T. V. , Rasmussen S. , Garber A. J.
Published: April 2013

Aim

The efficacy and safety of insulin degludec (IDeg), a new basal insulin with an ultra‐long duration of action, was compared to sitagliptin (Sita) in a 26‐week, open‐label trial.

Methods

Insulin‐naïve subjects with type 2 diabetes [n = 458, age: 56 years, diabetes duration: 7.7 years, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c): 8.9% (74 mmol/mol)] were randomized (1 : 1) to once‐daily IDeg or Sita (100 mg orally) as add‐on to stable treatment with 1 or 2 oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs).

Results

Superiority of IDeg to Sita in improving HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was confirmed [estimated treatment difference (ETD) IDeg–Sita for HbA1c: −0.43%‐points [95% confidence interval (CI): −0.61; −0.24, p < 0.0001] and for FPG: −2.17 mmol/l (95% CI: −2.59; −1.74, p < 0.0001)]. HbA1c < 7% (<53 mmol/mol) was achieved by 41% (IDeg) versus 28% (Sita) of patients, estimated odds ratio IDeg/Sita: 1.60 (95% CI: 1.04; 2.47, p = 0.034). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of nocturnal confirmed hypoglycaemia between IDeg and Sita [0.52 vs. 0.30 episodes/patient‐year, estimated rate ratio (ERR): IDeg/Sita: 1.93 (95% CI: 0.90; 4.10, p = 0.09)]. Rates of overall confirmed hypoglycaemia were higher with IDeg than with Sita [3.1 vs. 1.3 episodes/patient‐year, ERR IDeg/Sita: 3.81 (95% CI: 2.40; 6.05, p < 0.0001)]. IDeg was associated with a greater change in body weight than Sita [ETD IDeg–Sita: 2.75 kg (95% CI: 1.97; 3.54, p < 0.0001)]. The overall rates of adverse events were low and similar for both groups.

Conclusions

In patients unable to achieve good glycaemic control on OAD(s), treatment intensification with IDeg offers an effective, well‐tolerated alternative to the addition of a second or third OAD.
PERSISTENCE OF POLITICIANS AND FIRMS' INNOVATION
Authors: BELLETTINI GIORGIO , BERTI CERONI CARLOTTA , PRAROLO GIOVANNI
Published: April 2013

We empirically investigate whether the persistence of politicians in political institutions affects the innovation activity of firms. We use 12,000 firm‐level observations from three waves of the Italian Observatory over Small and Medium Enterprises, and introduce a measure of political persistence defined as the average length of individual political careers in political institutions of Italian municipalities. Using death of politicians as an exogenous source of variation of political persistence, we find a robust negative relation between political persistence and the probability of process innovation. This finding is consistent with the view that political stability may hinder firms' incentive to innovate to maintain their competitiveness, as long as they can extract rents from long‐term connections with politicians. (JEL D22, D72, O31)
Clinical high‐risk state does not predict later psychosis in a delinquent adolescent population
Authors: Manninen Marko , Lindgren Maija , Therman Sebastian , Huttunen Matti , Ebeling Hanna , Moilanen Irma , Suvisaari Jaana
Published: April 2013

Aim

Adolescents with severe disruptive behaviour have an elevated risk for adult psychosis. We investigated whether the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) is a useful psychosis risk‐screening tool for adolescents with disruptive behaviour.

Method

Fifty‐three adolescents residing in a reform school due to severe behavioural problems were interviewed with SIPS to ascertain clinical high‐risk (CHR) state. CHR status was compared to self‐reported psychiatric problems, and to registry data on hospital treatments for mental health disorders during a 5‐year follow‐up time.

Results

CHR was associated with self‐reported internalizing problems and thought problems. It failed to predict psychoses but was associated with hospital treatment for mood and conduct disorders.

Conclusion

The SIPS interview has limited power for predicting psychosis among adolescents with severe behavioural problems. However, SIPS appears to be useful for screening and predicting other psychiatric problems.
The Illusion of Exclusivity
Authors: McHugh Conor
Published: April 2013

It is widely held that when you are deliberating about whether to believe some propositionp, only considerations relevant to the truth ofpcan be taken into account as reasons bearing on whether to believepand motivate you accordingly. This thesis ofexclusivityhas significance for debates about the nature of belief, about control of belief, and about certain forms of evidentialism. In this paper I distinguish a strong and a weak version of exclusivity. I provide reason to think that strong exclusivity is an illusion and that weak exclusivity may also be an illusion. I describe a number of cases in which exclusivity seems not to hold, and I show how an illusion of exclusivity may be generated by a rather different feature of doxastic deliberation, which I calldemandingness.
Assessment of cognitive function in adult patients with hemorrhagic moyamoya disease who received no surgical revascularization
Authors: Su S.‐H. , Hai J. , Zhang L. , Yu F. , Wu Y.‐F.
Published: April 2013

Background and purpose

Due to controversial surgical treatment for hemorrhagic moyamoya disease (MMD), a large proportion of these patients chose conservative treatment. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive function in adult patients with hemorrhagic MMD who received no surgical revascularization.

Methods

Twenty‐six adult hemorrhagic MMD patients with only intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) confirmed by positive computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scan, 20 patients with spontaneous IVH whose digital subtraction angiography results were negative, and 30 healthy controls were identified and matched for age, gender, education background and living area. Cognitive function was evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The non‐parametric test was used for comparisons among the three groups.

Results

No patient was confirmed cognitive dysfunction at the initial screening. Twenty‐four (92%) cases presented mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after 1 year. All the cases demonstrated MCI after 2 years. The difference between cases and healthy controls was statistically significant at the second screening (P = 0.000) and the third screening (P = 0.000), as was that between cases and patients with spontaneous IVH at the second screening (P = 0.000) and the third screening (P = 0.000). In addition, there were significant decreases in all MoCA subscores (P = 0.000) with special regards to delayed recall, visual space and executive function in cases compared with the other two groups. Moreover, significant differences were found in the subgroups of smoking (P = 0.021) and Suzuki angiographic classification of MMD (P = 0.030).

Conclusions

Cognitive impairment is a long‐term complication for adult hemorrhagic MMD patients who underwent conservative treatment.
Somatotropic axis resistance and ghrelin in critically ill foals
Authors: Barsnick R. J. I. M. , Hurcombe S. D. A. , Dembek K. , Frazer M. L. , Slovis N. M. , Saville W. J. A. , Toribio R. E.
Published: April 2013

Reasons for performing study

Resistance to the somatotropic axis and increases in ghrelin concentrations have been documented in critically ill human patients, but limited information exists in healthy or sick foals.

Objectives

To investigate components of the somatotropic axis (ghrelin, growth hormone and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 [IGF‐1]) with regard to energy metabolism (glucose and triglycerides), severity of disease and survival in critically ill equine neonates. It was hypothesised that ghrelin and growth hormone would increase andIGF‐1 would decrease in proportion to severity of disease, supporting somatotropic axis resistance, which would be associated with severity of disease and mortality in sick foals.

Study design

Prospective multicentre cross‐sectional study.

Methods

Blood samples were collected at admission from 44 septic, 62 sick nonseptic (SNS) and 19 healthy foals, all aged <7 days. Foals with positive blood cultures or sepsis scores ≥12 were considered septic, foals with sepsis scores of 5–11 were classified asSNS. Data were analysed by nonparametric methods and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

Septic foals had higher ghrelin, growth hormone and triglyceride and lowerIGF‐1 and glucose concentrations than healthy foals (P<0.01). Sick nonseptic foals had higher growth hormone and triglycerides and lowerIGF‐1 concentrations than healthy foals (P<0.05). Growth hormone:IGF‐1 ratio was higher in septic andSNSfoals than healthy foals (P<0.05). Hormone concentrations were not different between septic nonsurvivors (n = 14) and survivors (n = 30), but the growth hormone:IGF‐1 ratio was lower in nonsurvivors (P= 0.043).

Conclusions

Somatotropic axis resistance, characterised by a high growth hormone:IGF‐1 ratio, was frequent in sick foals, associated with the energy status (hypoglycaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia) and with mortality in septic foals.

Potential relevance

A functional somatotropic axis appears to be important for foal survival during sepsis. Somatotropic resistance is likely to contribute to severity of disease, a catabolic state and likelihood of recovery.
Participation of central imidazoline binding sites in antinociceptive effect of ethanol and nicotine in rats
Authors: Aglawe Manish Manohar , Taksande Brijesh Gulabrao , Kuldhariya Sharvari Shambabu , Chopde Chandrabhan Tukaram , Umekar Milind Janrao , Kotagale Nandkishor Ramdas
Published: April 2013

Despite synergistic morbidity and mortality, concomitant consumption of alcohol and tobacco is increasing, and their antinociceptive effect has been linked with co‐abuse. Present study was designed to investigate the role of imidazoline binding sites in the antinociceptive effect of nicotine, ethanol, and their combination. Separate group of male Sprague–Dawley rats (200–250 g) were treated with different doses of alcohol (0.50–2 g/kg, i.p.) or nicotine (0.25–1 mg/kg, i.p.), and their combination evaluated in tail flick test. Influence of endogenous imidazoline binding site ligands, agonist, and antagonists were determined by their prior treatment with effective or subeffective doses of either ethanol or nicotine. Ethanol, nicotine, or their subeffective dose combination exhibited significant antinociceptive effects in dose‐dependent manner. Antinociceptive effect of ethanol and nicotine was significantly augmented by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of endogenous imidazoline receptor ligands, harmane (25 μg/rat, i.c.v.) and agmatine (10 μg/rat, i.c.v.), as well as imidazoline I1/α2 adrenergic receptor agonist, clonidine (2 μg/rat, i.c.v.), I1 agonist moxonidine (25 μg/rat, i.c.v.), and imidazoline I2 agonist, 2‐BFI (10 μg/rat, i.c.v.). Conversely, antinociception elicited by ethanol or nicotine or their subeffective dose combination was antagonized by pretreatment with imidazoline I1 antagonist, efaroxan (10 μg/rat, i.c.v.), and I2 antagonist, idazoxan (4 μg/rat, i.c.v.), at their per se ineffective doses. These findings project imidazoline binding ligands as important therapeutic molecules for central antinociceptive activity as well as may reduce the co‐abuse potential of alcohol and nicotine.