bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microtubule minus end motors kinesin-14 and dynein drive nuclear congression in parallel pathways
Authors: Scheffler Kathleen , Minnes Refael , Fraisier Vincent , Paoletti Anne , Tran Phong T.
Published: April 2015

Microtubules (MTs) and associated motors play a central role in nuclear migration, which is crucial for diverse biological functions including cell division, polarity, and sexual reproduction. In this paper, we report a dual mechanism underlying nuclear congression during fission yeast karyogamy upon mating of haploid cells. Using microfluidic chambers for long-term imaging, we captured the precise timing of nuclear congression and identified two minus end–directed motors operating in parallel in this process. Kinesin-14 Klp2 associated with MTs may cross-link and slide antiparallel MTs emanating from the two nuclei, whereas dynein accumulating at spindle pole bodies (SPBs) may pull MTs nucleated from the opposite SPB. Klp2-dependent nuclear congression proceeds at constant speed, whereas dynein accumulation results in an increase of nuclear velocity over time. Surprisingly, the light intermediate chain Dli1, but not dynactin, is required for this previously unknown function of dynein. We conclude that efficient nuclear congression depends on the cooperation of two minus end–directed motors.
A call for transparency in tracking student and postdoc career outcomes
Authors: Polka Jessica K. , Krukenberg Kristin A. , McDowell Gary S.
Published: April 2015

There is a common misconception that the United States is suffering from a “STEM shortage,” a dearth of graduates with scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical backgrounds. In biomedical science, however, we are likely suffering from the opposite problem and could certainly better tailor training to actual career outcomes. At the Future of Research Symposium, various workshops identified this as a key issue in a pipeline traditionally geared toward academia. Proposals for reform all ultimately come up against the same problem: there is a shocking lack of data at institutional and national levels on the size, shape, and successful careers of participants in the research workforce. In this paper, we call for improved institutional reporting of the number of graduate students and postdocs and their training and career outcomes.
Estimating the Severity of the WikiLeaks U.S. Diplomatic Cables Disclosure
Authors: Gill Michael , Spirling Arthur
Published: April 2015

In November 2010, the WikiLeaks organization began the release of over 250,000 diplomatic cables sent by U.S. embassies to the U.S. State Department, uploaded to its website by (then) Private Manning, an intelligence analyst with the U.S. Army. This leak was widely condemned, including by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We assess the severity of the leak by considering the size of the disclosure relative to all diplomatic cables that were in existence at the time—a quantity that is not known outside official sources. We rely on the fact that the cables that were leaked are internally indexed in such a way that they may be treated as a sample from a discrete uniform distribution with unknown maximum; this is a version of the well-known “German Tank Problem.” We consider three estimators that rely on discrete uniformity—maximum likelihood, Bayesian, and frequentist unbiased minimum variance—and demonstrate that the results are very similar in all cases. To supplement these estimators, we employ a regression-based procedure that incorporates the timing of cables' release in addition to their observed serial numbers. We estimate that, overall, approximately 5% of all cables from this timeframe were leaked, but that this number varies considerably at the embassy-year level. Our work provides a useful characterization of the sample of documents available to international relations scholars interested in testing theories of “private information,” while helping inform the public debate surrounding Manning's trial and 35-year prison sentence.
Beamline P02.1 at PETRA III for high-resolution and high-energy powder diffraction
Authors: Dippel Ann-Christin , Liermann Hanns-Peter , Delitz Jan Torben , Walter Peter , Schulte-Schrepping Horst , Seeck Oliver H. , Franz Hermann
Published: April 2015

Powder X-ray diffraction techniques largely benefit from the superior beam quality provided by high-brilliance synchrotron light sources in terms of photon flux and angular resolution. The High Resolution Powder Diffraction Beamline P02.1 at the storage ring PETRA III (DESY, Hamburg, Germany) combines these strengths with the power of high-energy X-rays for materials research. The beamline is operated at a fixed photon energy of 60 keV (0.207 Å wavelength). A high-resolution monochromator generates the highly collimated X-ray beam of narrow energy bandwidth. Classic crystal structure determination in reciprocal space at standard and non-ambient conditions are an essential part of the scientific scope as well as total scattering analysis using the real space information of the pair distribution function. Both methods are complemented byin situcapabilities with time-resolution in the sub-second regime owing to the high beam intensity and the advanced detector technology for high-energy X-rays. P02.1's efficiency in solving chemical and crystallographic problems is illustrated by presenting key experiments that were carried out within these fields during the early stage of beamline operation.
Soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission with micro-positioning techniques for metallic V2O3
Authors: Fujiwara Hidenori , Kiss Takayuki , Wakabayashi Yuki K. , Nishitani Yoshito , Mori Takeo , Nakata Yuki , Kitayama Satoshi , Fukushima Kazuaki , Ikeda Shinji , Fuchimoto Hiroto , Minowa Yosuke , Mo Sung-Kwan , Denlinger Jonathan D. , Allen James W. , Metcalf Patricia , Imai Masaki , Yoshimura Kazuyoshi , Suga Shigemasa , Muro Takayuki , Sekiyama Akira
Published: April 2015

Soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission has been performed for metallic V2O3. By combining a microfocus beam (40 µm × 65 µm) and micro-positioning techniques with a long-working-distance microscope, it has been possible to observe band dispersions from tiny cleavage surfaces with a typical size of several tens of µm. The photoemission spectra show a clear position dependence, reflecting the morphology of the cleaved sample surface. By selecting high-quality flat regions on the sample surface, it has been possible to perform band mapping using both photon-energy and polar-angle dependences, opening the door to three-dimensional angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy for typical three-dimensional correlated materials where large cleavage planes are rarely obtained.
Focus characterization at an X-ray free-electron laser by coherent scattering and speckle analysis
Authors: Sikorski Marcin , Song Sanghoon , Schropp Andreas , Seiboth Frank , Feng Yiping , Alonso-Mori Roberto , Chollet Matthieu , Lemke Henrik T. , Sokaras Dimosthenis , Weng Tsu-Chien , Zhang Wenkai , Robert Aymeric , Zhu Diling
Published: April 2015

X-ray focus optimization and characterization based on coherent scattering and quantitative speckle size measurements was demonstrated at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Its performance as a single-pulse free-electron laser beam diagnostic was tested for two typical focusing configurations. The results derived from the speckle size/shape analysis show the effectiveness of this technique in finding the focus' location, size and shape. In addition, its single-pulse compatibility enables users to capture pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in focus properties compared with other techniques that require scanning and averaging.
Rethinking conservation: managing cultural heritage as an inhabited cultural landscape
Authors: Vakhitova Tatiana Vadimovna
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to suggest an approach to cultural heritage management as an inhabited cultural landscape in a context of urban planning.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides a review of academic literature on the topic of cultural heritage conservation.

Findings

– This paper supports an approach to management of cultural heritage as a cultural landscape, defining it as a multivalent social phenomenon with tangible and intangible dimensions, spatial, and temporal scales. The cultural landscape approach continues the discourse on heritage values and emphasises the importance of recognition of social value and hence a wider stakeholder participation in the process of heritage management. This approach allows enhancing both intangible and tangible dimensions of cultural heritage and, therefore, encourages a more inclusive consideration of diverse cultural heritage values (encompassing social and environmental categories, e.g. well-being, health).

Originality/value

– The proposed cultural landscape approach to heritage management, as a culturally significant, inhabited, and changing landscape, enables a more comprehensive view on the interrelations of cultural heritage with other social and environmental categories and enhances the understanding of different values of cultural heritage. This approach could be particularly useful for strategic development at city planning level and in large construction or infrastructural projects.
Is there an expectation gap? Consumers’ expectations towards organic
Authors: von Meyer-Höfer Marie , Nitzko Sina , Spiller Achim
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– While the European organic regulation exists since more than 20 years consumers still do not seem to know what to expect from European Union (EU) labelled organic food. The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer expectations towards organic food in mature and emerging EU organic food markets.

Design/methodology/approach

– Online consumer survey data (n=1,180; 2011) from Germany, the UK, Spain, and the Czech Republic are used to analyse the question: “Which criteria would you expect of an organic food product labelled with the EU-organic label?”. In total, 23 items including organic production criteria according to EC 834/07 and unregulated food quality criteria are tested. Mean value analysis and exploratory factor analysis are performed.

Findings

– Consumers expect organic food to be free from chemical pesticides and mineral fertilisers. In total, two factors affect consumers’ expectations: naturalness of organic food products; additional sustainability aspects like, e.g. resource saving. However, several differences between the analysed countries exist. Although there does not seem to be a big gap between what consumers expect from organic food and what EU organic labelled products fulfil, some attributes might not mean the same to each consumer which could be a source of consumer disappointment.

Practical implications

– Consequently policy makers as well as market actors should take this risk seriously and use terms like “naturalness” only with great caution when promoting organic food.

Originality/value

– Further cross-country studies focusing on consumer expectations towards organic food are still needed, because until today only few studies deal with consumer and marketing issues in EU countries with different organic market development.
Consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea in China
Authors: Liu Xiaolin , Xu Lingling , Zhu Dian , Wu Linhai
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward and willingness to pay (WTP) for traceability of tea in China.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors used the payment card method to elicit WTP for certified traceable tea and logistic regression model to analyze the factors that affected consumers’ WTP.

Findings

– The results revealed that most consumers in China were concerned over tea safety; however, their WTP for certified traceable tea was limited. Only income and the degree of concern over tea safety affected the consumer’s WTP for certified traceable tea greatly. When it came to consumers’ WTP a positive price premium, income level, education, and attitude toward traceability of tea significantly influenced the actual premium consumers were willing to pay.

Practical implications

– The Chinese government and tea producers should pay attention when implementing tea traceability system. First, raising the consumers’ income contributes to the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for certified traceable tea. Second, social groups, consumer organizations and tea producers should popularize knowledge of tea traceability. Third, given the low price premiums that consumers are willing to pay, the establishment of viable traceability of tea in China requires the producers and the government to bear some of the cost associated with the implementation of this system.

Originality/value

– In past studies on WTP for certified traceable food, the study is focussed on meat in developed countries, and the research has expanded range of study, by conducting a survey in China to determine consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea, and by empirically examining the main factors that influence the willingness of consumers to pay a price premium for certified traceable tea, as well as the premium that these consumers are willing to pay.
Control mechanisms and goal orientations: evidence from frontline service employees
Authors: Rodrigues Luiza Cristina Alencar , Coelho Filipe J. , Sousa Carlos M. P.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of organizational controls, both formal and informal, over the goal orientations of frontline employees. The goal orientations of employees, namely, in frontline settings, have been associated with a number of positive outcomes for organizations. Not surprisingly, past research has identified several personal characteristics with an influence on goal orientations. However, the contextual variables that influence employees’ goal orientations remain unspecified.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors distributed approximately 1,350 questionnaires through the frontline employees of a Brazilian bank and obtained 296 usable responses. The questionnaire relies on previously validated scales. The final confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) obtained a good fit and provided evidence of scale validity.

Findings

– Overall, our results suggest that both formal and informal control mechanisms play a significant role explaining employees’ goal orientation. However, informal control mechanisms were found to play a more significant role explaining employees’ goal orientation.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper relies on employees from a single organization. In addition, it has a cross-sectional nature. The procedural and statistical remedies employed in this study suggest that method variance is not a concern.

Practical implications

– The results show that managers may resort to control mechanisms to influence the goal orientations of frontline service employees in a manner that is consistent with organizational objectives.

Originality/value

– To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of control mechanisms on employees’ goal orientation.
Firm-brand community value co-creation as alignment of practices
Authors: Skålén Per , Pace Stefano , Cova Bernard
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge regarding the nature of successful and unsuccessful value co-creation processes between firms and brand communities and the strategies used to address the latter.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on a netnographic study of the online collaborative platform known as Alfisti.com, which carmaker Alfa Romeo launched to enhance co-creation with its most devoted consumers, the “Alfisti”.

Findings

– The findings identify three groups of collaborative practices: interacting, identity and organizing practices. The paper details how firm and brand community members enact the elements – procedures, understandings and engagements – of collaborative practices and how the alignment of these enactments impacts value co-creation.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper suggests that co-creation of value succeeds when the enactment of collaborative practices aligns, i.e. when firm and brand community members enact practices in a similar way, and that co-creation fails when the enactment of practices misaligns. Firms and brand communities use three realignment strategies – compliance, interpretation and orientation – to address the misalignment and failure of co-creation. The fact that the research draws on a single qualitative case study is a limitation.

Practical implications

– Managerial implications include using realignment strategies to manage firm-brand community co-creation.

Originality/value

– Creating an empirical-based framework regarding successful and failing co-creation and how the latter is addressed in the context of brand community makes the paper original.
The negative effect of team’s prior experience and technological turbulence on new service development projects with customer involvement
Authors: Carbonell Pilar , Rodriguez Escudero Ana Isabel
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The current study examines the negative moderating effects of team’s prior experience and technological turbulence on the antecedents and consequences of using information provided by customers involved in new service development (NSD). It also examines one way to mitigate the proposed negative effects.

Design/methodology/approach

– The unit of analysis was NSD projects in which customers had been involved during the development process. A self-administered mail survey was used to collect the data. The proposed model was tested using hierarchical path analysis.

Findings

– Results show that team’s prior experience reduces the extent to which recorded and shared information from customers involved in NSD is used for project-related decisions during the development process. Findings also reveal that technological turbulence can reduce the positive effect of using information provided from customers involved in NSD on new service advantage and service newness. Finally, results show that involving lead users in NSD can help reduce the negative moderating effects of team’s prior experience and technological turbulence.

Originality/value

– The literature on information use suggests that availability of information does not guarantee its use. In keeping with this argument, the current study reveals that for NSD projects with customer involvement, team’s prior experience and technological turbulence are part of the challenge of making effective use of the new knowledge that customers bring to the development project. Firms are advised to collaborate with lead users as a way to attenuate this problem.
Consumer dominant value creation
Authors: Anker Thomas Boysen , Sparks Leigh , Moutinho Luiz , Grönroos Christian
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the ontological and semantic foundations of consumer-dominant value creation to clarify the extent to which the call for a distinct consumer-dominant logic (CDL) is justified. This paper discusses consumer-driven value creation (value-in-use) across three different marketing logics: product-dominant logic (PDL), service-dominant logic (SDL) and CDL. PDL conceptualises value as created by firms and delivered to consumers through products. SDL frames consumer value as a function of direct provider-consumer interaction, or consumer-driven chains of action indirectly facilitated by the provider. Recently, the research focus has been turning to consumer-dominant value creation. While there is agreement on the significance of this phenomenon, there is disagreement over whether consumer-dominant value creation is an extension of SDL or calls for a distinct CDL.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a conceptual paper, which is informed by five cases of consumer dominance. The cases are used to clarify rather than verify the analysis of the ontological and semantic underpinnings of consumer-dominant value creation.

Findings

– The ontological and semantic analysis demonstrates that PDL and SDL have insufficient explanatory power to accommodate substantial aspects of consumer-dominant value creation. By implication, this supports the call for a distinct CDL.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the ongoing theoretical debate over the explanatory power of SDL by demonstrating that SDL is unable to accommodate important ontological and semantic aspects of consumer-driven value creation.
The effects of introducing and terminating loyalty programs
Authors: Melnyk Valentyna , Bijmolt Tammo
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The goal of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of an loyalty program (LP) introduction and termination, accounting for simultaneous effects of LP designs, cross-customer effects and competition effects. Despite firms across the globe spend billions of dollars on LPs, it is not clear: whether these programs enhance customer loyalty, what happens if a program is terminated and which LP design elements enhance effectiveness of LPs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors empirically investigate to what extent the effects of introducing and terminating a LP depend on: its monetary and non-monetary design elements, customer characteristics and competition. The empirical evidence is based on a bivariate hierarchical linear model, using a large-scale dataset involving 9,783 consumers rating 24 different LPs across eight industries.

Findings

– While the characteristics of LP are more important in influencing customer behavior when they join the LP, the competitive environment and the duration of membership in an LP are the primary drivers of customer reactions to LP termination. Non-monetary discrimination between members and non-members is a more powerful tool in creating customer loyalty than offering higher discounts or saving points. The effect of discrimination on loyalty sustains when an LP is terminated.

Research limitations/implications

– This is the first research to empirically investigate the effect of an LP termination, accounting for simultaneous effects of LP designs and competition effects. The authors measured behavioral intentions in a hypothetical case of LP termination. Future research could assess the effects of LP termination and the moderating role of both monetary and non-monetary design elements on other behavioral loyalty variables based on, e.g. household panel data, when such data on LP terminations across industries becomes available.

Practical implications

– When a firm considers the introduction of an LP or changing an existing one, non-monetary discrimination between members and non-members seems to be the most effective tool in building sustainable customer loyalty. Further, offering a relatively low saving rate is a viable way to keep costs down because the savings percentage does not significantly affect loyalty. For the same reason, firms can also consider reducing or eliminating LP-based discounts. The competitive environment and the duration of membership in an LP are the primary drivers of customer reactions to LP termination.

Originality/value

– To the best of authors’ knowledge, the potential effects of LP termination have not been addressed in the current literature. The authors empirically assess the effects of LP termination and effects of those programs at the introduction. Understanding the factors that moderate the potential negative impact of terminating an LP is of crucial importance to managers and researchers alike. The paper is of great value for firms that consider introducing, modifying or terminating an LP.
Antecedents and consequences of self-congruity
Authors: Roy Rajat , Rabbanee Fazlul K.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to propose and test a parsimonious framework for self-congruity, albeit in the context of luxury branding. This paper is the first to propose an integrated model focusing on the drivers and consequences of self-congruity. The model is further applied to explain how self-congruity may motivate future experiences with the luxury brand, mainly by influencing self-perception. Although a substantive marketing literature on self-congruity currently exists, there is a lack of an integrated framework, a gap that the current work addresses.

Design/methodology/approach

– A paper and pencil survey was conducted among female subjects only, and structural path relationships were tested using AMOS.

Findings

– Consumers’ self-congruity with a luxury brand (non-luxury brand) is positively (negatively) influenced by its antecedents: social desirability, need for uniqueness and status consumption. Self-congruity with a luxury (non-luxury) brand is found to enhance (undermine) consumers’ self-perceptions. This, in turn, is found to have a stronger (weaker) positive impact on consumers’ motivation to re-use a shopping bag from luxury brand (non-luxury brand) for hedonic purpose. Mediation analyses show that self-congruity has a positive (negative) indirect effect on hedonic use via self-perception for luxury (non-luxury) brand.

Research limitations/implications

– Future studies may involve actual shoppers, causal design and additional variables like “utilitarian usage “of shopping bags to extend the proposed framework.

Practical implications

– A better understanding of the findings has implications for brand positioning, advertising and packaging.

Originality/value

– Till date, no research has examined a parsimonious model for self-congruity complete with its antecedents and consequences and tested it in the context of a luxury versus non-luxury brand.
Non-traveling wave solutions for the (2+1)-D Caudrey-Dodd-Gibbon-Kotera-Sawada equation
Authors: Kang Xiao-rong , Daquan Xian , Dai Zhengde
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to find new non-traveling wave solutions and study its localized structure of Caudrey-Dodd-Gibbon-Kotera-Sawada (CDGKS) equation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply the Lie group method twice and combine with the Exp-function method and Riccati equation mapping method to the (2+1)-dimensional CDGKS equation.

Findings

– The authors have obtained some new non-traveling wave solutions with two arbitrary functions of time variable.

Research limitations/implications

– As non-linear evolution equations is characterized by rich dynamical behavior, the authors just found some of them and others still to be found.

Originality/value

– These results may help the authors to investigate some new localized structure and the interaction of waves in high-dimensional models. The new non-traveling wave solutions with two arbitrary functions of time variable are obtained for CDGKS equation using Lie group approach twice and combining with the Exp-function method and Riccati equation mapping method by the aid of Maple.
Comparison between continuum and porous continuum models in studying natural convection in porous cavity with random distribution of solid obstacles
Authors: Miansari Mehdi , Gorji M , Ganji D. D. , Hooman Kamel
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the volume-averaged models for free convection flow in porous media.

Design/methodology/approach

– A pore scale simulation is conducted against which an independent volume-averaged solver is fine-tuned.

Findings

– Micro and macro scale results can merge if proper choice of local thermal non-equilibrium and thermal dispersion models are selected. This depends on the range of Ra values investigated.

Originality/value

– This is the first time a work like this is published in the literature.
Joules and Newtonian heating effects on stagnation point flow over a stretching surface by means of genetic algorithm and Nelder-Mead method
Authors: Nawaz M. , Zeeshan A , Ellahi R , Abbasbandy S , Rashidi Saman
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the Joules heating effects on stagnation point flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids over a stretching cylinder by means of genetic algorithm (GA). The main emphasis is to find the analytical and numerical solutions for the said mathematical model. The work undertaken is a blend of numerical and analytical studies. Effects of active parameters such as: Hartmann number, Prandtl number, Eckert number, Nusselt number, Skin friction and dimensionless fluids parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics have been examined by graphs and tables. Compression is also made with the existing benchmark results.

Design/methodology/approach

– Analytical solutions of non-linear coupled equations are developed by optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM). A very effective and higher order numerical scheme hybrid GA and Nelder-Mead optimization Algorithms are used for numerical investigations.

Findings

– An excellent agreement with the existing results in limiting sense is noted. It is observed that the radial velocity is an increasing function of dimensionless material parameters α
1, α
2 and β. Temperature increases by increasing the values of M, Pr, Ec and γ. Non-Newtonian parameter β has similar effects on skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number. The wall heat transfer rate is a decreasing function of A and ß whereas it increases by increasing conjugate parameter γ.

Originality/value

– The problem under consideration has been widely studied by many investigators due to its importance and engineering applications. But most of the studies as the authors have documented are for Newtonian or viscous fluids. But no such analysis is available in the literature which can describe the Joules heating effects on stagnation point flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids over a stretching cylinder by means of GA.
Transient free convection within air-filled hemispherical enclosures. Nu-Ra-Fo relationships for isothermal and inclined disk with dome oriented upwards
Authors: Baïri Abderrahmane
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Nusselt-Rayleigh-Fourier type correlations are proposed to quantify the temporal evolution of convective heat transfer occurring within air-filled hemispherical enclosures whose disk, initially at ambient temperature, is suddenly maintained at a higher temperature. The temperature difference imposed between this hot wall and the isothermal cold dome involves Rayleigh number varying between 104 and 2.55×1012. Depending on the application, the disk can be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane by an angle varying between 0° (horizontal disk) and 90° (vertical disk) in steps of 15°. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The results are obtained by means of a numerical approach based on the finite volume method. The proposed correlations linked to the steady state Nusselt-Rayleigh internships recently published, concerning the same inclination angle and Rayleigh ranges.

Findings

– The statistical analysis of a large number of calculations leads to reliable results covering laminar, transitional and turbulent natural convection heat transfer zones.

Practical implications

– The proposed relationships can be applied in several engineering fields such as nuclear technology, solar energy, security and safety electronics, building, domotics or aeronautics.

Originality/value

– The new relationships proposed in this paper provide important information on the evolution of convective heat transfer during the transient regime.
Three-dimensional flow of Eyring Powell nanofluid over an exponentially stretching sheet
Authors: Hayat Tasawar , Ashraf Bilal , Shehzad Sabir Ali , Abouelmagd Elbaz
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Eyring Powell fluid over an exponentially stretching surface. Heat and mass transfer effects are taken into account with nanoparticles.

Design/methodology/approach

– Appropriate transformations are employed to reduce the boundary layer partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. Series solutions of the problem are obtained and impacts of physical parameters on the velocities, temperature and concentration profiles are discussed.

Findings

– Numerical values of local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers for all the involved physical parameters are computed and analyzed. A comparative study between the present and previous results is made in a limiting sense. Local Nusselt number −′(0) increases by increasing ε, Pr, λ and N while it decreases for δ, N_{t{, N_{b} and Sc.

Originality/value

– This analysis has not been discussed in the literature yet.
Meeting the entrepreneurial learning needs of professional athletes in career transition
Authors: Kenny Breda
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– A career at the professional, elite level in sports does not last forever. One way or another, the day comes when players have to hang up their boots and move on, but to what? Some stay in the sport as managers or coaches, become broadcast announcers, or use their name recognition to pitch a product. However, for many their future opportunities lie in entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of the entrepreneurial learning needs of professional rugby players preparing for a career transition and asks the following questions: What are the specific needs of professional athletes in relation to entrepreneurial learning?, and, what are the key elements of designing an entrepreneurship programme to meet these needs?

Design/methodology/approach

– The author adopted an interpretivist philosophical standpoint for this research, with an inductive research approach to explore various components of a tailored entrepreneurship training programme called the “Certificate in Enterprise Potential” (CEP) using the process of emergent inquiry. This programme was designed specifically for professional rugby athletes in Ireland. In gathering the data for the case study, the author pursued established principles of data collection, and used multiple sources of evidence.

Findings

– The findings provide evidence of the entrepreneurial learning needs of professional athletes in career transition and identifies the key elements to be considered when designing an entrepreneurship programme to meet these needs. The findings are presented under the headings context, objectives and outcomes, audience, content, pedagogy, assessment and evaluation.

Research limitations/implications

– There are multiple implications from this study. For entrepreneurship educators, the various components of designing a tailored entrepreneurship programme for professional athletes are identified and outlined. For researchers, it opens the door for research with other sports people from different contexts. For professional athletes and professionals working with athletes, it provides evidence of a non-athletic and an entrepreneurial career transition model that builds on the player’s social identity, social networks and taps into an existing HEI entrepreneurship ecosystem. The research was confined to a single case study for a specific target audience and needs replication with other cohorts in order to reduce the chance of these findings being unique to one single case.

Originality/value

– This paper focuses on the career transition and mid-career aspect of entrepreneurship education and in particular the career transition needs of the professional athletes. These findings provide a deeper understanding of mid-career entrepreneurship education, specifically in the contexts of professional athletes and HEI’s. Many athletes are forced to end their sporting careers early and with little hope of a meaningful or alternative long-term career options. This paper goes some way in addressing this concern.
Entrepreneurs’ network evolution – the relevance of cognitive social capital
Authors: Jonsson Sara
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution in the start-up phase.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on the case studies of six fashion start-up firms, this study uses a three-dimensional perspective on social capital (structural, relational, cognitive) to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution (i.e. initiation of new relationships) in the start-up phase so as to acquire resources and support for firms’ goals. The study focuses particularly on the understudied cognitive dimension of social capital. The fashion industry provides a relevant research setting because it is characterised by changes in demand, which generate opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Findings

– The findings show that the display of cognitive attributes is important for the creation of structural social capital (the establishment of new relationships). The findings also indicate that relationships initiated based on the cognitive dimension have a high probability of developing into embedded relationships, thereby becoming high in the relational dimension and providing access to private information containing referrals to other actors. Thus, these relationships also promote the continued development of the structural dimension.

Originality/value

– The findings imply that the entrepreneurs’ sets of cognitive attributes constitute an important asset in the creation of social capital. They also point to the importance of signalling these values to potential resource holders. Relationships initiated through the display of cognitive attributes can provide resources without requiring immediate economic remuneration.
Immigrant and second-generation Turkish entrepreneurs in Melbourne Australia
Authors: Soydas Yasemin , Aleti Torgeir
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the key differences between first- and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs in their path to entrepreneurship. The aim of the study is to better understand entrepreneurial motivations amongst immigrants by comparing first- and second-generation entrepreneurs in their motivation for business entry, reliance on co-ethnic market, use of social and financial capital, business planning and marketing practices.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using an interpretivist approach and a qualitative design, this study comprises 20 in-depth interviews with first- and second-generation Turkish entrepreneurs (TEs) in Melbourne, Australia. Turks in Australia were chosen because of their high level of entrepreneurial activity. In order to uncover deep-seeded motivations, participants were interviewed in a face-to-face format guided by a semi-structured interview guide.

Findings

– The second-generation TEs were distinctively different from their first-generation counterparts in motivation for business entry, business establishment and use of ethnicity. The analysis shows that although the generations differ in their approach to business establishment, they both appear to be drawn to entrepreneurship based on “pull factors”. This is in contrast with previous literature suggesting that first-generation immigrant entrepreneurs were motivated by “push factors”.

Originality/value

– This paper suggests that both first- and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs are “pulled” into entrepreneurship voluntarily. While the first-generation entrepreneurs seem to be motivated/pulled by financial reasons, the second generation are motivated by opportunity recognition, status and ambition. Nevertheless, a lack of trust in government support agency is found within both generations. Thus, outreach activities towards entrepreneurial immigrant communities may have positive effects for the economy as well as in the integration of ethnic enclaves.
Knowledge creation and utilization in project teams
Authors: Oluikpe Paul Ihuoma
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the knowledge processes that interplay in the social construction and appropriation of knowledge and to test these constructs empirically in project teams.

Design/methodology/approach

– Literature research and quantitative survey were used. The research identified project success, faster completion times, operational efficiency, innovation and generation of new knowledge as dominating project management expectations in the past ten years. It studied how these projects construct and appropriate knowledge within project teams to achieve these five objectives. Using a quantitative approach, data were sought from 1,000 respondents out of a population of 10,000 from 11 project management areas in eight world regions to test the conceptual model in real-world scenarios. The data gathered were analyzed using quantitative analysis tools and techniques such as reliability, correlation and regression.

Findings

– There is a lingering difficulty within organizations on how to translate tacit knowledge into action. The transfer and utilization of tacit knowledge was shown to be embedded and nested within relationships. Innovation in projects was found to be mostly linked to replication and codification of knowledge (explicit dimension) as opposed to interpretation and assimilation (tacit dimension). Arriving at a mutual interpretation of project details and requirements does not depend on canonical (formal documentation) methods but mostly on non-canonical (informal) and relational processes embedded within the team.

Originality/value

– This work studies, in empirical and geographical detail, the social interplay of knowledge and provided evidence relative to the appropriation of knowledge in the project organizational form, which can be extrapolated to wider contexts. The work scoped the inter-relational nature of knowledge and provided further evidence on the nebulous nature of tacit/intangible knowledge. It also proved further that organizations mostly rely on explicit knowledge to drive organizational results, as it is easily actionable and measurable.
Facilitating tacit knowledge transfer: routine compatibility, trustworthiness, and integration in M & As
Authors: Ranucci Rebecca Ann , Souder David
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to theorize how tacit knowledge influences implementation success in mergers and acquisitions (M & As), and contrasts this with explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge can be a source of sustained competitive advantage because its lack of codifiability precludes easy appropriation by competitors. However, such non-codifiability also makes it difficult to transfer knowledge within a firm. M & As exemplify this challenge because they are often motivated by opportunities for transferring knowledge. With differing demands for tacit and explicit knowledge across departments (Sales and Operations), the empirical results demonstrate how tacit routine compatibility affects implementation outcomes in different functions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research draws from a survey of 86 M & A implementation processes between 1996 and 2002, using seemingly unrelated regression to analyze the predictions.

Findings

– There is strong empirical support that tacit routine compatibility leads to success in sales but not operations and further support for the differential moderating roles of trustworthiness and integration.

Practical implications

– Managers should make implementation choices based on the type of knowledge being transferred and where that knowledge will reside post-integration. Routine compatibility, trustworthiness and integration facilitate knowledge transfer in M & As – but only if applied in the right combinations for the context.

Originality/value

– The type of knowledge is a critical distinction for the value of M & A implementation. Furthermore, despite integration receiving significant attention in this literature, trustworthiness, not integration, facilitates successful tacit knowledge transfer in M & As.
The construct of absorptive capacity in knowledge management and intellectual capital research: content and text analyses
Authors: Mariano Stefania , Walter Christian
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic picture of how and to what extent Cohen and Levinthal’s (1990) seminal article on absorptive capacity was used in knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) research from 1990 to 2013.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper, 186 articles extracted from eight KM and IC journals were reviewed by conducting both content and text analyses. To facilitate research comparison, content analysis followed the method used by Robertset al.(2012) and thus was based on categories, conceptualizations, levels of analysis and, additionally, temporal evolution of absorptive capacity from 1990 to 2013 was looked at. Text analysis was performed to identify major research themes developing the absorptive capacity construct.

Findings

– Finding showed that absorptive capacity was largely underdeveloped in the KM and IC fields. KM, knowledge transfer and innovation were the top three research areas investigating absorptive capacity in the KM and IC fields.

Research limitations/implications

– This study had limitations related to time frame, covering a period from April 1990 to November 2013, and accessibility of articles due to specific restrictions in journal subscriptions.

Originality/value

– This paper is a first attempt to review absorptive capacity in KM and IC research. It represented a primary reference for those interested to research absorptive capacity in the KM and IC fields.
The nature and development of liminality competence
Authors: Borg Elisabeth , Soderlund Jonas
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to present findings from an interpretative study documenting how mobile project workers develop their conceptions of work performed in liminal (in-between) positions. The overall purpose of the paper is to elucidate how people in time-limited and ambiguous work positions develop competences to manage their dynamic work conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research relies on two narratives of mobile project workers drawn from a larger longitudinal study. The empirical material includes diaries and multiple interviews. The analysis takes a narrative approach and identifies how and when the mobile project workers enhance their level of liminality competence.

Findings

– Three processes were identified as significant in developing higher liminality competence: understanding the value of in-betweenness, embracing the role as an inside-outsider and translating the liminal experience through reflexivity.

Practical implications

– The paper demonstrates the need for employers to support individuals in passing through the three processes and to support thoughtful mobility across different project settings to improve the liminality competence of their employees.

Originality/value

– In the dual ambition of offering insights based on interpretative research on competence and putting greater emphasis on people working in in-between positions, this study enhances the understanding of how individuals develop their conceptions of work in general, and their conceptions of liminality at work in particular.