bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adherence to Buprenorphine Treatment Guidelines in a Medicaid Program
Authors: Baxter Jeffrey D. , Clark Robin E. , Samnaliev Mihail , Aweh Gideon , O'Connell Elizabeth
Published: February 2015

Background

Buprenorphine is the most frequently prescribed medication for treating substance use disorders in the United States, but few studies have evaluated the structure of treatment delivered in real-world settings. The purpose of this study is to investigate adherence to current buprenorphine treatment guidelines using administrative data for Massachusetts Medicaid.

Methods

We identified buprenorphine treatment episodes beginning in 2009 through pharmacy claims. We then used service claims to identify treatment-related physician, behavioral, and laboratory services received in the induction, stabilization, and maintenance phases of these treatment episodes. Rates of service utilization were compared with those recommended in treatment guidelines.

Results

A total of 3674 treatment episodes met inclusion criteria, representing 3005 unique Medicaid beneficiaries. Liver enzymes were tested in 47.3% of episodes, but testing for hepatitis C (23.2%), hepatitis B (19.6%), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; 13.7%) was less frequent. Adherence to recommended physician visit frequency was 37.6% during induction, 39.7% during stabilization, and 51.2% during maintenance. For behavioral care, adherence rates were 40.0% during induction, 41.2% during stabilization, and 41.0% during maintenance. Rates of toxicology testing met or exceeded recommendations in just over 60% of episodes in the induction (61.1%), stabilization (62.1%), and maintenance (61.4%) phases. Although rates varied by treatment phase, substantial proportions of episodes showed no evidence of physician visits (27.2–42.8%), behavioral care (44.3–60.0%), and toxicology screening (25.3–39.0%).

Conclusions

Our data suggest that there is significant variability in the structure of buprenorphine treatment provided to Massachusetts Medicaid beneficiaries, and that half or less of episodes include physician and behavioral visits at recommended frequencies. The use of administrative data for this type of analysis is limited by the potential for missing or inaccurate data. More research is needed to establish the levels of services most closely associated with positive outcomes to help guide providers in offering the highest-quality care.
Assessment of the Long-Term Viability of the Myxospores of Myxobolus cerebralis as Determined by Production of the Actinospores by Tubifex tubifex
Authors: Nehring R. Barry , Schisler George , Chiaramonte Luciano , Horton Annie , Poole Barbara
Published: February 2015

While whirling disease was first observed in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in 1893, the complete life cycle of Myxobolus cerebralis (Mc), the causative agent of the disease, was not understood until 1984, when it was shown to involve two obligate hosts, a salmonid fish and the aquatic oligochaete Tubifex tubifex (Tt). The viability of the triactinomyxon (TAM) actinospores produced by Tt has been well studied, and is known to be temperature dependent and measured in days and weeks. Assertions that Mc myxospores produced by infected fish remain viable for years or even decades were made during the mid-20th century, decades before the Mc life cycle was described. Moreover, the duration of myxospore viability has not been well studied since the life cycle was elucidated. In a series of time-delay treatments, we assessed the long-term viability of Mc myxospores by exposure to Mc-susceptible Tt oligochaetes and quantified TAM production. As the time delay between inoculation and incubation of Mc myxospores in sand and water and exposure to Tt oligochaetes increased, TAM production decreased exponentially. Production among the 15-d time-delay replicates was reduced 74.7% compared with the 0-d treatment. Likewise, total TAM production was reduced 94.5, 99.4, and 99.9%, respectively, in the 90-, 120-, and 180-d time-delay treatments. Linear regression analysis of our data and the absence of TAM production among replicates of Mc myxospores held at 5°C for 365 d prior to exposure to Mc-susceptible Tt oligochaetes indicate that the long-term viability of Mc myxospores is less than 1 year under the conditions of this study.

Received May 14, 2014; accepted September 27, 2014
Efficacy of Florfenicol for Control of Mortality Associated with Edwardsiella ictaluri in Three Species of Catfish
Authors: Gaunt Patricia S. , Chatakondi Nagaraj , Gao Dana , Endris Richard
Published: February 2015

The efficacy of florfenicol for control of mortality associated with Edwardsiella icatluri was studied in fingerlings of Channel Catfish Ictalurus puntatus (Delta strain), Blue Catfish I. furcatus (D&B strain), and a hybrid catfish (Delta strain Channel Catfish × D&B strain Blue Catfish). On day 0, fish were immersion challenged in 65-L aquaria. For each of the three species of catfish, 10 aquaria were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, either treated with florfenicol at 0 mg/kg of body weight (unmedicated feed) or at 10 mg/kg (medicated feed). Fish were treated for 10 consecutive days, monitored for mortality during this treatment period, and observed for 14 d afterwards. Post observation, all survivors were humanely euthanized in tricaine methanesulfonate, cultured for E. ictaluri, and examined for gross pathology. The mean cumulative percent mortality from enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) challenge among the three genotypes of catfish did not differ between Blue Catfish, hybrid, and Channel Catfish in treated or control groups. However, the florfenicol-treated fish had a significantly lower mean cumulative mortality (6%) than the controls (78%). All genotypes of catfish tested were responsive to treatment with florfenicol-medicated feed for control of mortality associated with ESC. There were no significant differences in mortality associated with hybrid catfish, blue catfish, and Channel Catfish (Delta strain).

Received July 20, 2014; accepted October 10, 2014
Activating transcription factor 5 is required for mouse olfactory bulb development via interneuron
Authors: Umemura Mariko , Tsunematsu Kanako , Shimizu Yusuke I , Nakano Haruo , Takahashi Shigeru , Higashiura Yasutomo , Okabe Masaru , Takahashi Yuji
Published: February 2015

Activating transcription factor 5 (ATF5) is a stress response transcription factor of the cAMP-responsive element-binding/ATF family. Earlier, we reported that ATF5 expression is up-regulated in response to stress, such as amino acid limitation or arsenite exposure. Although ATF5 is widely expressed in the brain and the olfactory epithelium, the role of ATF5 is not fully understood. Here, the olfactory bulbs (OBs) of ATF5-deficient mice are smaller than those of wild-type mice. Histological analysis reveals the disturbed laminar structure of the OB, showing the thinner olfactory nerve layer, and a reduced number of interneurons. This is mainly due to the reduced number of bromodeoxyuridine-positive proliferating cells in the subventricular zone, where the interneuron progenitors are formed and migrate to the OBs. Moreover, the olfaction-related aggressive behavior of ATF5-deficient mice is reduced compared to wild-type mice. Our data suggest that ATF5 plays a crucial role in mouse OB development via interneuron.
Spirit at work in faculty and staff organizational commitment
Authors: Bell-Ellis Rhonda S. , Jones Linda , Longstreth Molly , Neal Judi
Published: February 2015

This study examines the impact of four dimensions of spirit at work on organizational commitment: (1) engaging work, (2) sense of community, (3) mystical experience, and (4) spiritual connection. Eight hundred and forty participants from two universities – one faith-based and
one secular – were surveyed using the Spirit at Work Scale and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. On average, employees at the faith-based university were significantly more committed to their institution and had higher spirit at work than did employees of the secular university
(p < 0.000). While there have been studies on this relationship in health care settings, this is the first such study in higher education. This study adds to the literature in the workplace spirituality field, where few empirical studies on the connection between spirit
at work and organizational commitment exist.
The biodiversity of testate amoebae within the Mediteranean region of Israel
Authors: Dai Xin , Jiang Lian-Yu , Wang Ai-Qin , Wei Wan-Hong , Yang Sheng-Mei
Published: February 2015

The species composition of testate amoebae was studied for the first time in the northern and central parts of Israel. One hundred and eight species and infra-species taxa of Testacea belonging to 18 genera and 10 families were identified in 68 samples. The materials were collected along a transect in the Mediterranean phyto-geographical region of Israel, from Mt. Hermon 2100 m above sea level (part of the Anti-Lebanon Mt. Ridge), to the Sea of Galilee 200 m below sea level to the Mediterranean sea shore near Tel Aviv. All the species identified are Holarctic, most of them cosmopolitan. Some of the sampled testaceans require additional taxonomic studies and are possibly new species endemic to the country. A low α-diversity index was demonstrated for the specimens collected in the humid and swampy habitats, while the majority of the species assemblages, mainly eury-bionts, were similar among habitats.
Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of the Lionfish Invasion in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Perspectives from a Broadscale Trawl Survey
Authors: Switzer Theodore S. , Tremain Derek M. , Keenan Sean F. , Stafford Christopher J. , Parks Sheri L. , McMichael Robert H.
Published: February 2015

The recent introduction of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish species (Red Lionfish Pterois volitans and Devil Firefish P. miles, hereafter collectively referred to as lionfish) into the western Atlantic Ocean has been extensively documented in both the scientific literature and the media. Nevertheless, much of the information synthesized has been obtained via diver-based surveys and there is likely a depth-related bias to the understanding of the temporal and spatial dynamics of the lionfish invasion. Accordingly, we examined data from a broadscale fisheries-independent trawl survey of bare substrates and low-relief habitats that was initiated in 2008 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Lionfish were first observed in the survey in 2010, when two individuals were collected off southwestern Florida. The distribution of lionfish continued to expand northward through the Florida panhandle in 2011 and 2012, when 40 and 29 lionfish were collected, respectively. A dramatic increase in the abundance (391 individuals) and distribution of lionfish occurred in 2013. Evidence from this survey suggests that lionfish first colonized deeper (>30 m) low-relief habitats before populations expanded into shallower waters. The prevalence of lionfish on primarily nonreef habitats at depths beyond those frequented by recreational divers will likely have important implications for efforts to control or eradicate lionfish populations in the region. Moving forward, information from long-term, multispecies surveys such as this will continue to provide valuable insight into the spatial and temporal dynamics of the lionfish invasion and allow us to assess long-term ecological consequences of increasing lionfish abundances.

Received August 3, 2014; accepted November 7, 2014
Calibrating the Human Mutation Rate via Ancestral Recombination Density in Diploid Genomes
Authors: Lipson Mark , Loh Po-Ru , Sankararaman Sriram , Patterson Nick , Berger Bonnie , Reich David
Published: February 2015

The human mutation rate is an essential parameter for studying the evolution of our species, interpreting present-day genetic variation, and understanding the incidence of genetic disease. Nevertheless, our current estimates of the rate are uncertain. Most notably, recent approaches based on countingde novomutations in family pedigrees have yielded significantly smaller values than classical methods based on sequence divergence. Here, we propose a new method that uses the fine-scale human recombination map to calibrate the rate of accumulation of mutations. By comparing local heterozygosity levels in diploid genomes to the genetic distance scale over which these levels change, we are able to estimate a long-term mutation rate averaged over hundreds or thousands of generations. We infer a rate of 1.61 ± 0.13 × 10−8mutations per base per generation, which falls in between phylogenetic and pedigree-based estimates, and we suggest possible mechanisms to reconcile our estimate with previous studies. Our results support intermediate-age divergences among human populations and between humans and other great apes.
The InSilicoGenotyper (ISG): an open-source pipeline to rapidly identify and annotate nucleotide variants for comparative genomics applications
Authors: Sahl Jason W. , Beckstrom-Sternberg Stephen M. , Babic-Sternberg James S. , Gillece John D. , Hepp Crystal M. , Auerbach Raymond K. , Tembe Waibhav , Wagner David M. , Keim Paul S. , Pearson Talima
Published: February 2015

The identification and annotation of nucleotide variants, including insertions/deletions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), from whole genome sequence data is important for studies of bacterial evolution, comparative genomics, and phylogeography. TheinSilicoGenotyper (ISG) represents a parallel, tested, open source tool that can perform these functions and scales well to thousands of bacterial genomes. ISG is written in Java and requires MUMmer (Delcher, et al., 2003), BWA (Li and Durbin, 2009), and GATK (McKenna, et al., 2010) for full functionality. The source code and compiled binaries are freely available fromhttps://github.com/TGenNorth/ISGPipelineunder a GNU General Public License. Benchmark comparisons demonstrate that ISG is faster and more flexible than comparable tools.
Fecundity selection theory: concepts and evidence
Authors: Pincheira-Donoso Daniel , Hunt John
Published: February 2015

Fitness results from the optimal balance between survival, mating success and fecundity. The interactions between these three components of fitness vary importantly depending on the selective context, from positive covariation between them, to antagonistic pleiotropic relationships when fitness increases in one reduce fitness of others. Therefore, elucidating the routes through which selection shapes life history and phenotypic adaptations via these fitness components is of primary significance to understand ecological and evolutionary dynamics. However, while the fitness components mediated by natural (survival) and sexual (mating success) selection have extensively been debated from most possible perspectives, fecundity selection remains considerably less studied. Here, we review the theory, evidence and implications of fecundity selection as a driver of sex-specific adaptive evolution. Based on accumulating literature on the life-history, phenotypic and ecological aspects of fecundity, we (i) suggest that ‘fecundity’ is restricted to refer to brood size per reproductive episode, while ‘annual’ and ‘lifetime fecundity’ should not be used interchangeably with ‘fecundity’ as they represent different life history parameters; (ii) provide a generalized redefinition of fecundity selection that encompasses any traits that influence fecundity in any direction (from high to low) and in either sex; (iii) review the (macro)ecological basis of fecundity selection (e.g., ecological pressures that influence predictable spatial variation in fecundity); (iv) suggest that most ecological theories of fecundity selection should be tested in organisms other than birds; (v) argue that the longstanding fecundity selection hypothesis of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) has gained inconsistent support, that strong fecundity selection does not necessarily drive female-biased SSD, and that this form of SSD can be driven by other selective pressures; and (vi) discuss cases in which fecundity selection operates on males.
A collaboration of school administrators and a university faculty to advance school administrator practices using appreciative inquiry
Authors: Calabrese Raymond
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– An appreciative inquiry (AI) collaborative study with 11 school administrators in a highly diverse suburban school district sought to understand if observing and sharing successful school practices/events in a whole group setting led to change in their perceptions, attitudes, and administrative practice. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study took place over a ten-week period with a group of self-selected (voluntary participation) school administrative participants.

Findings

– There were two findings: the AI focus of inquiry on successful practices/events shapes school administrator perceptions, attitudes, and application of craft knowledge to practice; and the school administrators’ sharing of successful practices/events in a whole group setting generated new forms of practice during the ten-week study.

Originality/value

– The findings suggest that reflection and integration of successful practices/events are a source of craft knowledge advancing changes in school administrative practice.
Developing international managers: the contribution of cultural experience to learning
Authors: Townsend Peter , Regan Padraic , Li Liang Liang
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate cultural experience as a learning strategy for developing international managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using an integrated framework, two quantitative studies, based on empirical methodology, are conducted. Study 1, with an undergraduate sample situated in the Asia Pacific, aimed to examine the relationship between cultural experience and intercultural capability (IC), an original theoretical construct representing the critical factors of international managers. Study 2, employing a more culturally experienced postgraduate sample from Ireland, sought to confirm the findings from study 1 and further test the relationship of cultural experience with the factor of cultural adaptation.

Findings

– Results identify aU-curve relationship of cultural experience and cultural adaptation for inexperienced students (study 1). A more linear, but less significant relationship between the above two with a maximum level of adaptation for more experienced students was found in study 2. This implies that there is a relationship between cultural experience and IC, within the limitations of the sample. However, whilst cultural experience is a major variable in developing IC, findings are that universities and industry training managers need to use a blended learning approach when developing international managers, hence, combining cultural experience (experiential learning) with didactic methods.

Originality/value

– This is an original theoretical construct representing the critical factors of international managers.
An examination of factors contributing to student satisfaction in Armenian higher education
Authors: Martirosyan Nara
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect student satisfaction in college environment in Armenian Higher Educational Institutions (AHEIs).

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach to investigate factors that affected student satisfaction in college environment in AHEIs. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from students in nine public and three private institutions located in different rural and urban areas of Armenia. The sample consisted of 372 respondents from 12 institutions that geographically covered the whole country in order to have a comparatively complete picture. Factors investigated in relation to student satisfaction included: demographics, faculty services, academic experience, students support facilities, campus life, and social integration.

Findings

– The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used to analyze the data. Results of ANOVA indicated significant main effects for a number of demographic variables and student satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis indicated relationship between a number of selected satisfaction measurement dimensions and overall student satisfaction. This study was the first attempt to investigate factors that influence student satisfaction in college environment in Armenia.

Research limitations/implications

– Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to AHEIs for their consideration when addressing the needs of their students and any needed support services.

Originality/value

– This study was the first attempt to investigate factors that influence student satisfaction in college environment in Armenia.
Examining the relationship between the psychological contract and organisational commitment
Authors: Jabeen Fauzia , Behery Mohamed , Abu Elanain Hossam
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the psychological contract, relational psychological contract and transactional psychological contract on organisational commitment as mediated by transactional leadership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) context. The paper also explores the contractual status to determine if the theory remains valid, regardless of the fact whether one is employed as a contingent or permanent worker.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research made a longitudinal study spanning a 24-week time period. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire prepared in English and Arabic, at three stages representing three visits to the participating companies in the UAE. Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the research hypotheses.

Findings

– The results show that the psychological contracts (transactional and relational) are positively related to transactional leadership. This study categorizes several consequential relationships between transactional leadership and organisational commitment. It also advocates that transactional leadership has only a fractional mediating role in relation to relational psychological contract, transactional psychological contract and organisational commitment.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest that practitioners and academics alike should note that the nature of the psychological contract employed will impact upon commitment and retention.

Originality/value

– This study makes a significant contribution to the body of literature, being the second part of a longitudinal study that aimed at testing the mediating effect of transactional leadership on organisational commitment within the context of the UAE. In the earlier study, the intent was to analyse the role of transformational leadership as a mediator between the psychological contract and organisational commitment. Typically, transformational leadership has been found to partially mediate the above mentioned relationships. In addition, it also advocates that there may be some value in considering the employees’ contractual status with regard to the psychological contract and its impact on organisational commitment.
A review of buyer-supplier relationship typologies: progress, problems, and future directions
Authors: Tangpong Chanchai , Michalisin Michael D. , Traub Rodney D , Melcher Arlyn J.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to review the existing typologies of buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) in the literature, to critically assess their dimensions and underlying assumptions, and to propose a more complete BSR typology and future directions for BSR typology research.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study takes a conceptual approach in highlighting the limitations of existing BSR typologies and synthesizing their key typology-defining variables when proposing an alternative BSR typology.

Findings

– The proposed BSR typology is based on alternative behavioral assumptions: bounded rationality and choice-determinism, and uses relationalism, supplier dependence and buyer dependence as the typology-defining variables. This BSR typology captures four prominent BSR types in the extant literature (i.e. market/discrete relationship, captive-buyer/supplier-dominant relationship, captive-supplier/buyer-dominant relationship and strategic/bilateral partnership) and four new BSR types developed in this study (i.e. supplier-led collaboration, buyer-led collaboration, competitive/win–lose partnership, and free will/voluntary collaboration).

Research limitations/implications

– The performance implications of the new BSR types have yet to be empirically tested; however, empirical approaches for future research are discussed.

Originality/value

– As BSR typology research has been conducted over the years, a thorough review and systematic assessment of the extant research in terms of fundamental assumptions, typology-defining variables, overall progress and limitations becomes an important reflective task in guiding future research efforts toward the collective advancement in this line of inquiry. Departing from the existing literature, this study also uses more realistic BSR assumptions and a more complete set of typology-defining variables in developing an alternative BSR typology, arguably more complete and more theoretically sound than the previous BSR typologies in the literature.
Are salespeople born or made? Biology, personality, and the career satisfaction of salespeople
Authors: Loveland James M , Lounsbury John W , Park Soo-Hee , Jackson Donald W
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between personality traits and both job and career satisfaction among salespeople. The authors also wished to examine the extent to which biologically based personality traits provided insights into job and career satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors used latent profile analysis (LPA) to assess a sample of 299 salespeople along the dimensions of emotional stability, extraversion, work drive, teamwork orientation, customer service orientation, optimism and both job and career satisfaction.

Findings

– The findings revealed two distinct groups, and these groups were markedly different along the biologically based traits of optimism, extraversion, emotional stability and along both job and career satisfaction. The differences across these groups were especially pronounced for career satisfaction.

Practical implications

– Our findings suggest that firms might wish to devote limited resources to improving the skill sets of salespeople with the “right” disposition, rather than attempting to train candidates to cope with the emotional and visceral aspects of sales.

Originality/value

– The relationship between biologically based traits and job/career satisfaction has not yet been examined. Moreover, the use of LPA provides interesting insights that regression or structural equation modeling-based approaches would not.
Augmented borders: Big Data and the ethics of immigration control
Authors: Ajana Btihaj
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– Investments in the technologies of borders and their securitisation continue to be a focal point for many governments across the globe. This paper is concerned with a particular example of such technologies, namely, “Big Data” analytics. In the past two years, the technology of Big Data has gained a remarkable popularity within a variety of sectors, ranging from business and government to scientific and research fields. While Big Data techniques are often extolled as the next frontier for innovation and productivity, they are also raising many ethical and political issues. The aim of this paper is to consider some of these issues and provide a critical reflection on the implications of using Big Data for the governance of borders.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author draws on the example of the new Big Data solution recently developed by IBM for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. The system, which relies on data collected from Passenger Name Records, aims to facilitate and automate mechanisms of profiling enable the identification of “high-risk” travellers. It is argued that the use of such Big Data techniques risks augmenting the function and intensity of borders.

Findings

– The main concerns addressed here revolve around three key elements, namely, the problem of categorisation, the projective and predictive nature of Big Data techniques and their approach to the future and the implications of Big Data on understandings and practices of identity.

Originality/value

– By exploring these issues, the paper aims to contribute to the debates on the impact of information and communications technology-based surveillance in border management.
Using technology to draw borders: fundamental rights for the Smart Borders initiative
Authors: Hendow Maegan , Cibea Alina , Kraler Albert
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the primary fundamental rights concerns related to biometrics and their use in automated border controls (ABCs), as well as how these issues converge in the European Commission’s Smart Borders proposal.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper draws on extensive background research and qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in 2013 for the European Union (EU) FP-7 project “FastPass – A harmonized, modular reference system for all European automatic border crossing points”.

Findings

– The Smart Borders proposal not only compounds the individual concerns related to the use of biometrics in border controls and automatisation thereof, but also has serious issues of its own, premier among which is the imposition of a two-tier border control system.

Social implications

– The paper is a catalyst for open debate on the fundamental questions of how we got to this point and where do we want to go. It questions the process by which the increased use of IT in border controls has become the norm and policy trend in Europe, and discusses where the limits could be drawn from a fundamental rights perspective. In particular, it warns against the institutionalisation of a two-tier border control system among third-country nationals.

Originality/value

– Little attention is given to the fundamental rights concerns raised for EU and non-EU citizens as related to biometrics and their use in ABCs, and how these issues are reproduced in the Smart Borders proposal. The paper fills this gap by taking a bottom-up approach: examining the implications of individual elements of the proposal to see their impact on the broader policy.
Commentary: towards more responsibility in ICT
Authors: Otrel-Cass Kathrin
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to provide a commentary to the conceptual article by Norberto Patrignani and Diane Whitehouse, The Clean Side of Slow Tech. This article explores what can be easily overlooked in Information Communication Technology (ICT): the uncomfortable truth relating to the production, use and disposal of modern communication technology.

Design/methodology/approach

– In it, the author picks up on the main ideas that were argued, specifically that there is a need to take a closer look at the production, use and disposal of modern communication technology.

Findings

– Connecting resource production, use and disposal and its affect on climate change will require those who are in the position to make changes to come up with solutions that also consider values, beliefs and norms that lead to particular types of behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

– ICT has had an enormous impact on people’s lives. However, there has been primarily focus on its life-accelerating attributes. Slowing down the process of production may open up possibilities for sustainable ICT development.

Practical implications

– The commentary, combined with Patrignani and Whitehouse’s paper may provide a resource for those responsible in training future ICT professionals.

Social implications

– If today’s society, and this includes users and producers of ICT, intends to go beyond the mere rhetoric about sustainability, individuals will need to take on a new kind of responsibility that covers the entire life cycle of technology.

Originality/value

– This commentary is intended to provide an additional viewpoint to the topic of sustainable ICT production.
ICT and sustainability: skills and methods for dialogue and policy making
Authors: Kavathatzopoulos Iordanis
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present an overview and to discuss the following issues: most often, discussions about Information and communication technology (ICT) sustainability focus on environmental issues; however, there are other aspects referring to ICT internal sustainability and to its role as a tool in managing general sustainability issues. The way to handle ICT sustainability issues is also significant.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper discusses and investigates various aspects of ICT sustainability, and of methods to handle these issues and make decisions.

Findings

– Classical philosophy and psychological empirical research on decision-making demonstrate the way to take care of ICT sustainability issues. This way is philosophizing, which has to be trained and supported for people and organizations involved to acquire the necessary skills and to use suitable methods.

Originality/value

– The paper highlights other significant aspects of ICT sustainability rather than the environmental impact alone. It also proposes focus on the way ICT sustainability issues are handled rather than focus on normative or ideological aspects of it.
Smart technology classroom in the stacks: promoting free government apps in an academic library
Authors: Ormes Dorothy
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This purpose of this article is to suggest that it is possible and desirable to use iPads as a teaching tool in a dedicated classroom in the stacks at an academic library. It examines recent research on smart device use among college students and outlines a pilot program that was developed at Southern Oregon University in the Government Information Department.

Design/methodology/approach

– The article includes a literature review of recent research that has been done about smart technology usage in the library and highlights information gained by a hands-on approach in a pilot program.

Findings

– The use of smart technology in a classroom in the stacks is an effective way to engage students in the research process. Using free government apps is a no cost solution to covering a variety of topics and disciplines. Students can gain new insights in how to make their smart technology work for them while conducting research. A supplemental iPad check-out program can enable students to have new meaningful interactions with the library. However, technology does present its own set of problems that can derail the experience in unexpected ways.

Originality/value

– Free government apps are useful learning tools for college students. These tools can be applied in any classroom where students and professor are equipped with smart devices. The classroom described is unique in that it combines the hard copy materials of the library and the use of the technology to immerse students in a total experience of searching for specific government information resources in the stacks area where the physical documents are housed.
“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies” securing your digital library with encryption
Authors: Fernandez Peter
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to provide context for understanding why encryption is important and provide some examples of applications designed to make it easier than ever to control who has access to the information transmitted by the technology used.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper provides an overview of the topic.

Findings

– It is important for libraries to take an active role in understanding the encryption technology being provided to their patrons and used by their staff. It can be easily assumed that information held by these technologies is secure in ways that it is not.

Originality/value

– Information that is transmitted online is almost always done so in a way that can be easily intercepted. The easiest way to keep it secure is not to avoid having it be intercepted, but to encrypt it so that it is unintelligible when it is intercepted.
Capturing the contribution of subject librarians
Authors: Corrall Sheila
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The strategic contribution of subject librarians as information specialists in the digital world has been questioned by institutional administrators, but others have identified expanded roles and new opportunities in learning and research support. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of Kaplan and Norton’s strategic management system of balanced scorecards and strategy maps to subject librarianship in universities, with particular reference to the intellectual capital represented and created in the structures, relationships, and know-how of liaison work.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review was used to define established and emergent roles, responsibilities and skillsets of subject librarians, including their reach beyond the library. A web site survey investigated goals, actions, and values related to liaison work in UK library strategies. Data were analyzed thematically to develop an exemplar map and assess its potential for evaluating the contribution of subject librarians.

Findings

– Core functions continue, with expanded scope and competencies. Collaboration and integrated services are key trends for mapping. Liaison work is poorly documented in existing strategies. Preliminary results suggest that strategy maps can be used to illustrate the strategic contribution of subject librarians.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper reports the early stages of a multi-phase project. The results are limited to the conceptual phase. The next phase will explore the development of both maps and balanced scorecards via case studies in different countries.

Originality/value

– There are few examples of library applications of strategy maps and balanced scorecards at unit or program level, and none with a focus on the intangible assets of subject librarians.
One score on – the past, present and future of measurement at UOW Library
Authors: Jantti Margie
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this case study is to provide an overview of the evolution of performance measurement at the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library. Through iterative review, a framework was sought that would enable it to: demonstrate value and impact; better assess the demand and uptake of services and to evaluate relevance; improve the capture and reporting of continuous improvement initiatives; create a new narrative for communicating its role and unique contribution to UOW’s strategic agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

– Since 1996, the Performance Indicator Framework (PIF) has been used to monitor and drive improvement, and to acquire evidence and milestones of success. As the issues of value and impact emerged in both in assessment theory and practice, it was timely to critically reassess the capability of the PIF and to optimise its alignment to the Library’s new structure and strategic focus.

Findings

– Initial observations revealed an improved: confidence and independence in team leaders and managers using the PIF and communicating results and outcomes; ability to illustrate the interdependencies of processes, activities and projects; narrative for performance reporting.

Practical implications

– UOW Library acknowledges limitations in its competency to establish hard, rigorously tested measures for the indicator “impact”. A key outcome sought from the review was the formation of a new mind-set; to think differently about performance and outcomes. The Library was prepared to accept on a pragmatic level, the identification of proxy measures that could support in some way the narrative and habits that were sought in considering performance data and outcomes.

Originality/value

– This paper fulfils an identified need to challenge how libraries consider their effectiveness and their value and impact.
Evaluating the intellectual assets in the Scholarship and Collections directorate at the British Library
Authors: Schofield Alice E , Sen Barbara Anne , Vasconcelos Ana C
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the intellectual assets within the Scholarship and Collections directorate at the British Library.

Design/methodology/approach

– A phenomenographic approach is used gathering data via 25 in depth interviews with directorate staff and stakeholders complemented by document analysis.

Findings

– The findings identified issues specific to British Library such as the need for more clearly definitions of key business areas, and untapped resources within the directorate.

Research limitations/implications

– This study was limited to a single directorate within the British Library. From the findings a balanced scorecard was developed for the directorate adaptable for all departments within the directorate. The model could be adapted for other organisations.

Practical implications

– The study illustrates the value of adaptable scorecards allowing individual key performance indicators (KPIs) to be tailored to suit each department’s needs and ensure equal representation. Using the model would allow for internal benchmarking to take place.

Originality/value

– This research presents a scorecard model that allows intellectual assets to be considered alongside traditional performance indicators and acknowledge the value of intellectual assets within the organisation.
Traders and time: who moves the market?
Authors: Ferriani Fabrizio
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper is aimed to investigate the impact of different categories of traders on price and volume durations at Euronext Paris. The two series are respectively related to the instantaneous volatility and the market liquidity; hence, they are particularly suited to test microstructure hypotheses.

Design/methodology/approach

– A Log-autoregressive conditional duration model was adopted to include the information on the traders’ identity at the transaction level. High-frequency data were used and how the informed traders and the liquidity provider affect the arrival of market events was studied. The robustness of our results was also checked by testing different distributions and controlling for microstructure effects.

Findings

– It was found that informed traders and the liquidity provider exert a dominant role in accelerating the market activity. This result depends on the state of the market, i.e. it is effective only during periods of high frequency of transactions. The estimates for price durations show that a high instantaneous volatility can be mainly ascribed to a great concentration of informed traders. Informed traders are also found to shorten volume durations by clustering small-size orders to disguise their private signal. For both durations, the liquidity provider is also found to foster the market activity, likely because of his contractual duties.

Originality/value

– The article is of interest for researchers in the field of market microstructure, as well as for specialists in the high-frequency trading. Results provide an empirical confirmation of information models which theorize an accelerating effect for informed trading. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first contribution to study the impact of traders’categories at the transaction level and with different definitions of durations.
Volatility behaviour of stock index futures in China: a bivariate GARCH approach
Authors: Hou Yang , Li Steven
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate the volatility transmission and dynamics in China Securities Index (CSI) 300 index futures market.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper applies the bivariate Constant Conditional Correlation (CCC) and Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models using high frequency data. Estimates for the bivariate GARCH models are obtained by maximising the log-likelihood of the probability density function of a conditional Student’stdistribution.

Findings

– This empirical analysis yields a few interesting results: there is a one-way feedback of volatility transmission from the CSI 300 index futures to spot returns, suggesting index futures market leads the spot market; volatility response to past bad news is asymmetric for both markets; volatility can be intensified by the disequilibrium between spot and futures prices; and trading volume has significant impact on volatility for both markets. These results reveal new evidence on the informational efficiency of the CSI 300 index futures market compared to earlier studies.

Originality/value

– This paper shows that the CSI 300 index futures market has improved in terms of price discovery one year after its existence compared to its early days. This is an important finding for market participants and regulators. Further, this study considers the volatility response to news, market disequilibrium and trading volume. The findings are thus useful for financial risk management.
House price cycles in emerging economies
Authors: Ciarlone Alessio
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of house price dynamics for a sample of 16 emerging economies from Asia and Central and Eastern Europe over the period of 1995-2011.

Design/methodology/approach

– Linking housing valuations to a set of conventional fundamental determinants – relative to both the supply and the demand side of the market, institutional factors and other asset prices – and modelling short-term price dynamics – which reflect gradual adjustment to underlying fundamentals –conclusions about the existence and the basic nature of house price overvaluation (undervaluation) are drawn.

Findings

– Overall, it was found that actual house prices in the sample of emerging economies are not overly disconnected from fundamentals. Rather, they tend to reflect a somewhat slow adjustment to shocks to the latter. Moreover, the evidence that housing valuations may be driven by overly optimistic (or pessimistic) expectations is, in general, weak.

Research limitations/implications

– Residential property prices used in the empirical analysis have many limitations: while some series are derived using a hedonic pricing method, others are based on floor area prices collected by national authorities; while some countries publish house prices in national currency per-square metre (or per apartment or per dwelling), others calculate an index number scaled to some base year; while some countries publish statistics for the whole national territory, others produce data only for the capital city or for the largest cities in the country; data from national sources refer to different types of residential property; finally, available time series are relatively short, which may adversely affect the robustness of estimation results.

Practical implications

– The decomposition suggested in the paper has important implications: it would be paramount, in fact, for policymakers to implement market-specific diagnoses, and to find the right policy instruments that can ideally distinguish between the two underlying components driving house price short-run dynamics.

Originality/value

– There is a very small body of empirical literature on housing market developments in emerging economies, especially if focussed on the comparisons between the actual dynamics of housing valuations and the equilibrium ones.