bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Global comparisons of job satisfaction across occupational categories
Authors: Andrade Maureen Snow , Westover Jonathan H.
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Job satisfaction has positive outcomes for individuals and organizations. These include decreased turnover and conflict, increased productivity, improved work quality and creativity and innovation. Determinants entail work–life balance, advancement and development opportunities, relationships with co-workers and managers, working conditions and intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, among others. Understanding these determinants across workers and contexts is critical for effective management and the achievement of organizational goals. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This study, based on data from the International Social Survey Program, examines the impact of various aspects of work-life balance, rewards and work relations on job satisfaction across occupations.

Findings

Findings indicate more differences than similarities among countries and occupations with workers in managerial and professional positions experiencing the highest job satisfaction levels.

Originality/value

Although extensive research has documented the benefits and determinants of job satisfaction, it has not focused on global comparisons across occupational categories.
Urban Africa’s futures: perspectives and implications for agenda 2063
Authors: Karuri-Sebina Geci
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The implications of Africa’s growth and urbanisation are the subject of much interest and speculation, and are central to the vision of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The purpose of this paper is to compare the dominant perspectives on urban futures in Africa to emerging directions in futures and urban thinking, suggesting alternative policy approaches for Africa’s urban agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper scans and sorts through how Africa’s growth and urbanisation are being understood and framed by various futurists and other futures-commentators. It takes the form of a discussion of the issue of how, why and by whom a series of data points, trends and their implications are being computed and combined, and with what validity, so to inform policy and planning responses.

Findings

The paper argues from its findings that futuring about urban Africa has been intense, but not particularly objective, neutral or even empirically grounded. Emerging directions in anticipation theorisation and experimental approaches such as “urban tinkering” are proposed as possibly offering alternative approaches to how nations and policymakers might think and act on urban Africa’s futures.

Originality/value

This original interrogation of which and how actors anticipate Africa’s urban futures could be used to expand beyond the urban visions, assumptions and futuring conventions reflected in Africa’s Agenda 2063, as well as processes advancing the global sustainable development goals and UNHabitat’s new urban agenda.
Study of the flow in a cryogenic pump under different cavitation inducements by considering the thermodynamic effect
Authors: Shao Chunlei , Zhang Zhongyuan , Zhou Jianfeng
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to accurately predict the cavitation performance of a cryogenic pump and reveal the influence of the inlet pressure, the surface roughness and the flow rate on the cavitation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, the Zwart cavitation model was modified by considering the thermodynamic effect. Secondly, the feasibility of the modified model was validated by the cavitation test of a hydrofoil. Thirdly, the effects of the inlet pressure, the surface roughness and the flow rate on cavitation flow in the cryogenic pump were studied by using the modified cavitation model.

Findings

The modified cavitation model can predict the cavitation performance of the cryogenic pump more accurately than the Zwart cavitation model. The thermodynamic effect inhibits cavitation development to a certain extent. The higher the vapor volume fraction, the lower the pressure and the lower the temperature. At the initial stage of the cavitation, the head increases first and then decreases with the increase of the roughness. When the cavitation develops to a certain degree, the head decreases with the increase of the roughness. With the decrease of the flow rate, the hydraulic loss increases and the cavitation at the impeller intensifies.

Originality/value

A cavitation model considering the thermodynamic effect is proposed. The mechanism of the influence of the roughness on the performance of the cryogenic pump is revealed from two aspects. Taking the hydraulic loss as a bridge, the relationships among flow rates, vapor volume fractions, streamlines, temperatures and pressures are established.
Local knowledge based perceptions on climate change and its impacts in the Rakaposhi valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Authors: Bhatta Laxmi Dutt , Udas Erica , Khan Babar , Ajmal Anila , Amir Roheela , Ranabhat Sunita
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand local perceptions on climate change and its impacts on biodiversity, rangeland, agriculture and human health.

Design/methodology/approach

A household survey with 300 interviewees and focus group discussions with key stakeholders were conducted and validated at two steps, using the climate data from the nearest weather stations and reviewing literatures, to correlate the local perceptions on climate change and its impacts.

Findings

Majority of the respondents reported an increase in temperature and change in the precipitation pattern with increased hazardous incidences such as floods, avalanches and landslides. Climate change directly impacted plant distribution, species composition, disease and pest infestation, forage availability, agricultural productivity and human health risks related to infectious vector-borne diseases.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the remoteness and difficult terrain, there are insufficient local weather stations in the mountains providing inadequate scientific data, thus requiring extrapolation from nearest stations for long-term climate data monitoring.

Practical implications

The research findings recommend taking immediate actions to develop local climate change adaptation strategies through a participatory approach that would enable local communities to strengthen their adaptive capacity and resilience.

Social implications

Local knowledge-based perceptions on climate change and its impacts on social, ecological and economic sectors could help scientists, practitioners and policymakers to understand the ground reality and respond accordingly through effective planning and implementing adaptive measures including policy formulation.

Originality/value

This research focuses on combining local knowledge-based perceptions and climate science to elaborate the impacts of climate change in a localised context in Rakaposhi Valley in Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan.
Can self-regulation work in environments of high corruption?
Authors: Yusuf Fatima , Yousaf Amna
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if market discipline and legal environment are sufficient to motivate firms to disclose optimal level of corporate information voluntarily in the context of a developing country that is Pakistan. Furthermore, it was examined if regulators have sufficient regulatory capacity to influence the extent up to which politically connected companies disclose corporate information.

Design/methodology/approach

An in-depth investigation was carried out through qualitative content analysis of 200 annual reports from 40 companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange along with 26 semi-structured interviews from experts in the field of corporate governance.

Findings

Findings from the research indicated that there is an absence of culture for disclosure of information and country’s existing institutional environment is not sufficiently strong to support self-regulation or voluntary disclosure of information. It is argued that stringent disclosure regulation results in better flow of information in politically connected companies and helps in curbing opportunistic behaviour.

Practical implications

This research carries significant policy implications. It is proposed that in addition to mandatory disclosure requirements, the code of corporate governance should indicate desirable disclosure levels for voluntary corporate information as well.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of role and usefulness of mandatory corporate disclosure regulation, voluntary disclosure practices, and capacity of regulators to enhance dissemination of corporate information in a developing country with high levels of political corruption and cronyism through an in-depth research.
Mapping out research focus for robotics and automation research in construction-related studies
Authors: Aghimien Douglas Omoregie , Aigbavboa Clinton Ohis , Oke Ayodeji Emmanuel , Thwala Wellington Didibhuku
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The adoption of robotics and automation (R&A) within the construction industry has been adjudged as slow, despite the possibility of it reducing the high risk posed on health and safety of humans by the activities of the industry. The call for research and development in this area of technology to improve its adoption in the delivery of construction projects is evident in past studies. Thus, this paper aims to conduct a review of R&A in construction-related fields with a view to revealing the area of focus of past studies.

Design/methodology/approach

A bibliometric approach was adopted for this study, and data used were gathered from the Scopus database. Keywords such as “robotics”, “automation” and “construction” were used to extract papers from the database. VOSviewer was used to prepare a co-authorship and co-occurrence map based on the bibliographic data gathered.

Findings

The findings revealed that focus is placed on construction automation, industrial robots and application, robots’ systems and designs, robotics in earthworks, and robots’ control and information system. Furthermore, currently, research focus in this area is tending towards a more digitalised application of R&A especially in the areas of 3D manufacturing.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are limited due to the use of a single database.

Practical implications

Despite its limitations, the findings open a knowledge gap that can be explored in developing countries particularly in Africa to improve construction delivery in the continent through R&A.

Originality/value

The study adopted the bibliometric approach in mapping out research focus in R&A – an aspect of digital technology that has not been given considerable attention in recent bibliometric and scientometric studies.
The impact of project sustainability management (PSM) on project success
Authors: Khalifeh Amin , Farrell Peter , Al-edenat Malek
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: “does the incorporation of sustainability as a new school of thought in project management support project success?” The authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on relevant empirical studies before 2018 to answer this question.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out an SLR by selecting, extracting, analysing and critically appraising relevant literature that met pre-specified criteria by using transparent, well-organised and replicable steps. The main sources are publications in peer-reviewed journals regardless of their impact factor because the topic of incorporating sustainability in project management practices is restrained by a lack of research.

Findings

Based on the analysis, it seems that incorporating sustainability into project management may support project success. However, more evidence is required to support this finding as there are too few relevant empirical studies in the literature.

Research limitations/implications

Therefore, considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management is premature, and there are recommendations for further research at the end of this study. There are several limitations to the studies chosen, which may have significantly affected results, and thus may affect outcomes in this study.

Originality/value

Project success needs to be the main endeavour when incorporating sustainability into project management, and it should be a key criterion when considering sustainability as a new school of thought in managing projects. The most challenging elements of project success that need to be addressed are cost and time. This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of PSM on project success. It facilitates decision making in considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Furthermore, it defines a need for more research work in this potential paradigm shift in managing projects.
Testing the effects of job satisfaction on organizational commitment
Authors: Bashir Barooj , Gani Abdul
Published: January 2020

Purpose

As universities are human capital intensive organizations, practices followed by a university for enhancing the satisfaction of its teachers can be of great help in attracting, retaining and managing highly qualified and competent teachers. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of job satisfaction (JS) on organizational commitment (OC) of university teachers in India.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 396 academicians are surveyed to assess the subjects’ responses to JS and commitment questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used in the process of statistical analysis.

Findings

The results confirmed a significant impact of JS on OC of university teachers in India. With 1 percent increase in estimates of pay and job security (PJS), organizational support (OS) and job challenge (JC), there would be 21, 36 and 49 percentage increase, respectively, in OC of university teachers. Of all the factors of JS, JC is the most significant contributing factor, followed by OC and PJS that help in motivating and retaining the teachers in higher education institutions in India.

Research limitations/implications

The sample of the study has been chosen from the higher education sector in Northern India, and so it still needs to be explored whether the findings of this study can be replicated in different geographical areas and organizational settings for further verification and generalization.

Practical implications

Encouraging greater satisfaction among the faculty members may positively influence work-related behaviors, especially commitment among the teachers. The paper may benefit the decision makers in universities to follow the proactive practices to improve the satisfaction and commitment of teachers as educational performance is of priority on the national agenda.

Originality/value

The study provides useful insights about a JS-OC relationship model and informs the stakeholders on how to create an enabling environment at the policy and practice level that would help in attracting and retaining teachers in universities in India. It contributes to enriching the JS and OC literature in a sector and a country poorly addressed so far in research.
Decision-making approaches in process innovations: an explorative case study
Authors: Flores-Garcia Erik , Bruch Jessica , Wiktorsson Magnus , Jackson Mats
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the selection of decision-making approaches at manufacturing companies when implementing process innovations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews the current understanding of decision structuredness for determining a decision-making approach and conducts a case study based on an interactive research approach at a global manufacturer.

Findings

The findings show the correspondence of intuitive, normative and combined intuitive and normative decision-making approaches in relation to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability. Accordingly, the conditions for determining a decision-making choice when implementing process innovations are revealed.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to increased understanding of the combined use of intuitive and normative decision making in production system design.

Practical implications

Empirical data are drawn from two projects in the heavy-vehicle industry. The study describes decisions, from start to finish, and the corresponding decision-making approaches when implementing process innovations. These findings are of value to staff responsible for the design of production systems.

Originality/value

Unlike prior conceptual studies, this study considers normative, intuitive and combined intuitive and normative decision making. In addition, this study extends the current understanding of decision structuredness and discloses the correspondence of decision-making approaches to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability.
Design of pull production control systems using axiomatic design principles
Authors: Kabadurmus Ozgur , Durmusoglu Mehmet Bulent
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the lean manufacturing literature by providing a roadmap for pull production control system (PCS) implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Axiomatic Design (AD) methodology is used to develop the proposed pull PCS transformation roadmap.

Findings

The proposed design methodology is validated in a real-life manufacturing system. The results show that the proposed methodology significantly reduces the design efforts. The methodology effectively helps to choose the most appropriate pull PCS and determine its operational settings with respect to the manufacturing system characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

This study presents only one case study to test the proposed methodology. In future studies, the validity of the proposed method can be further generalized in different manufacturing sectors by real-life implementations.

Practical implications

In many real-life lean production projects, companies do not know where to start or how to proceed, which leads to repetitive design efforts and inefficient designs. The developed roadmap of this study minimizes incorrect or imperfect design trials and increases the success of pull production transformation projects.

Originality/value

The implementation of pull PCS requires extensive design knowledge and expertise. Therefore, many real-life applications fail due to costly and time-consuming trial-and-error-based design efforts. In the literature, there is no comprehensive guideline or roadmap for pull PCS implementation. To address this issue, this study provides a novel holistic roadmap to transform an existing push PCS to pull. The proposed methodology uses AD principles and combines fragmentary studies of the pull production literature.
Digital supply chain model in Industry 4.0
Authors: Garay-Rondero Claudia Lizette , Martinez-Flores Jose Luis , Smith Neale R. , Caballero Morales Santiago Omar , Aldrette-Malacara Alejandra
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model that defines the essential components shaping the new Digital Supply Chains (DSCs) through the implementation and acceleration of Industry 4.0.

Design/methodology/approach

The scope of the present work exposes a conceptual approach and review of the key literature from 1989 to 2019, concerning the evolution and transformation of the actors and constructs in logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) by means of examining different conceptual models and a state-of-the-art review of Industry 4.0’s concepts and elements, with a focus on digitization in supply chain (SC) processes. A detailed study of the constructs and components of SCM, as defined by their authors, resulted in the development of a referential and systematic model that fuses the inherent concepts and roles of SCM, with the new technological trends directed toward digitization, automation, and the increasing use of information and communication technologies across logistics global value chains.

Findings

Having achieved an exploration of the different conceptual frameworks, there is no compelling evidence of the existence of a conceptual SCM that incorporates the basic theoretical constructs and the new roles and elements of Industry 4.0. Therefore, the main components of Industry 4.0 and their impact on DSC Management are described, driving the proposal for a new conceptual model which addresses and accelerates a vision of the future of the interconnectivity between different DSCs, grouped in clusters in order to add value, through new forms of cooperation and digital integration.

Originality/value

This research explores the gap in the current SCM models leading into Industry 4.0. The proposed model provides a novel and comprehensive overview of the new concepts and components driving the nascent and current DSCs. This conceptual framework will further aid researchers in the exploration of knowledge regarding the variables and components presented, as well as the verification of the newly revealed roles and constructs to understand the new forms of cooperation and implementation of Industry 4.0 in digitalized SCs.
An Industry 4.0 maturity model proposal
Authors: Santos Reginaldo Carreiro , Martinho José Luís
Published: January 2020

Purpose

In recent years, the development and application of innovative and disruptive technologies in manufacturing environments is shaping the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool to assess the maturity level in implementing Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies in manufacturing companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a framework to develop maturity models found in literature, three main steps were taken: the model design from the literature review on industry 4.0 and the comparative analysis of existing models; interviews with engineers and managers of relevant industries; and pilot tests in two relevant industrial companies.

Findings

The proposed maturity model has 41 variables considering five dimensions (organizational strategy, structure and culture; workforce; smart factories; smart processes; smart products and services). The studied companies showed different levels of Industry 4.0 implementation. According to respondents, the model is useful in making an initial diagnosis and establishes a roadmap to proceed the implementation.

Practical implications

Empirical evidence supports the relevance of the proposed model and its practical usefulness. It can be used to measure the current state (initial diagnostic and monitoring assessments), and to plan the future desired state (goal), identifying which transformational capabilities should be developed.

Originality/value

The literature review did not return an enough complete maturity model to guide a self-administered assessment. Therefore, the proposed model is a valuable tool for companies and researchers to understand the I4.0 phenomenon, plan and monitor the transformation actions.
Board, audit committee, ownership and financial performance – emerging trends from Thailand
Authors: Al Farooque Omar , Buachoom Wonlop , Sun Lan
Published: January 2020

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of corporate board and audit committee characteristics and ownership structures on market-based financial performance of listed firms in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

It applies system GMM (generalized method of moments) as the baseline estimator approach, and ordinary least squares and fixed effects for robustness checks on a sample of 452 firms listed on the Thai Stock Exchange for the period 2000-2016.

Findings

Relying mainly on the system GMM estimator, the empirical results indicate some emerging trends in the Thai economy. Contrary to expectations for an emerging market and prior research findings, ownership structures, particularly ownership concentration and family ownership, appear to have no significant influence on market-based firm performance, while managerial ownership exerts a positive effect on performance. Moreover, as expected, board structure variables such as board independence; size; meeting and dual role; and audit committee meeting show significant explanatory power on market-based firm performance in Thai firms.

Practical implications

These findings are important for policymakers in constructing an appropriate set of governance mechanisms in an emerging market context, and for corporate entities and investors in shaping their understanding of corporate governance in the Thai institutional context.

Originality/value

Unlike previous literature on the Thai market, this study is the first to use the more advanced econometric method known as system GMM estimator for addressing causality/endogeneity issues in governance–performance relationships. The findings indicate new trends in the explanatory power of ownership structure variables on market-based firm performance in Thai-listed firms.
Impact of psychopathy on employee creativity via work engagement and negative socioemotional behavior in public health sector
Authors: Khan Ali Nawaz , Khan Naseer Abbas , Bodla Ali Ahmad , Gul Summan
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of psychopathy on employees’ creativity through the mediating role of work engagement and negative socioemotional behavior (NSEB). It also attempts to investigate the moderating effect of abusive supervision on the relationship between psychopathy and work engagement, psychopathy and NSEB.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected at two-time intervals with a time-lag of three months. The final sample comprised of 267 public sector paramedical staff and supervisors in different hospitals from the southern provinces of China.

Findings

The study results show that individuals with a high level of psychopathic tendencies show a higher NSEB. Moreover, abusive supervision simulates negative social and emotional behaviors of those employees with psychopathic tendencies, which inhibit the emergence of novel and useful ideas.

Originality/value

This study is distinctive from earlier studies by presenting novel findings that employees with psychopathic tendencies are reactive to abusive supervision. Additionally, this study presents valuable implications and future research directions.
Sustainability governance and legitimisation processes: Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Authors: Elsayed Nader , Ammar Sameh
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of sustainability governance through the unfolding hybridisation process between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility and the implications of this for understanding patterns in sustainability reporting over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident is an extreme case study undertaken to examine its implications on the organisational legitimacy of British Petroleum (BP) and the latter’s response to the incident and beyond. The paper draws on Suchman’s legitimacy framework (1995) to understand sustainability governance as an organisational practice that evolved post the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to manage BP’s legitimacy. It draws on archival records and documentation from 2008 to 2017, as key sources for data collection, using interrogation by NVivo software.

Findings

Sustainability governance is a sound practice that was socially constructed to manage the re-legitimatisation process following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It is characterised by broadness (the interplay between the corporate governance and corporate social responsibility disciplines), dynamic (developing the tactics to repair and maintain legitimacy), agility (conforming to the accountability for socially responsible investment and ensuring steps towards geopolitically responsible investment) and interdependence (reflecting composition and interactions).

Practical implications

This paper has practical implications for organisations, in terms of sustainability governance’s constitution, mechanism and characteristics.

Social implications

This paper has implications not only for organisations, in terms of sustainability governance’s characteristics, but also for policy-makers, regulators and accounting education. However, the present paper’s insights are achieved through an in-depth and longitudinal case study.

Originality/value

This paper has problematized the concept of sustainability governance and elaborated its evolution (the emergence, enactment, deployment and interplay) process. The sustainability governance showed an otherwise organisational response that moves our understanding of the deployment of disclosure for complex organisational change as a way to discredit events.
Trophic selectivity in aquatic isopods increases with the availability of resources
Authors: Francois Clémentine M. , Simon Laurent , Malard Florian , Lefébure Tristan , Douady Christophe J. , Mermillod‐Blondin Florian
Published: January 2020

Trophic selectivity has major influences on consumers’ fitness, stability of predator and prey populations, and nutrient fluxes in food webs. Trophic selectivity occurs when the relative abundances of resources in a consumer's diet differ from their relative abundances in the environment. This discrepancy between resources abundance and use has been predicted to increase with the availability of resources in the environment. Trophic selectivity has also been predicted to increase with the heterogeneity of resources quality in the environment. Despite their ecological and evolutionary implications, conclusive in situ tests of these predictions are still lacking.

We challenged these two predictions by studying 15 closely related species of isopods distributed along a wide range of resource availability (RA) (from 1.3 to 57.6 g of organic carbon per m2). The dataset ranged from deep cave systems, considered as some of the most resource‐limited environments on Earth, to highly productive surface streams.

For each species, we quantified the relative abundance of all available resources in the environment and estimated the heterogeneity in the stoichiometric quality of these resources. Isopod diet was determined using C and N stable isotopes and a Bayesian mixing model. The degree of trophic selectivity was then calculated for each species.

By coupling a standardized quantification of trophic resources with a fine determination of diets using stable isotopes, we uncovered a positive relationship between RA and trophic selectivity. In contrast to our second prediction, trophic selectivity did not correlate with the heterogeneity of resources quality.

Our results have important implications in trophic ecology by highlighting that RA was a main driver of trophic choices in aquatic invertebrates across a broad range of environments. These findings call for further evaluation of the mechanisms (e.g. trophic competition) causing the positive relationship between trophic selectivity and RA, as these mechanisms could be closely linked to those generating the documented relationship between species richness and productive energy.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Timing of arrival in the breeding area is repeatable and affects reproductive success in a non‐migratory population of blue tits
Authors: Gilsenan Carol , Valcu Mihai , Kempenaers Bart
Published: January 2020

Events in one part of the annual cycle often affect the performance (and subsequently fitness) of individuals later in the season (carry‐over effects). An important aspect of this relates to the timing of activities. For example, many studies on migratory birds have shown that relatively late‐spring arrival in the breeding area reduces both the likelihood of getting a mate or territory and reproductive success.

In contrast, relatively little is known about the movements of individuals in non‐migratory populations during the non‐breeding season. Few studies have investigated the timing of arrival at the breeding area in such species, possibly due to the assumption that most individuals remain in the area during the non‐breeding season.

In this study, we used 4 years of data from a transponder‐based automated recording system set up in a non‐migratory population of blue titsCyanistes caeruleusto describe individual variation in arrival at the breeding site. We investigated whether this variation can be explained by individual characteristics (sex, body size or status), and we assessed its effect on aspects of reproductive success in the subsequent breeding season.

We found substantial variation in arrival date and demonstrate that this trait is individual‐specific (repeatable). Females arrived later than males, but the arrival dates of social pair members were more similar than expected by chance, which suggests that individuals may mate assortatively depending on their arrival in the breeding area. Arrival predicted both whether an individual would end up breeding that season and several aspects of its breeding success.

Our study suggests that individuals of non‐migratory species leave the breeding area during the non‐breeding season. Hence, it may be useful to consider variation in the scale of movements between breeding and non‐breeding sites, rather than using a simple dichotomy between ‘resident’ and ‘migratory’ species. We conclude that the timing of pre‐breeding events, in particular arrival date, may be an overlooked, but important, fitness‐relevant trait in non‐migratory species.
Asparaginase induces selective dose‐ and time‐dependent cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and reduction of NFκB expression in oral cancer cells
Authors: Borges Gabriel Álvares , Elias Silvia Taveira , Araujo Tassiana Souza De , Souza Paula Monteiro , Nascimento‐Filho Carlos Henrique Viesi , Castilho Rogerio M. , Squarize Cristiane H. , Magalhães Pérola de Oliveira , Guerra Eliete Neves Silva
Published: January 2020

Asparaginase is fundamental to the treatment of haematological malignancies. However, little has been studied on the effects that asparaginase could exert on solid tumours. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of asparaginase on an oral carcinoma cell line. The cytotoxicity of asparaginase in SCC‐9 (tongue squamous cell carcinoma) and HaCaT (human keratinocyte) cell lines was evaluated with MTT cell viability assay. The cells were treated with asparaginase at 0.04, 0.16, 0.63, 1.0, 1.5, 2.5, and 5.0 IU/mL. Dose‐response curves and IC50 values were obtained and the Tumour Selectivity Index (TSI) was calculated. The effect of asparaginase on procaspase‐3 and nuclear factor κB (NFκB) expression was evaluated with western blot because it was reported that the overexpression of NFκB has been shown to contribute to tumour cell survival, proliferation, and migration. Caspase 3/7 staining was performed to identify cell death using flow cytometry. Effective asparaginase concentrations were lower for SCC‐9 cells when compared to HaCaT cells. The cytotoxicity results at 48 and 72 hours were significantly different for SCC‐9 cells. The TSI indicated that asparaginase was selective for the tumour cells. A decrease in procaspase‐3 and NFκB protein levels was observed in SCC‐9 cells. Furthermore, asparaginase resulted in significant apoptosis after 48 and 72 hours. Based on these results, asparaginase was cytotoxic in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner, induces apoptosis, and reduces NFκB expression in oral cancer cells. These results encourage further studies on the effectiveness of this enzyme as a treatment for solid tumours, especially head and neck cancer.
Utilizing the moral nobility of older Chinese women in governance: The uses of humility, empathy, and an ethics of care in moral clinics in Huzhou city
Authors: Wen Man , Zhang Shaoying , McGhee Derek
Published: January 2020

This paper examines the emergence of the role of “moral doctors” who volunteer in what are called “moral clinics” in Huzhou city. In these moral clinics, the characteristics, experiences, and attributes of older women, in particular, are highly valued and viewed as being essential to the role of the moral doctor. These moral doctors act as moral exemplars and conflict mediators in their local communities. Their moral capital and professionalism, combined with their gender, age, familial and neighborhood attributes, contribute to the accumulation of an affective feminized labor which employs the techniques of care, reason, and moral fortitude to govern the self and others. We unpack these ethical virtues exemplified by moral doctors and nurses in order to show how a female‐centric “ethic of care” can become a set of techniques in governing others. In this paper, we elaborate on the role that these moral doctors perform to support the aims of the moral clinics in terms of fostering pro‐social behavior and moral obligation in local communities. We argue that the performance of this type of “moral work” is both a mechanism of discipline and a process of self‐actualization. We contribute to the current literature on “therapeutic governance” in China by showing how the non‐expert medicalization of social ills by moral doctors is incorporated into the reproduction of social control.
Coding female genital mutilation/cutting and its complications using the International Classification of Diseases: a commentary
Authors: Cottler‐Casanova S , Horowicz M , Gieszl S , Johnson‐Agbakwu C , Abdulcadir J
Published: January 2020

Tweetable abstract

Accurate coding of FGM/C, related health consequences and procedures through the ICD can facilitate the assessment of care, policy, prevention measures, and costs.
Contracts Between Firms and Shareholders
Authors: SCHOENFELD JORDAN
Published: January 2020

Theory predicts the existence of explicit bilateral contracts between firms and expert shareholders. I assemble and analyze a large‐scale data set of these contracts. Using block investments from 1996 to 2018, I find that these contracts involve mainly corporate owners and activist owners, and often specify covenants pertaining to financing, trading, directorships, dividends, joint ventures, corporate investment, financial reporting, and information access. I also find that some of the contract covenants are stated in terms of accounting information, and that the prevalence of these contracts is significantly positively associated with measures of information asymmetry between managers and shareholders. Overall, this study provides some of the first systematic evidence on explicit bilateral contracts between firms and shareholders.
High‐Intensity Drinking in Adult Australian Twins
Authors: Dash Genevieve F. , Davis Christal N. , Martin Nicholas G. , Statham Dixie J. , Lynskey Michael T. , Slutske Wendy S.
Published: January 2020

Background

Many adult drinkers consume far beyond the binge threshold. This “high‐intensity drinking” (HID), defined as 2 (HID‐2) and 3 (HID‐3) times the binge threshold, is of public health interest due to its role in acute alcohol‐related harms. Research on HID has mostly been limited to college‐aged young adults, focused on contextual factors, and neglected the potential role of genetic influences on the propensity to engage in HID.

Methods

Structured diagnostic interviews assessing past‐year alcohol involvement were conducted with 3,785 individuals (1,365 men, 2,420 women; Mage = 32, range = 21 to 46), including 3,314 twins and 471 nontwin siblings from the Australian Twin Registry. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare HID‐2 and HID‐3 to binge drinking on demographic correlates, drinking characteristics, and drinking‐related consequences. Biometric modeling was conducted to estimate the role of genetic, common, and individual‐specific environmental factors in HID propensity.

Results

Among past‐year drinkers, the prevalence of HID‐2 and HID‐3 was both 22%, with men disproportionally represented. The frequencies of drinking, intoxication, and binge drinking significantly increased across the heavier drinking categories, which also evidenced higher average consumption quantities and higher rates of alcohol‐related consequences. The propensity to engage in HID was significantly heritable (A = 37% [95% CI: 28 to 46%]), with individual‐specific environmental influences accounting for the remainder of the variance.

Conclusions

This study convincingly demonstrates that HID is not restricted to college‐aged young adults, but also can be highly prevalent among those of working age, and that the propensity to engage in HID is partially explained by genetic influences.
Motor cortex dysfunction in problem gamblers
Authors: Chowdhury Nahian S. , Livesey Evan J. , Blaszczynski Alex , Harris Justin A.
Published: January 2020

Impairments in response inhibition have been implicated in gambling psychopathology. This behavioral impairment may suggest that the neural mechanisms involved in response inhibition, such as GABAA‐mediated neurotransmission in the primary motor cortex (M1), are also impaired. The present study obtained paired‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation markers of GABAA and glutamate receptor activity from the left M1 of three groups—problem gamblers (n = 17, 12 males), at‐risk gamblers (n = 29, 19 males), and controls (n = 23, six males)—with each group matched for alcohol use, substance use, and attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomology. Response inhibition was measured using the stop signal task. Results showed that problem gamblers had weaker M1 GABAA receptor activity relative to controls and elevated M1 glutamate receptor activity relative to at‐risk gamblers and controls. Although there were no differences in response inhibition between the groups, poorer response inhibition was correlated with weaker M1 GABAA receptor activity. These findings are the first to show that problem gambling is associated with alterations in M1 GABAA and glutamate‐mediated neurotransmission.
Minimal tissue excision in the treatment of pilonidal sinus disease: results from a single surgical unit
Authors: Rogers Peter , Platell Cameron , Levitt Michael
Published: January 2020

Background

Pilonidal sinus disease is a common surgical disorder for which a clearly superior corrective operation remains elusive. Recurrence after surgery requiring re‐operation is a frequent outcome. This retrospective study examines healing rates, recurrence rates and time to healing of a minimalist approach – employing deroofing of tracks, curettage and minimal skin excision – at one centre over the last decade.

Methods

The results of all minimal excision pilonidal sinus operations performed from 2005 to 2018 by two surgeons at one centre have been analysed retrospectively. Ethics approval for this study was granted by the St John of God Health Care Human Research Ethics Committee on 11 June 2018.

Results

A total of 84 patients were included in this study with 19 females and 65 males. The median age at operation was 22 years. Of the 84 total patients, 78 achieved primary healing (93%) with an average healing time of 55 days. Of those that healed, seven recurred with an average time to recurrence of 812 days.

Conclusion

In our study, minimal excision management of pilonidal sinus disease achieved primary healing in 93% with an average healing time of 55 days and a recurrence rate of 8%. These outcomes are similar, but not significantly inferior, to those reported for other surgical modalities of management. Given this, we suggest less invasive management may be a preferable first surgical option given smaller surgical intervention for similar outcomes.
Reading for Difference in the Archives of Tropical Geography: Imagining An(Other) Economic Geography for Beyond the Anthropocene
Authors: Gibson‐Graham J.K.
Published: January 2020

This paper is based on the 2016 Neil Smith Lecture presented at St Andrews University. It honours the work of a geographer whose pioneering work on uneven development and the complex relations between capitalism and nature shaped late 20thcentury thinking inside and beyond the discipline of Geography. Today the collision of earth system dynamics with socio‐economic dynamics is shaking apart Enlightenment knowledge systems, forcing questions of what it means to be a responsible inhabitant on planet earth and how, indeed, to go onwards “in a different mode of humanity”, to quote eco‐feminist philosopher Val Plumwood (2007;Australian Humanities Review42:1). “The Great Acceleration” since the 1950s of trends in key aspects of earth system health and socio‐economic change highlights powerful dynamics that have shaped a new geological epoch, contentiously named the Anthropocene—or more perhaps to Neil’s liking, the Capitalocene. In this paper I ask how might we do geographic research in these times? I reflect on this question by drawing on the feminist anti‐essentialist thinking strategy of reading for difference developed by J.K. Gibson‐Graham. I attempt to open up new ways of working with uncertain possibilities. I do so with reference to field research into place‐based knowledges of resilience in Monsoon Asia—a region that is experiencing increasingly uncertain and extreme “natural” events that signal Anthropogenic climate change. I return to “area studies” scholarship of Monsoon Asia conducted in the 1950s when the engines of economic change were starting to rev, fuelled by dire predictions of population explosion and the fear of communism. Like Neil, I am interested in the genealogy of geographical scholarship and the institutional contexts in which it developed and was influential. I look back to see how local knowledge was described and appreciated by two of our geographic forefathers and I consider how reading against the grain of capitalocentrism might play a role in making other worlds possible.
Food Insecurity and Depression among Economically Disadvantaged Mothers: Does Maternal Efficacy Matter?
Authors: Koury Abel J. , Dynia Jaclyn , Dore Rebecca , Logan Jessica A. R. , Purtell Kelly M. , Joy Elaine , Salsberry Pamela
Published: January 2020

Background

Nearly 13 million American children experience food insecurity. Research suggests that maternal depression is associated with food insecurity, such that mothers who experience depression are more likely to be food insecure. Maternal self‐efficacy may be an important protective factor against depression during the postpartum year, interrupting the link between depression and food insecurity. We extend prior research by examining food insecurity in households with infants and investigating the potential for maternal efficacy to moderate the relation between depression and food insecurity.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Kids in Columbus Study, a longitudinal study of diverse, economically disadvantaged mothers and their young children in Columbus, Ohio (N = 219). Data for this study were drawn from data collected between July 2014 and June 2016.

Results

Over one‐third of families experienced food insecurity. Further, depression was positively and significantly related to household food insecurity; this relationship, however, was dependent on maternal efficacy. When maternal efficacy was high, the relationship between depression and food insecurity was nonsignificant; when maternal efficacy was low, there was a significant, positive association between depression and food insecurity.

Conclusions

Increasing maternal self‐efficacy during the postpartum period may reduce food insecurity in low‐income mothers who are experiencing depression.