bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of capital structure of banks: evidence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Khan Shoaib , Bashir Usman , Islam Md. Saiful
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the most important factors that affect the capital structure of commercial banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses annual data of 11 Saudi commercial, national banks listed on the tadawul Saudi stock exchange for the period 2010–2017. Data was collected from the banks financial statements, tadawul annual publications and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. By constructing a balanced panel, this study uses pooled ordinary least squares regression along with fixed effects and random effects to examine the relationship between the bank’s book leverage as the dependent variable and bank-specific explanatory variables that include profitability, tangibility, earnings volatility, growth opportunities and bank size, while controlling for macroeconomic conditions.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that banks in Saudi Arabia are highly leveraged, endorsing the fact that the nature of banks’ business is different from non-banking firms. Earnings volatility, growth and bank size show positive and significant relations with book leverage. Profitability and tangibility are negatively related to the book leverage. Empirically, the explanatory variables profitability, earnings volatility, tangibility, growth and bank size have material effects on the capital structure decisions of Saudi commercial banks. In summary, the determinants of capital structure for Saudi banks are the same as those of non-financial firms but are distinctive in nature.

Research limitations/implications

An extensive study on all the banks operating in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is suggested.

Practical implications

The findings have practical implications for bank managers, which will help them to identify the bank-specific factors affecting the capital structure and choose the values enhancing optimal capital structure. The results of this study can assist regulatory agencies to formulate an effective regulatory framework. Moreover, the findings lay a foundation for the development of financial sector under the umbrella of the Vision 2030 program in the Kingdom.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the factors affecting the capital structure choices of commercial banks operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the findings of the study would prove useful in detailed studies of capital structure in the GCC countries as well.
Guardians of public interest: the expectation and experience of non-executive directors in National Health Service commissioning boards in England
Authors: Tweed Joy , Wallace Louise M.
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to examine how Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) in the English National Health Service (NHS) commissioning bodies experienced their role and contribution to governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 31 NEDs of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and 8 Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) NEDs. Framework analysis was applied using a conceptualisation of governance developed by Newman, which has four models of governance: the hierarchy, self-governance, open systems and rational goal model.

Findings

NEDs saw themselves as guardians of the public interest. NEDs’ power is a product of the explicit levers set out in the constitution of the board, but also how they choose to use their knowledge and expertise to influence decisions for, as they see it, the public good. They contribute to governance by holding to account executive and professional colleagues, acting largely within the rational goal model. CCG NEDs felt less powerful than in those in PCTs, operating largely in conformance and representational roles, even though government policy appears to be moving towards a more networked, open systems model.

Originality/value

This is the first in-depth study of NEDs in English NHS local commissioning bodies. It is of value in helping to inform how the NED role could be enhanced to make a wider contribution to healthcare leadership as new systems are established in the UK and beyond.
The development of a performance measurement system for indirect procurement: a Delphi study
Authors: Darom Michail , Plant Eoin
Published: November 2020

Purpose

This study aims to address the current gap in knowledge of indirect procurement performance management. It attempts to argue the need for a specific and tailored performance management approach for the indirect procurement function that incorporates a balanced approach, beyond financial measures.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study approach evaluated key performance indicators from a balanced scorecard (BSC) perspective in the development of a performance measurement system (PMS) for a Middle Eastern university’s indirect procurement division. It initially reviewed the literature to assess potential indicators for this context. It used vision and mission statement analysis alongside expert interviews to augment the literature. The candidate indicators were then evaluated and ranked by an expert panel through applying a four-round Delphi technique.

Findings

Twenty-nine procurement-specific indicators are suggested in a BSC framework. The five highest-ranked indicators were not in the financial perspective unlike other BSC studies in the broader field of supply chain management (SCM).

Practical implications

The study suggests a framework and indicators for a procurement PMS for practitioners to consider. It also highlights there is no one-size-fits-all and that organisations need to tailor PM to the organisation and divisional strategy and operational needs. This study aids the development of guidelines for executives and procurement management that wish to develop indicators and a PMS.

Originality/value

This study contributes to knowledge by partly addressing the under-researched field of indirect procurement PM. The literature suggested that various roles in SCM require specific PM indicators. This study puts forward a BSC framework with 29 indicators specifically for indirect procurement. Fourteen of these indicators were derived from non-literature sources. This study enhances knowledge and contributes to the limited debate and evidence on indirect procurement PM and the broader PM literature.
Enabling processes as routines that facilitate cognitive change
Authors: Jammulamadaka Nimruji
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of capacity building in reverse mentoring as an enabling routine in bringing about changes in cognitions and capabilities for strategy formulation/implementation and organisational change.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on an action research case study of a reverse mentoring initiative for digital transformation in a large metal multinational based in India. The capacity-building action research was carried out during a consultancy project.

Findings

Top management team (TMT) change does not always provide the route to change in managerial cognition. Sometimes the TMT has to develop cognitive changes and new cognitions through learning and engage in way-finding to formulate/implement a strategy. Such learning requires routines, here digital reverse mentoring with capacity-building intervention, to enable development of personal knowledge (Eraut, 2000), along with cognitive changes, leading to development of capabilities. Such capacity-building routines serve as the enabling processes that facilitate learning and cognitive change.

Research limitations/implications

This study demonstrates the value of enabling process routines to facilitate learning and cognition change in bridging strategy implementation and change. It also suggests the need to look at a strategy as way-finding in order to better understand the gap between strategy formulation, implementation and change.

Practical implications

The study suggests the need for development of learning and cognition change routines as enabling processes in firms and provides insights into how old economy firms may adapt to digital era.

Originality/value

This study documents the routine of digital reverse mentoring as an enabling process for strategy development/implementation.
The stronger, the better? A natural experiment on the effects of pepper spray concentration levels
Authors: Boivin Rémi , Tanguay Caroline
Published: November 2020

Purpose

Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray has proven to be a relatively effective tool to subdue resistant or aggressive subjects without causing major and permanent injuries. Several products are available to law enforcement organizations and sprays with higher concentrations are sold as more effective, despite the lack of empirical evidence. This article aims to test the proposition that more concentrated OC sprays are more effective in a policing context.

Design/methodology/approach

To test this proposition, retrospective data on police interventions that had occurred (N = 1,019) were used. Concentrations were divided in three levels: level 1 sprays (containing up to 0.49% of major capsaicinoids), level 2 sprays (from 0.5% to 0.99%) and level 3 sprays (between 1 and 1.33%). Propensity scores were calculated to estimate the average effect of concentration level on effectiveness, while controlling for confounding factors.

Findings

Level 1 and level 2 sprays were found to be similar in terms of effectiveness, but level 3 sprays were found to be more likely to have an immediate effect but were also related to higher chances that decontamination was needed after use.

Originality/value

While several studies of the effectiveness of OC spray in general have been conducted in the past, this is one of the few to differentiate types of OC sprays according to their concentration level. As such, it aims to provide guidance to police organizations who must choose among a variety of products.
Supervisor bottom-line mentality and subordinates' unethical pro-organizational behavior
Authors: Farasat Mobina , Azam Akbar
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The multitude of high-profile corporate scandals has prompted the need for more nuanced understanding of factors within organizations that may influence unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). Based on the social cognitive theory, this study aims to examine the impact of supervisor bottom-line mentality (BLM) on unethical, but pro-organizational conduct by employees through moral disengagement. Additionally, this study examines the moderating role of employee mindfulness in relation of supervisor BLM and moral disengagement.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the study model, the authors collected data from 198 employees working in various Pakistani firms. This study uses PROCESS procedures for the analysis.

Findings

Analyses of time-lagged data showed that (1) supervisor BLM can lead to employee UPB through employee moral disengagement and (2) mindfulness moderated this relationship, such that high (versus low) mindfulness attenuates the link between supervisor BLM and moral disengagement.

Originality/value

This study adds to the extant research by examining how and when supervisor BLM leads to employee UPB. This is the first attempt to examine how supervisor BLM and trait mindfulness jointly determine moral disengagement, which drives UPB.
Systematic classification of maternal and fetal intervention‐related complications following open fetal myelomeningocele repair – results from a large prospective cohort
Authors: Vonzun L , Kahr MK , Noll F , Mazzone L , Moehrlen U , Meuli M , Hüsler M , Krähenmann F , Zimmermann R , Ochsenbein‐Kölble N
Published: November 2020

Objective

To systematically categorise all maternal and fetal intervention‐related complications after open fetal myelomeningocele (fMMC) repair of the first 124 cases operated at the Zurich Centre for Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy.

Design

A prospective cohort study.

Setting

Single centre.

Population

Mothers and fetuses after fMMC repair.

Methods

Between 2010 and 2019, we collected and entered all maternal complications following fMMC repair into the Clavien–Dindo classification. For fetal complications, a classification system based on the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities terminology of Adverse Events was used including the preterm definitions of the World Health Organization.

Main outcome measures

Systematic classification of maternal and fetal complications following fMMC repair.

Results

Gestational ages at surgery and birth were 25.0 ± 0.8 and 35.4 ± 2.0 weeks, respectively. In 17% of all cases, no maternal complications occurred. Maternal intervention‐related complications were observed as follows: 69% grade 1, 36% grade 2, 25% grade 3, 6% grade 4 and 0% grade 5. In 34%, no fetal complications were noted; however, 43% of the fetuses developed a grade 1, 14% a grade 2, 8% a grade 3, 2% a grade 4 and 2% a grade 5 complication.

Conclusion

This study raises awareness of complications following open fMMC repair; 6% of mothers and 2% of fetuses experienced a severe complication (grade 4) and perinatal death rate of 2% was observed (grade 5). These data are useful for prenatal counselling, they help to improve the system of fetal surgical care, and they allow benchmarking with other centres as well as comparison with fetoscopic approaches.

Tweetable abstract

Systematic classification of all maternal and fetal intervention‐related complications following open fMMC repair.
Effects of wheat flour particle size on physicochemical properties and quality of noodles
Authors: Guan Erqi , Pang Jinyue , Yang Yuling , Zhang Tingjing , Li Mengmeng , Bian Ke
Published: November 2020

The effect of particle size on the physicochemical and noodle quality of wheat flours was investigated. Granular wheat flour was ground by adjusting the distance between the rolls (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.1 mm) of the flour mill to obtain wheat flour in five different particle sizes. The results showed that milling intensity significantly reduced the particle size and increased the damaged starch content and sedimentation value, but there were no significant differences in protein or ash contents. The reduction of wheat flour particle size significantly decreased the peak viscosity, trough viscosity, final viscosity, breakdown, and setback of the blends, while there were no significant differences in pasting temperature. Stress relaxation characteristics indicated that as the particle size of wheat flour decreased, dough hardness increased. The noodles made from wheat flour with a smaller particle size had a higher water absorption rate and cooking loss rate. Textural profile analysis parameters showed that as the particle size of wheat flour decreased, the hardness, chewiness, recovery, and adhesiveness of noodles showed increasing trends, and there was no significant difference in elasticity. In summary, it is found that the quality of the noodles made by sample C (D50: 78.47 µm) is better.
Electrophysiologically verified effects of acupuncture on diabetic peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes: The randomized, partially double‐blinded, controlled ACUDIN trial
Authors: Meyer‐Hamme Gesa , Friedemann Thomas , Greten Johannes , Gerloff Christian , Schroeder Sven
Published: November 2020

Background

Acupuncture is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), but data from randomized controlled trials are rare.

Methods

This randomized, placebo‐controlled, partially double‐blinded clinical trial randomly assigned adults with confirmed type 2 diabetes‐induced DPN to receive 10 sessions of needle acupuncture, laser acupuncture, or placebo laser acupuncture for 10 consecutive weeks. Treatment was provided at bilateral acupoints Ex‐LE‐10 (Bafeng), Ex‐LE‐12 (Qiduan), and ST‐34 (Lianqiu).

Neurological assessments, including nerve conduction studies (NCS) of sural and tibial nerves, were performed at baseline and weeks 6 and 15. Primary outcome was delta of sural sensory nerve action potential (SNAP). Secondary outcomes included further NCS values, clinical scores, and patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Results

Of 180 participants, 172 completed the study. Sural SNAP and sural and tibial nerve conduction velocities improved significantly after 10 treatments when comparing needle acupuncture to placebo. Needle acupuncture showed earlier onset of action than laser acupuncture. PROMs showed larger improvements following needle and laser acupuncture than placebo, reaching significant differences for hyperesthesia and cramps following needle acupuncture and for heat sensation following laser acupuncture.

Conclusions

Classical needle acupuncture had significant effects on DPN. Improvement in NCS values presumably indicates structural neuroregeneration following acupuncture.
Does science–industry cooperation policy enhance corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms
Authors: Xu Rong , Li Conggang , Cao Cong , Fang Minghao
Published: November 2020

We examine science–industry collaborations by identifying how academician workstations – joint platforms by listed firms and academicians under provincial governments – influence corporate innovation. We discover that academician workstations (i) significantly increase firms’ innovation input, quality and efficiency, even after controlling for endogeneity issues; (ii) primarily promote corporate innovation by attracting more talented human capital rather than through funding support; and (iii) are even more significant among state‐owned companies and large companies. These results indicate that government policies on bridging the gap between star scientists and firms could be an important non‐financial incentive to partially explain China’s rapidly growing capacity for innovation.
Trust and the value of CSR during the global financial crisis
Authors: Berkman Henk , Li Michelle , Lu Helen
Published: November 2020

Lins, Servaes and Tamayo (2017) (LST) show that during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) US firms with high corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings increased in value relative to firms with low CSR ratings. Our study raises questions about the internal and external validity of the inferences in LST. For a similar sample of US stocks, we find no evidence that high CSR firms outperformed low CSR firms during the GFC when we use a calendar‐time portfolio analysis that controls for industry, or uses value‐weighted portfolios. For a sample of Japanese stocks, we also fail to confirm the results reported in LST.
COVID‐19 and the Demand for Online Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan
Authors: Chang Hung‐Hao , Meyerhoefer Chad D.
Published: November 2020

We investigate how the coronavirus pandemic affected the demand for online food shopping services using data from the largest agri‐food e‐commerce platform in Taiwan. We find that an additional confirmed case of COVID‐19 increased sales by 5.7% and the number of customers by 4.9%. The demand for grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, and frozen foods increased the most, which benefited small farms over agribusinesses. The variety of products sold on the e‐commerce platform also increased during the pandemic, which suggests the concentration of sales on niche products could increase as more consumers are drawn to online platforms. Our investigation of mechanisms for the shift to online food shopping indicates that sales were highly responsive to COVID‐19 media coverage and online content.
Diagnosis of chronic endometritis: How many CD138+ cells/HPF in endometrial stroma affect pregnancy outcome of infertile women?
Authors: Li Yuye , Xu Shiru , Yu Shuyi , Huang Chunyu , Lin Shenglai , Chen Wanru , Mo Meilan , Lian Ruochun , Diao Lianghui , Ding Lijun , Zeng Yong
Published: November 2020

Problem

The definition of chronic endometritis (CE) differs among studies, and currently, there is no accepted consensus. This study aimed to establish the minimum number of immunohistochemical analysis of CD138+ plasma cells to identify a clinically relevant CE.

Method of study

We performed a retrospective study on 716 infertile patients who never did CE analysis and respective antibiotic treatment before. Samples were obtained by endometrial scratching in the mid‐luteal phase before IVF‐ET treatment. The number and distribution of CD138+ cells were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Thirty high‐power fields (HPF) were evaluated for each sample. Patients were classified in 2 main groups: (a) CD138low (<5 CD138+ cells in all HPFs), (b) CD138high (≥5 CD138+ cells in at least one HPF). Pregnancy outcome was compared among the groups.

Results

In the CD138high group, β‐hCG positive rate, clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate were significantly decreased (P = .04, P = .01, P = .04, respectively). Also after adjusting for patient age, body mass index (BMI), and clinical characteristics, the β‐hCG positive rate (P = .05), clinical pregnancy rate (P = .01) and live birth rate (P = .02) were significantly lower in the CD138high than those in the CD138low group. Within the CD138low group, these parameters were not significantly different between patients without any plasma cells and patients with up to 4 plasma cells/HPF.

Conclusion

We conclude that immunohistochemical analysis of CD138+ cells is a reliable method to detect CE which can be identified by the presence of ≥5 plasma cells in at least one out of 30 HPF.
How Political Parties Shape Public Opinion in the Real World
Authors: Slothuus Rune , Bisgaard Martin
Published: November 2020

How powerful are political parties in shaping citizens' opinions? Despite long‐standing interest in the flow of influence between partisan elites and citizens, few studies to date examine how citizens react when their party changes its position on a major issue in the real world. We present a rare quasi‐experimental panel study of how citizens responded when their political party suddenly reversed its position on two major and salient welfare issues in Denmark. With a five‐wave panel survey collected just around these two events, we show that citizens' policy opinions changed immediately and substantially when their party switched its policy position—even when the new position went against citizens' previously held views. These findings advance the current, largely experimental literature on partisan elite influence.
Airway immune mediator levels during asthma‐like symptoms in young children and their possible role in response to azithromycin
Authors: Carlsson Christian J. , Rasmussen Morten A. , Pedersen Susanne B. , Wang Ni , Stokholm Jakob , Chawes Bo L. , Bønnelykke Klaus , Bisgaard Hans
Published: November 2020

Background

Asthma‐like symptoms in young children are orchestrated by the local airway immune response, but current knowledge largely relies on in vitro airway models. Azithromycin has been shown to reduce the duration of episodes with asthma‐like symptoms, but efficacy may depend on the individual child's immune response.

Objectives

To investigate in vivo upper airway immune mediator levels during episodes with asthma‐like symptoms in young children and their ability to predict the clinical response to azithromycin treatment.

Methods

A total of 535 children aged 0‐3 years from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies of Asthma in Childhood‐2010 mother‐child cohort were examined for immune mediator levels in samples of nasal epithelial lining fluid during episodes with asthma‐like symptoms as well as in the asymptomatic state. In a sub‐study, children with recurrent asthma‐like symptoms were randomized to either a 3‐day course of oral azithromycin (10 mg/kg; n = 32) or placebo (n = 38). In the current study, we compared the pretreatment immune mediator levels with the clinical response to treatment with azithromycin in an exploratory post hoc analysis.

Results

The immune mediator concentrations during vs outside episodes were significantly upregulated for IFN‐ɣ (ratio 1.73), TNF‐α (ratio 2.05), IL‐1β (ratio 1.45), IL‐10 (ratio 1.97), while CCL22 (ratio 0.65) was downregulated. Low levels of TNF‐α and IL‐10 and high levels of CCL22 predicted better treatment response to azithromycin (P‐values < .05).

Conclusion

Upper airway immune mediator levels were altered during episodes of asthma‐like symptoms, and levels of TNF‐α, CCL22, and IL‐10 may predict the response to azithromycin treatment.
A systematic review of reporting quality for anaesthetic interventions in randomised controlled trials
Authors: Elliott L. , Coulman K. , Blencowe N. S. , Qureshi M. I. , Lee K. S. , Hinchliffe R. J. , Mouton R.
Published: November 2020

Interventions from randomised controlled trials can only be replicated if they are reported in sufficient detail. The results of trials can only be confidently interpreted if the delivery of the intervention was systematic and the protocol adhered to. We systematically reviewed trials of anaesthetic interventions published in 12 journals from January 2016 to September 2019. We assessed the detail with which interventions were reported, using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement for non‐pharmacological treatments. We analysed 162 interventions reported by 78 trials in 18,675 participants. Detail sufficiently precise to replicate the intervention was reported for 111 (69%) interventions. Intervention standardisation was reported for 135 (83%) out of the 162 interventions, and protocol adherence was reported for 20 (12%) interventions. Sixty (77%) out of the 78 trials reported the administrative context in which interventions were delivered and 36 (46%) trials detailed the expertise of the practitioners. We conclude that bespoke reporting tools should be developed for anaesthetic interventions and interventions in other areas such as critical care.
The Bureaucrat’s Wage: (De)Valuations of Work in an Irrigation Bureaucracy
Authors: Hayat Maira
Published: November 2020

Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted in Pakistan’s Punjab, the country’s agricultural heartland and home to the world’s largest contiguous irrigation network, this essay posits a structure of feeling of devaluation among officials of an irrigation department. It examines everyday practices of supplementing salaries, anti‐corruption measures, World Bank intervention, and officials’ efforts for an enhancement of the bureaucratic scale and refusals of work. It argues that alienation from official roles, erosion of authority, knowledge practices amid patchy information, and ill will vis‐à‐vis donor organizations cohere as a structure of feeling of devaluation. The devaluation is inflected by individual career trajectories, challenged, and deepened even as quotidian corruption yields gains. Examining corruption as part of the labor process, the essay expands the scholarly lexicon of corruption and bureaucratic work.
950. XYLOOLAENA PERRIERI
Authors: Rabehevitra David
Published: November 2020

Xyloolaena perrieriF. Gérard belongs to the Sarcolaenaceae, the largest Madagascar endemic plant family. It is illustrated here, and its habitat and conservation status are discussed. As explained below, the spelling of the generic nameXylolaenais sometimes preferred over the commonly usedXyloolaena.
CYNORKIS PREHSLERI
Authors: Hermans Johan
Published: November 2020

A full description and detailed illustration are provided for the new species Cynorkis prehsleri Hermans & Sieder (Fig. 1.) from Northern Madagascar and it is compared with similar Cynorkis from the region.
GASTRODIA AGNICELLUS
Authors: Hermans Johan
Published: November 2020

The new orchid, Gastrodia agnicellus from Madagascar is described for the first time and compared with similar species from the region. Its unusual holomycotrophic habit and flowering beneath leaf humus are discussed; a full description and detailed illustration are provided.
Diagnostic approach to paediatric movement disorders: a clinical practice guide
Authors: Brandsma Rick , van Egmond Martje E , Tijssen Marina A J ,   the Groningen Movement Disorder Expertise Centre
Published: November 2020

Paediatric movement disorders (PMDs) comprise a large group of disorders (tics, myoclonus, tremor, dystonia, chorea, Parkinsonism, ataxia), often with mixed phenotypes. Determination of the underlying aetiology can be difficult given the broad differential diagnosis and the complexity of the genotype–phenotype relationships. This can make the diagnostic process time‐consuming and difficult. In this overview, we present a diagnostic approach for PMDs, with emphasis on genetic causes. This approach can serve as a framework to lead the clinician through the diagnostic process in eight consecutive steps, including recognition of the different movement disorders, identification of a clinical syndrome, consideration of acquired causes, genetic testing including next‐generation sequencing, post‐sequencing phenotyping, and interpretation of test results. The aim of this approach is to increase the recognition and diagnostic yield in PMDs.

What this paper adds

An up‐to‐date description and diagnostic framework for testing of paediatric movement disorders is presented.

The framework helps to determine which patients will benefit from next‐generation sequencing.
Shielded against risk? European donor co‐ordination in Palestine
Authors: Orbie Jan , Opsomer Viktor , Williams Yentyl , Delputte Sarah , Verschaeve Joren
Published: November 2020

Motivation

There is a wide‐ranging consensus that co‐ordination in development policy is needed for aid effectiveness. However, our research reveals a number of surprising and significant gaps in existing scholarship. Development co‐ordination in Palestine has not been researched and the phenomenon of aid co‐ordination as “shielding” against domestic contestation remains underexamined.

Purpose

This article aims to provide a better understanding of the “risk shielding” dynamic in European development co‐ordination through four case studies. It envisages theoretical insights on the “shield effect” and specifically: (a) how cracks may entail co‐ordination collapse; and (b) which conditions influence the continuation of such donor co‐ordination schemes.

Approach and methods

The pragmatic and inductive research strategy is based on 74 expert interviews in Jerusalem and Ramallah in 2017 and 2019, which are triangulated with primary sources, existing evaluations, verification meetings and secondary literature. We examine four cases that vary in terms of successfulness. Coincidental variation between and within the cases allows us to infer theoretical insights.

Findings

While donor co‐ordination in Palestine has often been pursued in order to shield against contestation, an opposite dynamic can also emerge whereby one donor succumbs to pressures and thereby contaminates the entire donor group. Our article provides an empirically grounded theorization of co‐ordination schemes’ sustainability by identifying: (a) a five‐stage script of how domestic contestation may erode the shield; and (b) three conditions for sustainable co‐ordination. Finally, we make suggestions for further research, for instance from a politicization perspective.

Policy implications

Before engaging in far‐reaching co‐ordination schemes, donors should consider the possible impact of domestic contestation within fellow donors and the creation of additional protective belts through international organizations. While donor consortia seem to be useful shields against attacks, they may put a heavy burden on all donors involved. Donors that are confident about domestic support should therefore consider going it alone. While Palestine constitutes a unique context, we expect that domestic contestation of aid will grow and hence that the “shielding” purpose will become increasingly relevant.
Interactions between oxidative stress and attractiveness to mates and individual mate choice in the beetle Tenebrio molitor
Authors: Ruiz‐Guzmán Gloria , Cordero‐Molina Sagrario , Krams Indrikis , Contreras‐Garduño Jorge
Published: November 2020

Male mating signals are sexual traits that may provide females with information about the physiological quality of the individual. Males of the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, use pheromones to attract mating partners. The level of pheromone production in males has been identified as a signal of the male condition. We tested whether male sex pheromones also signal the oxidative stress status of their bearers. We used the herbicide paraquat to manipulate the oxidative stress status of individual beetles. We found that healthy males and females preferred healthy mates to those experiencing oxidative stress. If the individual choosing mates was experiencing oxidative stress, females but not males maintained their preference for healthy mating partners. Our study demonstrates a chemical signal indicating the oxidative stress status of a potential partner and reveals that the decisions based on this signal depend upon the condition and gender of the individual making a choice.
Lessons From the Field: Graduate Student–Faculty Mentoring in Family Science
Authors: Almond Lindsey , Parson Laura , Resor Jessica
Published: November 2020

Objective

We examine research related to effective mentoring relationships for graduate students.

Background

Graduate mentoring, comprising educational, professional, and psychosocial development, plays a crucial role in graduate students' successful completion of their degrees. Effective mentor relationships can increase academic satisfaction, increase retention, keep graduate students on time to graduate, and have positive influences on future career goals.

Methods

We conducted a literature review of 14 articles to examine graduate mentoring and make recommendations for family science graduate education.

Results

Five major themes emerged: aspects of effective mentorships, choosing a mentor, characteristics of a successful mentor, diverse graduate students, and online mentoring.

Conclusions

We discuss future research suggestions including the need for research on discipline‐specific mentoring and the call for more writings on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Implications

These findings have implications for family science as organizations create mentoring approaches, universities increase remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and diversity remains important in the field.
Soft computing methods for fatigue life estimation: A review of the current state and future trends
Authors: Kalayci Can B. , Karagoz Sevcan , Karakas Özler
Published: November 2020

Fatigue causes cracking or breakage in a material due to repeated loads; it causes the material to become unusable. Therefore, knowing the fatigue life of materials is crucial for the implementation of designs, economy and human life. Soft computing methodologies, a subset of artificial intelligence emerging to simulate human intelligence, deal with approximate models and seek solutions to complex real‐life problems relying on both computational power of machines and the high accuracy of the algorithms. In this study, soft computing methods adapted for estimating/predicting the fatigue life of engineering structures and materials are investigated. For this purpose, 95 articles published between 1995 and 2020 have been examined in detail. With this review, it is aimed to reveal the efficiency of soft computing methods and contribute to their development. Recommendations have been made to draw attention to these methodologies which are expected to be used in many areas in the future.
Writing multi‐vocal intersectionality in times of crisis
Authors: Einola Katja , Elkina Anna , Gao Grace , Hambleton Jennifer , Kaasila‐Pakanen Anna‐Liisa , Mandalaki Emmanouela , Zhang Ling Eleanor , Pullen Alison
Published: November 2020

This article is a multi‐vocal account, a form of writing differently, which captures our changing lives and livelihoods under the present global health crisis. Through the process of writing, we create a safe space to understand how the COVID‐19 pandemic exposes our gendered, intersectional lives. Our writing gives voice to suppressed thoughts and embodied affects as they surface in relation to entrenched structural inequalities where we witness the marginalization of intersectional difference, in our case women, the feminine, and race in academia and neoliberal society. By rendering visible the structural inequalities that have become amplified during the pandemic, and the ways in which these inequalities have affected our everyday lives, we are able to give witness to intersectional differences. Our multi‐vocal embodied text is offered as an emancipatory, affective mobilization of our lives, encompassing feelings of grief, loss, fear, anger, frustration, and vulnerability. This collective piece of writing gives rise to solidarity in a crisis‐stricken world where we choose to live with hope.
Writing for survival (… and to breathe)
Authors: Silva Caroline Rodrigues
Published: November 2020

I write from my perspective, the perspective of a Black Brazilian woman. From this perspective, I transpose the act of writing in order to survive (… and breathe). A piece of writing, writing that is laden with love, pain, daily experiences, and experiments. "Escrevivência” as writing from the experience of a Black Brazilian woman—sensibilities happen with/in my body in the encounter with the structures of the world. Subversive, insubordinate, and disobedient to the injustices of the world. This work believes that academia and research are potent in contributing to this struggle together with a subversive praxis and the strength of everyday micro‐practices. Take a breath we keep surviving.
The quality of other assurance services supplied by accounting firms: Evidence from independent expert reports
Authors: Bedford Anna , Bugeja Martin , Ghannam Samir , Ma Nelson
Published: November 2020

Recent concern has been expressed regarding accounting firms reducing the quality of their assurance services (statutory audit and other assurance services) to gain cross‐selling opportunities. While prior studies have focused on the quality of statutory audits, our study examines the quality of other assurance services, in the form of independent expert opinions provided to target firms in Australian takeovers. Specifically, this setting allows us to observe any dissent or consensus in opinions between the accounting firms and their clients regarding the fairness of a takeover offer price, the quality of the independent expert report (valuation range), and fees charged for their services. Our results are inconsistent with accounting firms providing lower quality independent expert reports. However, non–Big 4 accounting firms charge lower fees for their independent expert reports compared to other providers, consistent with potential incentives to cross‐sell future services.
Integration of thought and action continued: Scale errors and categorization in toddlers
Authors: Arterberry Martha E. , Hespos Susan J. , Walsh Cole A. , Daniels Carolyn I.
Published: November 2020

To further explore the effect of weighted arms on toddler's performance in problem solving (Arterberry et al., 2018,Infancy, 23(2), 173), the present study explored scale errors and categorization, two instances where infants appear to show more advanced knowledge than toddlers. Experiment 1 (N = 67) used a novel task for inducing scale errors among 24‐ to 29‐month‐olds. Results replicated rates of scale errors found in previous research that used different tasks. Experiment 2 used sequential touching (N = 31) and sorting measures (N = 23) to test categorization in 24‐month‐old children. In both measures, children showed categorization at the basic level when there was high contrast between the exemplars, but not at a basic level with low contrast or a subordinate level. In Experiments 1 and 2, half the participants were tested while wearing weighted wristbands. Weighting the arms did not affect error rates, in contrast to previous research showing that weights improved performance in search tasks. The findings are discussed in light of children's difficulty in integrating perception, cognition, and action.
Volatility and returns: Evidence from China†
Authors: Chi Yeguang , Qiao Xiao , Yan Sibo , Deng Binbin
Published: November 2020

Size, value, and momentum factors and industry portfolios in the Chinese A‐share stock market tend to have higher returns in the months following high volatility. Due to this positive relationship between lagged volatility and returns, volatility‐managed portfolios of Moreira and Muir (Volatility‐managed portfolios. Journal of Finance, 72, 1611–1644), which reduce portfolio exposure when volatility is high, are spanned by the original portfolios and do not improve the investor's opportunity set. Volatility‐scaled portfolios, which increase portfolio exposure in volatile times, are not spanned by the original portfolios and expand the investor's opportunity set. The investor's mean–variance frontier shifts into more desirable regions when volatility‐scaled portfolios are included.
Domain walls in ferroelectrics
Authors: Mantri Sukriti , Daniels John
Published: November 2020

Spontaneous unit‐cell deformation accompanies spontaneous polarization in perovskite ferroelectrics, thereby making it energetically favorable for domain walls to form on particular planes that satisfy mechanical compatibility. Historically, domain walls are found analytically, solving for walls with compatible strains within the wall plane. However, analytical solutions do not give any information about relative energetics of nonideal domain walls. Here, the orientation of the most favorable domain walls and the relative energetics of nonideal domain walls are predicted by calculating strain mismatch and charge discontinuity over all possible domain wall orientations. This is done for common ferroelectric phase symmetries of tetragonal, rhombohedral, orthorhombic, and monoclinic type. In tetragonal and rhombohedral symmetry, the domain walls are independent of any external stimulus as long as the symmetry is maintained. In orthorhombic and monoclinic symmetry, the orientation of certain mechanically permissible domain walls changes with temperature and/or electric field as the unit cell distorts, while others do not. Additionally, in monoclinic systems, domain wall planes are shown to exist that are not perfectly permissible but are very close to permissible, thus, these walls were not found by prior analytical methods. The visualization of strain compatibility of all the domain walls makes it easy to see precisely on which planes domain walls are expected or not expected and how the domain walls change their orientation under the effect of external stimulus. Such an analysis can also be used to investigate the relative and changing energetics of nonideal domain walls in systems under thermal, compositional, electrical, and mechanical stimuli.
Erosion behavior of Y2O3 in fluorine‐based etching plasmas: Orientation dependency and reaction layer formation
Authors: Kindelmann Moritz , Stamminger Mark , Schön Nino , Rasinski Marcin , Eichel Rüdiger‐A. , Hausen Florian , Bram Martin , Guillon Olivier
Published: November 2020

Even though advanced ceramics are widely applied as consumables in semiconductor etching processes, the erosion mechanisms and connected surface phenomena are not fully understood. Through the interaction with reactive species and ion bombardment during the plasma exposure, oxide ceramic materials like Y2O3 are eroded by a physicochemical mechanism. In this study, fundamental phenomena of surface‐plasma interactions were investigated directly at the surface as well as in the near‐surface region after exposure to fluorine‐based etching plasmas. A straightforward re‐localization technique was used to investigate the microstructural features before and after the plasma exposure for up to 2 hours. Electron microscopy methods (scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction) were coupled with atomic force microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy to study the surface topography and the corresponding reaction layer. Direct correlation of the microstructure before plasma exposure with the surface topography reveals a novel orientation‐dependent erosion mechanism that forms plateau‐like structures. Furthermore, the in‐depth analysis of the near‐surface area highlights the influence of the applied bias voltage on the physical damage and chemical gradient formation due to plasma exposure. The combined investigation of surface morphology and near‐surface properties reveals new fundamental aspects of the erosion behavior of polycrystalline yttria in CF4‐based etching plasmas.
Boron nitride adsorbents with sea urchin‐like structures for enhanced adsorption performance
Authors: Liu Zhaowei , Zhao Kang , Li Dan , Tang Yufei
Published: November 2020

Water pollution, especially caused by organic pollutants, seriously affects people's health and even threatens life. Boron nitride (BN) adsorbents with unique sea urchin‐like structures were fabricated after low‐temperature treatment, freeze–drying, and high‐temperature calcination. Results indicated that the sea urchin‐like structure was a combination of fibers spreading outward from the center to its surroundings. As the temperature difference was gradually increased in the low‐temperature treatment, the diameter of the sea urchin‐like structure decreased and the Brunner‐Emmett‐Teller surface area increased. The adsorbents showed efficient adsorption rates and excellent reusability for dyes and antibiotics. Specifically, the maximum adsorption capacities for methylene blue and tetracycline were higher than those described in most of the literature, reaching 592.37 and 369.79 mg/g, respectively. This may have be attributed to the sea urchin‐like structure of the porous fibers able to trap organic pollutants in the center, which showed strong intermolecular interactions with organic pollutants, that is, π–π bond binding force and acid‐base complexation. The obtained BN adsorbents with sea urchin‐like structures have great applicability in areas where organic pollutant adsorption is prevalent.
Phase evolution, crystal structure, and microwave dielectric properties of gillespite‐type ceramics
Authors: Song Xiao‐Qiang , Lei Wen , Wang Fei , Chen Tao , Ta Shi‐Wo , Fu Zhen‐Xiao , Lu Wen‐Zhong
Published: November 2020

A gillespite‐structured MCuSi4O10 (M = Ba1‐xSrx, Sr1‐xCax) ceramics with tetrahedral structure (P4/ncc) were prepared by solid‐state reaction method. X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetry with differential scanning calorimetry (TG‐DSC) were employed to study the phase synthesis process of BaCuSi4O10. Pure BaCuSi4O10 phase was obtained at 1075°C and decomposed into BaSiO3, BaCuSi2O6, and SiO2 when calcined at 1200°C. The relationships between the crystal structure and microwave dielectric properties of MCuSi4O10 ceramics were revealed based on the Rietveld refinement and P‐V‐L complex chemical bond theory. The dielectric constant (εr) decreased linearly with decreasing total bond susceptibility and ionic polarizability. Quality factor (Q × f) was closely dependent on bond strength and lattice energy. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf) was controlled by the stability of [CuO4]6− plane in MCuSi4O10. Optimum microwave dielectric properties were obtained for SrCuSi4O10 when sintered at 1100°C for 3 hours with a εr of 5.59, a Q × f value of 82 252 GHz, and a τf of −41.34 ppm/°C. Thus, SrCuSi4O10 is a good candidate for millimeter‐wave devices.