bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Digital transformation in financial services provision: a Nigerian perspective to the adoption of chatbot
Authors: Abdulquadri Abdulazeez , Mogaji Emmanuel , Kieu Tai Anh , Nguyen Nguyen Phong
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Recognising the high numbers of unbanked and financially excluded adults in Nigeria, this study aims to position chatbot as a digital transformation tool to radically change business model, improve customer experience and enhance financial inclusion in emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The Search-Access-Test (S-A-T) model was adopted to understand how Nigerian banks are adopting chatbots.

Findings

A majority of Nigerian banks now have chatbots that enhance customer engagement and financial inclusion. WhatsApp was the most frequently used platform. Chatbots were often branded and presented with female gender identification. The chatbots were less responsive beyond their predefined path. While Nigeria is a multilingual country with English being the original language, none of the chatbots used any of the Nigerian’s local languages.

Practical implications

Brands need to re-evaluate their chatbots with regard to responsiveness, predefined questions, verification and privacy. There are also possibilities of branding the chatbot and developing content creation strategies for proper engagement. Beyond English, the integration of African languages into chatbot is essential for digital transformation. Digital literacy and skills, particularly in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, should be supported to equip future developers and create more jobs.

Originality/value

While many theoretically based models for investigating the adoption of digital technologies have often placed focus on users’ ability to engage, this study takes an alternative perspective; by using the S-A-T model, it lays the responsibilities on the banks and chatbot developer to ensure that their chatbots are secure, responsive and able to meet the needs of the customers.
Ethnic diverse and financing choices affecting of business survival: a case study of New Zealand small- and medium-sized enterprises
Authors: Duppati Geeta , Scrimgeour Frank , Chancharat Surachai , Kijkasiwat Ploypailin
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how ethnic diversity and finance options impact the survival of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach

This study incorporates survey data and secondary data from the public domain. The surveys were conducted across six sectors of the economy categorised into four main ethnic groups involving six nationalities. This study adopts regression analysis using Probit, Logit and linear probability.

Findings

The financing choices of the entrepreneurs were consistent with pecking-order theory. The evidence suggests that information asymmetries are prevalent in New Zealand, as SMEs’ owners perceive significant risk from expanding businesses internationally. There is no relationship between ethnicity bias and the survival of firms.

Originality/value

This study provides a contribution to the literature on factors relating to business survival and guides the policymakers to use the benefits of potential factors to increase the survival rate of SMEs.
Uncertainty and nonlinear macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy in the US: a SEIVAR-based analysis
Authors: Belke Ansgar , Goemans Pascal
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the macroeconomic effects of government spending shocks vary with the degree of macroeconomic uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use quarterly US data from 1960 to 2017 and employ the Self-Exciting Interacted VAR (SEIVAR) to compute nonlinear generalized impulse response functions (GIRFs) to an orthogonalized government spending shock during tranquil and in uncertain times. The parsimonious design of the SEIVAR enables us to focus on extreme deciles of the uncertainty distribution and to control for the financing side of the government budget, monetary policy, financial frictions and consumer confidence.

Findings

Fiscal spending has positive output effects in tranquil times, but is contractionary during times of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. The results indicate an important role of the endogenous response of macroeconomic uncertainty. Investigating different government spending purposes, only increases in research and development expenditures reduce uncertainty and boost output during uncertain times.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature in using a method which allows to control for a large set of confounding factors and accounts for the uncertainty response.
Audit committee and financial reporting quality: the moderating effect of audit quality
Authors: Mardessi Sana
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to address the impact of audit quality on financial reporting quality proxied by real earnings management. To further clarify the mentioned links, this study empirically assesses the moderating effect of audit quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a sample consisting of 90 non-financial companies that are listed in the Amsterdam stock exchange in AEX all share index over the 2010–2017 period. This study applies a quantitative approach and secondary data as the main source of information for analysis. This paper performs an ordinary least squares regression to examine the moderating effect of audit quality on the relationship between financial reporting quality.

Findings

Empirical findings demonstrate that corporate governance mechanism, mainly independence members, financial expert and audit committee size has a statistically significant relationship with real earnings management. However, the effect of audit committee meetings on real earnings management is not significant. There is also evidence that audit quality moderates the audit committee – real earnings management links.

Originality/value

This study extends the existing literature by examining the moderating effect of audit quality on the relationship between financial reporting quality proxied by real earnings management in the Dutch context.
Mechanisms of money laundering obtained from cybercrime: the legal aspect
Authors: Nizovtsev Yuriy Yu. , Parfylo Oleg A. , Barabash Olha O. , Kyrenko Sergij G. , Smetanina Nataliia V.
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The use of computer technology to commit cyber laundering increases their social danger, creates new ways to commit cyber laundering, causes the masking of traces of cyber laundering and expands the geography of cyber laundering, while eliminating traditional state borders. That is why, the researched problems have a high level of relevance. The purpose of this research is to promote the spread of international standards in the field of combating money laundering, as well as an analysis of the mechanisms of money laundering obtained from cybercrime.

Design/methodology/approach

The leading methods that were used in the article for the purpose of conducting research were a number of general scientific methods, such as analysis and synthesis, deduction, induction, forecasting, modeling, analogy and a number of special methods of study and cognition, which include comparative legal, historical legal, formal legal and structural functional methods.

Findings

The main results prospects for further research and the applied value of the material. Large-scale cyber laundering of illegal income has long become a global problem that requires a solution from all states of the world, which means that these problems can only be overcome through active interstate cooperation.

Originality/value

The article analyzes inter alia the international legislation in the field of money laundering mechanisms obtained from cybercrime and examines the activities of international organizations in this area.
Coping with workplace ostracism through ability-based emotional intelligence
Authors: Ayub Arslan , Sultana Fatima , Iqbal Shahid , Abdullah Muhammad , Khan Nishwa
Published: May 2021

Purpose

With a basis in the conservation of resource (COR) theory, this study examines the relationship between workplace ostracism and job performance while also investigating the mediating role of defensive silence and the moderating role of emotional intelligence.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a multisource, three-wave data collection technique to gather data from employees and their peers working in Pakistan's service sector organizations. Data are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (v 3.2.7) to assess the measurement model and the structural model.

Findings

The findings reveal that the perception of workplace ostracism provokes self-avoidance strategy, defensive silence, which attenuates job performance. However, defensive silence's mediating role is mitigated if employees can draw from their emotional intelligence ability, which induces a self-regulation mechanism that curbs workplace ostracism's negative consequences.

Practical implications

The study demonstrates how employees in collectivist, high-power distance cultural settings may strategically choose silence by exercising emotional intelligence to enhance job performance.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few efforts that examined defensive silence in non-Western cultural settings. This is also the first study that examined emotional intelligence's role in the proposed moderated mediation framework.
The Tao of consumption: private self in a collective culture
Authors: Warden Clyde A. , Huang Stephen Chi-Tsun , Yen Wan-Hsuan , Chen Judy F.
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Collectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic consumption facets of consumers within a collectivist cultural setting, describing the compensating role servicescapes may play and the service marketing opportunities they present.

Design/methodology/approach

Within a Chinese cultural research frame, a qualitative grounded approach is adopted that surfaces subconscious metaphors of private consumption through photo elicitation, deep psychological metaphor elicitation and triangulated with field observation.

Findings

Individuals within a collectivist culture do actively seek private psychic space to regenerate the self and prepare for social obligations heavily influenced by Confucian norms. Servicescapes play an important role in private consumption as they provide both a physical and mental oasis of privacy not easily obtainable in regular life and work.

Practical implications

Service providers could offer East Asian consumers a package that includes the individual aspect of their value system, whenever and however they see suitable. More specifically, servicescapes can be designed to provide services that facilitate consumer restoration by implementing the mental metaphors consumers of have this process.

Social implications

A stereotype of a consumption has grown around Chinese consumers that while not totally false, misses a vital aspect of human values and risks missing profitable market niches. Consideration of the whole person's collective-individualistic cycle benefits both the consumer and the business.

Originality/value

Moving beyond a one-dimensional description of East Asian consumer behavior, focused on collective values, we show the key role servicescapes play in private consumption. A psychological renewal of the self, in preparation to re-enter the collective, show the multiple aspects of Asian consumers.
An empirical investigation of the relationship among agile manufacturing practices and business performance: a pilot study
Authors: Kumar Rahul , Singh Kanwarpreet , Jain Sanjiv Kumar
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Agility addresses vibrant solutions for running companies to meet the dares of customers asking for high quality and low- cost goods and services. The purpose of this study is to identify the practices for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing and measure their relationship with business performance measures of the manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for the pilot study were collected from 26 respondents through a questionnaire survey. After confirming the normality and reliability of the data, it was analyzed to examine the relationship between agile manufacturing practices and business performance measures.

Findings

The results show that there are strong relationships between agile manufacturing practices and business performance. Further, these attributes significantly contribute to delivering better business performance.

Originality/value

The study signifies the need for agile manufacturing in enhancing business performance for the growth and sustainability of the organization.
For whom does the bell toll: a political analysis of criticisms of the Hawthorne studies
Authors: Muldoon Jeffrey , Liguori Eric W. , Lovett Steve , Stone Christopher
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the political background of the Hawthorne criticisms, positing that the political atmosphere of the 1940s, influenced by the decline of the new deal liberalism and the rise of the conservative coalition, stimulated scholars to challenge the Hawthorne studies.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary sources used in the guise of archival commentaries, journal articles and other published works (books and book chapters). Secondary sources are offered to provide additional insight and context.

Findings

The findings show that politics unnecessarily discredited Mayo. As a result, contemporary scholars failed to recognize Mayo’s work as an important part of the basis for modern management theory.

Research limitations/implications

The purpose of the research is to look into the political context of the Hawthorne studies to understand how management practice and research is impacted by ongoing political issues.

Originality/value

To date, no work has fully accounted for or understood the political climate of the time in considering the criticisms of the Hawthorne studies. By more fully understanding the political context, scholars can reevaluate the weight they place on the then criticisms of the Hawthorne studies.
Factors affecting the employability of private university graduates: an exploratory study on Bangladeshi employers
Authors: Hosain Md Sajjad , Mustafi Mohitul Ameen Ahmed , Parvin Tania
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the factors that can affect the overall graduate employability (OGE) of the private university graduates of Bangladesh. The authors carefully selected six such employable factors after searching the existing literature. Those six factors: academic performance (AP), technical skills (TS), communication skills (CS), personality (PE), leadership & motivational skills (LMS); and teamwork and problem solving skills (TPSS), had been considered as the independent variables while OGE had been considered as the single dependent variable.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected the primary data from a valid sample of 360 employers through a structured questionnaire working as the hiring managers. Those respondents were selected on a random basis. The authors used exploratory factor analysis to validate the items under those independent variables and structural equation modeling with AMOS (24) to test the hypothesized relationship between each independent variable and the dependent one.

Findings

After proper statistical analysis, the results revealed that AP, PE, CS and TPSS can positively and significantly influence the OGE of Bangladeshi graduates while LMS and TS have positive but insignificant influence over OGE.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the findings, this paper can help scholars in further investigating the employability factors.

Practical implications

This explorative study will guide the fresh graduates in developing their required employability skills while assisting the employers in recruiting suitable candidates with the required skills and performance.

Originality/value

This is one of the few attempts that focused on the employability factors of private university graduates in Bangladesh. The authors are well confident that this empirical paper can shed some light on the fresh graduates’ employability and conducting further investigations on it.
Gamification in training and development processes: perception on effectiveness and results
Authors: Santos Simeia Azevedo , Trevisan Leonardo Nelmi , Veloso Elza Fátima Rosa , Treff Marcelo Antonio
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Gamification is the use of game elements in different contexts. It is also a tool with potential application in several areas, including training and development. From this reference, this study has a main objective to identify a perception of efficiency and the measurable results in the process of gamification in training and development actions.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative stage of the research sought to investigate the perception of efficiency of professionals who have already undergone gamified training, collected through an online form with responses on a Likert scale and treated with the Minitab Statistical Software. The qualitative stage, on the other hand, identifies the perception of results through classification with professionals who develop gamified training, with the results found in the content analysis techniques.

Findings

The compiled results confirmed the presence of engagement and its influence on motivation as one of the advantage points for the application of gamification. It was also possible to find in these results the relevance of design care for the game/training interaction to work effectively.

Originality/value

Among the trends of greatest incidence found in the research, are the possibility of associating gamification with virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as with simulators to enhance the experience lived by the player during training.
Optimization of build orientation in FFF using response surface methodology and posterior-based method
Authors: Hooshmand Mohammad Javad , Mansour Saeed , Dehghanian Amin
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The advancement of additive manufacturing technologies has resulted in producing parts of high quality and reduced manufacturing time. This paper aims to achieve a simultaneous optimal solution for build time and surface roughness as the output data and also to find the best values for the input data consisting of build orientation, extrusion width, layer thickness, infill percentage and raster angle.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the effects of process parameters on the response variables were investigated by the design of experiments approach to develop empirical models using response surface methodology. The experimental parts of this research were conducted using an inexpensive and locally assembled fused filament fabrication (FFF) machine. A total of 50 runs for 4 different geometries, namely, cylinder, prism, 3DBenchy and twist gear vase, were performed using the rotatable central composite design, and each process parameters were investigated in two levels to develop empirical models. Also, a novel optimization method, namely, the posterior-based method, was accomplished to find the best values for the response variables.

Findings

The results demonstrated that not only the build orientation and layer thickness have notable effects on both response variables but also build time is dependent on extrusion width and infill percentage. Low infill percentage and high extrusion width resulted in increasing build time. By reducing layer thickness and infill percentage while increasing extrusion width, parts of high-quality surface finish and reduced built time were produced. Optimum process parameters were found to be of build direction of 0°, extrusion width of 0.61 mm, layer thickness of 0.22 mm, infill percentage of 20% and raster angle of 0°.

Originality/value

Through the developed empirical models and by minimizing build orientation and layer thickness, and also considerations for process parameters, parts of high-quality surface finish and reduced built time could be produced on FFF machines. To compensate for increased build time because of reduction in layer thickness, extrusion width and infill percentage must have their maximum and minimum value, respectively.
Greek sport fans' evaluation of football leagues' brand associations and their influence on brand loyalty. The case of UEFA champions league
Authors: Anagnostou Michael , Tzetzis George
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the football league brand associations such as the “UEFA Champions League” and to investigate their influence on brand loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed and tested through a pilot test (N = 120) and the final questionnaire was administered among Greek sport spectators (N = 460). The factor structure was tested through an exploratory factor analysis and a regression analysis was used to examine the predictability of fans' brand loyalty by the league brand association dimensions.

Findings

Six brand association factors were revealed through the exploratory factor analysis: elite management, entertainment, elite-sportsmanship participants, escape, elite refereeing and corporate identity. In addition, new brand associations and elements were found: elite refereeing which included fast football and the league anthem was found to coexist with logo. Elite management, entertainment, escape and corporate identity were found to influence brand loyalty variables.

Practical implications

The study revealed a useful tool to measure sport leagues' brand associations, to measure their influence on Greek fans' loyalty and build strong, unique and favourable consumer-based brand associations.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the sports brand associations research by examining brand associations in the context of European leagues and elite-level football competitions. It also contributes by identifying and revealing new brand associations and new elements to co-exist with other already known sports brand associations. Finally, it examines the influence of the new brand-specific associations to the brand loyalty of the “UEFA Champions League” competition for Greek sport fans.
Implementation of multi-objective Jaya optimization for performance improvement in machining curve hole in P20 mold steel by sinking EDM
Authors: Meshram Diwesh Babruwan , Gohil Vikas , Puri Yogesh Madan , Ambade Sachin
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Machining of curved channels using electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a novel approach. In this study, an experimental setup was designed, developed and mounted on die-sinking EDM to manufacture curve channels in AISI P20 mold steel.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of specific machining parameters such as peak current, pulse on time, duty factor and lift over material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR) were studied. Multi-objective optimization was performed using Taguchi technique and Jaya algorithm.

Findings

The experimental results revealed current and pulse on time to have the predominant effect over material removal and tool wear diagnostic parameters with contributions of 39.67, 32.04% and 43.05, 36.52%, respectively. The improvements in material removal and tool wear as per the various optimization techniques were 35.48 and 10.91%, respectively.

Originality/value

Thus, Taguchi method was used for effective optimization of the machining parameters. Further, nature-based Jaya algorithm was implemented for obtaining the optimum values of TWR and MRR.
Effect of number of welding passes on the microstructure, mechanical and intergranular corrosion properties of 409M ferritic stainless steel
Authors: Ambade Sachin , Tembhurkar Chetan , Patil Awanikumar , Meshram Diwesh Babruwan
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to study the effect of number of welding passes on microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of 409 M ferritic stainless steel. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process is used to weld two metal sheets of 409 M having 3 mm thickness as bead-on-plate with single, double and triple passes. Microstructures were observed at transverse section with the help of optical microscope and with increasing number of passes grain growth, and the width of heat-affected zone (HAZ) increases. The results of tensile tests revealed that as number of passes increases, there is reduction in tensile strength and ductility. Double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) test revealed that as number of passes increases, the degree of sensitization increases. This is due to the deposition of chromium carbides at the grain boundaries and the associated depletion of chromium.

Design/methodology/approach

Three welded plates of single, double and triple pass were welded by SMAW process. From three welded plates (single, double and triple passes), samples for microstructural examination were cut in transverse direction (perpendicular to welding direction) with the help of wire-cut electrical discharge machine (EDM). The welded plates were sliced using wire-cut EDM along transverse direction for preparing optical microscopy, tensile testing, microhardness and DL-EPR testing specimens.

Findings

From the microstructure, it was observed that the large grain growth, which is dendritic, and the structure become finer to increase in number of welding passes. As number of passes increases, the width of HAZ increases because of the higher temperature at the welded zone. The tensile strength decreases to increase the number of welding passes because of grain coarsening and chromium carbide precipitation in sensitized zone and wider HAZ. The maximum microhardness value was observed for single-pass weld as compared to double- and triple-pass welds because of the fast cooling rate. The degree of sensitization increases to increase the number of passes because of chromium carbide deposition at the grain boundaries.

Originality/value

The authors declare that the manuscript is original and not published elsewhere, and there is no conflict of interest to publish this manuscript.
Disruption of the competitive balance between foundational tree species by interacting stressors in a temperate deciduous forest
Authors: Cleavitt Natalie L. , Battles John J. , Fahey Timothy J. , van Doorn Natalie S.
Published: May 2021

The complex effects of global environmental changes on ecosystems result from the interaction of multiple stressors, their direct impacts on species and their indirect impacts on species interactions. Air pollution (and resulting depletion of soil base cations) and biotic invasion (e.g. beech bark disease [BBD] complex) are two stressors that are affecting the foundational tree species of northern hardwood forests, sugar maple and American beech, in northeastern North America.

At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, a watershed‐scale calcium (Ca) addition in 1999 restored soil Ca that had been lost as a result of acid deposition in a maple‐beech forest that was severely affected by BBD beginning in the 1970s. We present historic data from the reference watershed for BBD progression, 20 years of comparative forest data from the treated and reference watersheds, and tree demographic rates for the most recent decade. We hypothesized that mitigation of soil acidification on the treated watershed in the presence of BBD would favour improved performance of sugar maple, a species that is particularly sensitive to base cation depletion.

We observed significant responses of seed production, seedling bank composition, sapling survival and recruitment, and tree mortality and growth to the restoration of soil Ca, indicating that acid rain depletion of soil base cations has influenced demographic rates of maple and beech. Overall, the reduced performance of sugar maple on acidified soils may indirectly favour the persistence of diseased beech trees and a greater abundance of beech vegetative sprouts, effectively promoting the chronic presence of severe BBD in the population.

Synthesis. The shifting conditions created by global change have altered long‐term demographic rates and may thereby impact competitive interactions in the current centre of these species ranges and have more profound implications for species persistence and migration potential than previously anticipated.
Structural and compositional dimensions of phytochemical diversity in the genus Piper reflect distinct ecological modes of action
Authors: Philbin Casey S. , Dyer Lee A. , Jeffrey Christopher S. , Glassmire Andrea E. , Richards Lora A.
Published: May 2021

An increasing number of ecological studies have used chemical diversity as a functionally relevant, scalable measure of phytochemical mixtures, demanding more rigorous attention to how chemical diversity is estimated. Most studies have focused on the composition of phytochemical mixtures and have largely ignored structural concerns, which may have greater importance for ecological function. Here, we explore the development of structural complexity and compositional diversity resulting from different biotic and abiotic interactions in Piper kelleyi Tepe (Piperaceae). We also describe how variation in structural complexity and compositional diversity differs between two congeners, P. kelleyi and P. reticulatum. To better interpret these results, we have developed a framework for interpreting these dimensions of chemical diversity in phytochemical mixtures.

We used the tropical shrub, P. kelleyi, as a model system to examine interactions between ecological factors and dimensions of phytochemical diversity. We also compared compositional diversity and metabolic complexity in P. kelleyi and P. reticulatum using liquid chromatography and 1H NMR, respectively, to examine trade‐offs between compositional diversity and structural complexity. A framework is provided to generate meaningful estimates of the structural complexity of phytochemical mixtures as measured by 1H NMR.

Piper is an abundant plant genus that supports diverse insect communities throughout the tropics. Subtle changes in understorey forest light were associated with increases in herbivory that directly increased compositional diversity and indirectly decreased structural complexity in P. kelleyi. This was attributed to the production of oxidation products resulting from herbivory‐driven decomposition of structurally complex defence compounds. This type of complex result would remain undetected using standard chemical ecology approaches and accounts for the detailed molecular changes that are likely to affect species interactions.

Synthesis. Our quantitative framework provides a method for considering trade‐offs between structural complexity and compositional diversity and the interpretation of analytical approaches for each. This methodology will provide new theoretical insights and a more sophisticated model for examining the ecology and evolution of chemically mediated interactions.
Characterization and phylogenomic analysis of Breznakiella homolactica gen. nov. sp. nov. indicate that termite gut treponemes evolved from non‐acetogenic spirochetes in cockroaches
Authors: Song Yulin , Hervé Vincent , Radek Renate , Pfeiffer Fabienne , Zheng Hao , Brune Andreas
Published: May 2021

Spirochetes of the genus Treponema are surprisingly abundant in termite guts, where they play an important role in reductive acetogenesis. Although they occur in all termites investigated, their evolutionary origin is obscure. Here, we isolated the first representative of ‘termite gut treponemes’ from cockroaches, the closest relatives of termites. Phylogenomic analysis revealed that Breznakiella homolactica gen. nov. sp. nov. represents the most basal lineage of the highly diverse ‘termite cluster I', a deep‐branching sister group of Treponemataceae (fam. ‘Termitinemataceae’) that was present already in the cockroach ancestor of termites and subsequently coevolved with its host. Breznakiella homolactica is obligately anaerobic and catalyses the homolactic fermentation of both hexoses and pentoses. Resting cells produced acetate in the presence of oxygen. Genome analysis revealed the presence of pyruvate oxidase and catalase, and a cryptic potential for the formation of acetate, ethanol, formate, CO2 and H2 ‐ the fermentation products of termite gut isolates. Genes encoding key enzymes of reductive acetogenesis, however, are absent, confirming the hypothesis that the ancestral metabolism of the cluster was fermentative, and that the capacity for acetogenesis from H2 plus CO2 ‐ the most intriguing property among termite gut treponemes ‐ was acquired by lateral gene transfer.
Agricultural fertilization with poultry manure results in persistent environmental contamination with the pathogen Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Frentrup Martinique , Thiel Nadine , Junker Vera , Behrens Wiebke , Münch Steffen , Siller Paul , Kabelitz Tina , Faust Matthias , Indra Alexander , Baumgartner Stefanie , Schepanski Kerstin , Amon Thomas , Roesler Uwe , Funk Roger , Nübel Ulrich
Published: May 2021

During a field experiment applying broiler manure for fertilization of agricultural land, we detected viable Clostridioides (also known as Clostridium) difficile in broiler faeces, manure, dust and fertilized soil. A large diversity of toxigenic C. difficile isolates was recovered, including PCR ribotypes common from human disease. Genomic relatedness of C. difficile isolates from dust and from soil, recovered more than 2 years after fertilization, traced their origins to the specific chicken farm that had delivered the manure. We present evidence of long‐term contamination of agricultural soil with manure‐derived C. difficile and demonstrate the potential for airborne dispersal of C. difficile through dust emissions during manure application. Clostridioides genome sequences virtually identical to those from manure had been recovered from chicken meat and from human infections in previous studies, suggesting broiler‐associated C. difficile are capable of zoonotic transmission.
Validation analysis of a composite real‐world mortality endpoint for patients with cancer in the United States
Authors: Zhang Qianyi , Gossai Anala , Monroe Shirley , Nussbaum Nathan C. , Parrinello Christina M.
Published: May 2021

Objective

We expanded the previous assessment of a mortality variable suited for real‐world evidence‐focused oncology research.

Data source

We used a nationwide electronic health record (EHR)‐derived de‐identified database.

Data collection

We included patients with at least 1 of 18 cancer types between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017. Patient‐level structured data (EHRs, obituaries, and Social Security Death Index) and unstructured EHR data (abstracted) were linked to generate a composite mortality variable.

Study design

We benchmarked sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and ±15‐day agreement against the National Death Index (NDI). Real‐world overall survival (rwOS) was estimated using the Kaplan‐Meier method. We performed sensitivity analyses using a smaller patient cohort that underwent next‐generation sequencing testing.

Principal findings

Compared with the NDI across 18 cancer types (overall N = 160 436): sensitivity, 83.9%‐91.5% (17/18 cancer types had sensitivity ≥85.0%); specificity, 93.5%‐99.7%; PPV, 96.3%‐98.3%; NPV, 75.0%‐98.7%; ±15‐day agreement, 95.6%‐97.6%; and median rwOS estimates ranging from 2.8% to 12.7% greater. Sensitivity analysis results (n = 17 540) were consistent with the main analysis.

Conclusions

Across all cancer types analyzed, this composite mortality variable showed high sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and ±15‐day agreement, and yielded median rwOS values modestly overestimated when compared to NDI‐based results.
Career management for UK food degree students at multiple institutes using an industry‐developed professional competencies framework
Authors: Weston Emma J E , Millman Caroline , Setarehnejad Anita , Bennett Emma J , Oruna‐Concha Maria Jose
Published: May 2021

Recruitment of food science and technology graduates remains a priority for the UK food industry in the wake of skills shortages. As a result of the contemporary pressures faced by the food industry, it is essential that students applying for such roles are aware of and ready for management, leadership, and relevant professional competencies. This collaborative study uses the industry‐informed established framework, namely, Competencies for Food Graduate Careers (CFGC) and assesses the integration of this resource into careers education for food‐related programs of four higher education institutions: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Nottingham and University of Reading. Mixed method analysis was conducted with students prior to and on conclusion of the teaching sessions, including surveys and focus groups. Students confirmed that CFGC was informative and useful for preparing them for a graduate career in food science and technology. No single method of integration of CFGC was proposed; instead, intervention can be undertaken by a variety of approaches, suitable for the level of study and Institutional operation as outlined in the study.
Prevention of infective complications in systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic literature review for the APLAR consensus statements
Authors: Oku Kenji , Hamijoyo Laniyati , Kasitanon Nuntana , Li Meng Tao , Navarra Sandra , Morand Eric , Tanaka Yoshiya , Mok Chi Chiu
Published: May 2021

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a more common autoimmune rheumatic disease in the Asia‐Pacific region. The prognosis of SLE remains unsatisfactory in some Asian countries because of delayed diagnosis, limited access to medications, increased complications and issues of tolerability and adherence to treatment. The Asia‐Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology SLE special interest group has recently published a set of consensus recommendations on the management of SLE for specialists, family physicians, specialty nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the Asia‐Pacific region. This article reports a systematic literature review of the infective complications of SLE in Asia and evidence for prevention of these infections by pre‐emptive antimicrobial therapy and vaccination.
Methadone and buprenorphine treatment in United States jails and prisons: lessons from early adopters
Authors: Bandara Sachini , Kennedy‐Hendricks Alene , Merritt Sydney , Barry Colleen L. , Saloner Brendan
Published: May 2021

Aims

To identify implementation barriers and facilitators to the adoption and implementation of programs that provide opioid agonist treatments (OAT) with methadone and buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder in jails and prisons in the United States.

Design

Qualitative analysis: semi‐structured interviews were conducted and thematic analyses of transcripts and notes were performed using a hybrid inductive/deductive coding approach.

Setting

Jails and prisons in the United States.

Participants

From August 2019 to January 2020, we conducted 20 key informant interviews with 35 individuals representing 19 carceral systems that both initiate and maintain OAT.

Measurements

Interviews covered four domains: (1) program adoption; (2) policy influence on implementation; (3) program structure; and (4) program outcomes.

Findings

Stigma among staff, particularly medical staff, challenged program adoption, but reduced over time as staff were exposed to the program. Regulations on OAT dispensation, such as licensing requirements and prescribing limits, were key challenges to program implementation and shaped program structure. Dispensing medication required significant staff, time and space. Facilities were further challenged to overcome stigma and concerns about diversion, as OAT medication is often treated as contraband in carceral settings. Some systems deviated from evidence‐based treatment by limiting OAT dosage to low levels, requiring counseling for participation and requiring detoxification before medication initiation. Despite these challenges, early adopters felt strongly that other jails and prisons in the United States should provide OAT and that legislation and litigation may soon force OAT expansion in these carceral settings.

Conclusions

Despite identifying regulatory and logistical challenges, early adopters of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs in US jails and prisons demonstrate that OAT programs can successfully be implemented in carceral settings with tailoring to the specific context.
What's hot and what's not – Identifying publication trends in insect ecology
Authors: Andrew Nigel R. , Evans Maldwyn J. , Svejcar Lauren , Prendegast Kit , Mata Luis , Gibb Heloise , Stone Marisa J. , Barton Philip S.
Published: May 2021

Research disciplines in science have historically developed in silos but are increasingly multidisciplinary. Here, we assessed how the insect ecology literature published in ecological and entomological journals has developed over the last 20 years and which topics have crossed discipline boundaries. We used structural topic modelling to assess research trends from 34 304 articles published in six ecology journals and six entomology journals between 2000 and 2020. We then identified and compared topics that emerged from the entire body of literature, or corpus, with topics that emerged from a subsection of articles that focused only on insects (insect corpus). We found that, within the entire corpus, topics on ‘Community ecology’, ‘Traits, life history & physiology’ and ‘Ecological methods & theory’ became more prevalent over time (hot topics), whereas ‘Population modelling’, ‘Insect development’, ‘Reproduction & ontogeny’ and ‘Plant growth’ declined in prevalence over the 20 years we surveyed (cold topics). In the insect corpus, we found that hot topics included ‘Thermal tolerance’ and ‘Disease vectors’, whereas cold topics included ‘Herbivore phenology’, ‘Insect‐plant interactions’ and ‘Parasitoids and parasites’. ‘Landscape ecology’ was a growth topic area for both corpora. Our findings suggest that insect‐related research is a major component of the broader ecological discipline, and there are topics in ecology where insect research aligns with general ecological trends. However, specific topics unique to the insect corpora – such as insect taxonomy – are fundamental to both insect and ecology research.
Inspire but don't interfere: Managerial influence as a double‐edged sword for innovation
Authors: Gerpott Fabiola H. , Bledow Ronald , Kühnel Jana
Published: May 2021

Managers play a pivotal role in the innovation process; yet, the mechanisms through which managers enhance or undermine innovation are not well understood. Drawing upon self‐concordance theory, we argue that managers can augment employees' self‐concordance—defined as the congruence of goals and actions with inner values and preferences—through transformational behavior and thereby contribute to innovation. However, transformational behavior is closely coupled to another form of influence, namely, process management, the attempt to directly manage innovation‐related activities. This form of managerial influence reduces employees' self‐concordance and thereby undermines innovation. We test our conceptual model in a sample of 188 innovation projects using a contextualized method that asked employees to assess their self‐concordance and their managers' behavior during each project. Managers evaluated for each project the innovativeness of the outcome. Multilevel path‐analysis provided support for our hypotheses. We discuss future research implications to disentangle innovation‐facilitating and innovation‐undermining facets of managerial influence.
The relationship between organizational trust, resistance to change and adaptive and proactive employees' agility in an unplanned and planned change context
Authors: Doeze Jager Sandra B. , Born Marise Ph. , van der Molen Henk T.
Published: May 2021

Modern organizations need to adapt quickly to on‐going changes. The present study sought to examine employees' agility during periods of sudden, unplanned, and during periods of planned change. It was investigated to what extent one's trust in the organization and resistance to change could predict proactive agility and adaptive agility. Data came from employees (N = 188) in two different organizations, one undergoing an unplanned change and one undergoing a planned change. In both contexts, organizational trust had a negative relationship with resistance to change. In an unplanned change context (organization one), trust of employees in the organization had a positive effect on the adaptive component of agility through the (negative) mediation by affective resistance to change. In this context, trust did not have any (mediated) effect on the proactive component of agility. In contrast, in a planned change context (organization two), trust had a positive effect on the proactive component of agility, partially through the (negative) mediation by resistance to change. In this context, trust also had a positive effect on the adaptive component of agility, partially through the (negative) mediation by resistance to change. These results imply that trust works in different ways depending on the type of change. More trust through less resistance implies better adaptation during unplanned organizational change. More trust works directly and partially through less resistance to change to enhance employee proactivity and adaptability during planned change.
Avoiding ‘selection’?—References to history in current German policy debates about non‐invasive prenatal testing
Authors: Foth Hannes
Published: May 2021

This article investigates the role of historical references and arguments in the current policy debate on non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in Germany. It analyses major documents and opinion statements, including the recent parliamentary debate (2019). The implementation of NIPT is accompanied by concerns and strong criticism, particularly in Germany. Many perceive the new test to be a problematic step that facilitates selective practices and is reminiscent of eugenics. Analysis of the German policy discourse shows that ‘eugenics’, and even more strongly, ‘selection’, are pivotal terms for rejecting NIPT and its coverage by public health insurance. They touch on a historical dimension in public deliberation, namely the fundamental distancing from the inhuman practices of the National Socialist period and anything that resembles them. However, using these terms to criticize prenatal genetic testing is controversial, and recent discourse demonstrates their avoidance as well, with many supporters of a limited coverage by public health insurance contrasting their approach with more widespread screening. Here, ‘screening’ has a negative connotation, and functions to demarcate the debate in a way that may reflect distance from certain modes of historical reasoning, but still expresses a special need to reconcile prenatal testing with the principles of dignity, inclusion and diversity. This article aims to elucidate the concerns involved in the national debates on prenatal testing and to increase awareness of the historical dimensions of the language and reasoning with which such methods are negotiated today and in future.
How do changes to parental job insecurity affect children's health?
Authors: Lee Yong‐Woo
Published: May 2021

In the last two decades, after the Asian financial crisis, Korea's employment composition has witnessed a rapid increase in temporary contractual work. I investigate the impact of changes in parental job status from employment with permanent contracts to that with temporary contracts on children's health using Korea Welfare Panel Study data. I find that parental job status changes to temporary contractual work from permanent contracts have a significantly negative effect on children's health. This outcome can be attributed to adverse financial shocks and a deterioration in mental health, which seem to outweigh the time reallocation effects.