bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New treatment options for irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea
Authors: Weber H. Christian
Published: November 2016

Purpose of review

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal disorder with negative impact on quality of life and it represents a substantial economic burden on healthcare cost. The medical management of IBS remains largely symptomatic. This review provides an update related to the most recently published diagnostic Rome IV criteria for IBS and clinical trial data for novel treatment modalities in IBS targeting the peripheral opioid receptors of the enteric nervous system and the gut microbiota.

Recent findings

The new Rome IV criteria define functional gastrointestinal disorders as disorders of the gut–brain interaction. In addition to previously introduced pharmacological treatment modalities for IBS with constipation (IBS-C) with synthetic peptides and small molecules targeting gastrointestinal receptors and ion channels, the newly Food and Drug Administration-approved mixed peripheral opioid receptor agonist/antagonist eluxadoline and the nonabsorbable antibiotic rifaximin demonstrate efficacy and safety in the treatment of IBS with predominant diarrhea (IBS-D).

Diagnostic criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders, including IBS, have been revised in Rome IV and are defined as gut–brain disorders. The mixed peripheral opioid receptor agonist/antagonist eluxadoline and the antibiotic rifaximin have been recently Food and Drug Administration approved for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) with proven efficacy and acceptable side-effect profiles.
Revisiting erythroleukemia
Authors: Arber Daniel A.
Published: November 2016

Purpose of review

The 2016 WHO classification of hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms alters the diagnostic criteria for erythroleukemia, including eliminating the erythroid/myeloid type of acute erythroleukemia, which was a prior subcategory of acute myeloid leukemia, not otherwise specified. Only pure erythroid leukemia remains in the WHO classification. This review will summarize the literature that contributed to that classification change as well as recent literature on the significance of the change.

Recent findings

There is now a large body of literature on the negative prognostic impact of erythroid predominance, defined as 50% or more bone marrow erythroid cells, in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs). Recent studies have found similarities between erythroleukemia, especially the erythroid/myeloid type, and the erythroid-rich MDS cases. On the basis of these data, the WHO now reclassifies cases of the prior erythroid/myeloid acute erythroleukemia group based on the total blast cell count. This change moves such cases into an MDS category, usually MDS with excess blasts. This approach, however, may cloud the significance of erythroid predominance in this group of patients.

The report clarifies the current criteria for a diagnosis of erythroleukemia as well as the ongoing challenges in classifying this group of erythroid rich bone marrow disorders.
Correlation Between Posttraumatic Growth and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Based on Pearson Correlation Coefficient
Authors: Liu An-Nuo , Wang Lu-Lu , Li Hui-Ping , Gong Juan , Liu Xiao-Hong
Published: November 2016

The literature on posttraumatic growth (PTG) is burgeoning, with the inconsistencies in the literature of the relationship between PTG and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms becoming a focal point of attention. Thus, this meta-analysis aims to explore the relationship between PTG and PTSD symptoms through the Pearson correlation coefficient. A systematic search of the literature from January 1996 to November 2015 was completed. We retrieved reports on 63 studies that involved 26,951 patients. The weighted correlation coefficient revealed an effect size of 0.22 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.18 to 0.25. Meta-analysis provides evidence that PTG may be positively correlated with PTSD symptoms and that this correlation may be modified by age, trauma type, and time since trauma. Accordingly, people with high levels of PTG should not be ignored, but rather, they should continue to receive help to alleviate their PTSD symptoms.
PMTCT Option B+ Does Not Increase Preterm Birth Risk and May Prevent Extreme Prematurity: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Malawi
Authors: Chagomerana Maganizo B. , Miller William C. , Pence Brian W. , Hosseinipour Mina C. , Hoffman Irving F. , Flick Robert J. , Tweya Hannock , Mumba Soyapi , Chimbwandira Frank , Powers Kimberly A.
Published: November 2016

Objective:

To estimate preterm birth risk among infants of HIV-infected women in Lilongwe, Malawi, according to maternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) status and initiation time under Option B+.

Design:

A retrospective cohort study of HIV-infected women delivering at ≥27 weeks of gestation, April 2012 to November 2015. Among women on ART at delivery, we restricted our analysis to those who initiated ART before 27 weeks of gestation.

Methods:

We defined preterm birth as a singleton live birth at ≥27 and <37 weeks of gestation, with births at <32 weeks classified as extremely to very preterm. We used log-binomial models to estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between ART and preterm birth.

Results:

Among 3074 women included in our analyses, 731 preterm deliveries were observed (24%). Overall preterm birth risk was similar in women who had initiated ART at any point before 27 weeks and those who never initiated ART (risk ratio = 1.14; 95% confidence interval: 0.84 to 1.55), but risk of extremely to very preterm birth was 2.33 (1.39 to 3.92) times as great in those who never initiated ART compared with those who did at any point before 27 weeks. Among women on ART before delivery, ART initiation before conception was associated with the lowest preterm birth risk.

Conclusions:

ART during pregnancy was not associated with preterm birth, and it may in fact be protective against severe adverse outcomes accompanying extremely to very preterm birth. As preconception ART initiation appears especially protective, long-term retention on ART should be a priority to minimize preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies.
Which patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis benefit from revascularization?
Authors: Naylor A. Ross
Published: November 2016

Purpose of review

To summarize why there are polarized opinions regarding the management of patients with asymptomatic carotid disease and whether it is possible to identify patients who might benefit from carotid interventions.

Recent findings

Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Versus Stenting Trial and Asymptomatic Carotid Trial 1 (ACT-1) recently concluded that outcomes after carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting were not significantly different in asymptomatic patients and that procedural risks were below the accepted 3% threshold. However, systematic reviews suggest that Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Versus Stenting Trial/ACT-1 results may not be generalizable into routine practice. In parallel, meta-analyses suggest that stroke rates on medical therapy may be declining, suggesting that Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study/Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial data, which have underpinned every practice guideline since 1995, are too historical for use in 2017. A recent review has, however, identified a number of clinical/imaging features that may be associated with higher rates of stroke on medical therapy.

The majority of surgeons/interventionists are unlikely to accept radical changes in practice until new randomized trials confirm that the risk of stroke on modern medical therapy is significantly lower than that previously accepted. In the interim, it would be preferable to target interventions into a smaller cohort who present with clinical/imaging features that might render them ‘higher risk for stroke’ on medical therapy.
The neurobiology of uncertainty: implications for statistical learning
Authors: Hasson Uri
Published: November 2016

The capacity for assessing the degree of uncertainty in the environment relies on estimating statistics of temporally unfolding inputs. This, in turn, allows calibration of predictive and bottom-up processing, and signalling changes in temporally unfolding environmental features. In the last decade, several studies have examined how the brain codes for and responds to input uncertainty. Initial neurobiological experiments implicated frontoparietal and hippocampal systems, based largely on paradigms that manipulated distributional features of visual stimuli. However, later work in the auditory domain pointed to different systems, whose activation profiles have interesting implications for computational and neurobiological models of statistical learning (SL). This review begins by briefly recapping the historical development of ideas pertaining to the sensitivity to uncertainty in temporally unfolding inputs. It then discusses several issues at the interface of studies of uncertainty and SL. Following, it presents several current treatments of the neurobiology of uncertainty and reviews recent findings that point to principles that serve as important constraints on future neurobiological theories of uncertainty, and relatedly, SL. This review suggests it may be useful to establish closer links between neurobiological research on uncertainty and SL, considering particularly mechanisms sensitive to local and global structure in inputs, the degree of input uncertainty, the complexity of the system generating the input, learning mechanisms that operate on different temporal scales and the use of learnt information for online prediction.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’.
Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation
Authors: Smith Kenny , Perfors Amy , Fehér Olga , Samara Anna , Swoboda Kate , Wonnacott Elizabeth
Published: November 2016

Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’.
TRACX2: a connectionist autoencoder using graded chunks to model infant visual statistical learning
Authors: Mareschal Denis , French Robert M.
Published: November 2016

Even newborn infants are able to extract structure from a stream of sensory inputs; yet how this is achieved remains largely a mystery. We present a connectionist autoencoder model, TRACX2, that learns to extract sequence structure by gradually constructing chunks, storing these chunks in a distributed manner across its synaptic weights and recognizing these chunks when they re-occur in the input stream. Chunks are graded rather than all-or-nothing in nature. As chunks are learnt their component parts become more and more tightly bound together. TRACX2 successfully models the data from five experiments from the infant visual statistical learning literature, including tasks involving forward and backward transitional probabilities, low-salience embedded chunk items, part-sequences and illusory items. The model also captures performance differences across ages through the tuning of a single-learning rate parameter. These results suggest that infant statistical learning is underpinned by the same domain-general learning mechanism that operates in auditory statistical learning and, potentially, in adult artificial grammar learning.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’.
Occurrence of rating distortions and ratees’ fairness perceptions per raters’ mood and affect
Authors: Razzaq Sumrina , Iqbal Muhammad Zahid , Ikramullah Malik , van Prooijen Jan-Willem
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the occurrence of rating distortions under raters’ different mood conditions and at different levels of interpersonal affect of raters towards ratees, and further its association with ratees’ perceptions of distributive and interpersonal fairness.

Design/methodology/approach

For the scenario-based experiment, the study recruited 110 undergraduate students as participants. Of them, 22 raters appraised the video-taped buyer-seller negotiation performance of 88 ratees. Repeated measures analysis was employed to analyse data.

Findings

Results revealed that under different mood conditions (pleasant and sad) and at different levels of interpersonal affect towards ratees (high and low), raters distorted ratings (inflated and deflated, respectively). These rating distortions shaped ratees fairness perceptions in such a way that ratees who received inflated ratings due to raters’ pleasant mood and high interpersonal affect perceived more distributive and interpersonal fairness than ratees who received deflated ratings due to raters’ sad mood and low interpersonal affect.

Originality/value

The paper is a step towards integrating the affect infusion model with distributive and interpersonal fairness theory. This integration can be of value for enhancing our understanding of how rater-centric rating errors take place, which subsequently shape ratees’ fairness perceptions.
Enhancing alcohol screening and brief intervention among people receiving opioid agonist treatment: qualitative study in primary care
Authors: McCombe Geoff , Henihan Anne Marie , Klimas Jan , Swan Davina , Leahy Dorothy , Anderson Rolande , Bury Gerard , Dunne Colum , Keenan Eamon , Meagher David , O’Gorman Clodagh , O’Toole Tom , Saunders Jean , Smyth Bobby P. , Lambert John S. , Kaner Eileen , Cullen Walter
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Problem alcohol use (PAU) is common and associated with considerable adverse outcomes among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative feasibility assessment of a primary care-based complex intervention to promote screening and brief intervention for PAU, which also aims to examine acceptability and potential effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients and eight general practitioners (GPs) who had been purposively sampled from practices that had participated in the feasibility study. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.

Findings

Six key themes were identified. While all GPs found the intervention informative and feasible, most considered it challenging to incorporate into practice. Barriers included time constraints, and overlooking and underestimating PAU among this cohort of patients. However, the intervention was considered potentially deliverable and acceptable in practice. Patients reported that (in the absence of the intervention) their use of alcohol was rarely discussed with their GP, and were reticent to initiate conversations on their alcohol use for fear of having their methadone dose reduced.

Research limitations/impelications

Although a complex intervention to enhance alcohol screening and brief intervention among primary care patients attending for OAT is likely to be feasible and acceptable, time constraints and patients’ reticence to discuss alcohol as well as GPs underestimating patients’ alcohol problems is a barrier to consistent, regular and accurate screening by GPs. Future research by way of a definitive efficacy trial informed by the findings of this study and the Psychosocial INTerventions for Alcohol quantitative data is a priority.

Originality/value

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to examine the capability of primary care to address PAU among patients receiving OAT.
Substitution of heroin and methadone with buprenorphine using an overlap method without needing to wait for withdrawal
Authors: Payler David Kingsley
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether it is possible to switch patients from heroin or methadone to buprenorphine without needing to experience symptoms of withdrawal?

Design/methodology/approach

Review of author’s experience in 1980s where three patients transferred to 4 mg buprenorphine from 40 ml (1mg/ml) methadone without symptoms of withdrawal. Review of literature where patients were transferred to buprenorphine without waiting for withdrawal symptoms to occur. Presentation of six case histories in author’s clinic.

Findings

Provided the buprenorphine is commenced at a very low dosage, is gradually increased and the heroin/methadone is reduced over a period of time, it is possible to change from heroin or methadone without inducing withdrawal symptoms. It is not necessary to stop the heroin/methadone and wait for withdrawal symptoms to occur.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the author’s retirement in October 2015 further research into the production of a template which could be used universally has not yet been possible.

Practical implications

Transferring patients from heroin and methadone to buprenorphine has often been difficult. Waiting for withdrawal symptoms to occur has often resulted in treatment failure. The method described eliminates the problem for patients.

Social implications

Patients find the method is more acceptable and allows normal functioning.

Originality/value

Confirmation that the findings of the original case histories from 1980s were valid. The value to the treatment service should be considerable in simplifying the prescribing practice.
Determinants of charitable giving in Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Arshad Mohd Nahar
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate into the factors that influence charitable giving in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs Malaysia’s Household Income Survey 2009. Results are obtained by undertaking a regression analysis. In the econometric model, charitable giving is proxied by transfer payment made by every respondent. The variable is considered as the dependent variable, while demographic, educational, occupational and geographical factors have been considered as the independent variables.

Findings

In general, factors such as income, age, educational levels, marital status, gender and geographical location have statistically significant effects on Malaysians’ charitable giving. A 1 per cent increase in income would result in an increase in charitable giving by 1.5 per cent, ceteris paribus. In Malaysia, charitable giving would initially increase and peaked at the age of 40 years before decline slowly over the working age – inverted-U shape of the charity–age curve. Women donate 8.7 per cent more than men. The upper secondary school has the highest marginal effects on charitable giving at 10.7 per cent. After upper secondary school, the marginal effects of subsequent levels of education on charitable giving diminish.

Research limitations/implications

The findings need to be supported with experimental studies for more consistent evidence.

Practical implications

Charitable giving can be nurtured especially through early years of education.

Social implications

The understanding derived from this study is crucial in the efforts to build an inclusive and caring heterogeneous Malaysian society.

Originality/value

This study pioneers large sample analysis to understand charitable giving behavior by Malaysians. The computation of marginal effects of education on charitable giving is another major contribution of this study.
Shariah compliance of green banking policy in Bangladesh
Authors: Julia Taslima , Rahman Maya Puspa , Kassim Salina
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to critically evaluate whether the policies of green banking set by Bangladesh Bank are Shariah compliant; according to the main sources of the Shariah – Quran and Sunnah.

Design/methodology/approach

Green policy and guidelines have been divided into different categories such as environment protection, conservation of resources, risk management, educating people about green financing, transparency and disclosure and investing in green projects according to the common measures as stated in three different phases of the policy and guidelines. Subsequently, these major aspects of the green policy and guidelines are linked to the main references of the Shariah, i.e. the holy Quran and Sunnah of Prophet [peace be upon him (pbuh)].

Findings

Various verses of the holy Quran and teachings of Prophet (pbuh) related to the major categories of Green policy and guidelines are being presented to show the compliance with Shariah.

Practical implications

The Green policy and guidelines are very much in-line with Shariah. Though all types of banks in Bangladesh are bound to implement the green banking policy, however, Shariah compliance of green banking policy will be encouraging for all Islamic Banks of Bangladesh for their further and profounder involvement in it.

Social implications

As green policies are found to be Shariah complaint, the Islamic banks are expected to contribute more to the sustainable economic growth of the country by successfully implementing the green financing policies compare to their conventional counterpart.

Originality/value

Verses of holy Quran and authentic Hadiths related to environmental sustainability concept show that Islam is a green religion as well as green banking policy is Islamic.
Islamic spirituality and social responsibility in curtailing the workplace deviance
Authors: Bhatti Omar Khalid , Alam Muhammad Aftab , Hassan Arif , Sulaiman Mohamed
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The current study aims to examine the relationship between Islamic spirituality (IS), Islamic social responsibility (ISR) and workplace deviance (WD).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 400 Muslim employees of 9 business groups in Pakistan from manufacturing and services industry. The structure equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses, and the proposed model was assessed through renowned model fit indices.

Findings

The findings revealed that IS and ISR help curtail WD. The study also provides empirical support to the hypotheses that employees with high levels of IS and social responsibility will tend to avoid deviant behavior at workplace.

Originality/value

This study proposed IS and ISR as two possible stimuli that can help reduce employee deviant behavior at workplace. The findings of the present study revealed that IS, as well as ISR, is inversely related to WD. The present results augmented the existing body of knowledge regarding workplace spirituality in the field of organization behavior and further enriched the WD theory by offering new empirical relationships from an Islamic perspective.
Social learning and principal-agent problems in profit sharing contract
Authors: Sapuan Noraina Mazuin , Sanusi Nur Azura , Ismail Abdul Ghafar , Wibowo Antoni
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purposes of this study are twofold. First, to theoretically examine the profit-sharing (mudarabah) contract that produces an optimal distribution of return in the presence of social learning (shuratic process) within the environment of asymmetric information. Second, to empirically investigate the optimal condition of profit-sharing ratio (PSR) and social learning for profit-sharing (mudarabah) contract in Islamic banking.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from one of the biggest and earliest Islamic banks in Malaysia were taken as a proxy of an Islamic bank. The data are collected from the period of 2009 to 2013, and these will be used for the simulation process by using the genetic algorithm (GA) technique.

Findings

The empirical results discovered that Islamic banks had used social learning in their daily activities, especially in the asset side. The results also showed that the trend of social learning has a positive relationship with the trend of Islamic banks’ net profit. Additionally, the results also indicated that the Islamic banks’ net profit has a positive relationship with its PSR from the profit-sharing (mudarabah) financing and securities investment.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind that investigates the implementation of the social learning process in Islamic banking operation. This study also used the latest technique from artificial intelligence system, i.e. a GA, to attain an optimal value for PSR and social learning process.
Determinants of trade in parts and components: Latin America and East Asia
Authors: Fung K.C. , Chen Lurong , Garcia-Herrero Alicia
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what affects trade in parts and components, particularly for Latin America and East Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology includes using data analysis as well as regressions

Findings

The main findings show that logistics and infrastructure are among the most important determinants of supply chain trade. For Latin America to participate more in such trade, the region should attract more foreign direct investment, including direct investment from China in transportation, roads and ports as well as infrastructure in general.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first in the literature to conduct regression analysis on trade in parts and components.
The effects of 3D printing in design thinking and design education
Authors: Greenhalgh Scott
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Rapid prototyping and three-dimensional (3D) printing allows the direct creation of objects from 3D computer-aided design files. To identify the effects 3D printing may have on student experiences and the learning of the design process, students were asked to create a design and create a prototype of that design.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows an experimental design involving four total courses of interior design students. After conceptualizing a design, students were randomly selected to either create the prototype by hand or given access to 3D printing equipment. The models were graded by three subject experts using a rubric that focused on three key aspects of the model project, namely, craftsmanship, design quality and scale (proportion).

Findings

All three measures produced significant mean differences with a medium effect size when comparing the 3D printed models to the traditionally built models. Additional observations provided insights into the design processes approached by students using hand-constructed and 3D printed modeling. The most notable difference was the propensity for curved and rectilinear shapes by available design technologies.

Research limitations/implications

The experiment showed that the design technology (3D printing) did have an impact on the designs students conceptualized. This suggests that students do connect ideation to implementation, and the availability of enabling technology impacts the design process. This research was conducted in an interior design environment and consists of primarily female students. The experimental research may be limited to design programs with similar student populations and levels of exposure to various design technologies.

Practical implications

This research is designed to provide instructors and programs valuable information when looking at implementing new design technologies into the curriculum. Instructors are made aware that new design technologies do impact student design strategies. Additionally, although certain design technologies allow for revisions, it was apparent that students continued to be resistant to revise their initial models suggesting instructors prepare to address this issue in instruction.

Social implications

There is a strong body of research indicating inequality in education where students have differing access to technologies in schools. This research shows that 3D printing, similar to many technologies in education, can impact the cognitive processes of content being learned.

Originality/value

There is limited research on how design technologies impact design cognition and the experiences of design students. This paper looked specifically at one design technology (3D printing/rapid prototyping) and how it impacts the processes and quality of design, in addition to the quality of design products (prototypes or models). Research such as this provides instructors and faculty members an insight into how design technologies impact their curriculum.
Assessment and selection of psychological attributes: design team perspectives
Authors: Kumar Shailendra
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap between physical and metaphysical entities in the context of product/system design. The paper talks about the grey area of human psychology and presents a theoretical framework for the identification and selection of psychological attributes for designers.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of a literature review, this paper identifies various psychological attributes affecting the performance of designers in a team environment and then analyses the same.

Findings

The paper talks about a new shift in engineering design and designs for maintainability of mechanical systems.

Practical implications

A procedure based on the analytic hierarchy process method is applied. The developed procedure is useful in the assessment and selection of coveted psychological attributes for personnel in general and for designers in particular.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the immense role of psychology in engineering design, especially in the design for maintainability of mechanical systems. The paper will be useful to researchers, designers, maintenance personnel and professionals from the domain of engineering design, irrespective of their field of application. This paper is equally useful for human resource and management professionals/researchers.
Improving the primary task
Authors: Sørensen Ole Henning
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document and discuss the effects of a participatory intervention in preschools focussing upon improving the performance of the primary task on employee health and organizational effectiveness. Further, to investigate the role of implementation intensity on the outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal, participatory intervention study of 62 preschools involving approximately 1,800 employees. The evaluation uses short-term sickness absence to measure employee health, employee-assessed primary-task quality and parent-assessed user satisfaction to measure organizational effectiveness, and implementation intensity was measured as hours per employee and as per the request by the workplace managers, and compensation was offered by the project.

Findings

The multi-level analyses show that preschools with higher implementation intensity have stronger effects on employee health and organizational effectiveness than preschools with lower implementation intensity. The differences indicate that the main intervention component, improving performance of the central work tasks through collaborative, participatory workplace activities, had effects on both health and effectiveness and that workplace and employee engagement in the intervention is crucial to its success.

Practical implications

Inspired by the Tavistock tradition for socio-technical systems design, the study indicates an avenue for conducting collaborative organizational change processes that benefit both employees and organizations. In addition, it proposes “hours used per employee” as a relatively simple measure of implementation intensity in such interventions.

Originality/value

The study contributes to research in the field of occupational psychological health by reporting on a comprehensive participatory intervention study comprising measures of employee health, organizational performance and implementation intensity.
Prerequisite and awareness status of Web 2.0 applications in University Libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Authors: Ur Rahman Aziz , Idrees Haroon , khan Arif
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This study aims to explore the awareness status of Web 2.0 tools among library and information science (LIS) professionals in the University Libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used quantitative method to collect data from 73 LIS professionals in 18 public sector university libraries of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Inferential and descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyze data using SPSS.

Findings

It was observed from the findings that majority of LIS professional s possess good knowledge of MS Office; however, some senior librarians were less acquainted. Internet facility was available to 60 participants out of 66. Librarians were not familiar with many services of Web 2.0; however, Facebook, YouTube and Skype were most familiar among the librarians. Majority of the respondents had no experience of using podcasting, RSS feeds, LinkedIn, LibraryThing, Flickr and MySpace. On the other hand, e-mail services, Facebook and YouTube were founded to be the most commonly used Web 2.0 tools among respondents. Problems faced by majority of the respondents were power failure, lack of training, non-cooperation from higher authorities, low speed of internet and financial problems.

Practical implications

These research results can be very beneficial for the interested librarians in universities, when they plan to use Web 2.0 applications in their libraries.

Originality/value

This study presents an overall picture of Web 2.0 applications in university libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and attempts to provide the readers with helpful information to better understand how their colleagues elsewhere are utilizing Web 2.0 tools in execution of library services.
Importance of e-Books in improving access to scholarly materials by university students in Kenya
Authors: Wendo Dickens Rodrigues , Mwanzu Arnold
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate the significance of e-Books in universities, by looking for critical issues and practices which contribute enormously to enhancing its effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a descriptive research study design. The use of survey was efficient for this study because it was possible to obtain answers to different variables such as attitudes, personal characteristics and behaviors on usage of e-Books. Survey questionnaires were used on a student sample population at United States International University-A. The study was guided by three independent variables: technological factors, individual factors and institutional support factors. The dependent variable was the usage of e-Books.

Findings

The findings established that a majority of the student are computer literate as a whole and have a clear understanding of e-Books. The results further established that students encounter problems when carrying out searches in e-Books and that there is lack of knowledge of the e-Books subscribed by the university library. Support from the university management on the introduction of e-Books by financing its subscription was one of the factors enhancing the access and use of e-Books.

Originality/value

Knowledge of the significance of e-Books can assist libraries restructure their e-Books policies and hence hasten the adoption and implementation of e-Books usage in academic libraries in Kenya.
Exploring undergraduate student experiences with information literacy
Authors: Zoellner Kate
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between first-year and senior undergraduate students’ information literacy behaviors and experiences as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement Experiences with Information Literacy module.

Design/methodology/approach

Publically available data resulting from the 2014 and 2015 module was analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used to compare group percentages and inferential statistics to discriminate the statistical significance of enrollment status.

Findings

Statistically significant differences between first-year and senior students were identified for the majority of survey items in both 2014 and 2015. Survey items with the highest effect sizes showed senior students were more likely to: complete an assignment that used the library’s electronic collections, be required to employ practices of a specific major of field, and indicate their institution contributed to their effective use of information. The least frequently exhibited behaviors for both groups were those that require higher-order thinking.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of the study include the granularity of publicly available data and the applicability of the results to specific institutions and beyond the USA.

Practical implications

This study points to areas for further investigation at the national level and offers an approach for colleges and universities to take with their local data.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the analysis of a recently launched information literacy survey.
Adolescent therapeutic community treatment – an Australian perspective
Authors: Northam Jaimie Chloe , Magor-Blatch Lynne Elizabeth
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the adolescent therapeutic community (ATC) literature – drawing on studies primarily from the USA with consideration made to the Australian context.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the efficacy research for ATCs is considered, and the characteristics of Australians accessing ATC treatment are discussed in the context of developmental needs.

Findings

Similarities are found in what precipitates and perpetuates adolescent substance use in the USA and Australia, and therefore, what appears to facilitate effective treatment utilising the therapeutic community model.

Originality/value

The paper provides a valuable perspective for Australian services, and explores the application of the ATC model within the Australian treatment context.
Understanding personal change through storytelling in a therapeutic community
Authors: Clarke Jenelle Marie
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for personal and community transformation through storytelling within a therapeutic community (TC) through the analysis of one narrative case study.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a narrative research design to describe and theorise the individual narrative of a TC client member, “Emily”, who self-identified areas of therapeutic change. Emily’s story is a single case of personal and community transformation. Analysis focussed on story of her weight loss to understand her changing role to herself and the community.

Findings

Emily’s story reveals the social complexities underpinning individual transformations within a community context. This complexity is particularly evident as Emily experienced visible weight loss but identified that the meaningful change is her changed relationship with herself and others. Using theories on symbolic interactionism, analysis of Emily’s narrative indicates the TC played a role in facilitating personal change and that through sharing her story with the wider TC, the community shifted its perspective on food and weight loss.

Originality/value

The paper expands the discussion on how storytelling practices within a TC contribute to therapeutic change. It is argued that community relationships play a key role in facilitating a changed relationship with self and others, and that stories themselves play an active role in shaping community meanings.
Faculty use of a learning object repository in higher education
Authors: Xu Hong
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to learn faculty’s usage behavior in learning object repositories (LORs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a case study. Research subjects were the faculty users from an LOR: Wisconsin Online Resource Center. The study used a survey instrument to collect data from 92 respondents, and data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and a Fisher exact test.

Findings

The study found four important channels by which the faculty learn about a LOR, six ways in which the faculty often use a LOR and an important factor affecting the faculty visiting a LOR.

Research limitations/implications

Research subjects were from one LOR and non-probability sampling was used; thus, the generalization of findings may be limited.

Practical implications

This study implemented advancing of the service and design of LORs from the perspectives of promotion, content development, connection to learning management systems and technology assistant.

Social implications

The findings and results may be applied in practice to draw more faculty users toward learning object repository.

Originality/value

The results and findings of the study contribute to understanding the faculty’s needs for and usage patterns of using LORs, and provide foundations for designing strategies to increase faculty use of LORs.
Effects of workplace spirituality and trust mediated by perceived risk towards knowledge sharing behaviour
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Sabbir , Mat Daud Nuraihan , Hassan Hasliza , Osmangani Aahad M.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This research paper aims to provide an empirical examination to explain the relationship between trust, workplace spirituality, perceived risk and knowledge sharing behaviour among the non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative methodology was adopted to examine the proposed relationship between trust, workplace spirituality, perceived risk and knowledge sharing behaviour. The study used survey data from 240 non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. This research applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the stated hypotheses of the proposed conceptual framework.

Findings

The empirical findings indicate that workplace spirituality has a significant positive influence on knowledge sharing behaviour, whereas trust is found to have a positive effect, mediated by perceived risk, on the knowledge sharing behaviour among the non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to private higher learning institutions in Malaysia, and used a cross-sectional research design. Further investigations into the moderating effect of socio-demographic variables are necessary.

Practical implications

The results of this survey provide constructive information towards understanding the extent of knowledge sharing predictors at the individual and non-academic staff levels in the context of private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Thus, this empirical study serves as a baseline research for this unexplored scope as it provides new information in this field.

Originality/value

Previous studies have not tested the function of trust and workplace spirituality from the perspective of non-academic staff employed in private higher learning institutions.
Knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals in Ghana
Authors: Assem Patrick Boateng , Pabbi Kwaku Agyepong
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Knowledge management is very useful to the most departments and sectors of the economy, and the healthcare sector is no exception. Thus, this paper aims to explore how healthcare professionals share knowledge in the Ghanaian healthcare sector. It also ascertains challenges faced by healthcare professionals in Ghana with regards to knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a case study research design. Data were collected from some healthcare professions working in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality in Ghana using face-to-face interview. Data were analysed using thematic analysis technique.

Findings

The results show that the healthcare facilities studied do not have any formal knowledge management systems, and therefore healthcare professionals rely on informal conversations and seminars to share knowledge. Again, it was found that lack of trust, lack of technological facilities, lack of organizational policy regarding, fear of getting extra task or responsibility, network failure (both mobile phone and internet) and culture are some of the challenge healthcare professionals face in sharing knowledge.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the knowledge sharing literature especially in the healthcare sector in Ghana, as limited studies have been conducted in this area.
Towards a framework for strategic knowledge management practice
Authors: Huang Fang , Gardner Scott , Moayer Sanaz
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to address the limitations of current knowledge management (KM) models by presenting a strategic knowledge management (SKM) framework based on a unique configuration of literature concerned with optimising learning and knowledge creation at the interface between human (soft) and information and communication technology (hard) networks.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper revisits the key tenets and most frequently cited models in the existing literature, summarises their common elements, clarifies the interrelationships between the hard and soft KM processes and practices and systemically incorporates these previously separate and independent elements into a new integrated conceptual framework. Then, it identifies key organisational factors which could facilitate this integration and leverage the value generated from different systems embedded in this model.

Findings

The paper highlights the key elements and applications of a new SKM conceptual model for actively and purposefully integrating explicit and tacit knowledge embedded within organisation systems and broader social and business intelligence networks.

Practical implications

The application of the thinking, organising principles and management practices derived from the SKM framework with its unique characteristics that are hard to substitute or imitate may support improvement and/or innovation of processes, products, services and brands contributing to sustainable competitive advantage of the firm.

Originality/value

While both hard and soft KM systems have been individually identified by previous studies as integral to KM, the research is amongst the first attempts to explore how to integrate both systems within a strategic KM framework with supporting organisational design principles for creating firm competitive advantage.