bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sex ratio manipulation for insect population control.
Authors: Papathanos P. A. , Windbichler N. , Akbari O. S.
Published: November 2014

The recent developments of molecular genetic engineering and insect transformation have now re-ignited an academic interest to overcome many of the problems that were previously intractable using standard genetic tools. This chapter focuses on the application of contemporary molecular and genetic techniques to manipulate the sex ratio of insect species. Three methods of sex ratio manipulation and their application to control insect populations (including plant pests) are described: segregation distortion, female killing and sex reversion to make phenotypic males. A detailed theoretical comparison of their relative field performance has shown that these methods can be more effective than sterile insect technique.
Conditional dominant lethals - RIDL.
Authors: Alphey L. , Koukidou M. , Morrison N. I.
Published: November 2014

This chapter focuses on sterile insect technique (SIT) improvement through the use of conditional dominant lethal genes, which can be used for sterilization and/or sex separation. When these conditional lethal genes are transgenes, i.e. constructed using recombinant DNA methods with at least some exogenous DNA, they are invariably associated with heritable markers. The application of sterile-male method as part of an integrated pest management system and its role in resistance management are described. Field experiences with genetically engineered plant insect pests and mosquitoes are mentioned. The potential of conditional lethal systems as the basis for genetic control of a wide range of pest insects is shown. This is driven partly by the inherently attractive properties of sterile-male methods in terms of effectiveness and low environmental impact, and partly by the potential for genetics-based improvements to classical SIT available through modern methods, especially genetic engineering.
Cue strength in second-language processing: An eye-tracking study
Authors: Tuninetti Alba , Warren Tessa , Tokowicz Natasha
Published: November 2014

This study used eye-tracking and grammaticality judgement measures to examine how second-language (L2) learners process syntactic violations in English. Participants were native Arabic and native Mandarin Chinese speakers studying English as an L2, and monolingual English-speaking controls. The violations involved incorrect word order and differed in two ways predicted to be important by the unified competition model [UCM; MacWhinney, B. (2005). A unified model of language acquisition. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 49–67). Oxford: Oxford University Press.]. First, one violation had more and stronger cues to ungrammaticality than the other. Second, the grammaticality of these word orders varied in Arabic and Mandarin Chinese. Sensitivity to violations was relatively quick overall, across all groups. Sensitivity also was related to the number and strength of cues to ungrammaticality regardless of native language, which is consistent with the general principles of the UCM. However, there was little evidence of cross-language transfer effects in either eye movements or grammaticality judgements.
Transplantation in End‐Stage Pulmonary Hypertension (Third International Right Heart Failure Summit, Part 3)
Authors: Lala Anuradha
Published: November 2014

The Third International Right Heart Summit was organized for the purpose of bringing an interdisciplinary group of expert physician‐scientists together to promote dialogue involving emerging concepts in the unique pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, and therapies of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) and right heart failure (RHF). This review summarizes key ideas addressed in the section of the seminar entitled “Transplantation in End‐Stage Pulmonary Hypertension.” The first segment focused on paradigms of recovery for the failing right ventricle (RV) within the context of lung‐alone versus dual‐organ heart‐lung transplantation. The subsequent 2‐part section was devoted to emerging concepts in RV salvage therapy. A presentation of evolving cell‐based therapy for the reparation of diseased tissue was followed by a contemporary perspective on the role of mechanical circulatory support in the setting of RV failure. The final talk highlighted cutting‐edge research models utilizing stem cell biology to repair diseased tissue in end‐stage lung disease—a conceptual framework within which new therapies for PVD have potential to evolve. Together, these provocative talks provided a novel outlook on how the treatment of PVD and RHF can be approached.
Emerging Hemodynamic Signatures of the Right Heart (Third International Right Heart Failure Summit, Part 2)
Authors: Maron Bradley A.
Published: November 2014

Despite the importance of preserved right ventricular structure and function with respect to outcome across the spectrum of lung, cardiac, and pulmonary vascular diseases, only recently have organized efforts developed to consider the pulmonary vascular–right ventricular apparatus as a specific unit within the larger context of cardiopulmonary pathophysiology. The Third International Right Heart Failure Summit (Boston, MA) was a multidisciplinary event dedicated to promoting a dialogue about the scientific and clinical basis of right heart disease. The current review provides a synopsis of key discussions presented during the section of the summit titled “Emerging Hemodynamic Signatures of the Right Heart.” Specifically, topics emphasized in this element of the symposium included (1) the effects of pulmonary vascular dysfunction at rest or provoked by exercise on the right ventricular pressure‐volume relationship, (2) the role of pressure‐volume loop analysis as a method to characterize right ventricular inefficiency and predict right heart failure, and (3) the importance of a systems biology approach to identifying novel factors that contribute to pathophenotypes associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or right ventricular dysfunction. Collectively, these concepts frame a forward‐thinking paradigm shift in the approach to right heart disease by emphasizing factors that regulate the transition from adaptive to maladaptive right ventricular–pulmonary vascular (patho)physiology.
Convergence rate to the singular solution for the Gelfand equation and its stability
Authors: Choi Sun-Ho
Published: November 2014

We study the asymptotic behaviors of the solution to the Gelfand equation. The Gelfand equation appears in the kinetic theory of gravitational steady state and the theory of nonlinear diffusion. We present a convergence rate of the solutions of the Gelfand equation to the unique singular solution as

r
r

goes to infinity and prove asymptotic stability of the solution by considering the initial value problem for the Gelfand equation. To obtain the convergence rate and the point-wise stability estimate, we construct a uniform lower bound function and use the solution for the linearized Gelfand equation.
FRET detection of lymphocyte function–associated antigen-1 conformational extension
Authors: Chigaev Alexandre , Smagley Yelena , Haynes Mark K. , Ursu Oleg , Bologa Cristian G. , Halip Liliana , Oprea Tudor , Waller Anna , Carter Mark B. , Zhang Yinan , Wang Wei , Buranda Tione , Sklar Larry A.
Published: November 2014

Lymphocyte function–associated antigen 1 (LFA-1, CD11a/CD18, αLβ2-integrin) and its ligands are essential for adhesion between T-cells and antigen-presenting cells, formation of the immunological synapse, and other immune cell interactions. LFA-1 function is regulated through conformational changes that include the modulation of ligand binding affinity and molecular extension. However, the relationship between molecular conformation and function is unclear. Here fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with new LFA-1–specific fluorescent probes showed that triggering of the pathway used for T-cell activation induced rapid unquenching of the FRET signal consistent with extension of the molecule. Analysis of the FRET quenching at rest revealed an unexpected result that can be interpreted as a previously unknown LFA-1 conformation.
Plasma membrane aminoglycerolipid flippase function is required for signaling competence in the yeast mating pheromone response pathway
Authors: Sartorel Elodie , Barrey Evelyne , Lau Rebecca K. , Thorner Jeremy
Published: November 2014

The class 4 P-type ATPases (“flippases”) maintain membrane asymmetry by translocating phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine from the outer leaflet to the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, five related gene products (Dnf1, Dnf2, Dnf3, Drs2, and Neo1) are implicated in flipping of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylcholine. In MATa cells responding to α-factor, we found that Dnf1, Dnf2, and Dnf3, as well as the flippase-activating protein kinase Fpk1, localize at the projection (“shmoo”) tip where polarized growth is occurring and where Ste5 (the central scaffold protein of the pheromone-initiated MAPK cascade) is recruited. Although viable, a MATa dnf1∆ dnf2∆ dnf3∆ triple mutant exhibited a marked decrease in its ability to respond to α-factor, which we could attribute to pronounced reduction in Ste5 stability resulting from an elevated rate of its Cln2⋅Cdc28-initiated degradation. Similarly, a MATa dnf1∆ dnf3∆ drs2∆ triple mutant also displayed marked reduction in its ability to respond to α-factor, which we could attribute to inefficient recruitment of Ste5 to the plasma membrane due to severe mislocalization of the cellular phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate pools. Thus proper remodeling of plasma membrane aminoglycerolipids and phosphoinositides is necessary for efficient recruitment, stability, and function of the pheromone signaling apparatus.
The traveltime holographic principle
Authors: Huang Yunsong , Schuster Gerard T.
Published: November 2014

Fermat's interferometric principle is used to compute interior transmission traveltimes τpq from exterior transmission traveltimes τsp and τsq. Here, the exterior traveltimes are computed for sources s on a boundary B that encloses a volume V of interior points p and q. Once the exterior traveltimes are computed, no further ray tracing is needed to calculate the interior times τpq. Therefore this interferometric approach can be more efficient than explicitly computing interior traveltimes τpq by ray tracing. Moreover, the memory requirement of the traveltimes is reduced by one dimension, because the boundary B is of one fewer dimension than the volume V. An application of this approach is demonstrated with interbed multiple (IM) elimination. Here, the IMs in the observed data are predicted from the migration image and are subsequently removed by adaptive subtraction. This prediction is enabled by the knowledge of interior transmission traveltimes τpq computed according to Fermat's interferometric principle. We denote this principle as the ‘traveltime holographic principle’, by analogy with the holographic principle in cosmology where information in a volume is encoded on the region's boundary.
Reconstituting Labour Market Freedom: Corporate Governance and Collective Worker Counterbalance
Authors: Moore Marc T.
Published: November 2014

Orthodox understandings of ‘free’ labour markets today tend to be premised on a particularly Hayekian, liberal-individualist conception of industrial relations. It generally follows from this ideological premise that employees and their employer firms can—and, moreover, should—contract with one another on a reciprocal and individually negotiable basis, in a manner not fundamentally dissimilar from any other standard incidence of market exchange. Accordingly, any form of collective mobilisation by employees vis-a-vis employer firms in the form of adversarial industrial action is typically viewed as a cause of allocative inefficiency for employer firms. The present article disputes this logic by demonstrating how, contrary to Hayekian logic, the common law employment relation does not comprise a set of discrete and reciprocally (re)negotiated contractual terms. Rather, it exhibits the peculiar dynamic of a diffuse extra-contractual command structure, whereby employer firms are vested with unilateral discretionary prerogative vis-a-vis employees. On this basis, the article highlights the structural imperative of effective adversarial counter-pressures (in favour of employees) in legitimising—and thereby sustaining—the resulting reciprocal power imbalance that is central to the employment relation. In particular, it argues that the continuing collective capacity of employees to mobilise their human capital via adversarial industrial action, as facilitated by underpinning labour law institutions, is fundamental to securing labour’s acquiescence in management’s possession and exercise of discretionary prerogative. In this way, a legally constituted system of collective employee adversarialism is conducive to securing continuing employee ‘buy-in’ to the employer’s unilaterally determined objectives and values, thereby preserving the inherent decisional power imbalance on which the administrative efficiency of the employment relation is contingent. This in turn has the crucial functional effect of mitigating agency costs in the employment relation, enabling employer firms to economise on their overall costs of production.
Infections in Infants Fed Formula Supplemented With Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membranes
Authors: Timby Niklas , Hernell Olle , Vaarala Outi , Melin Merit , Lönnerdal Bo , Domellöf Magnus
Published: November 2014

Objectives:

Observational studies have shown that even in high‐income countries formula‐fed infants have a higher incidence of acute otitis media (AOM), and gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections during the first year of life compared with breast‐fed infants. We hypothesized that components of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) may be responsible for some of these differences and that supplementation with bovine MFGM would decrease the infectious morbidity in formula‐fed infants.

Methods:

In a double‐blind randomized controlled trial, 160 formula‐fed infants received experimental formula (EF) supplemented with bovine MFGM (EF) or unsupplemented standard formula (SF) from <2 months until 6 months of age. A breast‐fed reference group consisted of 80 infants. Disease symptoms, health care contacts, and medication were recorded by the parents until 12 months of age. Serum immunoglobulin G for 10 pneumococcal serotypes was analyzed at 6 months of age.

Results:

The cumulative incidence of AOM during the intervention was lower in the EF group than in the SF group (1% vs 9%, P = 0.034), and did not differ from the breast‐fed reference group (0%, P = 1.0). The incidence (25% vs 43%, P = 0.021) and longitudinal prevalence (P = 0.012) of antipyretic use were significantly lower in the EF group than in the SF group. Serum immunoglobulin G concentrations against pneumococcal serotypes 1, 5, and 14 were lower in the EF group than in the SF group.

Conclusions:

Supplementation of formula with bovine MFGM reduces the risk of AOM, decreases antipyretics use in formula‐fed infants, and has immunomodulatory effects on humoral response against pneumococcus vaccine.
Expanding Phenotypic and Allelic Heterogeneity of Tricho‐Hepato‐Enteric Syndrome
Authors: Monies Dorota M. , Rahbeeni Zuhair , Abouelhoda Mohamed , Naim Ewa A. , Al‐Younes Banan , Meyer Brian F. , Al‐Mehaidib Ali
Published: November 2014

Molecular genetics studies are of increasing importance in the diagnosis and classification of congenital diarrheal disorders. We describe the molecular genetic basis of tricho‐hepato‐enteric syndrome in patients from Saudi Arabia with novel mutations of SKIV2L (c.3559_3579del, p.1187_1193del) and TTC37 (C4102T, p.Q1368X). Interestingly, the congenital presence of café‐au‐lait spots and their distribution in the pelvis and lower limbs were a unique and consistent clinical feature of these patients and may aid differential diagnosis of congenital diarrheal disorders. This study expands allelic and phenotypic heterogeneity of syndromic diarrhea/tricho‐hepato‐enteric syndrome.
Heterogeneous dividend preferences of Chinese individual and institutional investors
Authors: Chen Xin , Tang Lin , Hu Haiou
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine preferences of Chinese individual and institutional investors to cash dividends and stock dividends. Using categorized daily holding information from the TOPVIEW database, the authors test how percentage holdings of individuals and institutional investors change, respectively, around annual report dates and registration dates.

Design/methodology/approach

– The results show that individuals and institutional investors often express heterogeneous preferences to dividends. After controlling for firm size and market performance, the authors find that the higher the ratio of stock dividend is, the more likely institutional investors will increase their overall holdings of the stock-dividend-paying firm in the week after annual report date, but they do not prefer to do so around registration dates. Meanwhile, the higher the ratio of stock dividend is, the more likely individual investors will increase their overall holdings of the stock-dividend-paying firm in the week before registration date, but do not prefer to do so after annual report dates. Such patterns do not exist for cash-dividend-paying firms.

Findings

– The results imply that different types of investors chase high stock-dividend-paying firms at different stages of dividend events. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis of “price illusion,” but do not lend support to the signaling hypothesis of stock dividends.

Originality/value

– This paper uses categorized data of daily share holdings to test how different types of minority shareholders respond to stock dividends and cash dividends for the first time. It sheds lights on the on-going academic debate about the “stock dividend puzzle” in China.
An action framework for compliance and governance
Authors: O’Neill Allen
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for clinical governance, in particular, the compliance of data privacy in a healthcare organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach of the research was to highlight problem areas in compliance and governance risk management (governance, risk and compliance (GRC)) in general, and then identify knowledge in other domains that could be combined and applied to improve GRC management, and ultimately improve governance outcomes.

Findings

– There is a gap in the literature is respect of systems and frameworks to assist organisations in managing the complex minutiae associated with compliance. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a “compliance action framework” which builds on work existing in other domains in relation to education, process control and governance.

Research limitations/implications

– The present research provides a starting point for an implementation of the framework within a number of organisations, and opens questions for further research in the field.

Originality/value

– The GRC framework proposed in this paper contributes to the state of the art, by proposing processes for improving the governance capability and compliance outcomes within an organisation for governance of data privacy risk and data protection.
A Canadian perspective on clinical governance
Authors: Berg Marc , Black Georgina
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the state of clinical governance practices globally as well as a more detailed examination of the clinical governance landscape in Canada. The paper explores the concept that established clinical governance practices are more important than ever as healthcare systems are increasingly under pressure to reduce costs while dealing with the challenges of ageing populations. Additionally, it suggests that healthcare could benefit by studying and adopting some of the successful governance policies that exist in other jurisdictions or sectors where quality and safety are an integral part of their governance mandate, such as the airline or nuclear energy sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper explores the status of clinical governance practices in Canada. This is achieved through a combination of author experience in addition to the review of existing literature and assessments on clinical governance practices and patient safety.

Findings

– While individual success stories can be found, standardized clinical governance practices across the range of healthcare providers remain largely absent. By focussing on standardized processes, and by placing an emphasis on improved clinical governance, healthcare providers can control and in some cases lower costs while improving efficiency and increasing patient safety. While progress has been slow for many years, the authors speculate that healthcare has reached a tipping point. As information systems develop and become more reliable and robust, and systems move to a patient-centric collaborative approach to care, there is a tremendous opportunity for healthcare and life sciences organizations to exploit and capitalize on both their growing information repositories, and the big data trends that have been embraced and leveraged by other sectors in recent years.

Practical implications

– Managing costs and delivering safe, efficient care to patients remain top considerations for healthcare boards and healthcare systems alike. As healthcare systems grapple with the increasing costs and risk associated with ageing populations and a more complex healthcare delivery model, effective clinical governance policies focussed on quality outcomes are essential.

Originality/value

– This paper highlights the responsibility of healthcare boards to learn lessons from other safety-critical industries and develop their own capacity to evaluate progress toward the goals identified above. It also provides insight into the role that leaders on both the corporate and clinical sides of the industry have to play, and the need for meaningful measures that will drive a quality agenda. The paper also emphases the link between established clinical governance practices and greater efficiency, reduced costs and improved patient safety.
Multimedia networking issues for digital video libraries
Authors: Kanellopoulos Dimitris N.
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a tutorial and survey on recent advances in multimedia networking from an integrated perspective of both video networking and building digital video libraries. The nature of video networking, coupled with various recent developments in standards, proposals and applications, poses great challenges to the research and industrial communities working in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper presents an insightful analysis for recent and emerging multimedia applications in digital video libraries and on video coding standards and their applications in digital libraries. Emphasis is given on those standards and mechanisms that enable multimedia content adaptation fully interoperable according to the vision of Universal Multimedia Access vision.

Findings

– The tutorial helps elucidate the similarities and differences among the considered standards and networking applications. A number of research trends and challenges are identified, and selected promising solutions are discussed. This practice would needle further thoughts on the development of this area and open-up more research and application opportunities.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper does not provide methodical studies of networking application scenarios for all the discussed video coding standards and Quality of Service (QoS) management mechanisms.

Practical implications

– The paper provides an overview of which technologies/mechanisms are being used broadly in networking scenarios of digital video libraries. The discussed networking scenarios bring together video coding standards and various emerging wireless networking paradigms toward innovative application scenarios.

Originality/value

– QoS mechanisms and video coding standards that support multimedia applications for digital video libraries need to become well-known by library managers and professional associations in the fields of libraries and archives. The comprehensive overview and critiques on existing standards and application approaches offer a valuable reference for researchers and system developers in related research and industrial communities.
A simple scheme for bibliography acquisition using DOI content negotiation proxy
Authors: Ma Kun , Yang Bo
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to study a bibliography acquisition approach to verify the bibliography by author name from the integrated system and the metadata from the digital object identifier (DOI) content negotiation proxy. As managed scientific research papers increase at a higher rate, an accurate and automated scheme for bibliography acquisition is desirable.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study develops a framework using DOI content negotiation proxy as context for the entering of the bibliography. The bibliography acquisition architecture is composed of three point of views to reduce the complexity: terminal UI, service deployed in the cloud and DOI content negotiation proxy. To simplify the service interface and support many kinds of bibliographic formats, this paper presents the independent BibModel and its template-based model transformation engine to support rich bibliographic records.

Findings

– An important finding of this article is that we do some significant development work to combine the open CrossCite DOI content service and DOI resolvers of registry agencies. As more than 95 per cent of DOIs are owned or managed by CrossRef, DataCite, ISTIC and mEDTA DOI registry agencies, it is a common universal approach for the scientific research paper results with DOIs.

Practical implications

– Through a simple method built quickly from freely available parts, it is partially successful, suggesting the scheme can be integrated with third-party systems, such as the management system of scientific research results and the electronic journal management system. The analysis of the application’s effect shows the ability to verify the authenticity of the paper by author name from the system and the metadata from our DOI content negotiation proxy.

Originality/value

– This paper proposes an original and simple framework to acquire the metadata of bibliographies automatically. No detailed evaluative study has been carried out supporting both DOI content negotiation and resolver. This work shows how to implement the acquisition approach and how to integrate this framework with the current system.
A coupled FE model for the joint resolution of the shallow water and the groundwater flow equations
Authors: Rábade H.G. , Vellando P. , Padilla F. , Juncosa R.
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– A new coupled finite element model has been developed for the joint resolution of both the shallow water equations, that governs the free surface flow, and the groundwater flow equation that governs the motion of water through a porous media. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The model is based upon two different modules (surface and ground water) previously developed by the authors, that have been validated separately.

Findings

– The newly developed software allows for the assessment of the fluid flow in natural watersheds taking into account both the surface and the underground flow in the way it really takes place in nature.

Originality/value

– The main achievement of this work has dealt with the coupling of both models, allowing for a proper moving interface treatment that simulates the actual interaction that takes place between surface and groundwater in natural watersheds.
The limits of climate change agreements: from past to present
Authors: Lal Pandey Chandra
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to show why very little progress was made in arresting climate change. Managing climate change is one of the greatest challenges humanity has encountered in the 21st century. Responding to this greatest challenge, the United Nations has organized numerous climate change conferences. Four agreements (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], Kyoto, Copenhagen and Doha) have emerged in the process of developing a potential international climate change policy but failed to produce any ambitious agreement to arrest climate change.

Design/methodology/approach

– The pledges made by Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) are contextualized with the ever increasing emissions of GHGs by exploring the databases of UNFCCC, International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Netherlands Energy Assessment Agency (NEAA) for this study.

Findings

– However, GHGs have continued to rise and no globally binding agreement is seen to be forthcoming. Quantified targets to address the problem have yet to be agreed while major emitters remain free riders. This paper argues that the state-centric negotiating framework and the principles of the climate change negotiations were the main reasons for the inadequate outcomes leading to the continuing rise in emissions.

Originality/value

– This is an original research. It has presented the overview of climate change agreements, finds the problems and presents a way forward. The research is useful for governments of the world, climate negotiators, students of climate change, researchers, NGO communities and every single human being who understands that managing climate change is not only complex but also extensive.
China integrates Asia with the world: an empirical study
Authors: Dinda Soumyananda
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper was to focus on China’s economic integration with Asia region and the world. It also attempts to find the long-run relation with short-run dynamics of China’s trade in Asia and the world.

Design/methodology/approach

– The augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillips–Perron methods are applied to test the time-series properties of the variables. Co-integration technique is used to detect the economic integration of China’s export to the USA and its import from Asian nations using monthly aggregate data from December 2005 to July 2010.

Findings

– This study observed that empirically China’s export to the USA depends on exchange rate and China’s import from Asia depends on China’s export to the USA. China has double role in international trade – China acts as an attractor of all inputs from Asia, and China exports the final products in international market. This study also reveals that the speed of China’s import from Asia is faster than that of China’s export to the USA.

Research limitations/implications

– This study has some limitation in terms of data availability, and choice of methodology like the Gravity model

Practical implications

– The results imply that China’s trade should be treated as an engine of growth in the Asian developing countries and the trade promotion policies should be encouraged. The emerging China will create other opportunities through trade integration with Asia and the world.

Social implications

– These empirical findings will help policy-makers formulate their policy and design the mechanism for application as per their targets.

Originality/value

– China is economically integrated with the region and the world. The paper contributes to measure the speed of China’s export and import in short run within Asia and the world. These empirical findings will help policy-makers to formulate their policy and design the mechanism for application as per their targets.
Opportunities and challenges of workplace concept creation in Finnish government agencies
Authors: Rasila Heidi , Jylhä Tuuli , Sundqvist Anne
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to study the opportunities and challenges of the government workplace concepting process. Several Finnish government administrations have created nationwide workplace concepts for their network of agencies. These concepts give guidelines for designing workplaces for modern knowledge workers as well as service channels for the customers.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper discusses five Finnish government workplace concepts that include guidelines and recommendations for workplace design. The five workplace concept manuals were studied using content analysis. Additionally, seven interviews were conducted with participants involved in the concepting process.

Findings

– The opportunities and challenges of the governmental workplace concepting process were studied using a six-step process framework. Each step has its own unique opportunities and challenges, which affect the outcome and the progress in implementing the concepts. Studying the opportunities and challenges helps to improve the concepting process and thus improve the potential for effectively implementing the concepts.

Practical implications

– Creating office concepts in the public sector is at an immature phase both in Finland and in other countries. This paper helps take steps towards creating public offices that are cost efficient and at the same time support modern work activities. This allows governmental actors to rationalise and make the best possible use of their extensive stock of real estate.

Originality/value

– Public offices have been little studied and office work in this context is also a less studied topic. The findings of this paper offer a novel way to look at government office concepts.
Strategic sequencing behavior among owner-occupiers
Authors: Kallåk Anundsen André , Røed Larsen Erling
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to study the dual search problem using data on the Norwegian housing market during the financial crisis of 2008 and begin the detailed mapping of the elements in the transmission mechanism from policy to the housing market. Moving owner occupiers face a simultaneous dual search and matching problem, as they must locate both a buyer and a seller with whom to transact. Individual agents solve this optimization under uncertainty by planning to make their bids for a new house partially conditional upon the sale of the old house.

Design/methodology/approach

– Norway may function as a window into a policy quasi-laboratory since the housing market was turned around in December 2008 in the midst of a worldwide financial crisis and after a year and a half of price decreases. The article proposes that one key dimension in the recovery was the reduced frequency of households with conditional demand involving sell-first strategies and acquires data to shed light on this proposition.

Findings

– Empirical evidence on the sell-first–buy-first differential, for-sale stock and stock-to-volume supports this proposition, and results indicate that the housing market is affected by sell-first strategies. The article discusses policy alternatives.

Originality/value

– The article introduces a miniature model of housing trade sequences and a simple apparatus with which to analyze the consequences of sell-first behavior. It also acquires and combines new data on sell-first–buy-first differential, for-sale stock and stock-to-volume ratio. The article analyzes the co-movement between these time series and the house price index.
Losses on Dutch residential mortgage insurances
Authors: Francke M.K. , Schilder F.P.W.
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to study the data on losses on mortgage insurance in the Dutch housing market to find the key drivers of the probability of loss. In 2013, 25 per cent of all Dutch homeowners were “under water”: selling the property will not cover the outstanding mortgage debt. The double-trigger theory predicts that being under water is a necessary but not sufficient condition to predict mortgage default. A loss for the mortgage insurer is the result of a default where the proceedings of sale and the accumulated savings for postponed repayment of the principal associated to the loan are not sufficient to repay the loan.

Design/methodology/approach

– For this study, the authors use a data set on losses on mortgage insurance at a national aggregate level covering the period from 1976 to 2012. They apply a discrete time hazard model with calendar time- and duration-varying covariates to analyze the relationship between year of issue of the insurance, duration, equity, unfortunate events like unemployment and divorce and affordability measures to identify the main drivers of the probability of loss.

Findings

– Although the number of losses increases over time, the number of losses relative to the active insurance is still low, despite the fact that the Dutch housing market is the world’s most strongly leveraged housing market. On average, the peak in loss probability lies around a duration of four years. The average loss probability is virtually zero for durations larger than 10 years. Mortgages initiated just prior to the beginning of the financial crisis have an increased loss probability. The most important drivers of the loss probability are home equity, unemployment and divorce. Affordability measures are less important.

Research limitations/implications

– Mortgage insurance is available for the lower end of the market only and is intended to decrease the impact of risk selection by banks. The analysis is based on aggregate data; no information on individual households, like initial loan-to-value and price-to-income ratios; current home equity; and unfortunate events, like unemployment and divorce, is available. The research uses averages of these variables per calendar year and/or duration. Information on repayments of insured mortgages is missing.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to describe the main drivers of losses on insured mortgages in The Netherlands by using loss data covering two housing market crises, one in the early 1980s and the current crisis that started in 2008. Much has changed between the two crises. For instance, prices have risen steeply as has household indebtedness. Furthermore, alternative mortgage products have increased in popularity. Focusing a study on the drivers of mortgage losses exclusively on the current crisis could therefore be biased, given the time-specific circumstances on the housing market.
Optimal sharing arrangement for multiple project outcomes
Authors: Mahdi Hosseinian S. , G. Carmichael David
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to address a shortfall in the literature dealing with optimal sharing arrangements. In construction projects, where the owner is concerned about multiple project outcomes (cost, time, quality, […]), there exist no guidelines in the literature on what a sharing arrangement should be between the owner and the contractor. This paper gives that arrangement, under defined risk assumptions on the contractor (risk averse ranging to risk neutral) and the owner (risk neutral). The sharing aligns the contractor's interests with those of the owner.

Design/methodology/approach

– The results are based on solving a constrained maximisation problem involving the expected utilities of both the owner and contractor. Construction practitioners were interviewed in a designed experiment to validate the results.

Findings

– It is demonstrated that, at the optimum, the proportions of outcomes sharing to the contractor should be higher for outcomes with lower effort cost and a lower level of uncertainty, and by increasing the correlation between outcomes, the fixed component of the contractor’s fee should increase and the proportions to the contractor should decrease.

Research limitations/implications

– The theoretical results assume that the contractor is risk-averse ranging to risk-neutral, and that the owner is risk-neutral. The theory is supported through conducting an empirical study based on interviewing a sample of practitioners working for medium-sized contractors, and hence the support is limited to similar situations, until further data are assembled.

Practical implications

– By providing a broader understanding of sharing arrangements within contracts, a contribution is made to the current practice of contracts management. The results may be used in the design of contracts, or as benchmarks, by which contracts designed differently, may be compared.

Originality/value

– The results address a shortfall in the literature and are an original solution to establishing an optimal multiple-outcome sharing arrangement.
The structure of equity ownership: a survey of the evidence
Authors: Basu Nilanjan
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review recent research on the structure of equity ownership and its impact on firm value. In doing so, the paper outlines the main issues, surveys the more recent work, and highlights the most promising developments on this topic.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is a survey – as such there is no relevant research design.

Findings

– The paper commences from multiple surveys done a decade ago that find that the evidence on this topic is inconclusive. Since then, researchers have developed several promising lines of inquiry. These approaches – specifically the new focus on the identity of the blockholders, multiple blockholder interactions, as well as the use of structural modeling, and the use of changes in insider ownership – hold some promise of being able to provide more definitive answers.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper suggests that current researchers focus on newer approaches to analyzing the structure of equity ownership. Specifically, for research on blockholder ownership, the identity of blockholders as well as the interaction between blockholders are promising approaches to this topic. For research on insider ownership, structural models that have become recently popular as well as an emphasis on changes rather than levels of insider ownership are promising avenues of inquiry.

Originality/value

– The paper summarizes the state of research on the structure of equity ownership and in doing so provides a quick introduction to a researcher new to this topic. In addition, the paper highlights the most promising areas of inquiry on this topic.
Severe mental illness & employment: cost-benefit analysis and dynamics of decision making
Authors: Booth David , Francis Simon , Mcivor Neil , Hinson Patrick , Barton Benjamin
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the economic benefits of Individual Placement with Support programmes commissioned by NHS North in the North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review was conducted and data collected from supported employment programmes in four localities. An econometric analysis was performed to evaluate likely savings for local commissioners and return on investment for the Treasury.

Findings

– Integration of employment support within mental health services is central to success. Econometric analysis showed that local commissioners could save £1,400 per additional job outcome by commissioning evidence-based interventions and there is a positive return on investment to the Treasury for every £1 spent there is a return to the Treasury of £1.04.

Originality/value

– This paper demonstrates the economic and social value of evidence-based supported employment for people with severe mental illness. The economic data generated could be helpful in encouraging investment in effective employment support in other areas. The work, views and perspectives contained in this paper are those of the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the organisations for whom the authors work.
Disciplines and thematics of scientific research in police training (1988-2012)
Authors: Aguilar-Moya Remedios , Melero-Fuentes David , Navarro-Molina Carolina , Aleixandre-Benavent Rafael , Valderrama-Zurián Juan-Carlos
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the disciplines and thematic study of scientific production in police training over the period 1988-2012.

Design/methodology/approach

– Introduction and homogenization of keywords and assigning of descriptors to documents, thematic categorization of journals and, analysis of indicators of productivity and relationship of descriptors and thematic areas has been the used methodology.

Findings

– Totally, 59 different descriptors of a total of 585 assigned to the 182 articles that were published in 95 journals belonging into 20 different subject areas have been identified. The most frequent descriptors are “skills,” “management development” and “violence” and the main thematic areas have been “Criminology and Penology” and “Psychology”. Totally, 47 relationships between 30 descriptors in more than two works, 35 relationships between 20 thematic areas and, 78 relationships between 43 descriptors and eight subject areas in more than two articles have been identified.

Originality/value

– Characterize the disciplines and thematic of study of the articles and journals in the scientific production on police training, as well as to identify the relationships between descriptors, subject areas and among these.
Stress among Italian male and female patrol police officers: a quali-quantitative survey
Authors: Acquadro Maran Daniela , Varetto Antonella , Zedda Massimo , Franscini Monica
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to carry out a quali-quantitative study to analyze unease and perceived stress in a population of 485 male and female police officers in a large city in northern Italy, and investigate the consequences of these and the coping strategies adopted. The working context the paper chose to investigate was the Municipal Police, which is characterized by strong links with the local community. As suggested in the literature, the paper focalized the attention both on organizational and operational stressors.

Design/methodology/approach

– Quali-quantitative study: a self-administered questionnaire.

Findings

– Results show that both men and women are self-critical and their evaluation of the professional and contextual circumstances in which they operate is filtered by pessimism and self-blame, with higher levels of somatization in women: female patrol police officers are at the highest risk of psychological distress.

Originality/value

– This is, to the best of the knowledge, the first quali-quantities study in Italy to consider the gender variable within a single police force.