bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ocular stability and set-point adaptation
Authors: Zee D. S. , Jareonsettasin P. , Leigh R. J.
Published: February 2017

A fundamental challenge to the brain is how to prevent intrusive movements when quiet is needed. Unwanted limb movements such as tremor impair fine motor control and unwanted eye drifts such as nystagmus impair vision. A stable platform is also necessary to launch accurate movements. Accordingly, nature has designed control systems with agonist (excitation) and antagonist (inhibition) muscle pairs functioning in push–pull, around a steady level of balanced tonic activity, the
set-point
. Sensory information can be organized similarly, as in the vestibulo-ocular reflex, which generates eye movements that compensate for head movements. The semicircular canals, working in coplanar pairs, one in each labyrinth, are reciprocally excited and inhibited as they transduce head rotations. The relative change in activity is relayed to the vestibular nuclei, which operate around a set-point of stable balanced activity. When a pathological imbalance occurs, producing unwanted nystagmus without head movement, an adaptive mechanism restores the proper set-point and eliminates the nystagmus. Here we used 90 min of continuous 7 T magnetic field labyrinthine stimulation (MVS) in normal humans to produce sustained nystagmus simulating vestibular imbalance. We identified multiple time-scale processes towards a new zero set-point showing that MVS is an excellent paradigm to investigate the neurobiology of set-point adaptation.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’.
Unchanging visions: the effects and limitations of ocular stillness
Authors: Martinez-Conde Susana , Macknik Stephen L.
Published: February 2017

Scientists have pondered the perceptual effects of ocular motion, and those of its counterpart, ocular stillness, for over 200 years. The unremitting ‘trembling of the eye’ that occurs even during gaze fixation was first noted by Jurin in 1738. In 1794, Erasmus Darwin documented that gaze fixation produces perceptual fading, a phenomenon rediscovered in 1804 by Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler. Studies in the twentieth century established that Jurin's ‘eye trembling’ consisted of three main types of ‘fixational’ eye movements, now called microsaccades (or fixational saccades), drifts and tremor. Yet, owing to the constant and minute nature of these motions, the study of their perceptual and physiological consequences has met significant technological challenges. Studies starting in the 1950s and continuing in the present have attempted to study vision during retinal stabilization—a technique that consists on shifting any and all visual stimuli presented to the eye in such a way as to nullify all concurrent eye movements—providing a tantalizing glimpse of vision in the absence of change. No research to date has achieved perfect retinal stabilization, however, and so other work has devised substitute ways to counteract eye motion, such as by studying the perception of afterimages or of the entoptic images formed by retinal vessels, which are completely stable with respect to the eye. Yet other research has taken the alternative tack to control eye motion by behavioural instruction to fix one's gaze or to keep one's gaze still, during concurrent physiological and/or psychophysical measurements. Here, we review the existing data—from historical and contemporary studies that have aimed to nullify or minimize eye motion—on the perceptual and physiological consequences of perfect versus imperfect fixation. We also discuss the accuracy, quality and stability of ocular fixation, and the bottom–up and top–down influences that affect fixation behaviour.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’.
Neuronal control of fixation and fixational eye movements
Authors: Krauzlis Richard J. , Goffart Laurent , Hafed Ziad M.
Published: February 2017

Ocular fixation is a dynamic process that is actively controlled by many of the same brain structures involved in the control of eye movements, including the superior colliculus, cerebellum and reticular formation. In this article, we review several aspects of this active control. First, the decision to move the eyes not only depends on target-related signals from the peripheral visual field, but also on signals from the currently fixated target at the fovea, and involves mechanisms that are shared between saccades and smooth pursuit. Second, eye position during fixation is actively controlled and depends on bilateral activity in the superior colliculi and medio-posterior cerebellum; disruption of activity in these circuits causes systematic deviations in eye position during both fixation and smooth pursuit eye movements. Third, the eyes are not completely still during fixation but make continuous miniature movements, including ocular drift and microsaccades, which are controlled by the same neuronal mechanisms that generate larger saccades. Finally, fixational eye movements have large effects on visual perception. Ocular drift transforms the visual input in ways that increase spatial acuity; microsaccades not only improve vision by relocating the fovea but also cause momentary changes in vision analogous to those caused by larger saccades.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’.
Freeze for action: neurobiological mechanisms in animal and human freezing
Authors: Roelofs Karin
Published: February 2017

Upon increasing levels of threat, animals activate qualitatively different defensive modes, including freezing and active fight-or-flight reactions. Whereas freezing is a form of behavioural inhibition accompanied by parasympathetically dominated heart rate deceleration, fight-or-flight reactions are associated with sympathetically driven heart rate acceleration. Despite the potential relevance of freezing for human stress-coping, its phenomenology and neurobiological underpinnings remain largely unexplored in humans. Studies in rodents have shown that freezing depends on amygdala projections to the brainstem (periaqueductal grey). Recent neuroimaging studies in humans have indicated that similar brain regions may be involved in human freezing. In addition, flexibly shifting between freezing and active defensive modes is critical for adequate stress-coping and relies on fronto-amygdala connections. This review paper presents a model detailing these neural mechanisms involved in freezing and the shift to fight-or-flight action. Freezing is not a passive state but rather a parasympathetic brake on the motor system, relevant to perception and action preparation. Study of these defensive responses in humans may advance insights into human stress-related psychopathologies characterized by rigidity in behavioural stress reactions. The paper therefore concludes with a research agenda to stimulate translational animal–human research in this emerging field of human defensive stress responses.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’.
And the best task is …? Using Task potency to infer task specificity
Authors: Chauvin Roselyne J. , Mennes Maarten , Llera Alberto , Buitelaar Jan K. , Beckmann Christian F.
Published: February 2017

When an individual engages in a task, the associated evoked activities build upon already ongoing activity, itself shaped by an underlying functional connectivity baseline (Fox et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2009; Tavor et al., 2016). To facilitate understanding the building blocks of cognition we incorporate the idea that task-induced functional connectivity modulation with respect to its underlying resting state functional connectivity is task-specific. Here, we introduce a framework incorporatingtask potency, providing direct access to task-specificity through enabling direct comparison between task paradigms. In particular, to study functional connectivity modulations related to cognitive involvement in a task we define task potency as the amplitude of connectivity modulations away from the brain’s baseline functional connectivity architecture as observed during a resting state acquisition. We demonstrate the use of our framework by comparing three tasks (visuo-spatial working memory, reward processing, and stop signal task) available within a large cohort. Using task potency, we demonstrate that cognitive operations are supported by a common baseline of within-network interactions, supplemented by connections between large-scale networks in order to solve a specific task.

Highlights

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Task potency framework defines modulation of functional connectivity away from baseline resting state

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More within-than between-network modulations are induced by task performance

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Between-network modulations are task-specific

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Edges modulated by multiple tasks are mostly within-network

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The task potency can be used to define the most potent task
Dynamics of ASC speck formation during skin inflammatory responsesin vivo
Authors: Kuri Paola , Schieber Nicole L. , Thumberger Thomas , Wittbrodt Joachim , Schwab Yannick , Leptin Maria
Published: February 2017

Activated danger or pathogen sensors trigger assembly of the inflammasome adaptor ASC into specks, large signalling platforms considered hallmarks of inflammasome activation. Because a lack ofin vivotools has prevented the study of endogenous ASC dynamics, we generated a live ASC reporter through CRISPR/Cas9 tagging of the endogenous gene in zebrafish. We see strong ASC expression in the skin and other epithelia that act as barriers to insult. A toxic stimulus triggered speck formation and rapid pyroptosis in keratinocytesin vivo. Macrophages engulfed and digested this speck-containing pyroptotic debris. A 3D ultrastructural reconstruction based on CLEM ofin vivoassembled specks revealed a compact network of highly intercrossed filaments, whereas PYD or CARD alone formed filamentous aggregates. The effector caspase is recruited through PYD, whose overexpression induced pyroptosis, but after substantial delay. Therefore, formation of a single compact speck and rapid cell death inductionin vivorequires full-length ASC.

One Sentence Summary

With a new endogenous ASC real-time reporter we characterize speck dynamicsin vivoas well as the concomitant pyroptosis speck formation causes in keratinocytes.
STPGA: Selection of training populations with a genetic algorithm
Authors: Akdemir Deniz
Published: February 2017

Optimal subset selection is an important task that has numerous algorithms designed for it and has many application areas. STPGA contains a special genetic algorithm supplemented with a tabu memory property (that keeps track of previously tried solutions and their fitness for a number of iterations), and with a regression of the fitness of the solutions on their coding that is used to form the ideal estimated solution (look ahead property) to search for solutions of generic optimal subset selection problems. I have initially developed the programs for the specific problem of selecting training populations for genomic prediction or association problems, therefore I give discussion of the theory behind optimal design of experiments to explain the default optimization criteria in STPGA, and illustrate the use of the programs in this endeavor. Nevertheless, I have picked a few other areas of application: supervised and unsupervised variable selection based on kernel alignment, supervised variable selection with design criteria, influential observation identification for regression, solving mixed integer quadratic optimization problems, balancing gains and inbreeding in a breeding population. Some of these illustrations pertain new statistical approaches.
Functional genomic analysis of corals from natural CO2-seeps reveals core molecular responses involved in acclimatization to ocean acidification
Authors: Kenkel CD , Moya A , Strahl J , Humphrey C , Bay LK
Published: February 2017

Little is known about the potential for acclimatization or adaptation of corals to ocean acidification and even less about the molecular mechanisms underpinning these processes. Here we examine global gene expression patterns in corals and their intracellular algal symbionts from two replicate population pairs in Papua New Guinea that have undergone long-term acclimatization to natural variation in pCO2. In the coral host, only 61 genes were differentially expressed in response to pCO2environment, but the pattern of change was highly consistent between replicate populations, likely reflecting the core expression homeostasis response to ocean acidification. Functional annotations highlight lipid metabolism and a change in the stress response capacity of corals as a key part of this process. Specifically, constitutive downregulation of molecular chaperones was observed, which may impact response to combined climate-change related stressors. Elevated CO2has been hypothesized to benefit photosynthetic organisms but expression changes ofin hospite Symbiodiniumin response to acidification were greater and less consistent among reef populations. This population-specific response suggests hosts may need to adapt not only to an acidified environment, but also to changes in theirSymbiodiniumpopulations that may not be consistent among environments. This process adds another challenging dimension to the physiological process of coping with climate change.
Understanding inhibitor resistance in Mps1 kinase through novel biophysical assays and structures
Authors: Hiruma Yoshitaka , Koch Andre , Hazraty Nazila , Tsakou Foteini , Medema René H. , Joosten Robbie P. , Perrakis Anastassis
Published: February 2017

Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1/TTK) is a protein kinase essential in mitotic checkpoint signalling, preventing anaphase until all chromosomes are properly attached to spindle microtubules. Mps1 has emerged as a potential target for cancer therapy, and a variety of compounds have been developed to inhibit its kinase activity. Mutations in the catalytic domain of Mps1 that give rise to inhibitor resistance, but retain catalytic activity and do not display cross-resistance to other Mps1 inhibitors, have been described. Here we characterize the interactions of two such mutants, Mps1 C604Y and C604W, which raise resistance to two closely related compounds, NMS-P715 and its derivative Cpd-5, but not to the well-characterised Mps1 inhibitor, reversine. We show that estimates of the IC50(employing a novel specific and efficient assay that utilizes a fluorescently labelled substrate) and of the binding affinity (KD) indicate that in both mutants, Cpd-5 should be better tolerated than the closely related NMS-P715. To gain further insight, we determined the crystal structure of the Mps1 kinase mutants bound to Cpd-5 and NMS-P715, and compare the binding modes of Cpd-5, NMS-P715 and reversine. The difference in steric hindrance between Tyr/Trp604 and the trifluoromethoxy moiety of NMS-P715, the methoxy moiety of Cpd-5, and complete absence of such a group in reversine, account for differences we observein vitro. Our analysis enforces the notion that inhibitors targeting Mps1 drug-resistant mutations can emerge as a feasible intervention strategy based on existing scaffolds, if the clinical need arises.

Summary statement

The inhibition of specific Mps1 kinase inhibitors towards the wild-type protein and inhibitor-resistant mutants is explained by a novel specific activity assay, biophysical characterisation, and X-ray structures.

Abbreviations

ATP

adenosine triphosphate

Bub1/Bub3

budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1 / budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 3

Cpd-5

Compound-5 (N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-8-((2-methoxy-4-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl)amino)-1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazoline-3-carboxamide)

FP

fluorescence polarization

GST

Glutathione S-transferase

IC50

half maximal inhibitory concentration

KD

dissociation constant

ΔGcalc

calculated Gibbs energy difference for ligand binding

KNL1

kinetochore null protein 1

KPi

(inorganic) potassium phosphate

Mps1

monopolar spindle 1

MST

microscale thermophoresis

NMS-P715

N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-1-methyl-8-({4-[(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)carbamoyl]-2-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl}amino)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazoline-3-carboxamide

TMR

tetramethylrhodamine

WT

wild-type
Revealing Age-Related Changes of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis
Authors: Ziebell Frederik , Dehler Sascha , Martin-Villalba Ana , Anna Marciniak-Czochra
Published: February 2017

In the adult hippocampus, neural stem cells (NSCs) continuously produce new neurons that integrate into the neuronal network to modulate learning and memory. The amount and quality of newly generated neurons decline with age, which can be counteracted by increasing intrinsic Wnt activity in NSCs. However, the precise cellular changes underlying this age-related decline or its rescue through Wnt remain unclear. The present study combines development of a mathematical model and experimental data to address features controlling stem cell dynamics. We show that available experimental data fit a model in which quiescent NSCs can either become activated to divide or undergo depletion events, consisting of astrocytic transformation and apoptosis. Additionally, we demonstrate that aged NSCs remain longer in quiescence and have a higher probability to become re-activated versus being depleted. Finally, our model explains that high NSC-Wnt activity leads to longer time in quiescence while augmenting the probability of activation.
The 3D Genome Browser: a web-based browser for visualizing 3D genome organization and long-range chromatin interactions
Authors: Wang Yanli , Zhang Bo , Zhang Lijun , An Lin , Xu Jie , Li Daofeng , Choudhary Mayank NK , Li Yun , Hu Ming , Hardison Ross , Wang Ting , Yue Feng
Published: February 2017

Recent advent of 3C-based technologies such as Hi-C and ChIA-PET provides us an opportunity to explore chromatin interactions and 3D genome organization in an unprecedented scale and resolution. However, it remains a challenge to visualize chromatin interaction data due to its size and complexity. Here, we introduce the 3D Genome Browser (http://3dgenome.org), which allows users to conveniently explore both publicly available and their own chromatin interaction data. Users can also seamlessly integrate other “omics” data sets, such as ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq for the same genomic region, to gain a complete view of both regulatory landscape and 3D genome structure for any given gene. Finally, our browser provides multiple methods to link distalcis-regulatory elements with their potential target genes, including virtual 4C, ChIA-PET, Capture Hi-C and cross-cell-type correlation of proximal and distal DNA hypersensitive sites, and therefore represents a valuable resource for the study of gene regulation in mammalian genomes.
ZMYM3 regulates BRCA1 localization at damaged chromatin to promote DNA repair
Authors: Leung Justin W.C. , Makharashvili Nodar , Agarwal Poonam , Chiu Li-Ya , Pourpre Renaud , Cammarata Michael B. , Cannon Joe R. , Sherker Alana , Durocher Daniel , Brodbelt Jennifer S. , Paull Tanya T. , Miller Kyle M.
Published: February 2017

Chromatin connects DNA damage response factors to sites of damaged DNA to promote the signaling and repair of DNA lesions. The histone H2A variants H2AX, H2AZ, and macroH2A represent key chromatin constituents that facilitate DNA repair. Through proteomic screening of these variants, we identified ZMYM3 (zinc finger, myeloproliferative, and mental retardation-type 3) as a chromatin-interacting protein that promotes DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR). ZMYM3 is recruited to DNA double-strand breaks through bivalent interactions with both histone and DNA components of the nucleosome. We show that ZMYM3 links the HR factor BRCA1 to damaged chromatin through specific interactions with components of the BRCA1-A subcomplex, including ABRA1 and RAP80. By regulating ABRA1 recruitment to damaged chromatin, ZMYM3 facilitates the fine-tuning of BRCA1 interactions with DNA damage sites and chromatin. Consistent with a role in regulating BRCA1 function, ZMYM3 deficiency results in impaired HR repair and genome instability. Thus, our work identifies a critical chromatin-binding DNA damage response factor, ZMYM3, which modulates BRCA1 functions within chromatin to ensure the maintenance of genome integrity.
2,5-Dimethoxy-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide
Authors: Shakuntala K. , Kumari Vijaya , Lokanath N. K. , Naveen S. , Suchetan P. A.
Published: February 2017

The molecule of the title compound, C14H15NO4S, is L-shaped, with the central C—S—N—C segment having a torsion angle of −62.9 (2)°. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 89.17 (9)°. The C atoms of the methoxy groups are close to coplanar with their attached benzene ring [deviations = 0.084 (4) and −0.192 (5) Å]. An intramolecular C—H...O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N—H...O(S) hydrogen bonds generateR22(8) loops.
Foreign exchange markets and the purchasing power parity theory
Authors: Iyke Bernard Njindan , Odhiambo Nicholas M.
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis for two Southern African countries, namely: Lesotho and Zambia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilized four econometric tests to examine the existence of the PPP hypothesis in Lesotho and Zambia. These tests include two unit root tests without structural breaks – the Dickey-Fuller generalized least squares (DF-GLS) test and the Ng-Perron test; and two unit root tests with structural breaks – the Perron test and the Zivot-Andrews test. The authors’ empirical analysis is based on an annual data set with varying time periods. The sample period spanned 1960-2010 and 1955-2010, for Lesotho and Zambia, respectively.

Findings

The authors found that the PPP hypothesis was supported in the case of Lesotho, but rejected in the case of Zambia.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to simultaneously explore the exchange rate policies, trends, and the PPP for these two countries. The implication of this finding is that Lesotho is unlikely to profit immensely from trade and investment arbitrages; whereas Zambia is more likely to profit immensely from trade and investment arbitrage by trading with the USA. Moreover, the authors’ findings indicate that the PPP doctrine may be a useful guide for the exchange rate and other macroeconomic adjustment policies in Lesotho but not in Zambia.
Social media review rating versus traditional customer satisfaction
Authors: Kim Woo Gon , Park Seo Ah
Published: February 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effects of traditional customer satisfaction (CS) relative magnitude and social media review ratings on hotel performance and to explore which online travel intermediaries’ review ratings serve as the most reliable and valid predictor for hotel performance.

Design/methodology/approach

In 2014, CS and hotel performance data were collected from the internal database of full-service hotels operated and managed by a large hotel chain in the USA. Each property’s social media review ratings data were hand-collected from major online travel intermediaries and social media websites.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that social media review rating is a more significant predictor than traditional CS for explaining hotel performance metrics. Additionally, the social media review rating of TripAdvisor is the best predictor for hotel performance out of the other intermediaries.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the hospitality literature because it examines the incremental explanatory power of social media review rating and traditional CS on hotel performance. Among the leading online travel intermediaries, the findings show that TripAdvisor’s social media review rating has the most salient effect on hotel performance.

Practical implications

The result of this study provides useful practical implications for hotel marketers and revenue managers. This study assists hotel marketers and revenue managers in better allocating their budget for marketing and suggests ways for channel optimization.

Originality/value

The finding of this study will help revenue managers, marketing managers, and hotel owners make decisions regarding their marketing budget allocation to their social media marketing campaign and select the optimal online travel intermediaries as part of their channel management strategies.
An empirical examination of online restaurant reviews on Yelp.com
Authors: Yang Sung-Byung , Hlee Sunyoung , Lee Jimin , Koo Chulmo
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of two types of presentation formats (textual and imagery) involving online restaurant reviews (ORRs). The study examines ORRs on the basis of review usefulness and review enjoyment; the study investigates the effects of the two presentation formats on review usefulness and review enjoyment.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 1,776 reviews were collected from Yelp.com using a Web data-harvesting technique. Hypothesized relations in the model were tested by Tobit regression analysis.

Findings

Empirical results show that different formats of ORRs affect review usefulness and review enjoyment in different manners; whereas both attributes of textual format (review length and readability) affect review usefulness, both aspects of imagery format (physical environment images and food and beverage images) are positively related to review enjoyment. However, review length and food and beverage images are the most important factors affecting both review usefulness and review enjoyment. In particular, the relation between the two formats of ORRs and review usefulness is mediated by review enjoyment.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of this study is the two formats of ORRs in terms of dual coding theory and the mediating role of review enjoyment. The findings help online review website organizers manage the operation of various review formats in a proper manner. Managers can effectively select those formats that would achieve the desired effect.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies on the relation of attributes to online reviews, this study examines the perceptions of ORRs’ usefulness and enjoyment. In addition, this study encompasses diverse ORR factors (review length, review readability, physical environment images, food and beverage images) for a more comprehensive interpretation of ORRs.
Events and placemaking: the case of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico
Authors: Barrera-Fernández Daniel , Hernández-Escampa Marco
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the Festival Internacional Cervantino, which represents one of the major cultural events in Latin America. Based on theoretical propositions regarding tourism as an experience, perception of visitors was studied focussing on emotional factors. Urban perception was also addressed, especially where public service failure affected the experience and therefore, the placemaking.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methodology was applied. First, the event experience scale (EES) methodology for visitors’ perception was performed in order to collect data directly from tourists. The relationship between the festival and the visit to heritage resources and attractions was especially highlighted and analysed. Urban field work focussed on expressing the location of the most visited areas during festival days. Public services were also assessed where perception was affected negatively. Interviews were applied to public administration officials and public policy-related documents were collected in order to understand the expectation of visitors, previous to the experience itself. Local perception was also contrasted with the rest of the data.

Findings

Attracted by information about the historic and colonial nature of the city, tourists gather massively in Guanajuato during the festival. This event in particular yields in some aspects to a transient placemaking, mainly related to inner perception and the event as such is highly appreciated. It was also found that the foreign figure of Cervantes was incorporated into the intangible heritage discourse of the city and linked to the event itself. However, some urban spaces and services need improvement to consolidate a positive experience of visitors who complain about specific factors such as traffic, accessibility, waste disposal and environmental noise.

Social implications

The fact that the event has caused some problems in a number of urban aspects suggests that new policies might be proposed in order to fill these gaps, especially by the corresponding government agencies. Another issue relates to the concentration of the economic profits and its lack of distribution, which right now does not contribute to social sustainability, yet the event demands high actions and costs to the city and local people.

Originality/value

The research has been useful to give another point of view to existing surveys and conclusions of the impact of the festival. The application of EES has yielded some improvements that could be made in further applications of the same methodology. Application of EES to assess the impact of events in urban spaces and services can be applied to many other cities that host festivals in their city centres.
Revealing the family
Authors: Kahlert Christoph , Botero Isabel C. , Prügl Reinhard
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Attracting and retaining a skilled labor force represents an important source for competitive advantage for organizations. In the European context, one of the greatest challenges that small- and medium-sized family firms face is attracting high quality non-family applicants. Researchers argue that one of the reasons for this difficulty is tied to the perception that non-family applicants have about family firms as a place to work. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions that applicants have about family firms and their willingness to work in family firms in the German context.

Design/methodology/approach

Using principles from signaling theory, an experiment was conducted to explore the effects that information about family ownership and organizational age had on the perceptions about a firm (i.e. job security, advancement opportunities, prestige, task diversity, and compensation), and applicant’s attractiveness to it.

Findings

Based on the responses from 125 individuals in Germany, the authors found that explicitly communicating information about family ownership did not influence applicant perceptions about the firm or attractiveness to it. Although, information about organizational age affected perceptions of compensation, it did not affect attractiveness to the firm.

Originality/value

This study presents one of the first papers that focuses on the perceptions that non-family applicants have about family firms as a place to work in the European context. Thus, it provides a baseline for comparison to applicant perceptions in other European countries.
Sustainable entrepreneurship: another avenue for family business scholarship?
Authors: Woodfield Paul , Woods Christine , Shepherd Deborah
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review family businesses as a subset of sustainable entrepreneurship. It is intended that another avenue of scholarship for the growing interest in family businesses and their continuity across generations will be outlined.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant journal articles were selected and broadly analysed to gather an understanding of the current state of existing sustainable entrepreneurship literature. The main themes extrapolated related to sustainable entrepreneurship and potential directions for future research.

Findings

Although sustainable entrepreneurship has been traditionally concentrated in the environmental and social responsibility literature, there are emerging paths where family businesses can be considered alongside community-based enterprise.

Research limitations/implications

The findings suggest that future research into sustaining family businesses across generations could be situated under sustainable entrepreneurship scholarship.

Originality/value

This paper presents a novel review and summary of recent literature at the juncture of family business and sustainable entrepreneurship. It is useful for directing scholars towards an avenue which has not traditionally had attention from family business researchers.
CSR, agency costs and investment-cash flow sensitivity: a mediated moderation analysis
Authors: Samet Marwa , Jarboui Anis
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document the relation between investment-cash flow sensitivity and a firm’s engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in European context. Specifically, this paper aims to empirically examine how CSR moderates the sensitivity between investment spending and firm internal funds.

Design/methodology/approach

The Euler equation technique approach is applied to test the sensitivity of investment to internally generated funds for a panel data set of 398 European companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600 during 2009-2014. Furthermore, a mediated moderation model is developed in order to examine the moderating role of CSR in the investment-cash flow sensitivity, as well as the mediating role of agency costs on the moderation effect of CSR.

Findings

The results show that CSR performance weakens the sensitivity of investment to internal funds; agency costs of free cash flow mediate the negative moderating effect of CSR on investment-cash flow sensitivity. Thus, this study demonstrates empirically that firms with socially responsible practices are better positioned to obtain financing in the capital markets through reducing market frictions as well as agency costs.

Practical implications

Firms are invited to engage more in CSR activities that reduce agency conflicts between management and shareholders.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper consists in proposing the establishment of both direct and indirect link between CSR and investment-cash flow sensitivity.
Qualitative systematic literature review: the experience of being in seclusion for adults with mental health difficulties
Authors: Mellow Amy , Tickle Anna , Rennoldson Michael
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic search of the peer-reviewed qualitative literature investigating the lived experience of seclusion for adults with mental health difficulties, to appraise the quality of the existing literature and synthesise findings. Background: seclusion is a controversial intervention for the short-term management of unsafe behaviours in inpatient mental health services. There has been some sporadic interest in service users’ experiences of this.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic literature review and meta-synthesis: data sources – databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PSYCINFO were searched in July 2015; review methods – the Joanna Briggs Institute’s Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument tools for critical appraisal and data extraction were used to review papers and synthesise findings.

Findings

A small number of papers were found, which were of mixed quality.

Originality/value

The existing research is limited in both quantity and quality. Although most participants from the existing research described seclusion as mostly negative with the potential for causing iatrogenic harm, some described more positive experiences, often in the context of compassionate interactions with staff.
Service user experiences of mentalisation-based treatment for borderline personality disorder
Authors: Lonargáin Diarmaid Ó. , Hodge Suzanne , Line Rachael
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Previous research indicates that mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) is an effective therapeutic programme for difficulties associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The purpose of this paper is to explore service user experiences of the therapy.

Design/methodology/approach

Seven adults (five female and two male), recruited via three NHS trusts, were interviewed. Participants were attending intensive out-patient MBT for BPD between 3 and 14 months. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Findings

Participants experienced the group component of MBT as challenging and unpredictable. They highlighted developing trust as key to benefitting from MBT. This was much more difficult to achieve in group sessions than in individual therapy, particularly for those attending MBT for less than five or six months. The structure of MBT generally worked well for participants but they identified individual therapy as the core component in achieving change. All participants learned to view the world more positively due to MBT.

Practical implications

Enhanced mentalisation capacity may help address specific challenges associated with BPD, namely, impulsivity and interpersonal difficulties. MBT therapists are confronted with the ongoing task of creating a balance between sufficient safety and adequate challenge during MBT. Potential benefits and drawbacks of differing structural arrangements of MBT programmes within the UK are considered.

Originality/value

Learning about service user perspectives has facilitated an enhanced understanding of experiences of change during MBT in addition to specific factors that may impact mentalisation capacity throughout the programme. These factors, in addition to implications for MBT and suggestions for future research, are discussed.
Informal mental health patients: what are they told of their legal rights?
Authors: Ashmore Russell , Carver Neil
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine what written information is given to informally admitted patients in England and Wales regarding their legal rights in relation to freedom of movement and treatment.

Design/methodology/approach

Information leaflets were obtained by a search of all National Health Service mental health trust websites in England and health boards in Wales and via a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request. Data were analysed using content analysis.

Findings

Of the 61 organisations providing inpatient care, 27 provided written information in the form of a leaflet. Six provided public access to the information leaflets via their website prior to admission. Although the majority of leaflets were accurate the breadth and depth of the information varied considerably. Despite a common legal background there was confusion and inconsistency in the use of the terms informal and voluntary as well as inconsistency regarding freedom of movement, the right to refuse treatment and discharge against medical advice.

Research limitations/implications

The research has demonstrated the value of Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests in obtaining data. Further research should explore the effectiveness of informing patients of their rights from their perspective.

Practical implications

Work should be undertaken to establish a consensus of good practice in this area. Information should be consistent, accurate and understandable.

Originality/value

This is the only research reporting on the availability and content of written information given to informal patients about their legal rights.
Corporate governance and intellectual capital disclosures in CEOs’ statements
Authors: Yan Xiaochang
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the influences of corporate governance on intellectual capital disclosures in chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) statements in annual reports.

Design/methodology/approach

Index score, word count and overall tone of CEOs’ intellectual capital disclosures are calculated to represent the extent, amount and tone of these disclosures, respectively. With a sample of 78 FTSE 100 companies, this paper uses content analysis and empirical analysis to examine the impacts of board size, board composition and shares concentration on the above three measures of CEOs’ intellectual capital disclosures, controlling for company size, profitability and leverage ratio.

Findings

Empirical results demonstrate a significant positive relationship between board composition and the extent, amount and tone of CEOs’ intellectual capital disclosures and a significant negative relationship between shares concentration and the amount of these disclosures.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on the impacts of corporate governance on CEOs’ intellectual capital disclosures. It also groundbreakingly measures the tone of CEOs’ disclosures.
Employer brand scale development and validation: a second-order factor approach
Authors: Tanwar Karnica , Prasad Asha
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise, develop and validate a scale to measure the employer brand from the perspective of existing employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology entailed the compilation of a literature review and conduction of qualitative interviews to generate items. Five employer brand dimensions have been derived through exploratory factor analysis and further validated through confirmatory factor analysis by using a separate data of 313 employees. Also, the employer brand has been specified as a second-order factor that is determined by five first-order factors.

Findings

A final 23-item EB scale covering five dimensions of the employer brand has been developed. The dimensions identified are: a healthy work atmosphere, training and development, work-life balance, ethics and corporate social responsibility, and compensation and benefits. Also, the higher order measurement model suggests that employer brand is most influenced by the “healthy work atmosphere” dimension. These dimensions reflect the perceptions of existing employees regarding their organisation. The scale is found to be psychometrically sound for measuring the employer brand.

Practical implications

The scale is useful for both researchers and practitioners. A deeper insight into the dimensions may help managers to identify their impact on organisational outcomes like employee satisfaction, employee retention, commitment and productivity. Also, organisations can measure the perceptions of employees for identifying improvement gaps and developing effective attraction and retention strategies. The scale also provides researchers with a sought-after conceptualisation of employer brand.

Originality/value

The authors believe that the study is the first of its kind wherein the employer brand has been modelled as a second-order factor from the perspective of the existing employees.
On the road to happiness at work (HAW)
Authors: Salas-Vallina Andrés , López-Cabrales Álvaro , Alegre Joaquin , Fernández Rafael
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL), organizational learning capability (OLC) and happiness at work (HAW), and offers a new measure for HAW.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used confirmatory factor analysis to test the theoretical model in order to check the psychometric properties of HAW. They examined a sample of 167 medical staff working in allergy units, which represents a response rate of 25 per cent.

Findings

The research showed that HAW can be measured using the proposed new measurement scale, and that TFL predicts HAW through the mediating role of OLC.

Practical implications

The results suggest that hospital managers and heads of allergy services should consider the effects of TFL, under certain learning conditions, to enhance HAW.

Originality/value

This research is the first that examines the effects of TFL and OLC on HAW, a higher order construct that has been implemented closely following previous research.
The moderating effect of religiosity on ethical behavioural intentions
Authors: Kashif Muhammad , Zarkada Anna , Thurasamy Ramayah
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Pakistani bank front-line employees’ intentions to behave ethically by using the extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB) into which religiosity (i.e. religious activity, devotion to rituals and belief in doctrine) is integrated as a moderating variable.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected 234 self-administered questionnaires and analysed them using SmartPLS 2.0, a second generation structural equation modelling technique.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that the ETPB can explain intentions to behave ethically. Moral norms (i.e. the rules of morality that people believe they ought to follow) and perceived behavioural control (i.e. people’s perceptions of their ability to perform a given behaviour) are the best predictors of ethical behavioural intentions. The effects of injunctive norms (i.e. perceptions of which behaviours are typically approved or disapproved in an organisation) and of perceived behavioural control on behavioural intent are moderated by religiosity.

Practical implications

Leading by example, providing ethics training, empowering employees and encouraging the expression of religiosity are proposed as ways to foster an ethical culture in the workplace.

Originality/value

Even though numerous empirical studies have utilised variants of the theory of planned behaviour to explain consumer behaviour, its applicability to ethical behaviour in the workplace has scarcely been explored. Moreover, its tests in non-western contexts are scant. This study demonstrates the applicability of the ETPB in a broader circumstantial and cultural context and enriches it with religiosity, a pertinent characteristic of billions of people around the world. Finally, this is one of the very few ethics studies focusing on banking, an industry fraught with allegations of moral breaches.
Experiences of moral distress by privately hired companions in Ontario’s long-term care facilities
Authors: Brassolotto Julia , Daly Tamara , Armstrong Pat , Naidoo Vishaya
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore long-term residential care provided by people other than the facilities’ employees. Privately hired paid “companions” are effectively invisible in health services research and policy. This research was designed to address this significant gap. There is growing recognition that nursing staff in long-term care (LTC) residential facilities experience moral distress, a phenomenon in which one knows the ethically right action to take, but is systemically constrained from taking it. To date, there has been no discussion of the distressing experiences of companions in LTC facilities. The purpose of this paper is to explore companions’ moral distress.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using week-long rapid ethnographies in seven LTC facilities in Southern Ontario, Canada. A feminist political economy analytic framework was used in the research design and in the analysis of findings.

Findings

Despite the differences in their work tasks and employment conditions, structural barriers can cause moral distress for companions. This mirrors the impacts experienced by nurses that are highlighted in the literature. Though companions are hired in order to fill care gaps in the LTC system, they too struggle with the current system’s limitations. The hiring of private companions is not a sustainable or equitable solution to under-staffing and under-funding in Canada’s LTC facilities.

Originality/value

Recognizing moral distress and its impact on those providing LTC is critical in relation to supporting and protecting vulnerable and precarious care workers and ensuring high-quality care for Canadians in LTC.