bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does joining online groups increase farmers' incomes in the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam? The role of information
Authors: Doanh Nguyen Khanh
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study analyzes whether farmers' incomes increase as they participate in online groups.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed interview data from 673 farming households in three mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam, utilizing the propensity score matching (PSM) method.

Findings

The empirical results reveal that farmers participating in online groups, particularly those engaged in 1–3 groups, experience an increase in their income attributed to the three advantages of sharing-accessing-saving (SAS) information. Farming households engaged in online groups earn higher incomes, ranging from equivalent to 25.78 to 26.96 USD, in comparison to those who do not participate. Notably, farmers participating in 1–3 online groups outpace their counterparts in 4–5 groups in terms of income.

Research limitations/implications

This study exclusively focuses on examining farmers' total income derived from all their agricultural activities and does not quantify the specific impact of online group participation on the income generated by each product. Furthermore, it is important to note that the PSM method has the potential to introduce bias due to unobserved factors, such as social networks and local culture. Consequently, future research should prioritize the segmentation of income from individual agricultural products, distinct from the overall income, to gain a more nuanced understanding of each product’s sensitivity to information exchanged in online groups. Simultaneously, accounting for unobserved factors is crucial to obtain unbiased estimates.

Originality/value

This study represents the inaugural exploration into the comparison of farmers' incomes within a novel context – participation in digital-based groups. Furthermore, it extends the inquiry by delving into the correlation between the number of online groups joined and farmers' income. The empirical findings indicate that farmers may benefit the most by limiting their participation to a select few groups that align with their information needs and analytical abilities.
Does tax disclosure in Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)-based sustainability reporting mitigate aggressive tax avoidance? Evidence from a developing country
Authors: Rudyanto Astrid
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether tax disclosure in Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)-based sustainability reporting mitigates aggressive tax avoidance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a multiple regression method for 714 nonspecially taxed firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2014–2018.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that disclosing tax payments in GRI-based sustainability reports reduces aggressive tax avoidance. Additional analysis indicates that the number of GRI-based sustainability reports positively affects aggressive tax avoidance. However, disclosing tax payments in multiple GRI-based sustainability reports negatively affects aggressive tax avoidance.

Originality/value

Recent prior studies demonstrate that aggressive tax avoidance does not indicate an organizational culture that devalues corporate social responsibility. This paper argues that firms cannot find the link between tax and corporate social responsibility when tax payments are not incorporated in sustainability reports. GRI considers tax a sustainability issue and seeks to institutionalize this concept by recommending that firms disclose taxes in their sustainability reports. This research analyses whether disclosing taxes in GRI-based sustainability reports may serve as a form of soft law by convincing firms that tax is a sustainability issue, thereby reducing their tax avoidance. This topic has received little attention in previous research.
Forecasting value-at-risk and expected shortfall in emerging market: does forecast combination help?
Authors: Le Trung Hai
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper investigates how various strategies for combining forecasts, both simple and optimised approaches, are compared with popular individual risk models in estimating value-at-risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES) in emerging market at alternative risk levels.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the case study of the Vietnamese stock market, the author produced one-day-ahead VaR and ES forecast from seven individual risk models and ten alternative forecast combinations. Next, the author employed a battery of backtesting procedures and alternative loss functions to evaluate the global predictive accuracy of the different methods. Finally, the author investigated the relative performance over time of VaR and ES forecasts using fluctuation test.

Findings

The empirical results indicate that, although combined forecasts have reasonable predictive abilities, they are often outperformed by one individual risk model. Furthermore, the author showed that the complex combining methods with optimised weighting functions do not perform better than simple combining methods. The fluctuation test suggests that the poor performance of combined forecasts is mainly due to their inability to cope with periods of instability.

Research limitations/implications

This study reveals the limitation of combining strategies in the one-day-ahead VaR and ES forecasts in emerging markets. A possible direction for further research is to investigate whether this finding holds for multi-day ahead forecasts. Moreover, the inferior performance of combined forecasts during periods of instability motivates further research on the combining strategies that take into account for potential structure breaks in the performance of individual risk models. A potential approach is to improve the individual risk models with macroeconomic variables using a mixed-data sampling approach.

Originality/value

First, the authors contribute to the literature on the forecasting combinations for VaR and ES measures. Second, the author explored a wide range of alternative risk models to forecast both VaR and ES with recent data including periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although forecast combination strategies have been providing several good results in several fields, the literature of forecast combination in the VaR and ES context is surprisingly limited, especially for emerging market returns. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study investigating predictive power of combining methods for VaR and ES in an emerging market.
Proactiveness, knowledge management capability and innovation ambidexterity: an empirical examination of digital supply chain adoption
Authors: Hashem Gharib , Aboelmaged Mohamed , Ahmad Ifzal
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper has predicted digital supply chain (DSC) adoption through the role of firms' proactiveness, knowledge management capability (KMC), innovation ambidexterity and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 354 managers in manufacturing and service firms were analysed using the PLS-SEM model.

Findings

The present study's findings ascertained the significant role of innovation ambidexterity in influencing DSC adoption, given that innovation exploration's direct and mediating impacts were greater than innovation exploitation's. Firms' proactiveness had the highest path coefficient value among the endogenous variables as an indispensable source for firms to successfully embrace KMC and innovation ambidexterity. The role of firm size on DSC adoption was also significant, revealing that SMEs were more likely than larger firms to adopt DSC practices. Despite its significant effect on innovation ambidexterity, KMC surprisingly exhibited no direct influence on DSC adoption. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated the significant moderating role of environmental dynamism on the effect of KMC on innovation exploration.

Research limitations/implications

This research endeavour has presented valuable insights for scholars and managers, furnishing them with a framework to facilitate decision-making processes regarding adopting DSC practices. A key insight gleaned from this study has been the remarkable value of firms' proactive behaviour and innovation ambidexterity in facilitating DSC adoption decisions. Such adoption has empowered organisations to deploy appropriate interventions and allocate resources efficiently, considering the pivotal role of innovation exploration in contrast to the relatively limited impact of innovation exploitation within this context. Managers may also underscore the significance of firm size in shaping DSC adoption decisions. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been more likely to embrace DSC initiatives than their larger counterparts. The agile scale and streamlined organisational structures of SMEs often translate into faster decision-making processes, allowing for DSC adoption with relative ease. SMEs might also exhibit a greater openness to reap the benefits associated with DSC systems, such as improved operational efficiency and cost reduction.

Originality/value

The present study has advanced DSC adoption research by examining innovation ambidexterity, knowledge management capability and firms' proactiveness. It has also provided valuable insights for scholars and managers, presenting a framework for decision-making processes regarding DSC adoption in an emerging economy context.
Developing an effective data-led strategy: managing the enablers
Authors: Urban Boris , Chen Jefferson , Reuben Gavin
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Despite that a transformational shift has occurred in many organisations towards data-driven management, many organisations struggle to harness and translate new technology, such as “big data” into a competitive advantage. This study aims to undertake an empirical investigation into the enabling factors which lead to the practice of formulating an effective data-led strategy (EDLS). Leveraging the theoretical lenses of the resource-based view, absorptive capacity and attention-focus view, a range of various factors are hypothesised to influence EDLS.

Design/methodology/approach

The study takes place in South Africa and is based on primary survey data focused on the Fin-tech industry sector where the need to formulate and implement an EDLS has become urgent considering the move to technology enabled banking solutions. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Results highlight that several factors are related to EDLS as significant predictors, which include the data platform, technical skills, knowledge management, transformation and focus-alignment. This latter factor has the largest influence on EDLS, which suggests that the alignment of focus across multiple firm divisions both vertically and horizontally significantly enables an EDLS.

Practical implications

Managers need to appreciate the intricacy of the range of factors involved in enabling an EDLS. Managers are advised to grow their organisational knowledge regarding which enablers offer the best pathway towards the development of a more robust framework when putting an EDLS into practice.

Originality/value

The article offers new insights into better understanding the relevant antecedents which enable the successful practice of an EDLS from an African emerging market perspective.
Service contract type and consumer choice behavior: the contributory roles of perceived value, brand reputation and consumer incentives
Authors: Wilkins Stephen , Ireland John J. , Hazzam Joe , Megicks Philip
Published: January 2024

Purpose

To minimize customer churn, many service providers offer consumers the option of automatic contract renewal at the end of a contract period. Such agreements are known as rollover service contracts (RSCs). This research quantifies the effect of RSCs and other related factors, such as incentives, on consumers' service choice decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts choice-based conjoint analysis to assess the effect of RSCs on consumers' choices and to determine whether effect size varies when selecting a cell phone network or gym/leisure club provider, which represent lower-priced utilitarian and higher-priced hedonic services.

Findings

It was found that RSCs produce negative perceptions and intended behaviors for the majority of consumers across different product types. Nevertheless, as explained by social exchange theory, many individuals may be persuaded to enter into a RSC on the basis of reciprocity if they are offered an incentive such as a price discount or free product add-on.

Originality/value

In the marketing domain, this is the first comprehensive study to quantify the role of contract type among a range of other factors in consumers' decision-making when selecting a service. The authors' results offer context-specific implications for service marketers. First, RSCs are perceived more negatively in high-priced hedonistic categories, especially among those with lower incomes. Second, price discounts are more effective than product add-ons for motivating hedonic purchases, while product add-ons work better with utilitarian services.
Building “A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth” through problem‐oriented community organizing: A quasi‐experimental evaluation
Authors: Gill Charlotte , Weisburd David , Nazaire Denise , Prince Heather , Gross Shader Claudia
Published: January 2024

Research Summary

This paper describes Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth (ABSPY), a community‐led, place‐based, data‐driven initiative to improve community safety and reduce crime involving young people at hot spots in Seattle, Washington. The ABSPY model puts crime prevention into the hands of the community, compared to traditional problem‐solving approaches that may involve community stakeholders but are led by the police. We evaluated the initiative using a quasi‐experimental research design comparing the five hot spots in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, where ABSPY was implemented, to five similarly situated hot spots elsewhere in the city. We used 9 years of police calls for service and offense reports, from 2011 to 2019, to assess ABSPY's effects on crime and a five‐wave community survey conducted pre‐ and 4 years post‐implementation to examine community perceptions. Although there were no significant effects on calls for service or crime, ABSPY significantly improved community members’ perceptions of serious crime and the police in the short and medium term.

Policy Implications

Our results show positive changes in community perceptions that offer a foundation for relationship and capacity building in problem‐solving efforts. Although ABSPY is not associated with reductions in crime, our results suggest that even communities with entrenched crime problems can leverage this capacity to reduce crime in the longer term. Community coalitions also offer some benefits relative to police‐led efforts, such as shared culture and values; stability; and consistency. However, community coalitions must build capacity for action as well as community engagement, and consider if and how the police should be involved, ensuring that the specific expertise of each coalition member is leveraged. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of identifying measures of crime that are not affected by increased trust and collaboration between the police and the community.
Kidney function trajectories, associated factors, and outcomes in multiethnic Asian patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Feng Liang , Bee Yong Mong , Fu Xiuju , Kwek Jia Liang , Chan Choong Meng , Jafar Tazeen H.
Published: January 2024

Background

We examined the trajectory of estimated glomerular filtrate rate (eGFR), associated risk factors, and its relationship with end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) among a multiethnic patient population with type 2 diabetes in Singapore.

Methods

A follow‐up study included 62 080 individuals with type 2 diabetes aged ≥18 years in a multi‐institutional SingHealth Diabetes Registry between 2013 and 2019. eGFR trajectories were analyzed using latent class linear mixed models. Factors associated with eGFR trajectories were evaluated using multinomial logistic regression. The association of eGFR trajectories with ESKD was assessed via competing risk models.

Results

Trajectory of kidney function, determined by eGFR, was nonlinear. The trajectory pattern was classified as stable initially then gradual decline (75%), progressive decline (21.9%), and rapid decline (3.1%). Younger age, female sex, Malay ethnicity, lower‐income housing type, current smoking, higher glycated hemoglobin, lower low‐density lipoprotein, higher triglyceride, uncontrolled blood pressure, albuminuria, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and higher eGFR levels each were associated with progressive or rapid decline. Compared with the trajectory of stable initially then gradual eGFR decline, progressive decline increased the hazard of ESKD by 6.14‐fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.96–7.61)) and rapid decline by 82.55 folds (95% CI: 55.90–121.89).

Conclusions

Three nonlinear trajectory classes of kidney function were identified among multiethnic individuals with type 2 diabetes in Singapore. About one in four individuals had a progressive or rapid decline in eGFR. Our results suggest that eGFR trajectories are correlated with multiple social and modifiable risk factors and inform the risk of ESKD.

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Measuring machinewashing under the corporate digital responsibility theory: A proposal for a methodological path
Authors: Bernini Francesca , Ferretti Paola , Gonnella Cristina , La Rosa Fabio
Published: January 2024

Recently, a number of scholars have warned against the risk of a new form of deliberately deceptive communication companies use to assure stakeholders of their good intentions in the adoption and development of digital technologies and advanced information systems based on artificial intelligence. This corporate behaviour, defined as machinewashing, in an attempt to empower engagement processes in the stakeholders’ network and satisfy stakeholder expectations with regard to the ethical implications of the use of artificial intelligence, has, in the final instance, the prevailing purpose of achieving better levels of corporate performance and reputation. However, thus far, scholars have not provided any empirical studies on the existence of corporate machinewashing strategies, and there is a significant lack of clarity as to how to measure machinewashing. Utilising the corporate digital responsibility theory, this paper offers an original methodological contribution to the nascent research field dedicated to machinewashing behaviour. Particularly, this paper provides considerations for detecting machinewashing through an analysis based on the comparison between the information capacity of the reporting and the information reliability level as a proxy for machinewashing strategies and, thus, for the real impact of digitalisation strategies on stakeholders. To this end, we conducted an exploratory content analysis of the reports of 10 Italian‐listed companies from 10 different industries. Overall, looking at the gap between what companies say about the impact of digitalisation from an ethical perspective, and what really happens, our results define a possible path for identifying machinewashing, the fields where it happens and the practices that companies use in order to realise these strategies.
Error climate and alienation from teachers: A longitudinal analysis in primary school
Authors: Steuer Gabriele , Grecu Alyssa L. , Mori Julia
Published: January 2024

Background

Dealing with errors in the classroom is a crucial aspect of instructional quality and has multiple consequences for students' own dealing with errors, their learning and their achievement. The available literature on error climate indicates a paucity of research on the effects of perceived error climate on social aspects such as student–teacher relationships.

Aims

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between error climate and alienation from teachers.

Samples

We conducted a study with two measurement points in primary school (Grade 5 in 2017 and Grade 6 in 2018) and two samples (N = 406 students in 29 classes in Switzerland and N = 345 students in 39 classes in Luxembourg).

Methods

For scrutinizing the effect of error climate at T1 on alienation from teachers at T2, we used hierarchical linear modelling (students nested within classrooms).

Results

For both samples, the results indicated that a positive error climate at T1 predicted less alienation from teachers at T2. We also found an effect of the shared error climate on alienation from teachers.

Conclusions

The findings provide empirical evidence of the importance of improving how errors are handled in the classroom to prevent students' alienation from their teachers.
A search for commonalities in defining the common good: Using folk theories to unlock shared conceptions
Authors: Wheeler Melissa A. , Wilson Samuel G. , Baes Naomi , Demsar Vlad
Published: January 2024

Throughout the course of scholarly history, some concepts have been notoriously hard to define. The ‘common good’ is one such concept. While the common good has a long and contested scholarly history, social psychology research on folk theories – lay beliefs that represent an individual's informal and subjective understanding of the world – may provide a key for unlocking this nebulous concept. In the current paper, we analysed lay definitions of the common good using the linguistic inquiry and word count's meaning extraction method. From a nationally representative Australian sample of open‐ended text responses (n = 14,303), we uncovered a consistent conceptual structure, with nine themes corresponding to three core aspects: (i) outcomes and objects, (ii) principles and processes and (iii) stakeholders and beneficiaries. From this, we developed a working definition of the folk concept of the common good: ‘achieving the best possible outcome for the largest number of people, which is underpinned by decision‐making that is ethically and morally sound and varies by the context in which the decisions are made’. A working definition benefits the academic community and society more broadly, particularly when diverse stakeholders come together to act for the common good to address shared challenges.
Intensification in the city centre: Barriers to implementation in Regina, Saskatchewan
Authors: Graham Rylan , Filion Pierre
Published: January 2024

As cities aim for more sustainable patterns of urbanization, intensification has emerged as a core planning strategy. In 2013, the City of Regina set new intensification targets: absorb 30% of annual population growth through intensification and add 10,000 residents to the city centre by 2035. In the decade since, implementation has been unsuccessful. This study explores the barriers to core area intensification in Regina by engaging with key informants through semi‐structured interviews. Our findings identify the most significant barriers as soft market demand, a city centre that is unappealing as a residential context, insufficient political will, an absence of developers who specialize in core area intensification, and unfavourable development economics. These findings illustrate the unique challenges faced by mid‐size Canadian cites in disrupting entrenched development patterns and driving development towards the downtown.
A highly bioavailable curcumin formulation ameliorates inflammation cytokines and neurotrophic factors in mice with traumatic brain injury
Authors: Sakul Ayse Arzu , Balcikanli Zeynep , Ozsoy Nilay Ates , Orhan Cemal , Sahin Nurhan , Tuzcu Mehmet , Juturu Vijaya , Kilic Ertugrul , Sahin Kazim
Published: January 2024

A novel curcumin formulation increases relative absorption by 46 times (CurcuWIN®) of the total curcuminoids over the unformulated standard curcumin form. However, the exact mechanisms by which curcumin demonstrates its neuroprotective effects are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a novel formulation of curcumin on the expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a main component of the glial scar and growth‐associated protein‐43 (GAP‐43), a signaling molecule in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mice (adult, male, C57BL/6j) were randomly divided into three groups as follows: TBI group (TBI‐induced mice); TBI + CUR group (TBI mice were injected i.p. curcumin just after TBI); TBI+ CurcuWIN® group (TBI mice were injected i.p. CurcuWIN® just after TBI). Brain injury was induced using a cold injury model. Injured brain tissue was stained with Cresyl violet to evaluate infarct volume and brain swelling, analyzed, and measured using ImageJ by Bethesda (MD, USA). Western blot analysis was performed to determine the protein levels related to injury. While standard curcumin significantly reduced brain injury, CurcuWIN® showed an even greater reduction associated with reductions in glial activation, NF‐κB, and the inflammatory cytokines IL‐1β and IL‐6. Additionally, both standard curcumin and CurcuWIN® led to increased BDNF, GAP‐43, ICAM‐1, and Nrf2 expression. Notably, CurcuWIN® enhanced their expression more than standard curcumin. This data suggests that highly bioavailable curcumin formulation has a beneficial effect on the traumatic brain in mice.
Deterministic or probabilistic: U.S. children's beliefs about genetic inheritance
Authors: Menendez David , Donovan Andrea Marquardt , Mathiaparanam Olympia N. , Seitz Vienne , Sabbagh Nour F. , Klapper Rebecca E. , Kalish Charles W. , Rosengren Karl S. , Alibali Martha W.
Published: January 2024

Do children think of genetic inheritance as deterministic or probabilistic? In two novel tasks, children viewed the eye colors of animal parents and judged and selected possible phenotypes of offspring. Across three studies (N = 353, 162 girls, 172 boys, 2 non‐binary; 17 did not report gender) with predominantly White U.S. participants collected in 2019–2021, 4‐ to 12‐year‐old children showed a probabilistic understanding of genetic inheritance, and they accepted and expected variability in the genetic inheritance of eye color. Children did not show a mother bias but they did show two novel biases: perceptual similarity and sex‐matching. These results held for unfamiliar animals and several physical traits (e.g., eye color, ear size, and fin type), and persisted after a lesson.
Vof16‐miR‐185‐5p‐GAP43 network improves the outcomes following spinal cord injury via enhancing self‐repair and promoting axonal growth
Authors: Hu Yue , Sun Yi‐Fei , Yuan Hao , Liu Jia , Chen Li , Liu Dong‐Hui , Xu Yang , Zhou Xin‐Fu , Ding Li , Zhang Ze‐Tao , Xiong Liu‐Lin , Xue Lu‐Lu , Wang Ting‐Hua
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Self‐repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) has been found in humans and experimental animals with partial recovery of neurological functions. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the spontaneous locomotion recovery after SCI are elusive.

Aims

This study was aimed at evaluating the pathological changes in injured spinal cord and exploring the possible mechanism related to the spontaneous recovery.

Results

Immunofluorescence staining was performed to detect GAP43 expression in lesion site after spinal cord transection (SCT) in rats. Then RNA sequencing and gene ontology (GO) analysis were employed to predict lncRNA that correlates with GAP43. LncRNA smart‐silencing was applied to verify the function of lncRNA vof16 in vitro, and knockout rats were used to evaluate its role in neurobehavioral functions after SCT. MicroRNA sequencing, target scan, and RNA22 prediction were performed to further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms, and miR‐185‐5p stands out. A miR‐185‐5p site‐regulated relationship with GAP43 and vof16 was determined by luciferase activity analysis. GAP43‐silencing, miR‐185‐5p‐mimic/inhibitor, and miR‐185‐5p knockout rats were also applied to elucidate their effects on spinal cord neurite growth and neurobehavioral function after SCT. We found that a time‐dependent increase of GAP43 corresponded with the limited neurological recovery in rats with SCT. CRNA chip and GO analysis revealed lncRNA vof16 was the most functional in targeting GAP43 in SCT rats. Additionally, silencing vof16 suppressed neurite growth and attenuated the motor dysfunction in SCT rats. Luciferase reporter assay showed that miR‐185‐5p competitively bound the same regulatory region of vof16 and GAP43.

Conclusions

Our data indicated miR‐185‐5p could be a detrimental factor in SCT, and vof16 may function as a ceRNA by competitively binding miR‐185‐5p to modulate GAP43 in the process of self‐recovery after SCT. Our study revealed a novel vof16‐miR‐185‐5p‐GAP43 regulatory network in neurological self‐repair after SCT and may underlie the potential treatment target for SCI.
Collaborative fisheries research reveals reserve size and age determine efficacy across a network of marine protected areas
Authors: Ziegler Shelby L. , Brooks Rachel O. , Bellquist Lyall F. , Caselle Jennifer E. , Morgan Steven G. , Mulligan Timothy J. , Ruttenberg Benjamin I. , Semmens Brice X. , Starr Richard M. , Tyburczy Joe , Wendt Dean E. , Buchheister Andre , Jarrin Jose R. Marin , Pasparakis Christina , Jorgensen Salvador J. , Chiu Jennifer A. , Colby Jordan , Coscino Connor L. , Davis Leon , Castro Francine de , Elstner Jack T. , Honeyman Christopher , Jarvis Mason Erica T. , Johnston Erin M. , Small Sadie L. , Staton Jay , Waltz Grant T. , Basnett Bonnie , Satterthwaite Erin V. , Killeen Helen , Dibble Connor D. , Hamilton Scott L.
Published: January 2024

A variety of criteria may influence the efficacy of networks of marine protected areas (MPA) designed to enhance biodiversity conservation and provide fisheries benefits. Meta‐analyses have evaluated the influence of MPA attributes on abundance, biomass, and size structure of harvested species, reporting that MPA size, age, depth, and connectivity influence the strength of MPA responses. However, few empirical MPA evaluation studies have used consistent sampling methodology across multiple MPAs and years. Our collaborative fisheries research program systematically sampled 12 no‐take or highly protective limited‐take MPAs and paired fished reference areas across a network spanning 1100 km of coastline to evaluate the factors driving MPA efficacy across a large geographic region. We found that increased size and age consistently contributed to increased fish catch, biomass, and positive species responses inside MPAs, while accounting for factors such as latitude, primary productivity, and distance to the nearest MPA. Our study provides a model framework to collaboratively engage diverse stakeholders in fisheries research and provide high‐quality data to assess the success of conservation strategies.
Becoming a Better ME: Chinese science museum educators' expectations for professional growth
Authors: Ji Jiao , Anderson David
Published: January 2024

Museum educators' (MEs) visions and desires for career development represent an idealized and aspirational identity of being better museum educational professionals. As part of a larger project that explored museum educators' self‐concept as education professionals in China, this preliminary study explored 23 Chinese science museum educators' thoughts and ideas about their imagined professional identity in terms of describing personal desires for professional development pathways. Informed by a Possible Selves theoretical perspective, museum educators in this study elucidated five hoped‐for professional development approaches, including cross‐departmental communication, external communication, formal training in an engaging approach, peer support, and self‐regulated learning. Their expectations for professional growth, to a large extent, were derived from personal reflection and social comparison on the basis of their past work experiences in museum institutions. Therefore, their imagination about future professional development was deeply influenced by the complicated sociocultural and political contexts in which they lived and worked. As the professionalization of science museum educator work in China is at a relatively early stage of emergence, this study provides insights that may help scaffold and direct professionalization efforts of museum education practices in China, and other countries and regions with similar contextual situations.
Retinodural haemorrhage of infancy: A response
Authors: Squier Waney
Published: January 2024

This letter to the editor is on the commentary by Frasier on pages 273–274 of this issue.
A mismatch between community assembly and abundance‐based diversity indices
Authors: Edmonds Matthew Vere , Bufford Jennifer L. , Godsoe William
Published: January 2024

Long‐term ecological studies have consistently reported slower than expected changes in biodiversity over time. One explanation for this phenomenon is that commonly used diversity measurements such as species richness are too coarse to detect mechanisms shaping community assembly. Theory suggests that similar phenomena may occur in abundance‐based diversity measurements, but the extent of this problem is currently unclear. We confront this theoretical prediction with field data by studying temporal changes in abundance‐based diversity indices across 3341 observations from 880 plots in 15 long‐term vegetation plot studies. We then partition diversity change into mechanisms of interest to ecologists: selection, drift, and immigration. We show that these resulting changes in relative abundances often produce non‐linear changes in diversity. These non‐linearities lead counterintuitive effects that are easy to miss when directly analysing changes in diversity. To resolve this we show that explicit partitioning of diversity change leads to one further, less‐studied partition: ‘rarity shifts'. Rarity shifts measure how an individual's contributions to diversity changes over time. These rarity shifts are responsible for counter‐intuitive effects, for example when radical changes in community composition lead to negligible changes in diversity. We found rarity shifts are an important component of diversity change across many studies. Furthermore, rarity shifts tend to oppose selection, drift and immigration. Therefore, rarity shifts explain why changes in relative abundance do not consistently result in changes in abundance‐based diversity measurements. Ultimately, using rarity shifts can lead to a more accurate understanding of the temporal rate and nature of diversity change in ecology and conservation.
Projected climate and canopy change lead to thermophilization and homogenization of forest floor vegetation in a hotspot of plant species richness
Authors: Braziunas Kristin H. , Geres Lisa , Richter Tobias , Glasmann Felix , Senf Cornelius , Thom Dominik , Seibold Sebastian , Seidl Rupert
Published: January 2024

Mountain forests are plant diversity hotspots, but changing climate and increasing forest disturbances will likely lead to far‐reaching plant community change. Projecting future change, however, is challenging for forest understory plants, which respond to forest structure and composition as well as climate. Here, we jointly assessed the effects of both climate and forest change, including wind and bark beetle disturbances, using the process‐based simulation model iLand in a protected landscape in the northern Alps (Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany), asking: (1) How do understory plant communities respond to 21st‐century change in a topographically complex mountain landscape, representing a hotspot of plant species richness? (2) How important are climatic changes (i.e., direct climate effects) versus forest structure and composition changes (i.e., indirect climate effects and recovery from past land use) in driving understory responses at landscape scales? Stacked individual species distribution models fit with climate, forest, and soil predictors (248 species currently present in the landscape, derived from 150 field plots stratified by elevation and forest development, overall area under the receiving operator characteristic curve = 0.86) were driven with projected climate (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and modeled forest variables to predict plant community change. Nearly all species persisted in the landscape in 2050, but on average 8% of the species pool was lost by the end of the century. By 2100, landscape mean species richness and understory cover declined (−13% and −8%, respectively), warm‐adapted species increasingly dominated plant communities (i.e., thermophilization, +12%), and plot‐level turnover was high (62%). Subalpine forests experienced the greatest richness declines (−16%), most thermophilization (+17%), and highest turnover (67%), resulting in plant community homogenization across elevation zones. Climate rather than forest change was the dominant driver of understory responses. The magnitude of unabated 21st‐century change is likely to erode plant diversity in a species richness hotspot, calling for stronger conservation and climate mitigation efforts.
Assessing infection prevention and control programs in residential aged care in Australia: A multi‐methods cross‐sectional study
Authors: Tropea Joanne , Francis Jill J , Bennett Noleen , Lim Lyn‐li , Fetherstonhaugh Deirdre , Buising Kirsty L , Marshall Caroline , Flynn Madelaine , Lim Wen K , Peters Sanne
Published: January 2024

Aim

To assess infection prevention and control programs in residential aged care facilities.

Methods

A cross‐sectional survey and structured interviews from 10 residential aged care facilities in Victoria, Australia, were used. Infection prevention and control nurse leads from each facility completed a purpose‐built survey based on best practice infection prevention control program core components, including staff training, policies and procedures, governance, and surveillance. Follow‐up interviews with residential aged care staff, residents and family visitors were carried out to elaborate and verify survey data.

Results

Surveys from all 10 facilities were received and 75 interviews carried out. All facilities had an infection prevention and control lead nurse who had undergone additional training, and 60% of facilities had an infection prevention and control lead position description. All facilities had a committee to oversee their infection prevention and control program, and all had policies and procedures for standard and transmission‐based precautions. One facility did not have a policy on healthcare‐associated infection surveillance, and two facilities did not have an antimicrobial stewardship policy. All facilities provided staff training in hand hygiene and personal protective equipment use, but not all routinely assessed competency in these.

Conclusions

The residential aged care facilities' infection prevention and control programs were generally in a strong position, although there were some areas that require improvement. Further assessment of the quality of infection prevention and control program components, such as content of education and training, and policies and procedures, and ongoing evaluation of programs is recommended. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 358–363.
Impact of physical activity on disability‐free and disabled life expectancies in middle‐aged and older adults: Data from the healthy aging longitudinal study in Taiwan
Authors: Chuang Shu‐Chun , Chang Yu‐Hung , Wu I‐Chien , Fang Yao‐Hwei , Chan Huei‐Ting , Wu Ray‐Chin , Lee Marion M. , Chiu Chi‐Tsun , Chang Hsing‐Yi , Hsiung Chao Agnes , Hsu Chih‐Cheng
Published: January 2024

Aim

Leisure‐time physical activity (LTPA) promotes healthy aging; however, data on work‐related physical activity (WPA) are inconsistent. This study was conducted to examine the disability‐free life expectancy (DFLE) and disabled life expectancy (DLE) across physical activity levels, with a focus on WPA, in middle‐aged and older adults.

Methods

Data from 5663 community‐dwelling participants aged ≥55 years and enrolled in the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan were evaluated. Energy expenditures from LTPA and WPA were calculated from baseline questionnaires and categorized into sex‐specific cutoffs. Disability was based on repeat measures of participants' activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Mortality was confirmed via data linkage with the Death Certificate database. DFLE and DLE were estimated from discrete‐time multistate life‐table models.

Results

At age 65, women with low WPA had a DLE of 2.88 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67–4.08), which was shorter than that of women without WPA (DLE, 5.24 years; 95% CI, 4.65–5.83) and with high WPA (DLE, 4.01 years; 95% CI, 2.69–5.34). DFLE and DLE were similar across WPA levels in men. DFLE tended to increase as the LTPA increased in men and women.

Conclusion

Women with low WPA had shorter DLE than did those with no or high WPA. To reduce the risks of disability associated with physical activity, public policy should advocate for older people to watch the type, amount, and intensity of their activities as these may go ignored during WPA. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 229–239.
Coal gangue‐based ceramics foams by water spray granulation and post particle stacking method
Authors: Dai Lufei , Zhang Jinghao , Meng Fanhui , Yao Longfan , Wang Yangyang , Li Zhong
Published: January 2024

Foamed ceramics were prepared by the water spray granulation and post particle stacking method using coal gangue as the main raw material. The effects of raw material weight ratio (i.e., raw material composition by varying the content of dolomite and talc), calcination temperature, time, and heating rate on the pore structure and properties of the samples were investigated and the foaming mechanism of foamed ceramics was revealed. The crystalline phase of foamed ceramics mainly consisted of quartz, anorthite, and enstatite. The decrease of dolomite content and the increase of talc content in the raw materials led to the initial decrease and then increase of the pore size dispersion coefficient, while the apparent porosity and water absorption of the samples gradually decreased, and the apparent density increased. The sample with a composition of gangue:waste glass:dolomite:albite:talc of 65:5:10:10:10 and calcined at 1200°C for 10 min with a heating rate of 1°C/min has the optimized uniform pore structure. This study provides a high value‐added utilization of coal gangue, and the experimental basis for the preparation of low‐cost foamed ceramics.
Structural and tunable optical properties of LiMgPO4:Tb3+ phosphor fabricated by sol–gel method
Authors: Katı Mehmet İsmail
Published: January 2024

In the study, Tb3+‐doped LiMgPO4 phosphors between .10 and 5 mol% were successfully synthesized by the sol–gel process. The crystal structure of Tb3+‐doped LiMgPO4 was identified by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The XRD results for LiMgPO4 ceramics doped with Tb3+ indicated a single‐phase up to 5 mol%, accompanied by lattice shrinkage. An SEM analysis of LiMgPO4 samples showed that increasing Tb3+ concentration reduced grain size but did not cause any significant change in slightly angular and round grains. The emission intensity of phosphor increased from .10 to 5 mol%, and no concentration quenching was observed. The luminescence color of LiMgPO4:Tb3+ phosphor can be tuned from blue to green through cross‐relaxation with the increase in Tb3+ concentration. The photoluminescence emissions of LiMgPO4:Tb3+ on the CIE diagram shifted from blue to green as the Tb3+ concentration increased. The color purity of the 5 mol% Tb3+‐doped phosphor showing the strongest emission was measured at 22.71%, whereas the color‐correlated temperature parameter was found to be 5573 K. The phosphors exhibited bi‐exponential decay profiles, and the observed lifetimes of 5D3 decreased with the increase of Tb3+, where the cross‐relaxation effect increased. The quantum efficiency (ɳQE) of the phosphor was determined using the cross‐relaxation process. For Tb3+ concentrations ranging from .1 to 5 mol%, the ɳQE of the 5D3 state decreased from 62.49% to 28.29%. The research may offer a new perspective and new approaches for tuning luminescence in Tb3+‐doped phosphors.
Strategic contexts, strategic orientations and organisational technology adoption: A configurational approach
Authors: Sun Yongqiang , Tan Chee‐Wee , Lim Kai H. , Liang Ting‐Peng , Yeh Yi‐Hsuan
Published: January 2024

Despite the broad application of the technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework to explain firms' adoption of technology, prior research tends to over‐emphasise the independent effects of TOE elements while neglecting decision makers' strategic orientations when making organisational technology adoption decisions. This over‐simplistic interpretation of the TOE framework has culminated in inconsistent findings within extant literature. Considering the interdependencies among the three TOE elements in shaping organisational technology adoption and also decision‐makers' inclination to weigh the three TOE elements differently based on their strategic orientations, this study views organisational technology adoption from a systems standpoint based on a configurational approach. Particularly, we differentiate between two types of strategic orientations, namely functional orientation, which accentuates the technology‐induced efficiency gains and symbolic orientation, which stresses the image or reputation afforded through technology adoption. We advance a configurational model for organisational technology adoption that: (1) conceptualises organisational technology adoption as an outcome arising from distinct configurations of TOE elements, and; (2) extends the TOE framework by incorporating strategic orientation as an inevitable aspect of decision‐making for organisational technology adoption. To validate our proposed model, we conducted a field survey of 183 firms to collect data on their considerations underpinning organisational technology adoption before employing fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to derive configurations of TOE elements responsible for driving such adoption. Analytical results reveal that the TOE configurations vary across three types of organisations (namely performance enhancer, image builder and strategic transformer). The theoretical and practical implications of our study are also discussed.
Direct additive manufacturing of Al2O3–TiCp functionally graded ceramics by laser‐directed energy deposition
Authors: Yu Xuexin , Wu Dongjiang , Bi Weiming , Feng Xiao , Zhao Ziyuan , Hao Yunbo , Ma Guangyi , Zhou Cong , Niu Fangyong
Published: January 2024

Functionally graded ceramics (FGCs), which combine the properties of various composite ceramics, have been widely used in the aerospace, armament, and other industries. One of the newest melt‐growth ceramic additive manufacturing techniques, laser directed energy deposition (LDED), enables the creation of gradient materials by controlling the ratio of powder delivery. Ceramic–ceramic type gradient materials are the subject of fewer studies, and the majority of LDED gradient material systems now in research are metal–metal type and metal–ceramic type gradient materials. In this paper, LDED is used to create TiCp reinforced Al2O3 FGCs with three different transition paths. The results indicate that the longitudinal section of the gradient samples distinctly exhibits characteristics of gradient distribution. Furthermore, as the proportion of TiCp increases, there is a corresponding increase in the proportion of TiCp particles in the samples. The microstructure of Al2O3 transforms from columnar crystals to irregular shapes. Regarding the mechanical properties of the gradient samples, the area containing 30 wt.% of TiCp shows a significant improvement in wear resistance, with a 48.13% increase compared to the Al2O3 region. Additionally, this region demonstrates a 12.62% rise in hardness and a 9.48% increase in fracture toughness.