bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hyperglycemia in Acutely Ill Non-diabetic Children in the Emergency Rooms of 2 Tertiary Hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Oyenusi Elizabeth E. , Oduwole Abiola O. , Aronson A. Stefan , Jonsson Björn G. , Albertsson-Wikland Kerstin , Njokanma Olisamedua F.
Published: May 2015

Objectives

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of hyperglycemia in sick children admitted into the emergency rooms and to investigate its relationship with adverse outcomes.

Methods

A prospective study involving 2 tertiary hospitals in Lagos. Study subjects included all children aged beyond 1 month. An Accu-Chek Active glucometer was used for the bedside blood glucose determination. Hyperglycemia was defined as blood glucose greater than 7.8 mmol/L.

Results

A total of 1045 patients were recruited with hyperglycemia being recorded in 135 patients (prevalence rate of 12.9%). Mean age of the hyperglycemic patients was 29.0 ± 31.23 months. Prevalence rates of hyperglycemia among the leading diagnoses were 17.4% in acute respiratory tract infections, 11% in malaria, 15.3% in septicemia, 14.9% in gastroenteritis, and 18.2% in burns. Other conditions include sickle cell anemia, meningitis, and malnutrition. Mortality rate was significantly higher overall in hyperglycemic compared with the normoglycemic patients (15.4% vs 8.0%, P = 0.011). With regard to specific diagnoses, significantly higher mortality rates were recorded in hyperglycemic patients with acute respiratory tract infections (28% vs 8%, P = 0.011) and malaria (21.4% vs 5.0%, P = 0.006) than in their normoglycemic counterparts.

Conclusions

Hyperglycemia is common in ill children admitted to the emergency rooms and is associated with 2 to 4 times higher mortality in common childhood diseases encountered. Blood glucose determination is important in all acutely ill children at presentation. The practice of empirical administration of intravenous glucose in some resource-constrained facilities where blood glucose testing facilities are not readily available should be discouraged.
Basal blood glucose concentration in free-living striped mice is influenced by food availability, ambient temperature and social tactic
Authors: Schradin Carsten , Pillay Neville , Kondratyeva Anna , Yuen Chi-Hang , Schoepf Ivana , Krackow Sven
Published: May 2015

Vertebrates obtain most of their energy through food, which they store mainly as body fat or glycogen, with glucose being the main energy source circulating in the blood. Basal blood glucose concentration (bBGC) is expected to remain in a narrow homeostatic range. We studied the extent to which bBGC in free-living African striped mice (
Rhabdomys pumilio
) is influenced by ecological factors with a bearing on energy regulation, i.e. food availability, abiotic environmental variation and social tactic. Striped mice typically form extended family groups that huddle together at night, reducing energetic costs of thermoregulation, but solitary individuals also occur in the population. We analysed 2827 blood samples from 1008 individuals of seven different social categories that experienced considerable variation in food supply and abiotic condition. Blood samples were taken from mice in the morning after the overnight fast and before foraging. bBGC increased significantly with food plant abundance and decreased significantly with minimum daily ambient temperature. Solitary striped mice had significantly higher bBGC than group-living striped mice. Our results suggest that adaptive responses of bBGC occur and we found large natural variation, indicating that bBGC spans a far greater homeostatic range than previously thought.
Hyperpolarized
83
Kr magnetic resonance imaging of alveolar degradation in a rat model of emphysema
Authors: Lilburn David M. L. , Lesbats Clémentine , Six Joseph S. , Dubuis Eric , Yew-Booth Liang , Shaw Dominick E. , Belvisi Maria G. , Birrell Mark A. , Pavlovskaya Galina E. , Meersmann Thomas
Published: May 2015

Hyperpolarized
83
Kr surface quadrupolar relaxation (SQUARE) generates MRI contrast that was previously shown to correlate with surface-to-volume ratios in porous model surface systems. The underlying physics of SQUARE contrast is conceptually different from any other current MRI methodology as the method uses the nuclear electric properties of the spin
I
= 9/2 isotope
83
Kr. To explore the usage of this non-radioactive isotope for pulmonary pathophysiology, MRI SQUARE contrast was acquired in excised rat lungs obtained from an elastase-induced model of emphysema. A significant
83
Kr
T
1
relaxation time increase in the SQUARE contrast was found in the elastase-treated lungs compared with the baseline data from control lungs. The SQUARE contrast suggests a reduction in pulmonary surface-to-volume ratio in the emphysema model that was validated by histology. The finding supports usage of
83
Kr SQUARE as a new biomarker for surface-to-volume ratio changes in emphysema.
Using model-based proposals for fast parameter inference on discrete state space, continuous-time Markov processes
Authors: Pooley C. M. , Bishop S. C. , Marion G.
Published: May 2015

Bayesian statistics provides a framework for the integration of dynamic models with incomplete data to enable inference of model parameters and unobserved aspects of the system under study. An important class of dynamic models is discrete state space, continuous-time Markov processes (DCTMPs). Simulated via the Doob–Gillespie algorithm, these have been used to model systems ranging from chemistry to ecology to epidemiology. A new type of proposal, termed ‘model-based proposal’ (MBP), is developed for the efficient implementation of Bayesian inference in DCTMPs using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). This new method, which in principle can be applied to any DCTMP, is compared (using simple epidemiological SIS and SIR models as easy to follow exemplars) to a standard MCMC approach and a recently proposed particle MCMC (PMCMC) technique. When measurements are made on a single-state variable (e.g. the number of infected individuals in a population during an epidemic), model-based proposal MCMC (MBP-MCMC) is marginally faster than PMCMC (by a factor of 2–8 for the tests performed), and significantly faster than the standard MCMC scheme (by a factor of 400 at least). However, when model complexity increases and measurements are made on more than one state variable (e.g. simultaneously on the number of infected individuals in spatially separated subpopulations), MBP-MCMC is significantly faster than PMCMC (more than 100-fold for just four subpopulations) and this difference becomes increasingly large.
Evidence for a pervasive ‘idling-mode’ activity template in flying and pedestrian insects
Authors: Reynolds Andrew M. , Jones Hayley B. C. , Hill Jane K. , Pearson Aislinn J. , Wilson Kenneth , Wolf Stephan , Lim Ka S. , Reynolds Don R. , Chapman Jason W.
Published: May 2015

Understanding the complex movement patterns of animals in natural environments is a key objective of ‘movement ecology’. Complexity results from behavioural responses to external stimuli but can also arise spontaneously in their absence. Drawing on theoretical arguments about decision-making circuitry, we predict that the spontaneous patterns will be scale-free and universal, being independent of taxon and mode of locomotion. To test this hypothesis, we examined the activity patterns of the European honeybee, and multiple species of noctuid moth, tethered to flight mills and exposed to minimal external cues. We also reanalysed pre-existing data forDrosophilaflies walking in featureless environments. Across these species, we found evidence of common scale-invariant properties in their movement patterns; pause and movement durations were typically power law distributed over a range of scales and characterized by exponents close to 3/2. Our analyses are suggestive of the presence of a pervasive scale-invariant template for locomotion which, when acted on by environmental cues, produces the movements with characteristic scales observed in nature. Our results indicate that scale-finite complexity as embodied, for instance, in correlated random walk models, may be the result of environmental cues overriding innate behaviour, and that scale-free movements may be intrinsic and not limited to ‘blind’ foragers as previously thought.
Avian responses to selective logging shaped by species traits and logging practices
Authors: Burivalova Zuzana , Lee Tien Ming , Giam Xingli , Şekercioğlu Çağan Hakkı , Wilcove David S. , Koh Lian Pin
Published: May 2015

Selective logging is one of the most common forms of forest use in the tropics. Although the effects of selective logging on biodiversity have been widely studied, there is little agreement on the relationship between life-history traits and tolerance to logging. In this study, we assessed how species traits and logging practices combine to determine species responses to selective logging, based on over 4000 observations of the responses of nearly 1000 bird species to selective logging across the tropics. Our analysis shows that species traits, such as feeding group and body mass, and logging practices, such as time since logging and logging intensity, interact to influence a species' response to logging. Frugivores and insectivores were most adversely affected by logging and declined further with increasing logging intensity. Nectarivores and granivores responded positively to selective logging for the first two decades, after which their abundances decrease below pre-logging levels. Larger species of omnivores and granivores responded more positively to selective logging than smaller species from either feeding group, whereas this effect of body size was reversed for carnivores, herbivores, frugivores and insectivores. Most importantly, species most negatively impacted by selective logging had not recovered approximately 40 years after logging cessation. We conclude that selective timber harvest has the potential to cause large and long-lasting changes in avian biodiversity. However, our results suggest that the impacts can be mitigated to a certain extent through specific forest management strategies such as lengthening the rotation cycle and implementing reduced impact logging.
Influence of doping on crystal growth, structure and optical properties of nanocrystalline CaTiO3: a case study using small-angle neutron scattering
Authors: Mondal Oindrila , Pal Manisha , Singh Ripandeep , Sen Debasis , Mazumder Subhasish , Pal Mrinal
Published: May 2015

The effect of dopant size (ionic radius) on the crystal growth, structure and optical properties of nanocrystalline calcium titanate, CaTiO3 (CTO), have been studied using small-angle neutron scattering. X-ray diffraction, along with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, confirms the growth of pure nanocrystalline CTO. Rietveld analysis reveals that the difference of ionic radii between dopant and host ions induces strain within the lattice, which significantly affects the lattice parameters. The induced strain, due to the difference of ionic radii, causes the shrinkage of the optical band gap, which is manifested by the redshift of the absorbance band. Mesoscopic structural analysis using scattering techniques demonstrates that the ionic radius of the dopant influences the agglomeration behaviour and particle size. A high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study reconfirms the formation of pure highly crystalline CTO nanoparticles.
McSAS: software for the retrieval of model parameter distributions from scattering patterns
Authors: Bressler I. , Pauw B. R. , Thünemann A. F.
Published: May 2015

A user-friendly open-source Monte Carlo regression package (McSAS) is presented, which structures the analysis of small-angle scattering (SAS) using uncorrelated shape-similar particles (or scattering contributions). The underdetermined problem is solvable, provided that sufficient external information is available. Based on this, the user picks a scatterer contribution model (or `shape') from a comprehensive library and defines variation intervals of its model parameters. A multitude of scattering contribution models are included, including prolate and oblate nanoparticles, core–shell objects, several polymer models, and a model for densely packed spheres. Most importantly, the form-free Monte Carlo nature of McSAS means it is not necessary to provide further restrictions on the mathematical form of the parameter distribution; without prior knowledge, McSAS is able to extract complex multimodal or odd-shaped parameter distributions from SAS data. When provided with data on an absolute scale with reasonable uncertainty estimates, the software outputs model parameter distributions in absolute volume fraction, and provides the modes of the distribution (e.g. mean, variance etc.). In addition to facilitating the evaluation of (series of) SAS curves, McSAS also helps in assessing the significance of the results through the addition of uncertainty estimates to the result. The McSAS software can be integrated as part of an automated reduction and analysis procedure in laboratory instruments or at synchrotron beamlines.
Purification, crystallization and X-ray crystallographic studies of aBacillus cereusMepR-like transcription factor, BC0657
Authors: Cho Min Uk , Kim Meong Il , Hong Minsun
Published: May 2015

Transcription factors of the MarR family respond to internal and external changes and regulate a variety of biological functions through ligand association with microorganisms. MepR belongs to the MarR family, and its mutations are associated with the development of multidrug resistance inStaphylococcus aureus, which has caused a growing health problem. In this study, aBacillus cereusMepR-like transcription regulator, BC0657, was crystallized. The BC0657 crystals diffracted to 2.05 Å resolution and belonged to either space groupP6222 orP6422, with unit-cell parametersa= 110.57,b= 110.57,c= 67.29 Å. There was one molecule per asymmetric unit. Future comparative structural studies on BC0657 would extend knowledge of ligand-induced transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in the MarR family and would make a significant contribution to the design of antibiotic drugs against multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Status of prerequisite programs for the implementation of HACCP system in chain restaurants in Iran
Authors: Tavakkoli Hamidreza , Zabihi Ali , Khatibi Seyed Amin , Nasiri Taha , Kaviani Leila , Dopeykar Nooredin
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the compliance status of prerequisite programs (PRPs) and to determine the feasibility of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) program in restaurants in different cities of Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 58 great chain restaurants were assessed randomly by observation, interview and questionnaires. The main prerequisites for HACCP implementation in questionnaires were as follows: personal hygiene of employees, rinsing, disinfection and cleaning programs, area and location of the restaurant, design and layout of the tools, building facilities, interior environment of the building, environmental hygiene, storerooms, cold storage, refrigerators and documentation.

Findings

– Only 17 percent (10) of restaurants were generally assessed in a proper level of compliance and 95 percent (55) of them had not any documentation about hygienic practices. Also, the status of storerooms, cold storage and refrigerators was improper. Although, according to the area and location, the feasibility of HACCP program in the evaluated restaurants was in the highest level.

Originality/value

– All of evaluated chain restaurants provided large amounts of food for customers each day and they had relatively more facilities and money resources for the implementation of PRPs. Hence, the findings of this research can be applicable for small and independent restaurants and other food service establishments.
Best-before date – food storage temperatures recorded by Swedish students
Authors: Marklinder Ingela , Eriksson Mattias K
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the food storage temperature in Swedish household refrigerators, to determine whether students use the best-before-date label to determine food edibility, and to examine if the study increased the students’ interest and knowledge regarding these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 1,812 students, enrolled at 72 Swedish schools, analysed the temperature on different shelves in their family refrigerator using thermometers (Moller-Therm (+0.5/−0.1 °C) and instructions provided by their teachers. A questionnaire dealing with the issues of date labelling, food safety, refrigerator storage and food wastage was completed by the teachers.

Findings

– The temperature at the back of middle shelves was coldest (average 4.8 °C; SD 3.1). A relatively high proportion of food items were stored at higher temperatures than recommended. The use-by date had been exceeded for 30 per cent of products, but the students did not rate these as inedible. According to the teachers, the investigation increased interest and knowledge among their students of date labelling, food hygiene, refrigerator storage and food waste.

Research limitations/implications

– Thermometers were used to measure air temperature on different shelves in the family refrigerator. Data collection was not controllable, as the students measured without supervision.

Practical implications

– The teachers reported that the study increased interest and knowledge among their students regarding cold food storage.

Social implications

– This way of teaching food safety would meet the aim of generally increasing food safety knowledge in society, which might have a positive impact on public health.

Originality/value

– The use of school-children as data collectors to determine refrigerator temperatures in private homes is a novel approach, which was an efficient way of teaching relevant facts as well as collecting large amounts of data.
Regional foods in Brazilian school meals
Authors: Fabri Rafaela Karen , Proença Rossana Pacheco da Costa , Martinelli Suellen Secchi , Cavalli Suzi Barletto
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify regional foods and analyze its use on school menus of a Brazilian city, as well as the respect to symbolic and cultural aspects related to it.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, regional foods were identified through interviews with key school meal and city agents. In the second stage, the inclusion of these foods in school menus from 2009 to 2013 was assessed.

Findings

– In total, 142 regional foods were identified and classified into four groups. This classification resulted in a decision tree model to identify regional foods. Approximately 45 percent of regional preparations and 82.5 percent of regional foods were offered totaling 455 preparations and 977 foods analyzed. However, 31 percent of the regional foods identified in Stage 1 were not offered in the menus analyzed. Various regional preparations lost their authenticity, possibly not being recognized because of a lack of traditional ingredients or because they contained non-regional foods that changed their character.

Practical implications

– The results mainly point to symbolic aspects of the production and consumption of regional foods and preparations that are important to promoting healthy diets. In addition, they can support public policies that promote the use of these foods in the school environment.

Originality/value

– This study analyzes the inclusion of regional foods in school meals--a topic rarely explored in the scientific literature – and proposes a decision tree model to identify regional foods with methodological rigor. This model can assist school food managers in including regional foods and developing studies related to this topic.
From female leadership advantage to female leadership deficit
Authors: Sidani Yusuf M. , Konrad Alison , Karam Charlotte M.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper takes an institutional approach to identify cognitive, normative, and regulatory factors affecting women’s business leadership in an under-studied traditional society. The purpose of this paper is to assess how such forces work to create a case of female leadership deficit (FLD) in Lebanon.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors analyze interview data to identify themes linking women’s leadership with societal institutional forces. The qualitative analysis provides an understanding at the societal level of analysis which is only partially tempered through organizational structures.

Findings

– Misalignments among cognitive, normative, and regulative pillars inhibit real change. Organizational structures are not highly salient as the most important factors affecting women’s leadership. Rather, patriarchal structures, explicit favoring of males over females, and assignment of women to nurturing roles within the private sphere of the family are the major limiting factors impeding women’s ascension to leadership.

Research limitations/implications

– A promise of the institutional approach is enhancing the capacity to make meaningful comparisons between societies. This opens the door to uncovering whether documentable changes in regulations, cognitions, values, and norms regarding women in business leadership, will lead to observable changes in the size of FLD.

Originality/value

– This study presents a case of institutional pluralism where a positive force in one direction (regulatory) is sometimes opposed by other forces (cognitive and normative) limiting meaningful change. This study helps to explain why societies differ in the size of the FLD and to identify factors that predict within societal changes in the size of this deficit over time.
Measuring quantitative and qualitative aspects of the job insecurity climate
Authors: Låstad Lena , Berntson Erik , Näswall Katharina , Lindfors Petra , Sverke Magnus
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a measure of job insecurity climate by: first, testing whether job insecurity climate and individual job insecurity are two separate constructs; and second, investigating the relative importance of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate in predicting work-related and health-related outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected by questionnaires in a simple stratified random sample of 1,380 white-collar workers in Sweden. The response rate was 56 percent.

Findings

– Confirmatory factor analyses showed that job insecurity climate was distinct from individual job insecurity. Four separate ridge regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity climate was a significant predictor of demands, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and poor self-rated health and that quantitative job insecurity climate predicted demands and work-family conflict.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is based on self-reports, which may involve common method bias. The cross-sectional study design limits the possibility to make causal inferences regarding the relationship between job insecurity climate and outcomes.

Practical implications

– Future studies may consider measuring job insecurity climate in line with a referent-shift model. Work environment surveys in organizations that include measures of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate can provide practitioners with a fuller picture of the psychosocial work environment.

Originality/value

– The present study adds to previous research by introducing a new approach to measuring and conceptualizing job insecurity climate.
Sport and disaster relief: a content analysis
Authors: Inoue Yuhei , Havard Cody T
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore disaster relief activities implemented by high-profile sport organisations and athletes.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 70 newspaper and magazine articles reporting the disaster relief efforts of sport organisations and athletes in various regions were identified and analysed through a content analysis.

Findings

– The authors find 11 forms of activities that sport organisations and athletes have implemented to provide social support in post-disaster situations. These forms are classified based on type of post-disaster social support: eight forms are categorised as tangible support, while the other three are categorised as emotional support.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings are based on the analysis of the news media that predominantly reported North American cases, and the current list of disaster relief activities may exclude some activities ignored by these specific data sources. Using the forms of disaster relief activities identified in this study as an initial framework, future studies should engage in the focused analysis of disaster response among sport organisations and athletes.

Practical implications

– The comprehensive list of the disaster relief activities identified by this study should aid the decision-making of sport organisations and athletes in facing disasters and enable them to better prepare for their disaster response.

Originality/value

– This study reveals the extensiveness and uniqueness of disaster relief activities currently implemented by sport organisations and athletes.
Managing attendance at work: the role of line managers in the UK grocery retail sector
Authors: Hadjisolomou Anastasios
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of line managers in managing attendance at work in the lean regime of grocery retailing. The increasing competitiveness within the sector, coupled with the sophisticated control systems in place put pressure on managers to keep labour costs low. Attendance, therefore, becomes a critical factor, particularly as staffing levels become leaner. Taking this into account, it is necessary to understand the parameters of the line managers’ role in managing attendance, especially within the lean food retail market and the antagonistic terrain of the supermarket shop floor. The paper discusses the impact of lean retailing on line managers’ authority and provides a fresh sociological analysis regarding their role in managing attendance, offering insights into managerial practices on the UK supermarket shop floor.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on qualitative research evidence from two case study grocery retail organizations in the UK. It reports on 44 semi-structured interviews and provides a multi-level analysis aiming to understand the different perspectives on the problem examined.

Findings

– The paper reveals the existence of a centralized absence management policy and highlights the greater involvement of line managers in this procedure. Line managers though were subjected to forces of bureaucratic control, intensification and degradation of their work. Despite having an active role within the attendance management process and high responsibility for the implementation of rules and procedures handed down by head office, they had limited authority over the process. Line managers perceived the latter as routine and a box-ticking exercise and had developed coping tactics to deal with the control from above.

Originality/value

– This paper provides practical and theoretical considerations over the role of line management in the labour process, investigating their role in managing attendance at work within the lean terrain of food retailing. This research contributes to the ongoing academic discussions related to the devolvement of HR responsibilities to the line, highlighting the great involvement of line managers in the absence policy. It also provides a sociological perspective over line managers’ authority and discretion in managing attendance, revealing that they were subjected to direct and bureaucratic control within their role in attendance management. However, the research reveals that line managers were not passive in the face of direct control from above and had developed tactics to cope with the monotony and the repetition of this process, attempting to somehow escape the top-down control they were subjected to.
An unusual job for a woman? Female entrepreneurs in scientific, engineering and technology sectors
Authors: Martin Lynn , Wright Lucy , Beaven Zuleika , Matlay Harry
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand more about the conditions which foster certain women’s resilience in science engineering and technology (SET) entrepreneurship. The research responds to the so-called “leaky pipeline”, which sees progressively smaller numbers of women participating in SET at each developmental stage from training to employment, and asks why some women establish and grow their businesses while others are discouraged.

Design/methodology/approach

– In all, 15 female SET entrepreneurs, with businesses that had progressed beyond the initial start-up phase were selected from national databases. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and documentary records over a six-month period and analysed using both manual and software-based thematic review. Responses were mapped to bring narratives to the forefront, and were compared using relevant literature on emerging gender topics.

Findings

– Findings suggest that female SET entrepreneurs undertake a continual process of adjustment to cope with the perceptual tendencies of visibility, contrast and assimilation (Kanter, 1993). They make frequent allowances and/or arrangements for their “unusual” status within the industry. In overcoming limited opportunities for women in traditional SET roles, participants perceived assimilation in terms of becoming an “honorary man”, occasionally in attitude, but primarily via hard-earned proof of personal expertise.

Originality/value

– This research considers an under-researched group, dealing both with female entrepreneurship generally and women’s involvement in the SET sector specifically, and demonstrates the complexity of responses to gendered business environments. Increased awareness of the issues facing women in SET is vital in beginning to address the leaky pipeline.
Entrepreneurial learning: gender differences
Authors: Ekanem Ignatius
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in the entrepreneurial experiences between male and female entrepreneurs. The study investigates what entrepreneurs learn, how they learn, who they learn from and what prompted such learning.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data under analysis is drawn from a qualitative study which involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted longitudinally as a case study in ten firms over a period of five years. The case study findings are analysed and discussed using a learning framework.

Findings

– The findings suggest some differences in the learning experiences between male and female entrepreneurs. Whilst male entrepreneurs were more likely to challenge and depart from industry norms, thus utilising double-loop learning process, female entrepreneurs were more likely to engage in “routinised” learning which enhances confidence, thus adopting the single-loop learning process.

Research limitations/implications

– The main implication of the study for policy makers is that unique training, networking and support programmes should be designed for women entrepreneurs. The study is limited to the extent that it can be generalised to a wider population of small businesses.

Originality/value

– To date, there have only been speculations and little understanding about whether there are differences in the entrepreneurial learning experiences between men and women. Thus, policy makers have little guidance as to whether or not unique training and support programmes should be designed for female entrepreneurs. The study is novel in so far as it was conducted longitudinally over a period of five years to sufficiently follow the learning behavioural pattern of entrepreneurs in different business sectors.
Are house prices in the Norwegian capital too high?
Authors: Krakstad Svein Olav , Oust Are
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate whether the homes in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, are overpriced. While house prices in many countries dropped after the financial crisis, those in Norway have continued to increase. Over the past 20 years, real house prices in Oslo have increased by around 7 per cent yearly.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use a vector error correction model to estimate the equilibrium between house prices, rents, construction costs and wages to examine whether house prices in Oslo are overpriced.

Findings

– Long-term relationships between house prices, rents, construction costs and wages are found and used to estimate equilibrium house prices in Oslo. The overpricing in Oslo compared to estimated equilibrium prices is around 35 per cent.

Practical implications

– Price–rent, price–construction cost and price–income ratios are often used, by practitioners to say something about over- or underpricing in the housing market. We test and find that house prices, rents and construction costs move toward constant ratios in the long run, while wages are found to be weakly exogenous in the system.

Originality/value

– Our estimate of overpricing gives households, investors and policy-makers a better understanding of the risk associated with owning dwellings.
Deconstructing Candy Crush: what instructional design can learn from game design
Authors: Varonis Evangeline Marlos , Varonis Maria Evangeline
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore four general design features of King Digital Entertainment’s game “Candy Crush Saga” – structural, social, cognitive, and emotional – that reflect the principles of Universal Design for Learning and discusses how these features can be applied to course design in order to motivate learner persistence and increase student success.

Design/methodology/approach

– Both authors are casual Candy Crush game players intrigued by how the game motivates users to continue. The methodology began with participant observation and expanded to “deconstruction” of game features and application of research findings in multiple disciplines to build the argument that game design strategies can be applied to course design to enhance learning outcomes.

Findings

– Many factors influence game play, but it is crucial for each level to provide increasing challenges that motivate increased mastery but do not frustrate a player to the point of quitting. Similarly, course design that provides the opportunity for learners to achieve a sense of “flow” through the opportunity to identify goals, meet challenges, and receive feedback may encourage them to persist even when they are working autonomously as in some online environments.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is based on an analysis of the design of a single game and has not been formally tested on course design. Some suggestions may be easier to implement in courses than others.

Practical implications

– The paper offers 14 structural, three social, four cognitive, and six social design strategies that can be implemented in course design as a way to potentially enhance learner engagement and learning outcomes.

Originality/value

– No published research exists that connects game design and course design in this fashion.
The human factor in learning design, research, policy, and practice
Authors: MacLean Piers , Cahillane Marie
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of coherent alignment of current theory from cognitive psychology with practice and policy in training and education institutions developing e-learning materials and present recommendations emphasising the human factor within processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper a recent empirical study which applies current theory from cognitive psychological and multimodal learning research provides the backdrop to discussion about alignment of strategic vision, through policy, to effective practice.

Findings

– Despite advances in cognitive psychology which can be applied to targeting effective and measurable training and education, many institutions fail to maintain updated e-learning strategy and policy resulting in a negative impact on practice and the learner experience.

Practical implications

– The model presented in this paper is intended to promote thoughtful discussion about the processes and framework necessary for improved collaboration and communication supported by ongoing evaluation of institutional e-learning policy such that policy becomes a dynamic process congruent with developments in the learning sciences.

Social implications

– The paper includes recommendations for a refined view of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and alignment of policy with practice and theory and will be of interest to training and education institutions seeking to review their policies for training needs analysis and e-learning.

Originality/value

– This paper offers an up-to-date view of training needs analysis and multimedia design for training discrete psychomotor skills. It will be of value to organisations and institutions providing training and education mediated by technology as well as those involved in the design of training interventions.
Supply chain management research in management journals
Authors: Grimm Curtis , Knemeyer Michael , Polyviou Mikaella , Ren Xinyi
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify and review empirical strategic management articles that pertain to supply chain management (SCM) and are published in top management journals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The researchers review all articles published in five top management journals, namely,Academy of Management Journal,Administrative Science Quarterly,Management Science,Organization Science, andStrategic Management Journal, from 2004 to 2013, to identify empirical articles relevant to SCM. The researchers subsequently categorize the literature in thematic categories and subcategories, and they identify the theories informing the research and the methodologies applied.

Findings

– The most prevalent finding of this literature review is that abundant research pertaining to SCM is being published in top management journals. This demonstrates that SCM is a broad phenomenon studied by scholars across disciplines; thus, a broader literature perspective can be beneficial to those working in this area. Moreover, the reviewed studies are informed by theories that extend beyond the “traditionally used” resource-based view and transaction cost economics. Finally, the majority of the research suggests an inter-organizational scope.

Originality/value

– This study familiarizes logistics/SCM scholars with SCM-related research conducted in the strategic management field, informing them about the types of phenomena studied by strategic management scholars, the theoretical lenses and literature used to enhance understanding of these phenomena, and the empirical methodologies applied to examine those. Importantly, through this familiarization, logistics/SCM scholars can learn from but also contribute to the strategic management literature that pertains to SCM.
Open access: help or hindrance to resource sharing?
Authors: Baich Tina
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for open access materials submitted during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and to consider the implications of open access for resource sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

– Borrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests and open access borrowing requests from the previous two fiscal years.

Findings

– During the period studied, borrowing requests for open access materials increased, while overall requests held steady. The difficulty users have in navigating the online information environment makes it unlikely that ILL requests will decrease significantly due to the growing amount of open access material available.

Originality/value

– The literature discussing the relationship between open access and ILL has expanded in recent years, but largely focuses on the negative impact of open access on resource sharing. This paper presents an update on previous research and provides contradictory evidence that the number of borrowing requests for open access documents continues to grow. Open access should be embraced as a help to resource sharing. This article is of great value to ILL practitioners looking for effective ways of identifying open access ILL requests.
Document supply of grey literature and open access: ten years later
Authors: Schöpfel Joachim
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The paper aims to investigate the impact of the open access movement on the document supply of grey literature.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a comparative survey of five major scientific and technical information centres: The British Library (UK), KM (Canada), INIST-CNRS (France), KISTI (South Korea) and TIB Hannover (Germany).

Findings

– The five institutions supplied less than 1.8 million supplied items in 2014, i.e. half of the activity in 2004 (−55 per cent). There were 85,000 grey documents, mainly conference proceedings and reports, i.e. 5 per cent of the overall activity, a historically low level compared to 2004 (−72 per cent). At the same time, they continue to expand their open access strategies. Just as in 2004 and 2008, these strategies are specific, and they reflect institutional and national choices rather than global approaches, with two or three common or comparable projects (PubMed Central, national repositories, attribution of DOIs to datasets, dissertations and other objects). In spite of all differences, their development reveals some common features, like budget cuts, legal barriers (copyright), focus on domestic needs and open access policies to foster dissemination and impact of research results. Document supply for corporate customers tends to become a business-to-business service, while the delivery for the public sector relies more, than before, on resource sharing and networking with academic and public libraries. Except perhaps for the TIB Hannover, the declining importance of grey literature points towards their changing role – less intermediation, less acquisition and collection development and more high-value services, more dissemination and preservation capacities designed for the scientific community needs (research excellence, open access, data management, etc.).

Originality/value

– The paper is a follow-up study of two surveys published in 2006 and 2009.
An overview of the current state of interlibrary loans in South Africa
Authors: Raubenheimer Jenny , van Niekerk John Stephen
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review interlending development in South Africa and current trends in interlending.

Design/methodology/approach

– Literature study and survey.

Findings

– Interlending is still an essential service in South Africa. Interlending systems must be used effectively to ensure rapid delivery of requested interlibrary loans. There is a significant use of WorldShare ILL, but there is a scope for substantial development.

Research limitations/implications

– This is not a comprehensive study but focusses on current interlending activities at some of the larger South African academic and special libraries and the use of Online Computer Library Centre systems.

Practical implications

– The paper provides some historical information and the extent of current interlending and systems used.

Social implications

– The paper gives an indication of the value of interlending in South Africa and its contribution to information provision.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a snapshot of interlending in South Africa and areas for development.
Interlending and document supply: a review of the recent literature: No 89
Authors: McGrath Mike
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the current LIS literature relating to Interlending and Document Supply and related issues such as open access.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is based on a reading of about 150 journals together with reports, blogs, web sites, etc.

Findings

– This paper argues that the tipping point for open access has already arrived and is now acknowledged widely. Now new tensions and complications are emerging to do with funding and control. Significant changes in UK copyright law, specifically contract no longer trumping copyright will have widespread ramifications.

Originality/value

– This paper is the only review of the LIS literature that focuses on Interlending and Document Supply and related issues.
Does the concept of “creating shared value” hold water?
Authors: Orr Stuart , Sarni William
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to challenge corporate theories such as creating shared value (CSV) as to how they account for company water use given that water risk is ultimately not an efficiency challenge. In exploring CSV and the management of shared resources, there are limitations to the value of CSV (as currently framed) as a response strategy to water risks. For almost all businesses, water challenges involve complex social and environmental considerations “beyond efficiency”. Water stewardship is also an evolving framework, yet at its core implies an awareness and willingness to seek collaboration on business water-related risk across the value chain and to go beyond efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

– How does CSV stack-up against the experiences of companies at the leading edge of water risk and engagement in real-world contexts? Can CSV theory provide companies with enough guidance to navigate water management challenges and address complex risks to create shared outcomes, given that CSV does not engage the personal values or responses that are crucial to long-term water management? Especially considering that the boundaries between personal values, collective societal values and societal needs are all blurred. To fully address these questions, it is necessary to assess the extent to which CSV has internalized water stewardship initiatives or understood and drawn from water resource challenges and responses. Recent research states that the corporate sustainability is currently disconnected from the wider debate of pressing issues such as climate change and resource depletion. This research suggests that the business sustainability literature is entrenched in debates that draw very little from the ecology or environmental sciences literature, producing little in the way of interdisciplinary rigor (Linnenluecke and Griffiths, 2013). They conclude that business theory almost always focuses on understanding variables that can be subjected to direct managerial and shareholder concern, omitting challenging policy environments, with the net result that theoretical models can appear to serve more effectively than is the actual case.

Findings

– In its entirety, the sentiment of CSV is sensible – if society fails, so does business. The financial crisis provides an example of the symbiosis between corporate performance and social well-being: and of the obligations faced by businesses and the government to confirm that business behaves in ways which advance the public and private good. The objective is not to look at CSV in its entirety, but rather to focus on its representation of water use, delving deeper into what CSV means for this specific and unique resource.

Originality/value

– A unique view of the intersection of CSV and water stewardship with recommendations for alignment.