bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eventuality
Authors: Witmore Michael
Published: June 2017

This chapter examines eventuality as a fundamental capacity of theatre to engage participants precisely on the basis of what they cannot already know or expect. More specifically, it considers how eventuality delivers one of the theatre’s most basic pleasures—the pleasure of sensing that one exists, and of doing so in the company of others. Using a number of examples from William Shakespeare’s plays, the chapter argues that the eventuality of a stage play thrusts spectators into the drama of ‘being there’, of seeing and hearing ‘what happens, as it happens’. To argue this point, the chapter builds on Daniel Heller-Roazen’s work on the ‘inner touch’ and shows that there exists in Shakespeare’s plays an activation of our capacity for sensation, and especially for shared, collective encounters. It also employs phenomenology to describe what happens when the event gets theatricalized; for example, when it is exposed to the contingencies of performance that might emanate from actor, from architecture, or from audience.
Reading
Authors: Coiro Ann Baynes
Published: June 2017

This chapter examines the fortunes of ‘theatricality’ after the closing of the public theatres in 1642 and into the Restoration, with particular emphasis on how reading influenced notions of early modern theatre. It considers the question of early modern theatre and its relationship to the emerging concepts of drama and literary criticism by focusing on Humphrey Moseley and John Dryden. It also explores how the plays of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher were revived by the companies of Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant and gradually transformed into a more readerly form of literary drama by the publishing efforts of Moseley and by the retrospective judgement of Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatick Poesie. The chapter argues that, during the Restoration, ‘the London theater was crowded with old theatrical memories and new demands’, and that it had been fundamentally altered by its passage into print.
Scene
Authors: Smith Bruce R.
Published: June 2017

This chapter examines the scene as a segment of dramatic action marked at the beginning and end by an empty stage, scene as big effect, and scene as fictional setting. It begins with a discussion of the scene to which Robert Greene alludes in Greenes, groats-vvorth of witte (1592). It then considers the folio text of Henry VI, Part Three to show how acts and scenes were marked in plays printed between 1590 and 1630. It also discusses two ways that scenes can be registered verbally in scripts: marking and remarking. Finally, it explores the connection between physical means and theatrical ends in early modern usage in the context of scene, along with senses of ‘scene’ that may be increasingly remote from theatres as physical structures but that nonetheless maintain an important relationship with theatrical performance as a way of framing and understanding human experience.
Lines
Authors: Menzer Paul
Published: June 2017

This chapter examines the importance of the ‘line’ in the composition, reading, editing, interpretation, and performance of early modern drama. It considers the gradual emergence of the poetic verse that is characteristic of early modern drama and one of the most obviously ‘textual’ units of early modern theatre. It shows that the line, before it became a formal verse element, persisted as a graphic mark, a technology of performance shared by musicians and singers as well as actors and playwrights. It explains how the line, through the printing of plays and poems, became the immaterial metaphysical unit we associate with the period’s finest ‘literary’ writing. It also discusses physical and metaphysical lines and their attempt to regulate silence. Finally, it argues that attention at the level of the line pushes performance towards the typographic, even advancing a kind of ‘typographical acting’ alert to every piece of punctuation, every line break, every diacritically pricked out metrical inflection.
Miniature Possibilities? An Introduction to the Varied Dimensions of Figurine Research
Authors: Insoll Timothy
Published: June 2017

Prehistoric figurines are complex entities. Figurine definition and ‘meaning’ is variable, but critical is the realization that figurines require interpretation, not just description. Multiple meanings were probably ascribed to prehistoric figurines, and exploring this demands attention to figurine context. Figurine materiality is also diverse. They attest to human technical ingenuity and were also part of much larger material worlds. A shift beyond defining figurines in simplistic male and female terms is also apparent with figurines potentially representing gender, sex, age, bodies, personhood, and ontology. Ideal persons or essences or qualities of persons might be created through figurines with miniaturization perhaps significant as an agent for exploring material reality. Figurines could also have been considered as powerful, whole or in fragments, and as objects subject to manipulation and utilized in performance.
Prehistoric Figurines in Sudan
Authors: Haaland Randi , Haaland Gunnar
Published: June 2017

The chapter presents a descriptive account of Neolithic site inventories containing figurines in the Sudan Nile Valley. Cattle figurines indicate that animal husbandry played an important role in economic life as well as in political and ritual contexts. Female figurines can be seen as a multi-vocal symbol that may evoke a wide spectrum of meanings ranging from sexuality and fertility to basic qualities in human relations— trust, dependency, and solidarity. The mother–child relation is generally associated with such qualities. Symbolic imagery (e.g. female figurines) evoking this relation serves to foster compelling ideas of solidarity in small-scale networks of relations. In Neolithic pre-state communities, security of life and property is based on ad hoc political mobilization of such small-scale networks. Emergence of more permanent, specialized politico-administrative structures serving to maintain security within societies of larger scale is associated with increase in signs (e.g. weaponry, monumental architecture) expressing male warrior-like qualities.
The Sahara
Authors: Barich Barbara E.
Published: June 2017

This chapter discusses the collection of objects, in clay and stone, from various pastoral Saharan sites whose original core area lay between Libya (Tadrart Acacus) and Algeria (Tassili- n-Ajjer). The chapter starts from the general theme of the relationship between the figurines and the subjects they represent, and the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional representation. It goes on to discuss the manufacturing process of the clay specimens (dating from between 7000 and 4000 years ago) and the significance of the changes introduced by the Neolithic. Most of the items studied fall into the category of zoomorphic figurines, with only two anthropomorphic examples, and find in the depiction of cattle their most striking subject. These representations possess an evident symbolic content which must be framed within the pastoral ideology of the Saharan Neolithic. In the anthropomorphic figurines the representation of the human body also plays the role of recapturing the sense of wholeness.
Caribbean
Authors: Antczak Magdalena , Antczak Andrzej
Published: June 2017

Pottery figurines made by the indigenous peoples in precolonial times have been a relatively rare finding in the Caribbean. A few dozen recovered across the Greater and Lesser Antilles cannot ‘compete’ with the thousands known from the neighbouring mainland. The lack of sound contextual and chronological data has severely limited the role of figurines in the pageant of the region’s past. Rarely addressed in the archaeological literature, figurines have been the focus of scant substantial research. This chapter examines what is currently known about precolonial figurines in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and on the Southern Caribbean islands. It discusses the precolonial archaeology of the region in order to facilitate the overview of figurines which follows. The case studies are ordered diachronically and include Puerto Rico, Cuba, St Lucia, and the Los Roques Archipelago. Existing figurine interpretations are addressed and the chapter concludes with suggestions for future research.
Mesoamerica—Maya
Authors: Sears Erin L.
Published: June 2017

This chapter reviews attempts to derive meaning from Late Classic Maya ceramic figurines. Early concerns with classificatory procedures have evolved beyond an often site-specific viewpoint to include more regional perspectives that incorporate technological characteristics and an awareness of manufacturing practices. Recent studies have gained inspiration from the content analysis of figural painted polychrome vessels or other relief renderings to permit interpretative forays into the meaning of the represented figurine imagery. Rather than discussing figurines as an isolated body of material culture, variation in theme, image and technology are being explored relative to depositional patterning, and relation to different social levels of ancient communities, especially the residue of ritual devotions. While these portable, miniaturized musical sculptures are still occasionally presented as singular objects that symbolize ancient lifeways, there is increasing recognition that when they are evaluated within the context of special deposits, deeper understandings may be inferred.
Mesoamerica—Aztec Figurines
Authors: Overholtzer Lisa
Published: June 2017

Aztec ceramic figurines are ubiquitous small finds in central Mexican domestic contexts. As expressive miniature representations of humans, animals, and temples that were distributed through an extensive market system, they provide a window into Aztec worldviews, regional economies, and the household realm. Yet they have received relatively scant archaeological attention, likely because of disciplinary bias toward the monumental and imperial. This chapter reviews this small but compelling corpus of research, identifying a series of six approaches that are loosely chronologically arranged: (1) defining Aztec figurines, (2) figurines as types and as representations of deities, (3) figurines in household ritual, (4) figurine production and exchange, (5) figurines and social identity, and (6) figurine materialities. This analysis also identifies challenges that remain, including a lack of published catalogues of figurine collections, and insufficient detailed contextual excavations of houses where figurines were produced and consumed.
Prehistoric Figurines in China
Authors: Priewe Sascha
Published: June 2017

In early China there was no widespread tradition of making figurines until about the mid-first millennium bc when human figurines started to be placed in burials to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. In prior millennia only pockets of China had seen the emergence of figurines, but these appeared to be short-lived phenomena clearly rooted and linked to local and regional cultures. The overall paucity of three-dimensional imagery and relative rarity of human representations both in two and three dimensions meant that China does not feature in surveys of early figurines. This chapter surveys and discusses selected appearance of figurines of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, with an emphasis on the Hongshan Culture in the northeast, the Yellow River and the Shijiahe Culture along the middle Yangtze.
South Asia—Indus Civilization
Authors: Clark Sharri R. , Kenoyer Jonathan Mark
Published: June 2017

Figurines of the Indus Civilization (c.2600–1900 BC) provide unique insights into technological, social, and ideological aspects of this early urban society. The Indus script has not yet been deciphered, so figurines provide one of the most direct means to understand social diversity through ornament and dress styles, gender depictions, and various ritual traditions. This chapter focuses on figurines from the site of Harappa, Pakistan, with comparative examples from other sites excavated in both India and Pakistan. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic terracotta figurines, and special forms with moveable components or representing composite or fantastic creatures, are found at most sites of the Indus Civilization, with rare examples of figurines made of bronze, stone, faience, or shell. The raw materials and technologies used to make figurines are discussed, along with the archaeological contexts in which they have been discovered. These figurines provide an important line of evidence regarding Indus society and religion.
Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines of the Jomon Period of Japan
Authors: Mizoguchi Koji
Published: June 2017

This chapter charts the trajectory of change of Jomon period clay anthropomorphic figurines in the Japanese archipelago. The earliest specimens embodied the perception of the body and female bodily experiences rather than accurately representing the body itself. Emphasis gradually shifted from the material embodiment of unmediated bodily perception and experiences to the visual representation of the body. Through this process, the subject of the representation expanded from the female body to the bodies of various categories of being, including animals and fantastic/supernatural beings, and the figurines came to embody the mutual transformability. These beings were networked to form an ‘animistic’ cosmology whose successful reproduction was metaphorically linked to that of human life and community. The decline of the symbolic role of the female reproductive faculty as the universal referent in the prayer for communal well-being led to the end of the Jomon clay anthropomorphic figurines.
From a Bird’s Eye View
Authors: Daems Aurelie
Published: June 2017

This chapter discusses human figurines from later Iranian prehistory and pays special attention to the figurines from the sites of Tepe Sarab, Zaghe, Hajji Firuz, and Choga Mish. It also presents an overview of human figurines produced at other Iranian sites. Drawing on the analyses of the figurines’ morphologies, materials used, production processes, contexts of disposition, breakage patterns, bodily details, and representation of attire, these figurine industries from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Iran have the potential to enlighten us about communal and private matters, bodily concerns through the life cycle, and issues related to identity constructions via dress, posture, and corporeality.
Minoan and Mycenaean Figurines
Authors: Morris Christine
Published: June 2017

This chapter explores the figurine traditions of the Bronze Age inhabitants of Crete (Minoan) and mainland Greece (Myceanean), covering c.3000–1100 bc. As in many cultures, Aegean figurines are predominantly made from terracotta or fired clay, but stone, ivory and bone, metal, and faience are also utilized. Early Minoan ‘vessel figurines’ and the votive figurines deposited on Middle Minoan Cretan peak sanctuaries in large numbers are presented as case studies for the Minoan terracotta tradition. The faience ‘Snake Goddesses’ and bronze figurines illustrate elite traditions and Minoan technical virtuosity. Restricted largely to the Late Bronze Age, Mycenaean terracottas can be characterized as figurines and figures. The former are small, handmade, and found across a range of contexts, while the latter have wheel-made bodies and are mostly restricted to sanctuaries. Discussion is framed around form, function, performance, and context, while keeping in mind issues of gender and identification.
Neolithic Eastern and Central Europe
Authors: Bánffy Eszter
Published: June 2017

Contrasted with the vast majority of Neolithic finds, thousands of Neolithic figurines, anthropomorphic vessels, and house models were vested with both a special typological and an artistic value, often divorcing them from their original contexts and removing any clues about their roles within the community. This was aggravated by interpretations that considered these sixth and fifth millennum bc southeast and Central European figurines as forerunners of the deities and goddesses of classical antiquity. What positive interpretation do these representations allow, given that some sites have occasionally yielded hundreds of these figurines? A closer examination of the stylistic features and the archaeological contexts can reveal much about Neolithic ‘history’, Neolithic cognition, naturalistic and symbolic representations, transitions between human and zoomorphic representations, intentional figurine breakage and the role of ritual customs within changing Neolithic social structures.
Mediterranean—Sardinia
Authors: Vella Gregory Isabelle
Published: June 2017

The archaeology of Sardinia is characterized by complex architecture and a rich figurine tradition. The visual narrative is a focal point of life in the pre-Nuragic and Nuragic phases, and a key element of ideology. Figurines first appear in the Middle Neolithic. They become an integral part of cosmology until the Early Copper Age, after which there is a period where figuration (but not representation) is no longer in use. Figurines reappear in the Nuragic period. At this time they are almost exclusively made of metal, with a few stone figurines from Monte Prama. The secondary agency of bronze figurines (bronzetti) is a powerful element in the performance of social relations. This chapter reassesses the role of figurines by (a) situating them within their social contexts in increasingly complex societies; (b) tracing the nature and timings of their appearance and disappearances; and (c) examining the role of visual imagery in establishing and maintaining dominant symbol systems.
Southeast European Neolithic Figurines
Authors: Bailey Doug
Published: June 2017

This chapter discusses the diverse approaches to fired clay figurines from the Neolithic of southeastern Europe (6500–3500 bp) and suggests that although significant progress has been made in recent work, there remain significant limitations to our understanding of how these objects were used and what they meant to people in the Neolithic. Critical discussion focuses on the most significant (even if misguided) approaches: archaeomythology, cult, and religion; fragmentation and breakage; corporeality and materiality; communication; identity, status, and social structure; and formal description and comparison. The chapter concludes with a radical proposal: an art/archaeology approach that disarticulates the figurines from their original prehistoric contexts, uses, and meanings, and exploits them to make new evocative work.
Neolithic Figurines of Western Europe
Authors: Scarre Chris
Published: June 2017

Western Europe has relatively few figurines of Neolithic or Chalcolithic date by comparison with the large numbers known from Southeast Europe and Southwest Asia. Human figurines (mainly of fired clay) are, however, found in Bandkeramik contexts from Central Europe to the North Sea, with others in eastern France. The scarcity of human figurines from areas such as Britain illustrates the diversity of cultural and symbolic practice that privileged human representations in some areas but not others. In the Baltic region, a separate figurine tradition drawing probably on Late Palaeolithic or Mesolithic origins persisted into the Neolithic. It is, however, the Iberian peninsula that stands apart from other regions of western Europe for the abundance and diversity of its human figurines, most of them of Late Neolithic or Chalcolithic date (mid-fourth to late third millennium bc). They include carved schist plaques and ‘eye-idols’ of bone and other materials. The florescence of Iberian figurine production is associated with the emergence of societies on the verge of complexity, characterized by craft specialization and long-distance exchange.
Economics of Contract Law
Authors: Baird Douglas G.
Published: June 2017

Chapter 1 reviews the evolution of the law and economics of contract over the last 4 decades, beginning with the emergence of the idea of “efficient breach” in the early 1970s. It explores expectation damages, reliance damages, and specific performance, and then goes on to examine the effect that the possibility of renegotiation has on the shape of contract law. It then turns to the idea of contract law as a set of default rules, and discusses the role of contract law in mass markets. It concludes with a discussion of the relationship between the law and economics of contract and the problem of contract design and contract theory.
Family and Household Economics
Authors: Wax Amy
Published: June 2017

The past decade has seen a dramatic surge in women entering the labor force, accompanied by significant changes in gender roles within the family, the workplace, and society as a whole. These developments have elicited growing academic interest and prompted proposals for legal and policy reforms designed to improve outcomes for women, families, and everyone else. This chapter explores some aspects of recent work in this area, with emphasis on the economic analysis of the interplay between labor markets and family roles. Topics discussed include household decision-making models; division of labor within households; theoretical approaches to explaining why women differ on average from men in their choices for balancing paid work and unpaid domestic labor; and two important legal protections for American women with caregiving responsibilities—the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
How ‘Best’ to Determine Trophic Levels in Archaeological Agricultural Communities
Authors: Reynard Linda M.
Published: June 2017

Stable isotope ratios of bone collagen have been used to determine trophic levels in diverse archaeological populations. The longest established and arguably most successful isotope system has been nitrogen, followed by carbon, and more recently hydrogen. These trophic level proxies rely on a predictable change in isotope ratio with each trophic level step; however, this requirement may not always be met, which can lead to difficulties in interpreting archaeological evidence. In agricultural communities, in particular, there are several possible complications to the interpretation of nitrogen and carbon isotopes. Recent approaches to overcome these limitations include better quantification and understanding of the influences on consumer isotope ratios; inclusion of evidence from plant remains; further investigation of apatite δ13C—collagen δ13C spacing in bones; measurement of carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in individual amino acids, rather than collagen; and development of other stable isotope proxies for trophic level, such as hydrogen isotopes.
Experimental Economics—A Philosophical Perspective
Authors: Güth Werner , Kliemt Hartmut
Published: June 2017

The originally Hobbesian ideal of twentieth-century neoclassical economics as a discipline that studies human interaction “more geometrico” as a scenery of interactive rational decision making is rejected. “Explaining” overt behavior as (if it were) the equilibrium outcome of opportunity seeking rational choices is impossible if the requirement of approximate truth of the explanans is upheld. Stylized accounts of some central experiments (prisoner’s dilemma, ultimatum, dictator, impunity games, double oral auctions) show why this is so and illustrate basic contributions of experimental economics in an exemplary manner. A somewhat detailed account of an experiment concerning “equity” shows the explanatory potential and “workings” of experimental economics and how its findings can contribute to traditional philosophical and psychological discussions. Why the Humean “attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into moral subjects” must remain incomplete until experimental economics and experimental psychology become fully complementary research strategies is indicated as well.
Kuki Shūzō
Authors: Mayeda Graham
Published: June 2017

This chapter explores the aesthetics and ethics of Kuki Shūzō (1888–1941), a poet and philosophy professor at Kyoto University. It explains Kuki’s unique phenomenological approach to philosophical analysis. It also describes Kuki’s portrayal of the aesthetic sensibility of the “Floating World” as captured by the concept of iki (いき), the aesthetic sensibility of the geisha (芸者) and patrons of the pleasure quarters of Tokyo at the end of the eighteenth century. Finally, it addresses what Kuki thought about “fate”—a concept central to the philosophy of Buddhism and bushidō (武士道; the way of the samurai)—and its related concepts of chance, necessity, possibility, and impossibility. The focus of the text is on an exposition of the links between Kuki’s work on aesthetics and chance and on the ethics he articulates through his studies.
Gene networks provide a high-resolution view of bacteriophage ecology
Authors: Shapiro Jason W. , Putonti Catherine
Published: June 2017

Bacteriophages are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on the planet, and new phage genomes are being discovered at a rapid pace from metagenomes. As more novel, uncultured phage genomes are published, new tools are needed for placing these genomes in an ecological and evolutionary context. Phages are difficult to study with phylogenetic methods, because they exchange genes regularly, and no single gene is conserved across all phages. Instead, genome-level networks have been used to group similar viruses into clusters for taxonomy. Here, we show that gene-level networks provide a high-resolution view of phage genetic diversity and offer a novel perspective on virus ecology. To that end, we developed a method that identifies informative associations between a phage’s annotated host and clusters of genes in the network. Given these associations, we were able to predict a phage’s host with 86% accuracy at the genus level, while also identifying genes that underlie these virus-host interactions. This approach, thus, provides one of the most accurate means of host prediction while also pointing to directions for future empirical work.
Multiplex staining by sequential immunostaining and antibody removal on routine tissue sections
Authors: Bolognesi Maddalena Maria , Manzoni Marco , Scalia Carla Rossana , Zannella Stefano , Bosisio Francesca Maria , Faretta Mario , Cattoretti Giorgio
Published: June 2017

Multiplexing (mplx), labeling for multiple immunostains the very same cell or tissue section in situ, has raised considerable interest. The methods proposed include the use of labelled primary antibodies, spectral separation of fluorochromes, bleaching of the fluorophores or chromogens, blocking of previous antibody layers, all in various combinations. The major obstacles to the diffusion of this technique are high costs in custom antibodies and instruments, low throughput, scarcity of specialized skills or facilities.

We have validated a method based on common primary and secondary antibodies and diffusely available fluorescent image scanners. It entails rounds of four-color indirect immunofluorescence, image acquisition and removal (stripping) of the antibodies, before another stain is applied. The images are digitally registered and the autofluorescence is subtracted. Removal of antibodies is accomplished by disulphide cleavage and a detergent or by a chaotropic salt treatment, this latter followed by antigen refolding. More than thirty different antibody stains can be applied to one single section from routinely fixed and embedded tissue. This method requires a modest investment in hardware and materials and uses freeware image analysis software. Mplx on routine tissue sections is a high throughput tool for in situ characterization of neoplastic, reactive, inflammatory and normal cells.
A one-dimensional copper(II) coordination polymer incorporating succinate and N,N-diethylethylenediamine ligands: crystallographic analysis, vibrational and surface features, and DFT analysis
Authors: Şen Fatih , Kansiz Sevgi , Uçar İbrahim
Published: June 2017

Transition metal atoms can be bridged by aliphatic dicarboxylate ligands to produce chains, layers and frameworks. The reaction of copper sulfate with succinic acid (H2succ) and N,N-diethylethylenediamine (deed) in basic solution produces the complex catena-poly[[[(N,N-diethylethylenediamine-κ2
N,N′)copper(II)]-μ-succinato-κ2
O
1:O
4] tetrahydrate], {[Cu(C4H4O4)(C6H16N2)]·4H2O}
n
or {[Cu(succ)(deed)]·4H2O}
n
. Each carboxylate group of the succinate ligand coordinates to a CuII atom in a monodentate fashion, giving rise to a square-planar coordination environment. The succinate ligands bridge the CuII centres to form one-dimensional polymeric chains. Hydrogen bonds between the ligands and water molecules link these chains into sheets that lie in the ab plane. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to support the experimental data. From these calculations, a good linear correlation was observed between the experimental and theoretically predicted structural and spectroscopic parameters (R
2 ∼ 0.97).
Carbon disclosure, freedom and democracy
Authors: Grauel Jonas , Gotthardt Daniel
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Wide differences in response rates to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP’s) climate change program between countries have been explained by legal origins and the varying extent of environmental regulation. This paper seeks to enhance the explanation by examining the relevance of two dimensions of “democratic capital” – both the influence of countries’ experiences with democratic government recruitment are considered, as well as experiences with civil liberties. In addition, it is examined whether these forms of democratic capital are mediated by environmental regulation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw upon the literature on the relationship between political regime form and environmental policy and the environmental disclosure literature debate. Hypotheses are based on institutional and stakeholder theory. Methodologically, multilevel regression analysis is used.

Findings

Results show that the history of democratic government recruitment is a relevant factor to explain firms’ disclosure decisions. The amount of freedom in civil society seems to also matter, but results are less clear in this regard. The hypothesis concerning the mediation effects of environmental regulation could not be corroborated. Findings, thus, corroborate the claim that standards of informational transparency flourish best in countries with a pluralistic political culture.

Practical implications

The results imply that voluntary carbon transparency may thrive as democratization advances, but its success may also be endangered by the recent revitalization of authoritarianism.

Originality/value

The authors deliver the first paper which tests the hypotheses on the influence of the “democratic capital” on the countries-of-origin on the firms’ carbon disclosure decisions, based on a multilevel analysis.
Personal values and approach of undergraduates towards corporate social responsibility
Authors: Franco Izabela , Moura-Leite Rosamaria , Pereira Matheus Wemerson Gomes , Lopes José Carlos de Jesus
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to broaden the knowledge to identify which factors influence the relationship between business undergraduates and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses have been developed to test the relationship between personal values of business undergraduates and CSR. Results have been achieved from 434 questionnaires within a survey through seven campuses of Brazilian universities. The data were primarily submitted to descriptive statistics – univariate analysis, followed by a four-factor analyses and finally, a structural model – one of the components from the structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied.

Findings

The results identified that undergraduate students who valued issues and behaviours connected with self-direction, stimulation, universalism and benevolence are more prone to value organizational philosophy towards CSR. Furthermore, it was identified that the more business administration students value such themes, there will be a higher chance of them of getting involved in CSR, when occupying decision-making positions. Further results show that women valued the issue more – and their interest increased, as they become older.

Practical implications

The results contribute to the identification of a student profile with increased affinity towards CSR, as well as highlighting gaps in business education, which will affect future managers’ social responsibility standards and decisions.

Originality/value

This paper suggests new hypotheses and adopts measures towards personal values and CSR, which had not been used together previously.
How does corporate social responsibility create customer loyalty? The role of corporate image
Authors: Gürlek Mert , Düzgün Ertugrul , Meydan Uygur Selma
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether corporate image has a mediating effect on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty in independent hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from customers of five-star hotels located in Istanbul in Turkey. The theoretical model was tested with 404 usable data. The results were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

Findings show that CSR creates customer loyalty partially through corporate image in the independent hotels. In addition, it was found that the hotels included in the study carried out moderate level of CSR activities.

Research limitations/implications

The research model was tested in independent five-star hotels. Further studies could be carried out using different independent hospitality companies. In addition, the research was conducted on a limited sample, as hotel managers were not willing to allow direct contact with customers. Further studies could be carried out on larger samples.

Practical implications

This study recommends that independent hotels carry out more CSR activities on social and environmental issues. In addition, direct effect of CSR on customer loyalty is lower than its indirect effect via corporate image. Therefore, if companies desire to create customer loyalty through CSR, they should introduce their CSR activities to customers via communication tools (website, media etc.)

Originality/value

This study examines CSR in terms of sustainable development in the independent hotels. Furthermore, it explains relationships between CSR and corporate image and customer loyalty through the principle of generalized reciprocity specified in the theory of social change.
Contrasting drivers of reproductive ageing in albatrosses
Authors: Froy Hannah , Lewis Sue , Nussey Daniel H. , Wood Andrew G. , Phillips Richard A.
Published: June 2017

Age‐related variation in reproductive performance is ubiquitous in wild vertebrate populations and has important consequences for population and evolutionary dynamics.

The ageing trajectory is shaped by both within‐individual processes, such as improvement and senescence, and the among‐individual effects of selective appearance and disappearance. To date, few studies have compared the role of these different drivers among species or populations.

In this study, we use nearly 40 years of longitudinal monitoring data to contrast the within‐ and among‐individual processes contributing to the reproductive ageing patterns in three albatross species (two biennial and one annual breeder) and test whether these can be explained by differences in life histories.

Early‐life performance in all species increased with age and was predominantly influenced by within‐individual improvements. However, reproductive senescence was detected in only two of the species. In the species exhibiting senescent declines, we also detected a terminal improvement in breeding success. This is suggestive of a trade‐off between reproduction and survival, which was supported by evidence of selective disappearance of good breeders.

We demonstrate that comparisons of closely related species which differ in specific aspects of their life history can shed light on the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping variation in ageing patterns.
Mapping research in the field of special education on the island of Ireland since 2000
Authors: Travers Joseph , Savage Rosie , Butler Cathal , O'Donnell Margaret
Published: June 2017

This paper describes the process of building a database mapping research and policy in the field of special education on the island of Ireland from 2000 to 2013. The field of study includes special educational needs, disability and inclusion. The database contains 3188 references organised thematically and forms a source for researchers to access published and non‐published materials such as theses. Analysis of the database reveals areas of research strength in terms of the quantity of activity and other areas with little activity. Recommendations are offered based on this analysis.
Report of Increasing Overdose Deaths that include Acetyl Fentanyl in Multiple Counties of the Southwestern Region of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2015–2016
Authors: Dwyer Jessica B. , Janssen Jennifer , Luckasevic Todd M. , Williams Karl E.
Published: June 2017

Acetyl fentanyl is a Schedule I controlled synthetic opioid that is becoming an increasingly detected “designer drug.” Routine drug screening procedures in local forensic toxicology laboratories identified a total of 41 overdose deaths associated with acetyl fentanyl within multiple counties of the southwestern region of the state of Pennsylvania. The range, median, mean, and standard deviation of blood acetyl fentanyl concentrations for these 41 cases were 0.13–2100 ng/mL, 11 ng/mL, 169.3 ng/mL, and 405.3 ng/mL, respectively. Thirty‐six individuals (88%) had a confirmed history of substance abuse, and all but one case (96%) were ruled multiple drug toxicities. This report characterizes this localized trend of overdose deaths associated with acetyl fentanyl and provides further evidence supporting an alarmingly concentrated opiate and opioid epidemic of both traditional and novel drugs within this region of the United States.
Forensic Analysis of Stains on Fabric Using Direct Analysis in Real‐time Ionization with High‐Resolution Accurate Mass‐Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Kern Sara E. , Crowe John B. , Litzau Jonathan J. , Heitkemper Douglas T.
Published: June 2017

A rapid technique using direct analysis in real‐time (DART) ambient ionization coupled to a high‐resolution accurate mass‐mass spectrometer (HRAM‐MS) was employed to analyze stains on an individual's pants suspected to have been involved in a violent crime. The victim was consuming chocolate ice cream at the time of the attack, and investigators recovered the suspect's pants exhibiting splatter stains. Liquid chromatography with mass spectral detection (LC‐MS) and stereoscopic light microscopy (SLM) were also utilized in this analysis. It was determined that the stains on the pants contained theobromine and caffeine, known components of chocolate. A shard from the ceramic bowl that contained the victim's ice cream and a control chocolate ice cream sample were also found to contain caffeine and theobromine. The use of DART‐HRAM‐MS was useful in this case due to its rapid analysis capability and because of the limited amount of sample present as a stain.
Tiny insects against the weather—flight and foraging patterns of Frankliniella schultzei (Thripidae) not altered by onset of rainfall
Authors: Jones Lachlan C. , Foster Brodie J. , Rafter Michelle A. , Walter Gimme H.
Published: June 2017

To survive in nature, organisms may need to take direct action to mitigate specific dangers from their environmental surroundings. Tiny flying insects are thought to be at particular risk from rainfall that would be of negligible concern to larger animals. The study species Frankliniella schultzei is a thrips that inhabits flowers and feeds mostly on petal tissue and pollen. While found to respond in the laboratory to decreases in atmospheric pressure associated with cyclonic conditions (rather than merely heavy rainfall), their responses to conditions preceding rainfall have not been tested in the field. Initial field sampling investigated the relationship between floral development and sites at which male, female, and larval thrips were generally present on sunny days. We then designed a sampling strategy to test if these thrips can anticipate imminent rainfall or storms and so seek shelter deep within flowers, by sampling host flowers (in sections) on multiple days with different weather conditions. Sticky traps were used to intercept thrips in flight, thus providing a measure of flight behavior across different days. The initial sampling found adult thrips primarily at the petal apex of anthesis‐stage flowers where pollen is distributed. We subsequently found that rainfall, atmospheric pressure change, temperature, humidity and wind had no effect on flight behavior of F. schultzei, or on their positions within flowers. These findings suggest rainfall is not a serious hazard for them. Perhaps thrips can survive raindrop collisions during flight, as impacts with water droplets are not expected to break the surface tension.
Unmanned aircraft system advances health mapping of fragile polar vegetation
Authors: Malenovský Zbyněk , Lucieer Arko , King Diana H. , Turnbull Johanna D. , Robinson Sharon A.
Published: June 2017

Plants like mosses can be sensitive stress markers of subtle shifts in Arctic and Antarctic environmental conditions, including climate change. Traditional ground‐based monitoring of fragile polar vegetation is, however, invasive, labour intensive and physically demanding. High‐resolution multispectral satellite observations are an alternative, but even their recent highest achievable spatial resolution is still inadequate, resulting in a significant underestimation of plant health due to spectral mixing and associated reflectance impurities.

To resolve these obstacles, we have developed a new method that uses low‐altitude unmanned aircraft system (UAS) hyperspectral images of sub‐decimeter spatial resolution. Machine‐learning support vector regressions (SVR) were employed to infer Antarctic moss vigour from quantitative remote sensing maps of plant canopy chlorophyll content and leaf density. The same maps were derived for comparison purposes from the WorldView‐2 high spatial resolution (2.2 m) multispectral satellite data.

We found SVR algorithms to be highly efficient in estimating plant health indicators with acceptable root mean square errors (RMSE). The systematic RMSEs for chlorophyll content and leaf density were 3.5–6.0 and 1.3–2.0 times smaller, respectively, than the unsystematic errors. However, application of correctly trained SVR machines on space‐borne multispectral images considerably underestimated moss chlorophyll content, while stress indicators retrieved from UAS data were found to be comparable with independent field measurements, providing statistically significant regression coefficients of determination (median r2 = .50, pt test = .0072).

This study demonstrates the superior performance of a cost‐efficient UAS mapping platform, which can be deployed even under the continuous cloud cover that often obscures optical high‐altitude airborne and satellite observations. Antarctic moss vigour maps of appropriate resolution could provide timely and spatially explicit warnings of environmental stress events, including those triggered by climate change. Since our polar vegetation health assessment method is based on physical principles of quantitative spectroscopy, it could be adapted to other short‐stature and fragmented plant communities (e.g. tundra grasslands), including alpine and desert regions. It therefore shows potential to become an operational component of any ecological monitoring sensor network.
Rates, characteristics and circumstances of methamphetamine‐related death in Australia: a national 7‐year study
Authors: Darke Shane , Kaye Sharlene , Duflou Johan
Published: June 2017

Aims

To (1) assess trends in the number and mortality rates of methamphetamine‐related death in Australia, 2009–15; (2) assess the characteristics and the cause, manner and circumstances of death; and (3) assess the blood methamphetamine concentrations and the presence of other drugs in methamphetamine‐related death.

Design

Analysis of cases of methamphetamine‐related death retrieved from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS).

Setting

Australia.

Cases

All cases in which methamphetamine was coded in the NCIS database as a mechanism contributing to death (n = 1649).

Measurements

Information was collected on cause and manner of death, demographics, location, circumstances of death and toxicology.

Findings

The mean age of cases was 36.9 years, and 78.4% were male. The crude mortality rate was 1.03 per 100 000. The rate increased significantly over time (P < 0.001), and at 2015 the mortality rate was 1.8 [confidence interval (CI) = 1.2–2.4] times that of 2009. Deaths were due to accidental drug toxicity (43.2%), natural disease (22.3%), suicide (18.2%), other accident (14.9%) and homicide (1.5%). In 40.8% of cases, death occurred outside the major capital cities. The median blood methamphetamine concentration was 0.17 mg/l, and cases in which only methamphetamine was detected had higher concentrations than other cases (0.30 versus 0.15 mg/l, P < 0.001). The median blood methamphetamine concentration varied within a narrow range (0.15–0.20 mg/l) across manner of death. In the majority (82.8%) of cases, substances other than methamphetamine were detected, most frequently opioids (43.1%) and hypnosedatives (38.0%).

Conclusions

Methamphetamine death rates doubled in Australia from 2009 to 2015. While toxicity was the most frequent cause, natural disease, suicide and accident comprised more than half of deaths.
Differential effects of the crustose Diploschistes diacapsis and the squamulose Fulgensia bracteata on the establishment of a Mediterranean grass species
Authors: Ghiloufi Wahida , Chaieb Mohamed
Published: June 2017

The interest of the scientific community in biological soil crusts has grown exponentially over the last decades. One of the scientific research interests is the study of the effect of these crusts on plant establishment. Findings in this topic have been controversial, and some differences were attributed to crust types. Biological soil crusts dominated by lichens are common components of Stipa tenacissima steppes in arid and semi‐arid environments of the southern Mediterranean. In the current study, we conducted growth chamber experiments to investigate the differential effects of two lichen species with continuous crustose thalli (Diploschistes diacapsis) and with squamulose semicontinuous thalli (Fulgensia bracteata) on seed germination, root penetration, shoot emergence and seed viability of the tussock grass species S. tenacissima. Our results showed that under laboratory conditions, two distinct lichen species had significantly different effects on the establishment of S. tenacissima. Our findings clearly demonstrated that D. diacapsis significantly decreased germination, root penetration and shoot emergence of S. tenacissima compared to F. bracteata. This can be related to differences in morphological and physiological characteristics between crustose and squamulose lichens. Overall, we suggest that D. diacapsis and crustose lichens generally can act as natural barrier to the establishment of S. tenacissima.