bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The 2009/10 Drought in China: Possible Causes and Impacts on Vegetation
Authors: Barriopedro David , Gouveia Célia M. , Trigo Ricardo M. , Wang Lin
Published: April 2012

Several provinces of China experienced an intense drought episode during 2009 and 2010. The drought was particularly severe in southwestern and northern China, where the accumulated precipitation from May 2009 to April 2010 was about 25% less than normal. The decline of accumulated precipitation over northern China was mostly noticeable during the summer season of 2009 and it was comparable to recent dry episodes. The southwestern China drought resulted from a sequence of dry months from summer 2009 to winter 2010, corresponding to the driest event since at least 1951. The suppression of rainfall in summer over both regions was in agreement with a weakened broad-scale South Asian summer monsoon, possibly influenced by an El Niño developing phase, whereas the extremely negative phases of the Arctic Oscillation during the winter of 2010 may have contributed to the persistence of the drought in southwestern China. The assessment of the associated impacts indicates that water reservoirs were severely affected with a ~20% reduction in the nationwide hydroelectrical production during the drought event. Furthermore, an analysis of the normalized difference vegetation index data reveals that large cropland sectors of northern and eastern China experienced up to 8 months of persistently stressed vegetation between May 2009 and July 2010, while southwestern China was relatively less affected. Such different regional vegetative responses are interpreted in terms of the land-cover type, agriculture management, and their dependence on seasonal precipitation and water availability for irrigation.
Culturally sensitive war? The Human Terrain System and the seduction of ethics
Authors: Zehfuss Maja
Published: April 2012

Since around 2005, efforts have been made within the US military to highlight the significance of culture or the ‘human terrain’ for counterinsurgency operations. The US Army responded to the asserted ‘cultural knowledge gap’ by establishing an experimental programme called the Human Terrain System (HTS), which involves deploying social scientists alongside combat forces. While HTS was received favourably in the US mainstream media, it has been fiercely criticized by anthropologists in particular, who argue not least that participation in the programme would constitute a violation of their professional ethics, which require them to protect their research subjects. This article explores the anthropologists’ critique and its limitations, arguing that it fails to tackle the problem of ethics deployed as a supposedly extra-political standard that can serve to (de)legitimize political projects. In particular, it is unable to dislodge the fantasy of protection at the heart of the argument for HTS.
Organizational cultural competence consultation to a mental health institution
Authors: Fung Kenneth , Lo Hung-Tat (Ted) , Srivastava Rani , Andermann Lisa
Published: April 2012

Cultural competence is increasingly recognized as an essential component of effective mental health care delivery to address diversity and equity issues. Drawing from the literature and our experience in providing cultural competence consultation and training, the paper will discuss our perspective on the foundational concepts of cultural competence and how it applies to a health care organization, including its programs and services. Based on a recent consultation project, we present a methodology for assessing cultural competence in health care organizations, involving mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Key findings and recommendations from the resulting cultural competence plan are discussed, including core principles, change strategies, and an Organizational Cultural Competence Framework, which may be applicable to other health care institutions seeking such changes. This framework, consisting of eight domains, can be used for organizational assessment and cultural competence planning, ultimately aiming at enhancing mental health care service to the diverse patients, families, and communities.
Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 expands, but does not activate, CD11b+ gr-1+ splenocytes in vivo
Authors: Nelson Daniel A , Chauhan Vinita S , Tolbert Melanie D , Bost Kenneth L
Published: April 2012

Background

Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (HV-68) is an efficient pathogen, capable of infecting and establishing lifelong latency in rodents. While many studies have demonstrated the ability of this viral infection to modulate immune responses, a unifying mechanism for HV-68-induced subversion of a protective host response remains elusive. We questioned whether infection with HV-68 could expand a population of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) as one mechanism for altering protective immunity.

Methods

Mice were infected with HV-68, with viral latency being established in these animals. At varying times post-infection, cells were isolated for detection of viral genomes, phenotyping of myeloid cell populations, and ex vivo analysis of suppressor activity of myeloid cells.

Results

CD11b + Gr-1+ myeloid cells accumulated in the spleens, but not the bone marrow, of HV-68 infected mice. These cells were predominantly Gr-1+ Ly-6 G+, and could be found to contain viral genomes. Increased levels of serum S100A8/A9 produced during viral infection were consistent with the expansion of these CD11b + Gr-1+ myeloid cells. Despite their expansion, these cells exhibited no increased arginase 1 or iNOS activity, and did not have the ability to suppress anti-CD3 antibody activated T lymphocyte responses.

Conclusions

We concluded that HV-68 infection was capable of expanding a population of myeloid cells which were phenotypically similar to MDSC. However these cells were not sufficiently activated during the establishment of viral latency to actively suppress T cell responses.
Hemolytic anemia following intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in patients treated for Kawasaki disease: a report of 4 cases
Authors: Berard Roberta , Whittemore Blair , Scuccimarri Rosie
Published: April 2012

Background

Hemolytic anemia is a rare but reported side effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. The risk of significant hemolysis appears greater in those patients who receive high dose IVIG. The etiology is multifactorial but may relate to the quantity of blood group antibodies administered via the IVIG product.

Findings

We describe 4 patients with significant hemolytic anemia following treatment with IVIG for Kawasaki disease (KD). Direct antibody mediated attack as one of the mechanisms for hemolysis, in this population, is supported by the demonstration of specific blood group antibodies in addition to a positive direct antiglobulin test in our patients.

Conclusions

Clinicians should be aware of this complication and hemoglobin should be closely monitored following high dose IVIG therapy.
Complementarity problems via common fixed points in vector lattices
Authors: Abbas Mujahid , Khan Abdul Rahim , Németh SZ
Published: April 2012

Nemeth introduced the notion of order weakly L-Lipschitz mapping and employed this concept to obtain nontrivial solutions of nonlinear complementarity problems. In this article, we shall extend this concept to two mappings and obtain the solution of common fixed point equations and hence coincidence point equations in the framework of vector lattices. We present some examples to show that the solution of nonlinear complementarity problems and implicit complementarity problems can be obtained using these results. We also provide an example of a mapping for which the conclusion of Banach contraction principle fails but admits one of our fixed point results. Our proofs are simple and purely order-theoretic in nature.
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes retained from childhood to adulthood predict adult outcomes: the Princeton LRC Follow-up Study
Authors: Morrison John A , Glueck Charles J , Woo Jessica G , Wang Ping
Published: April 2012

Background

Pediatric risk factors predict adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but whether they predict events independently of adult risk factors is not fully known.

Objective

Assess whether risk factors for CVD and T2DM retained from childhood to adulthood predict CVD and T2DM in young adulthood.

Study design

770 schoolchildren, ages 5–20 (mean age 12), 26-yr prospective follow-up. We categorized childhood and adult risk factors and 26-year changes (triglycerides [TG], LDL cholesterol, BMI, blood pressure [BP] and glucose ≥, and HDL cholesterol < pediatric and young adult cutoffs). These risk factors and race, cigarette smoking, and family history of CVD and T2DM were assessed as predictors of CVD and T2DM at mean age 38.

Results

Children who had high TG and retained high TG as adults had increased CVD events as adults (p= .0005). Children who had normal BMI and retained normal BMI as adults had reduced CVD events as adults (p= .02). Children who had high BP or high TG and retained these as adults had increased T2DM as adults (p= .0006,p= .003).

Conclusions

Risk factors for CVD and T2DM retained from childhood to adulthood predict CVD and T2DM in young adulthood and support universal childhood screening.
Origin and evolution of spliceosomal introns
Authors: Rogozin Igor B , Carmel Liran , Csuros Miklos , Koonin Eugene V
Published: April 2012

Evolution of exon-intron structure of eukaryotic genes has been a matter of long-standing, intensive debate. The introns-early concept, later rebranded ‘introns first’ held that protein-coding genes were interrupted by numerous introns even at the earliest stages of life's evolution and that introns played a major role in the origin of proteins by facilitating recombination of sequences coding for small protein/peptide modules. The introns-late concept held that introns emerged only in eukaryotes and new introns have been accumulating continuously throughout eukaryotic evolution. Analysis of orthologous genes from completely sequenced eukaryotic genomes revealed numerous shared intron positions in orthologous genes from animals and plants and even between animals, plants and protists, suggesting that many ancestral introns have persisted since the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). Reconstructions of intron gain and loss using the growing collection of genomes of diverse eukaryotes and increasingly advanced probabilistic models convincingly show that the LECA and the ancestors of each eukaryotic supergroup had intron-rich genes, with intron densities comparable to those in the most intron-rich modern genomes such as those of vertebrates. The subsequent evolution in most lineages of eukaryotes involved primarily loss of introns, with only a few episodes of substantial intron gain that might have accompanied major evolutionary innovations such as the origin of metazoa. The original invasion of self-splicing Group II introns, presumably originating from the mitochondrial endosymbiont, into the genome of the emerging eukaryote might have been a key factor of eukaryogenesis that in particular triggered the origin of endomembranes and the nucleus. Conversely, splicing errors gave rise to alternative splicing, a major contribution to the biological complexity of multicellular eukaryotes. There is no indication that any prokaryote has ever possessed a spliceosome or introns in protein-coding genes, other than relatively rare mobile self-splicing introns. Thus, the introns-first scenario is not supported by any evidence but exon-intron structure of protein-coding genes appears to have evolved concomitantly with the eukaryotic cell, and introns were a major factor of evolution throughout the history of eukaryotes. This article was reviewed by I. King Jordan, Manuel Irimia (nominated by Anthony Poole), Tobias Mourier (nominated by Anthony Poole), and Fyodor Kondrashov. For the complete reports, see the Reviewers’ Reports section.
Fabry disease presenting with sudden hearing loss and otosclerosis: a case report
Authors: Felisati Giovanni , Salvatici Elisabetta , Pipolo Carlotta , Portaleone Sara , Riva Enrica , Giovannini Marcello
Published: April 2012

Introduction

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder resulting in a multiple-system disorder with a wide spectrum of physical signs and symptoms, predominantly affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems, skin, heart, kidneys, and eyes.

Case presentation

We describe the case of a 26-year-old European Caucasian man who had Fabry disease and who presented with episodic sudden unilateral hearing loss and was treated with glucocorticoids, pentoxifylline, hyperbaric oxygen, and fluoride because of concomitant audiometric evidence of otosclerosis. This case demonstrates the partial and transient beneficial effect of standard treatment for sudden hearing loss not related to Fabry disease and analyzes the possible connection between typical Fabry disease inner-ear lesions and otosclerosis. Whereas hearing loss has been described in connection with Fabry disease, otosclerosis-associated hearing loss in Fabry disease has not yet been described.

Conclusions

Although progressive hearing loss in patients with Fabry disease seems to be influenced by replacement therapy, few data concerning treatment of sudden hearing loss are available. The lack of literature concerning the pathogenesis of the otological involvement in Fabry disease makes it impossible to identify a connection between the latter and otosclerosis. Therefore, this report may help to reinforce the importance of a thorough evaluation of hearing in patients with Fabry disease and may be of help with therapeutic decision-making.
Growth comparison of several Escherichia coli strains exposed to various concentrations of lactoferrin using linear spline regression
Authors: Sekse Camilla , Bohlin Jon , Skjerve Eystein , Vegarud Gerd E
Published: April 2012

Background

We wanted to compare growth differences between 13 Escherichia coli strains exposed to various concentrations of the growth inhibitor lactoferrin in two different types of broth (Syncase and Luria-Bertani (LB)). To carry this out, we present a simple statistical procedure that separates microbial growth curves that are due to natural random perturbations and growth curves that are more likely caused by biological differences.

Bacterial growth was determined using optical density data (OD) recorded for triplicates at 620 nm for 18 hours for each strain. Each resulting growth curve was divided into three equally spaced intervals. We propose a procedure using linear spline regression with two knots to compute the slopes of each interval in the bacterial growth curves. These slopes are subsequently used to estimate a 95% confidence interval based on an appropriate statistical distribution. Slopes outside the confidence interval were considered as significantly different from slopes within. We also demonstrate the use of related, but more advanced methods known collectively as generalized additive models (GAMs) to model growth. In addition to impressive curve fitting capabilities with corresponding confidence intervals, GAM’s allow for the computation of derivatives, i.e. growth rate estimation, with respect to each time point.

Results

The results from our proposed procedure agreed well with the observed data. The results indicated that there were substantial growth differences between the E. coli strains. Most strains exhibited improved growth in the nutrient rich LB broth compared to Syncase. The inhibiting effect of lactoferrin varied between the different strains. The atypical enteropathogenic aEPEC-2 grew, on average, faster in both broths than the other strains tested while the enteroinvasive strains, EIEC-6 and EIEC-7 grew slower. The enterotoxigenic ETEC-5 strain, exhibited exceptional growth in Syncase broth, but slower growth in LB broth.

Conclusions

Our results do not indicate clear growth differences between pathogroups or pathogenic versus non-pathogenic E. coli.
Falsify the Currency!
Authors: Hardt Michael
Published: April 2012

This essay argues that the economic crisis that began in 2008 is not the result, as some say, of the “real” economy being subordinated to the fictional values of finance. To understand the crisis, in fact, one has to recognize how increasingly the values produced in the contemporary biopolitical economy cannot be gauged by standard measures. The role of finance, in part, is to create quantitative measures for goods whose values are fundamentally immeasurable. There is a strange correspondence, in other words, between biopolitical production and the operations of finance. The second section of the essay follows Michel Foucault's interpretation of the Iranian Revolution to read the cycle of struggles in 2011 as biopolitical struggles.
Dangerous Subjects: UK Students and the Criminalization of Protest
Authors: Power Nina
Published: April 2012

This essay seeks to examine the constructed nature of the UK student as seen through the eyes of the media and the legal system following the protests and occupations that took place in late 2010 and 2011. It examines the events of this period and argues that although some of the students' demands were necessarily reformist (saving rather than exiting the university), their collective punishment and negative solidarity provides a model for contemporary political practice in general.
Nepheline Synthesized from Sodalite as Diesel-Soot Combustion Catalyst: Structure–Property Relationship Study for an Enhanced Water Tolerance
Authors: Kimura Riichiro , Nghia Dinh Thanh , Wakabayashi Junji , Elangovan Shanmugam Palani , Ogura Masaru , Okubo Tatsuya
Published: April 2012

In this study, phase changes, catalytic active species that appeared at the phase change, and the corresponding water tolerance of samples obtained upon thermal treatment from K2CO3-supported microsized and nanosized sodalite as diesel-soot combustion catalyst are examined. We have shown the successful preparation of nepheline with water tolerance from sodalite as starting material. It is confirmed that the interaction between alkali metal carbonate and crystalline aluminosilicate is prerequisite for enhancing water tolerance of the catalytically active component, Na/K carbonate, located on the nepheline.
Third party referral in clinical negligence – some thoughts about approaches after Wright v Cambridge Medical Group
Authors: Al-Sabbagh Shurouk , Horne Michael
Published: April 2012

This article analyses the Court of Appeal judgment in this case and examines its potential implications for cases where the Defendant's failure was to refer to someone else for treatment.
The Energy Box: Locally Automated Optimal Control of Residential Electricity Usage
Authors: Livengood Daniel , Larson Richard
Published: April 2012

The Energy Box is proposed as a 24/7 background processor operating on a local computer or in a remote location, silently managing one's home or small business electrical energy usage hour-by-hour and even minute-by-minute. It operates best in an environment of demand-sensitive real-time pricing, now made feasible via ‘smart grid’ technology. We assume that, in time, virtually every electrical device in a home or small business will be controllable from the Energy Box. There are multiple motivations for an Energy Box: (1) By delaying or pushing forward various uses of electricity (e.g., space conditioning), widespread use of the Energy Box could ‘shave the peaks and fill in the valleys of demand,’ thereby reducing the need for capacity expansion in electrical power generation and distribution; (2) The system should result in reduced electrical energy costs to the consumer; (3) The system supports local generation, storage and sale of electricity back to the grid; (4) The system supports graceful reductions in power consumption by allowing voluntary partial load shedding as requested by the electric utility during times of extreme high demand; (5) Requiring numerous minute-by-minute decisions over the course of a day, the system alleviates the home owner or small business manager from making such decisions, each only involving pennies but in the aggregate involving significant dollars. The primary integrating method of optimization and control is stochastic dynamic programming.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Interactive Method for Service Design Using Computer Simulation
Authors: Makino Yuki , Furuta Kazuo , Kanno Taro , Yoshihara Shigeki , Mase Takamichi
Published: April 2012

An interactive method for service design has been proposed for services that heavily depend on human expertise and performance. In this method a simulation model of the service processes is to be constructed based on ethnographic field observation, and then the model is to be validated by showing simulation results to the field experts in a visualized form. In the course of proposing and assessing design options, opinions are repeatedly acquired from the field experts also by showing simulation results. Their expertise can be reflected thereby in the final design through such an interactive design process. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed design method, the method was applied to ground aircraft operations at a large airport. A simulation model of the service processes at Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport was constructed, and a simulation system was developed on a Java platform for Windows PCs. It was then demonstrated that the simulation could well replicate the observed data of ground aircraft operations. It was also shown that the proposed design method was useful to create new design options for ground aircraft operations and comparatively assess them for improving service performance.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Application of Feedback Control Method to Workforce Management in a Service Supply Chain
Authors: Lee Young M. , An Lianjun , Connors Daniel
Published: April 2012

Success of services businesses depend on how well the workforce is managed. Having the right size of workforce and the right skill set of the workforce at the right time under dynamic demand environments are challenges that many service businesses face. Demand disturbances in services businesses are typically managed by adjusting the resource levels such as acquiring additional resources from larger pool (borrowing resources from the corporate levels for departmental level needs), and releasing resources back to the larger pool for transferring and cross training of the workforce. However, the resource adjustments for changing the level of workforce are not as easy as acquiring or scraping materials as in manufacturing supply chain. Ineffective policies of the resource adjustment can produce undesirable effects such as oscillation between acquisition and release of workforce, and amplified oscillation through the stages of the service processes. In this work, we attempt to apply control theoretic principles in managing resources to see how various feedback control schemes can improve costs, utilization and stability of workforce. Our study indicates that effective combination of multiple feedback control schemes can produce desirable policies of workforce resource management.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Quality and Customer Satisfaction Spillovers in the Mobile Phone Industry
Authors: Chai Kah-Hin , Ding Yi , Xing Yufeng
Published: April 2012

This study investigates the possible spillover effects of customer satisfaction from product manufacturer to service provider, and vice versa. The survey results provide empirical evidence for the presence of spillover effects of quality and customer satisfactions in the mobile phone industry. This finding suggests that research on the ways in which quality affects customer satisfaction and loyalty should consider the influence of partnering firms and suppliers, rather than only examine the relationship within the same organization. This is particularly relevant in settings where the simultaneous presence of physical product and the service are needed. In the mobile phone industry, handset manufacturers and network operators need to consider whom they partner, depending whether they are the likely receiving or giving party of the spillover effects. Moreover, these effects are moderated by product image gap between the handset and network operator.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
A Customer Liberation Manifesto
Authors: Fisk Raymond
Published: April 2012

Customers deserve better service than most service organizations are prepared or willing to provide them. This article describes the historical trends leading relentlessly to liberating service customers. The 21st century is portrayed as the customer century where respecting and trusting customers, serving the unserved and under served, and improving overall service levels become paramount. The implications for customer co-creation are explored. Technology enabled customer co-creation is also examined. Finally, the customer perspective is presented as the appropriate and necessary perspective for the service sector to adopt as customers are liberated or they liberate themselves.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Modeling the Human Side of Service Delivery
Authors: Schneider Benjamin , Bowen David E.
Published: April 2012

We present an open systems model that describes the processes and systems whose cumulative effects shape the human side of service delivery. The human side of service delivery, we believe, has received less attention in the service science literature than the more technical side. The open systems view of consumer service organizations focuses on input, throughput, and output stages. The creation and maintenance of a service climate is the key issue for throughput management practices in the model, such climate being partially dependent on employee and customer attributes as input and in turn linking to the output of the firm in the form of customer satisfaction and profits. A shared service climate across the subsystems of organizations—all subsystems (e.g., information technology, finance, HR, marketing) for all organizational members regardless of rank or position (e.g., executives, front-line supervisors, staff who serve service delivery people, and service delivery people themselves) is seen as the key to managing the complexities of the human side of service delivery if the firm is to be competitive in the marketplace.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Service-Oriented Entrepreneurship: Service-Dominant Logic in Green Design and Healthcare
Authors: Callaway Stephen K. , Dobrzykowski David D.
Published: April 2012

The shift in many industrial economies from manufacturing to service may have implications for the extant understanding of value creation. Service-dominant logic (SDL) poses a new paradigm for understanding the basis of economic exchange and argues that service is a true basis for understanding value creation. This service-centered perspective, as opposed to a goods-centered perspective, argues that market exchange actually is the process of parties using their specialized operant knowledge for mutual benefit, and focuses on how providers and customers interact, in order to co-create value. Using the SDL paradigm, this paper examines service-oriented entrepreneurship, where new business opportunities can be identified from the value co-creation perspective that may have been otherwise unnoticed by the goods-centered view. Propositions are developed using literature on SDL and entrepreneurship. Next, secondary cases from four companies are offered which support linkages between SDL and: (1) the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities, (2) a lifetime view of products/services, (3) redefining the role of the customer, (4) the alignment of information and goals between firms and their customers, and (5) the dynamic recombination of actors in the value creation system. Finally, the paper includes discussion and conclusion sections.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Inviting Lead-users from Virtual Communities to Co-create Innovative IS Services in a Structured Groupware Environment
Authors: Bragge Johanna , Tuunanen Tuure , Marttiin Pentti
Published: April 2012

Contemporary information systems (IS) products and services must fulfill the needs of consumers that are more widely scattered than traditional organizational end-users. New ways to incorporate these wide-audience end-users in the IS development are required. The lead-user method used in new product development is a promising approach to tackle this problem. However, the finding and recruiting of the lead-users has been found very burdensome for the firms. We propose lead-users to be found and recruited from virtual communities. This paper provides a conceptual framework that makes use of the Internet's possibilities – not only in recruiting the lead-users – but also when collaborating with them utilizing distributed Group Support Systems. Finally, we report on our preliminary field tests regarding the recruitment phase, discuss the implications of our work and provide suggestions for further research.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Division of Labor between Firms: Business Services, Non-Ownership-Value and the Rise of the Service Economy
Authors: Ehret Michael , Wirtz Jochen
Published: April 2012

Why have services grown into the dominant sector of developed economies? Our analysis of macroeconomic data shows that business services make the strongest contribution to the rise of the service sector. We integrate three related economic theories of the firm to explain business services in shaping firms, industries and economies. Business service providers relieve their clients from the costs of asset ownership (Property Rights Theory), unlock management capacity (Resource-Based View) and support their clients in navigating their firm's boundaries towards their most valuable business opportunities (Entrepreneurial Theory of the Firm). We show how these theories build on the non-ownership value provided by business services that result from sound division of labor between organizations. We highlight three areas that call for research and provide opportunities for service science: (1) Systematic design of business-models for fostering service performance, (2) the transformation of high-tech-products into service-hubs, and (3) service-driven innovation and the transformation of R&D into a service industry.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Learning Curves and Stochastic Models for Pricing and Provisioning Cloud Computing Services
Authors: Gera Amit , Xia Cathy H.
Published: April 2012

The paradigm of cloud computing has started a new era of service computing. While there are many research efforts on developing enabling technologies for cloud computing, few focuses on how to strategically set price and capacity and what key components are leading to success in this emerging market. In this paper, we present quantitative modeling and optimization approaches for assisting such decisions in cloud computing services. We first show that learning curve models can be helpful to capture the providers' cost reduction with economy of scale. Such models also help understand the potential market of cloud services and explain quantitatively why cloud computing is most attractive to small and medium businesses. We then present a stochastic model and a revenue management formulation to address the pricing and resource provisioning decisions for the cloud service providers. The approach enables the cloud service provider a quantitative framework to obtain management solutions and to learn and react to the critical parameters in the operation management process by gaining useful business insights.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
A Service Perspective on the Marketization of Undergraduate Education
Authors: Taylor Steven A. , Judson Kimberly M.
Published: April 2012

Higher education in the United States is rapidly moving toward a marketized model of service provision, one emphasizing marketing practices based upon relevance and student satisfaction. The results of the study reported herein suggest that such strategies may not ensure equal balance between service quality and the quality of education as a service. Specifically, a study is presented suggesting that grades (an indicant of learning) are neither endogenous (positively related to) nor exogenous (antecedent to) a typical service quality/customer satisfaction model vis-à-vis Introduction to Marketing courses. If student service quality perceptions, satisfaction judgments, and engagement practices are indeed unrelated to grades at the classroom level, then a question exists as to how well a focus on student satisfaction (and relevance) actually engender student involvement in the value co-creation process in education delivery. The following study suggests diligence in balancing the quality of the educational service versus service quality practices within the context of the marketization of education, and continued efforts by service marketers to better understand the unique service marketing characteristics of the educational product. The research and managerial implications of the reported study are presented and discussed.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Clues, Flow Channels, and Cognitive States: An Exploratory Study of Customer Experiences with e-Brokerage Services
Authors: Ding David Xin
Published: April 2012

The service literature is replete with claims on the importance of experience design to operational efficiency and customer loyalty, yet it is unclear when, where, and how flow experience is formulated in service systems. Drawing upon relevant research in flow theory and consumer behavior, this study empirically tests a proposed framework and relevant hypotheses with the survey responses collected from 707 online investors. In support of the model and most of the hypotheses it suggests, the empirical results suggest the important antecedents and consequence of flow channel in e-brokerage services and confirms the viability of the extended dual-layer experience construct to investigate customer experiences. The findings indicate that service designers should closely examine the intended service offerings and customize corresponding service/product features to maximize customers' flow experience.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Productivity in Service Systems: Towards a Managerial Framework
Authors: López David , de Pablos Carmen , de la Puerta Enrique , Fernández Carlos
Published: April 2012

This article addresses a relevant question arising in knowledge-intensive industries: modelling productivity; an important issue of increasing importance in developed economies, (Drucker [Drucker, P. 1999. Knowledge-worker productivity: the biggest challenge. California Management Review.], Neely [Neely, A. 2002. Business Peformance Measurement: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.], Ramirez [Ramirez, et al. 2004. Measuring knowledge worker productivity. Journal of Intellectual Capital.]). According to the findings presented in this paper, service science and related service dominant logic paradigm, is a useful framework upon which to understand and further operationalize productivity in complex servicings. The research approach adopted combines relevant theory in service science and productivity analysis with a real experience as practiced by a worldwide leading healthcare agency to test the validity of the concepts proposed.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Comparing Neural Network and Ordinal Logistic Regression to Analyze Attitude Responses
Authors: Larasati Aisyah , DeYong Camille , Slevitch Lisa
Published: April 2012

Many social studies analyze attitude responses using the linear regression model. This model typically treats questionnaire data as continuous scales, although the data is merely ordinal. One type of regression model that is more appropriate to analyze rank-order responses is the Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) model. In addition to the use of regression, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model has recently been applied in various studies. This paper delivered comparative descriptions of both the ANN and OLR models. The theoretical features and properties, which include parameters, variable selection, and model evaluation, followed by comparisons of the disadvantages and advantages of both models were analytically reviewed.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Diplomates Day 2012
Authors: Eaton Kenneth A
Published: April 2012

On Saturday, 3rd March 2012, the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) hosted its annual Ceremony of Presentation of Diplomates. A total of 118 individuals received diplomas in a packed Edward Lumley Hall at The Royal College of Surgeons of England. At 2.00 pm, a procession led by the carrier of the College's George IV mace, the President and Vice-President of the College, and the Deans of the Faculties of General Dental Practice (UK) and Dental Surgery entered the hall and proceeded to the stage.
A Communal Haunt: Synchronicity and Betweenness in the Atemporal Films of Shimizu Takashi
Authors: Blouin Michael J.
Published: April 2012

Temporality plays a crucial role in Western modernity. Concepts such as progress and industrialism are born from static notions of time; by tracing the development of what came before, and aspiring towards what lies ahead, the modern subject is continuously caught in the forward motion of a calculated mechanism designed to keep time.
Sepet, Mukhsin, and Talentime: Yasmin Ahmad's Melodrama of the Melancholic Boy-in-Love
Authors: Yusoff Norman
Published: April 2012

This essay examines three critically-acclaimed Malaysian films directed by the late Yasmin Ahmad: Sepet (Slit Eyes, 2004), Mukhsin (2007) and Talentime (2009),1 all of which have propelled her to the forefront of contemporary Malaysian cinema. Apart from earning praise and accolade at international film festivals, ranging from Tokyo to Berlin,2 retrospectives of her work have also been held in Tokyo, Thessaloniki, Taipei, and Hawaii. Yasmin's films have been known for reflecting the wide ethnic and cultural diversity of the country. Indeed, her films often address potentially explosive subject matter by contesting accepted norms and practices within the volatile multiculturalism of Malaysia.
Intimate Temporalities: Affective Historiologies in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Dust in the Wind
Authors: Wong Lily
Published: April 2012

New Taiwanese Cinema emerged in the 1980s in the face of a commercial industry in crisis, a loosening political climate at the end of the Cold War, and on the eve of Taiwan's lifting of martial law. Departing from the romantic themed "healthy-realism" and state-prescribed melodramatic narratives that characterized its predecessors, this new wave of Taiwanese films brought to the screen stories of ordinary people and their experiences amidst Taiwan's socialeconomic changes.1 As one of the leaders of New Taiwanese Cinema, Hou Hsiao-hsien partook in the making of the anthology The Sandwich Man (Erzi de dawanou, 1983) which, together with In Our Time (Guangyin de gushi, 1982), launched and defined the movement.
Cinematic Expressions of Rakugo in Akira Kurosawa's Comedies Yojimbo and Sanjuro
Authors: Sim Gerald
Published: April 2012

Toshiro Mifune displays great economy of movement in his performance as Sanjuro in the sword-fighting action sequences of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962). They showcase the actor's agility and display his skills in the kendo tradition of samurai swordsmanship. As Sanjuro executes lethal slashes, he invades no space without need, and comically vanquishes opponents who appear gangly, uncoordinated, and excessive. Meticulously choreographed and assiduously rehearsed, the character's physical efficiency provides symmetry with his nimble intellect.
A Filmic Reality: Images of North Korea in the British Documentary A State of Mind
Authors: Choi Suhi
Published: April 2012

The documentary, A State of Mind (2004, England), depicts North Korea's choreographed mass games, where the meticulously planned movements of human bodies create seamless lines and shapes in an infinite space. The spectacle of the mass games itself is compelling enough to draw viewers' immediate attention to a small, isolated country. Yet, the British filmmakers more intensely engage viewers' perceptions of the realities of North Korea by zeroing in on and following two schoolgirl gymnasts - Hyon Sun and Song Yun - as they practice for the 2003 mass games that celebrate the 55th anniversary of the founding of North Korea.
History, Fiction, and Film Lust, Caution Revisited
Authors: Shen Vivian
Published: April 2012

Love (qing) and rationality (li), love (lian'ai) and revolution (geming), and lust (se) and caution (jie) are perennial themes in Chinese literature and cinema. Generally speaking, they address two conflicting aspects of human emotions and awareness - a person's romantic feelings or lust for his/her lover and his/her moral or social responsibilities and obligations to the established rules of the communities or country in which he/she lives.
Not Notorious Enough: The Transnational Feminism of Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and Its American Reception
Authors: Hamer Molly
Published: April 2012

In Ang Lee's most recent film, Lust, Caution (2007), Lee's studentturned- spy heroine could best be described as a moviegoer (Fig. 1). Early in the film, her target wonders, "What do you like?" She responds, "Going to the movies." Lee provides us with evidence of his heroine's movie-going; Chiah Chih weeps through Intermezzo (1939) (Fig. 2), seeks solace in a showing of Penny Serenade (1941), and examines a poster advertising Suspicion (1941) (Fig. 3). Notably, Lee depicts his heroine absorbed and even moved to tears by American films, with differences of culture, nation, and language irrelevant to Chiah Chih's appreciation for Hollywood cinema. In contrast with Chiah Chih's passionate response to these extra-national films, the release of Lee's Chinese-language Lust, Caution left the majority of American critics cold.
Exoticized Heroine or Hybrid Woman? Diasporic Female Subjectivity in Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala
Authors: Banerjee Bidisha
Published: April 2012

For diasporic populations, the space of diaspora, whether it be the space of home or of nation, is often a fragmented and unsafe space that must be bounded and controlled in order to make that space one's own,. Often it becomes incumbent upon the women to carry the burden of the creation of diaspora space. As essentialized representatives of a nation's cultural identity, women's bodies mark the boundaries of the national imaginary. The desire for a safe, familiar, clearly defined space to call one's own within diaspora, leads to the essentialized notion of home and nation where the female body symbolically represents an ossified notion of native culture as well as the nation itself.1 Thus, any transgression on her part becomes akin to a violation of the family, the home, the community, and finally the nation within the space of diaspora.
Crossing Genres: A Study of Johnnie To's Stylized Films
Authors: Yi Sun
Published: April 2012

The Hong Kong film industry entered its downturn in the mid-1990s, seeing a sharp fall of both annual production quantity and box office revenues from 1994, with a reduction in the number of film production companies, and a collapse of the cinema exhibition system being the major symptoms (Zhao, 2007: 346-348). There were small ups and downs during the last decade, yet, as a whole, the decline of the industry is incontrovertible.
REVIEWS
Authors: Dalrymple Roger , Pringle Emily
Published: April 2012

RESEARCH METHODS IN EDUCATION, 7TH ED., LOUIS COHEN, LAWRENCE MANION AND KEITH MORRISON WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY RICHARD BELL , STEWART MARTIN, GARY MCCULLOCH AND CARMEL O’ SULLIVAN (2011) Abingdon: Routledge, 758 pp., ISBN: 978-0-415-58336-7, paperback, £28.99

EDUCATION,
FELICITY ALLEN (2011) London/Cambridge, MA: Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press, ISBN 978-0-85488-192-5/ISBN 978-0-262-51636-5, paperback, £14.95
Elastic minds? Is the interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary curriculum equipping our students for the future: A case study
Authors: Blair Bernadette
Published: April 2012

This article takes a snapshot view of interdisciplinary design curricula through an examination of the multicultural, design postgraduate portfolio in one multidisciplinary university in the United Kingdom. It looks at how we are equipping our future designers/teachers to experience
interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary professional practice. Many design courses, especially at postgraduate level, now consist of shared studio-based modules across a range of disciplines. For some, this may have been influenced by small student numbers in individual courses and an expediency
of resources, but for many this has been a philosophical move to equip students for the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary world they are inhabiting. This small case study looks at a cohort of postgraduate students who through their MA course are undertaking and sharing interdisciplinary
studio modules, with other design MA students alongside a multidisciplinary PG certificate in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education. The study highlights the synergies and tensions between professional practice and design pedagogy through the experiences of a student group made up of
professional designers who are already working in multidisciplinary professional fields. It records, through questionnaires and interviews, their experience of projects where they are balancing the roles of professional designer/ teacher/student. It examines the multidisciplinary nature of
the curriculum and asks students to comment on their experience of working in an interdisciplinary environment and to articulate how/whether their experience on the course has influenced their approach to both their pedagogic studies and outside professional practice.