bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifying design guidelines for online information resources: a study of expectant and new mothers
Authors: Mahony Carolanne , Heavin Ciara , Sammon David
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to identify design guidelines for online resources based on the subjective assessment criteria used by individuals to assess and process information resources. This method of creating design guidelines targeted at precise user groups has the potential to aid designers and developers to create more user-centred information resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors gathered data using a prospective longitudinal study investigating the information behaviour of expectant and new mothers. Women were asked to report on their information-seeking activities in a series of semi-structured interviews covering pregnancy and early motherhood.

Findings

This research identified 15 assessment criteria that were utilised by women to assess and process information resources. The most popular resource criteria amongst participants were credibility and convenience, while completeness and relevance were the most popular information content criteria. The authors found that assessment criteria were not considered in isolation, with criteria such as formatting and search engine ranking impacting on participants' perception of other criteria.

Practical implications

This research demonstrates the potential of linking a user groups subjective assessment criterion to design guidelines. The authors propose that these guidelines could be used to help design an online information resource. They could also be used to assess if an existing online resource met the needs of a user group. The methodology used in this study could be leveraged to create design guidelines for user groups.

Originality/value

This research uses subjective assessment criteria as a means of understanding how expectant new mothers process information resources. People use subjective judgements when processing information resources, and this should be incorporated into the design of information resources. Analysing longitudinal data allowed the authors to build a rich picture of how participants evaluated and compared different information resources.
The influencing factors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) readiness stage on enterprise resource planning project success: a project manager’s perspective
Authors: Kirmizi Mehmet , Kocaoglu Batuhan
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study explores the influencing factors of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) readiness stage on project success immediately after go-live from the project manager’s perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The influencing factors of the ERP readiness stage are explored through the literature and expert review sessions and are embedded in Kotter’s change management model. A survey-based empirical study is conducted among ERP project managers in Turkey in 2019 utilizing principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis to reveal the direct relation of influencing factors and project success.

Findings

Results show that the proposed model explains 65.179% of the variation with four components. The association of components through regression analysis reveals that project planning and management, employee commitment and change management directly relate to the ERP project success. Yet, surprisingly top management support is not directly correlated. Therefore, the results suggest that influencing factors of such long projects are to be evaluated by the stages of the project life cycle.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to the project managers’ perspective in Turkey and the readiness stage of the project life cycle.

Practical implications

The objectives of this research serve as a guideline for ERP project managers to consider the success factors in terms of ERP project phases. This ensures that the project manager allocates optimum resources to the right factors at the right time.

Originality/value

Despite numerous studies in the ERP readiness stage, this study opens new ways of future research while filling several gaps. First, the ERP readiness phase is discussed with a theoretical approach through Kotter’s change management model. Second, the influencing factors of the ERP readiness stage on ERP project success from the project manager’s perspective are explored, and factor structures are revealed. Then, the association of the factors with ERP project success of “immediately after go-live” is empirically tested.
Competitive advantage of data-driven analytical capabilities: the role of big data visualization and of organizational agility
Authors: Medeiros Mauricius Munhoz de , Maçada Antônio Carlos Gastaud
Published: May 2021

Purpose

In the digital age, the use of data and analytical capabilities to guide business decisions and operations plays a strategic role for organizations to gain competitive advantage (CA). However, the paths by which analytical capabilities convey their effect to CA are not yet fully known and few studies address the role of behavioral and cultural aspects of related of analytical capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how data-driven culture (DDC) and business analytics (BA) affect CA, considering the mediating effects of big data visualization (BDV) and organizational agility (OA).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with 173 managers who are BDV and BA users in Brazilian organizations of various economic segments. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling and mediation tests.

Findings

The evidence indicates that DDC and BDV are antecedents of BA. The following complementary mediations were discovered: BDV in the relationship between DDC and BA; BA in the relationship between DDC and CA; and OA in the relationship between BA and CA. It was also discovered that OA explains the transmission of most of the effect of BA to CA.

Practical implications

This study can help organizations to understand the importance of cultural and behavioral aspects related to the use of the analytical capabilities. Thereby, managers can establish policies and strategies to extract value from data and leverage business agility and competitiveness through use BDV and BA.

Originality/value

This study fills an important research gap by developing an original research model and discussing empirical evidence on how DDC and BA affect CA, considering the mediating effects of BDV and OA.
Quantifying human resource management: a literature review
Authors: Coron Clotilde
Published: May 2021

Purpose

With a focus on the evolution of human resource management (HRM) quantification over 2000–2020, this study addresses the following questions: (1) What are the data sources used to quantify HRM? (2) What are the methods used to quantify HRM? (3) What are the objectives of HRM quantification? (4) What are the representations of quantification in HRM?

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on an integrative synthesis of 94 published peer-reviewed empirical and non-empirical articles on the use of quantification in HRM. It uses the theoretical framework of the sociology of quantification.

Findings

The analysis shows that there have been several changes in HRM quantification over 2000–2020 in terms of data sources, methods and objectives. Meanwhile, representations of quantification have evolved relatively little; it is still considered as a tool, and this ignores the possible conflicts and subjectivity associated with the use of quantification.

Originality/value

This literature review addresses the use of quantification in HRM in general and is thus larger in scope than previous reviews. Notably, it brings forth new insights on possible differences between the main uses of quantification in HRM, as well as on artificial intelligence and algorithms in HRM.
Effects of person-organization fit objective feedback and subjective perception on organizational attractiveness in online recruitment
Authors: Huang Jui-Chieh
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study applies a person-environment fit (PEF) framework to examine the extent to which organizational attractiveness may be influenced by person-organization fit (POF) feedback and person-job fit (PJF) feedback in web-based recruitment. Furthermore, the potential mediating roles of subjective POF and subjective PJF perceptions were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Senior undergraduate business administration students participated in a two-stage experiment by completing a paper-and-pencil survey during a campus career fair and then reviewing a recruitment website.

Findings

Research findings showed that online assessment feedback on PJF was positively related to organizational attractiveness. The higher the level PJF, the more organizational attractiveness participants reported. Second, both POF and PJF feedback information can affect organizational attractiveness indirectly through subjective POF and PJF perceptions, respectively. Fresh graduates were more sensitive to PJF feedback in deciding organizational attractiveness.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the recruitment literature in at least three ways. First, online recruitment messages concerning can affect organizational attractiveness. Second, in support of the PEF framework, fresh graduates can distinguish subjective POF perceptions from subjective PJF perceptions. Third, fresh graduates are more sensitive to PJF information and perceptions in deciding organizational attractiveness.
Exploring the role of intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attributes for customers’ positive behavioural intention in the hotel industry
Authors: Ahn Jiseon , Dias Soeiro Joaquim
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Although the characterisation of intrinsic and extrinsic attribution is pervasive and important, this concept is yet to be explored in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) context. Thus, this study aims to study these CSR attributes and examine its influences on hotel customers’ behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

This study explores and attempts to distinguish the varying roles of intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attributes. Framed in context of CSR in the hotel industry, the characteristics of CSR practices (e.g. sympathy or rewarding) are hypothesised to lead customers’ motivation to engage in a specific behaviour based on the attribution theory.

Findings

The target population of 150 hotel customers was surveyed, and the results exhibited that the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of hotel CSR activities increased customers’ purchase intention by improving their level of perceived authenticity. The impact of intrinsic motivation on brand authenticity was found to have a greater influence compared to extrinsic motivation. When customers perceive the authenticity of hotel brands, there is a tendency to exert a positive behavioural intention. However, it was identified that for the hotel industry, only extrinsic motivation had a direct influence on customers’ positive behavioural intention.

Research limitations/implications

The varying roles of the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of CSR and its impact on customers’ brand authenticity and behavioural intention were identified. Hence, this study conceptually contributes to the existing CSR literature by determining and incorporating the variables that measure the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of hotel CSR activities.

Originality/value

This study contributes advancements to the hospitality and tourism industry, by expanding the literature to include the identification of significant CSR attributes and strategies that are beneficial, and can be used by companies for their development.
Impact of the awareness of brand-related CSR activities on purchase intention for luxury brands
Authors: Olšanová Květa , Escobar Ríos Andrea , Cook Gina , Král Petr , Zlatić Marija
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of luxury buyers' awareness of a luxury brand's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities together with its individual brand-related sustainable dimensions (in terms of economic, societal and environmental) and luxury values on purchase intention for luxury products and, as a result, highlight the potential implications of these relationships for the luxury industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A luxury purchase intention model, which assumes an impact from traditional luxury values and CSR, was indicated based on the authors' previous qualitative research and corresponding literature review. To validate the model by proving that the suggested relationships are statistically significant, (1,100) luxury customers over the age of 18 were approached, and (253) valid responses were entered and analyzed using SEM to confirm the indicated theoretical model's hypothesized causal relations.

Findings

The findings suggest a positive and significant relationship between buyers’ awareness of a specific luxury brand's CSR-related activities and their purchase intention; however, certain demographics and gender both moderate this relationship. The moderating role of general attitudes toward CSR and sustainability on this relationship was not confirmed. Furthermore, awareness of the brand's CSR positively mediates the relationship between both the societal/environmental and economic parts of the brand-related individual sustainable dimension and purchase intention.

Originality/value

The results of this study are based on actual purchases of branded luxury items and validate the authors' indicative model based on earlier qualitative research by claiming a significant relationship between the purchase intention for a brand and awareness of its CSR activities amongst luxury shoppers.
Scale development and validation of total quality and socially responsible management (TQSR-M) framework: dual competitive strategy for management
Authors: Khurshid Muhammad Adnan , Alhidari Abdullah Mohammad , Tabassum Saima
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale for measuring an integrated total quality and socially responsible management (TQSR-M) model, which affects business excellence.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a questionnaire in two phases (first for scale development and second for scale validation purpose) from managers employed in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed companies. The structural equation modeling technique (SEM) was used to develop and validate the measurement and structural model.

Findings

This study confirmed the empirical validation of the eight distinct dimensions (top management, strategic planning management, human resource management, supplier management, customer management, social/community management and environmental management) of TQSR-M. Moreover, the validation of the TQSR-M model is further confirmed by testing the relationship between TQSR-M and the hypothetically associated business performance variables through SEM.

Research limitations/implications

The measurement scale helps companies assess the TQSR-M model related to business excellence. It assists managers in identifying the factors for implementing total quality management (TQM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in their organization for developing TQM and CSR plans, policies and strategies.

Social implications

This study confirmed that combined TQM-CSR approaches are potential sources of achieving business excellence, sustainable competitive advantages and improving the quality of life of the workforce, local communities and the environment in particular and even of society in general.

Originality/value

Despite such studies exploring the association between TQM and CSR, it remains unclear how the integration of both the concepts develops. Academics and managers lack a tool to measure TQM-CSR together. Therefore, this study integrates both distinct areas of TQM and CSR into a single comprehensive model by developing a measurement scale.
Latitudinal variation in long‐term stability of North American rocky intertidal communities
Authors: Miner C. Melissa , Burnaford Jennifer L. , Ammann Karah , Becker Benjamin H. , Fradkin Steven C. , Ostermann‐Kelm Stacey , Smith Jayson R. , Whitaker Stephen G. , Raimondi Peter T.
Published: May 2021

Although long‐term ecological stability is often discussed as a community attribute, it is typically investigated at the species level (e.g. density, biomass), or as a univariate metric (e.g. species diversity). To provide a more comprehensive assessment of long‐term community stability, we used a multivariate similarity approach that included all species and their relative abundances.

We used data from 74 sites sampled annually from 2006 to 2017 to examine broad temporal and spatial patterns of change within rocky intertidal communities along the west coast of North America. We explored relationships between community change (inverse of stability) and the following potential drivers of change/stability: (a) marine heatwave events; (b) three attributes of biodiversity: richness, diversity and evenness and (c) presence of the mussel, Mytilus californianus, a dominant space holder and foundation species in this system.

At a broad scale, we found an inverse relationship between community stability and elevated water temperatures. In addition, we found substantial differences in stability among regions, with lower stability in the south, which may provide a glimpse into the patterns expected with a changing climate. At the site level, community stability was linked to high species richness and, perhaps counterintuitively, to low evenness, which could be a consequence of the dominance of mussels in this system.

Synthesis. Assessments of long‐term stability at the whole‐community level are rarely done but are key to a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of climate change. In communities structured around a spatially dominant species, long‐term stability can be linked to the stability of this ‘foundation species’, as well as to traditional predictors, such as species richness.
Les Déterminants des Prêts Non Performants du Système Bancaire de l'UMOA
Authors: Tinta Abdoulganiour Almame , Sanou Erdjouman Jean
Published: May 2021

Cette étude examine les facteurs macroéconomiques et spécifiques qui affectent la qualité du portefeuille de crédit des banques de l'UMOA. L'étude utilise les données de la Banque mondiale, du Fonds Monétaire International, de Bankscope et les comptes de résultat et bilan de la Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) et couvrent la période de 2000 à 2019. Régressant un modèle statique (1) et un modèle dynamique (2) en utilisant respectivement la méthode des effets fixes et la méthode des moments généralisés d'Arellano–Bover/Blundell–Bond, les résultats montrent que la croissance économique, le service de la dette payée, la situation commerciale et les taxes impactent les prêts non performants. L'incertitude des politiques a un effet néfaste à court et à long terme sur les prêts non performants, cependant amorti par la concentration bancaire. Les facteurs bancaires tels que la taille et la rentabilité participent à la réduction des prêts non performants. Cependant le taux d'intérêt, l'inefficience bancaire, le ratio des prêts et les réserves de provisions pour pertes contribuent à accroitre le volume des prêts défectueux. L'étude recommande l'amélioration de l'environnement macroéconomique, la culture de la prudence et l'efficience managériale.
What drives biogas adoption in rural Lesotho?
Authors: Bakehe Novice Patrick
Published: May 2021

Despite important efforts to put in place alternative energy technologies such as biogas to fight against indoor air pollution, only very few households have succeeded in the transition towards these sources of energy in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to explore the socioeconomic constraints related to the adoption of biogas as a major source of cooking fuel in rural households in Lesotho. Using the Demographic and Health Survey of 2014 and a logistic regression model, this study revealed that several socioeconomic factors influence the decision of households to adopt biogas significantly. Among the variables included in the model, the level of education of the household head, wealth and the size of the household have a significant effect on the decision to adopt biogas. Indeed, an additional school level increases the adoption of biogas by 1.2 percentage points. An additional person in the household reduces the chance of switching to biogas by 1 percentage point and the richest households are 50% more likely to switch to biogas than the poorest households. Moreover, there are differences in adoption according to the agro‐ecological zone.
Modelling Regional Consumption Patterns in Australia*
Authors: Selvanathan Eliyathamby A. , Selvanathan Saroja , Wong Lucille , Jayasinghe Maneka Savithri
Published: May 2021

In 1977, Stigler and Becker hypothesised that ‘tastes neither change capriciously nor differ importantly between people’. In an interregional context, this implies that irrespective of differences in income and geography, consumers in different regions are similar. Studies conducted 25 years ago using data for Australian states found support for this hypothesis. However, due to the changing ethnic composition of the population in the states of Australia, differences in consumption patterns between states are emerging. Using recent regional consumption data and demand models, we investigate in this study whether there are regional disparities across the six Australian states, and find that there are in fact differences.
Natural nest substrates influence squamate embryo physiology but have little effect on hatchling phenotypes
Authors: HALL Joshua M. , MIRACLE Jocelyn , SCRUGGS Cindy D. , WARNER Daniel A.
Published: May 2021

Vertebrate embryos require access to water; however, many species nest in terrestrial habitats that vary considerably in moisture content. Oviparous, non‐avian reptiles have served as models to understand how environmental factors, like moisture availability, influence development because eggs are often exposed to prevailing environments in the absence of parental care. Though much research demonstrates the importance of water absorption by eggs, many ecological factors that influence moisture availability in natural nests have received little attention. For example, the type of substrate in which nests are constructed is understudied. We experimentally incubated eggs of the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei) in 2 naturally occurring nest substrates that were treated with varying amounts of water to determine how natural substrates influence development at different moisture concentrations. One substrate consisted of sand and crushed seashells and the other was mostly organic material (i.e. decayed plant material). Both are common nesting substrates at our field site. When controlling for water uptake by eggs, we found that egg survival and hatchling phenotypes were similar between substrates; however, embryos developed more quickly in the sand/shell substrate than the organic substrate, indicating substrate‐specific effects on embryo physiology. These results demonstrate that different natural substrates can result in similar developmental outcomes if the water available to eggs is comparable; however, some aspects of development, like developmental rate, are affected by the type of substrate, independent of water availability. Further study is required to determine how natural substrates influence embryo physiology independent of water content.
Genetic characterizations of Toll‐like receptors in the brown rat and their associations with pathogen infections
Authors: SU Qianqian , CHEN Yi , WANG Bo , ZHANG Qingxun , HE Hongxuan
Published: May 2021

Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) are important initiators of innate immune responses that target host–pathogen interactions. However, further research into the molecular characteristics of TLRs in wild populations is required, as well as how TLRs genetically influenced pathogen infections in the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). Here, we explored the genetic characterization and evolution of 2 sensing nucleic acid TLRs (TLR7 and TLR8) and 2 sensing non‐nucleic acid TLRs (TLR2 and TLR4) in the wild brown rat, and assessed their associations with 2 RNA viruses (Seoul hantavirus and rat hepatitis E virus (HEV)) and 2 bacteria (Leptospira and Bartonella). In these 4 TLRs, we discovered a total of 16 variants. Furthermore, TLR8 had high genetic diversity among 7 variants, while TLR2 had low genetic diversity with only 1 variant. According to selective pressure analyses, TLR4, TLR7, and TLR8 genes evolved under purifying selection. Interestingly, significant associations were found between 3 TLR8 variants and HEV infection, as well as 1 TLR2 variant and Bartonella infection. Overall, our findings provided a glimpse into the genetic characterization of TLRs in the brown rat, and further demonstrated that TLR2 and TLR8 genetic variations were related to Bartonella and HEV infection, respectively. Especially, TLR8 may be a good candidate immune gene for future research on molecular ecology and functional adaptation in wild populations.
Identification of genes associated with litter size combining genomic approaches in Luzhong mutton sheep
Authors: Tao L. , He X. Y. , Wang F. Y. , Pan L. X. , Wang X. Y. , Gan S. Q. , Di R. , Chu M. X.
Published: May 2021

Litter size is one of the most important reproductive traits of sheep, which has pronounced effects on the profit of husbandry enterprises and enthusiasm of breeders. Despite the importance of litter size, the underlying genetic mechanisms have not been entirely elucidated. Therefore, based on a high‐density SNP chip, genome‐wide comparative analysis was performed between two groups with different fecundity to reveal candidate genes linked to litter size via detection of homozygosity and selection signatures in Luzhong mutton sheep. Consequently, nine promising genes were identified from six runs of homozygosity islands, and functionally linked to reproduction (ACTL7A, ACTL7B, and ELP1), embryonic development (KLF5 and PIBF1), and cell cycle (DACH1, BORA, DIS3, and MZT1). A total of 128 genes were observed under selection, of which HECW1 and HTR1E were related to total lambs born, GABRG3, LRP1B, and MACROD2 to teat number, and AGBL1 to reproductive seasonality. Additionally, the presence of inbreeding depression implies the urgency of reasonable mating system to increase litter size in the present herd. These findings provide a comprehensive insight to the genetic makeup of litter size, and also contribute to implementation of marker‐assisted selection in sheep.
A casemix study of patients seen within an urban Aboriginal Health Service dermatology clinic over a five‐year period
Authors: Williams Crystal , Hunt Jenny , Kern Johannes S , Dunn Rebecca
Published: May 2021

This is the largest study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dermatologic presentations to an urban specialist clinic within a community‐controlled health organisation. It adds to our understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dermatoepidemiology. Patient files were reviewed over the five‐year audit period, with age, gender, Indigenous status, diagnosis, disease category, ‘new’ or ‘review consultation’ and ‘did not attend’ (DNA) data recorded. Our study shows that eczema and benign, pre‐malignant or malignant neoplasms are the most common presentations for urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Lupus erythematosus and cutaneous infections were less prominent in comparison to data from rural and remote populations. Overall, a broad casemix of dermatologic presentations was observed. Similar to other studies, adult male patients were under‐represented. Most skin malignancies were diagnosed in this cohort; this, therefore, identifies a possible target for public health intervention. A high ratio of new to review patients is consistent with the clinic offering a consultation model of care facilitated by primary health‐care providers’ support within Aboriginal Community‐Controlled Health Service. DNA rates in this study were lower than hospital outpatient rates in a comparative study and may be attributed to specialist dermatology care being offered in a more culturally sensitive environment. The dermatology clinic at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Services (VAHS) provides a good breadth of specialist dermatology care. The community health‐care model could be replicated in centres elsewhere, including interstate, to help overcome barriers to specialist dermatology care experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Additionally, this model improves trainee exposure and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
An exploratory study on the emergency remote education experience of higher education students and teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Oliveira Gabriella , Grenha Teixeira Jorge , Torres Ana , Morais Carla
Published: May 2021

The COVID‐19 pandemic situation has pushed many higher education institutions into a fast‐paced, and mostly unstructured, emergency remote education process. In such an unprecedented context, it is important to understand how technology is mediating the educational process and how teachers and students are experiencing the change brought by the pandemic. This research aims to understand how the learning was mediated by technology during the early stages of the pandemic and how students and teachers experienced this sudden change. Data were collected following a qualitative research design. Thirty in‐depth and semi‐structured interviews (20 students and 10 teachers) were obtained and analysed following a thematic analysis approach. Results provide evidence on the adoption of remote education technologies due to the pandemic with impacts on the education process, ICT platforms usage and personal adaptation. The emergency remote education context led to mixed outcomes regarding the education process. Simultaneously, ICT platforms usage was mostly a positive experience and personal adaptation was mostly a negative experience. These results bring new insights for higher education organizations on actions they could take, such as curating the learning experience with standard, institutional‐wide platforms, appropriate training for students and teachers, and suitable remote evaluation practices.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

The COVID‐19 pandemic has pushed the world's education environment into an unstructured, emergency remote education process.

There is a lack of understanding of how ICT tools mediated learning during pandemic's early stages and how actors experienced this sudden change.

In technology‐mediated learning contexts, participant beliefs, knowledge, practices and the environment mutually influence one another and affect the lived experience.

What this paper adds

The paper identifies and characterizes the educational process, the technological tools used in this new educational setting and personal adaptation of higher education students and teachers during these unprecedented times.

The results show the following: an increase in teacher–student interaction (outside classes), new opportunities and content development; difficulties in control evaluation fraud, constraints in attaining the desired learning outcomes and lack of training; resilience to adapt and adopt the new technologies, despite the negative personal experience lived in terms of productivity, motivation, workload and mental health.

Implications for practice and/or policy

The paper makes evidence‐based recommendations on how higher education institutions can leverage this experience to prepare for future disruptions and increase the use of ICT tools in their regular learning environment.
Longing for connection: University educators creating meaning through sharing experiences of teaching online
Authors: Fox Brandi , Bearman Margaret , Bellingham Robin , North‐Samardzic Andrea , Scarparo Simona , Taylor Darci , Thomas Mathew Krehl Edward , Volkov Michael
Published: May 2021

This paper presents a reflexive analysis of how university educators experience the shift to increasing online teaching in 2019. We explore what it means to be an online educator in contemporary higher education and aim to raise questions about how we approach online education and understand ourselves as educators, informed by a sociomaterial lens. The research utilised collaborative autoethnography (CAE) to facilitate meaning‐making and uncover complex perspectives through collaboration and conversation. This enabled us to question what we as educators were losing and what we were gaining as a consequence of shifting to more online modes of teaching via university mandated platforms and processes. Through this methodology, various themes emerged: the role of corporeality; how we constructed ourselves through texts; how others materialised us in virtual spaces; the experience of online time; and our transforming practices and identities. This paper provides a snapshot of a significant cultural milieu in academia as we were afforded time to engage in reflexive practice about teaching online just as the academic world was abruptly mandated to shift almost wholly online. It also provides unique insights into the significance of understanding ourselves as both embodied and social, and the importance of community within academia.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Higher education's shift online, both before and during COVID, has had a substantial effect on university staff, including discomfort and loss of agency.

What this paper adds

Considering the material and embodied is important in online education, particularly because it can be taken‐for‐granted and hence overlooked.

Feelings of disconnection can result from the inevitable gap between how educators represent themselves online and how others perceive (“materialise”) them online.

Experiencing a lack of connection with online students provides the opportunity to question assumptions about student experiences and develop more nuanced online teaching practice.

Teaching requires some kind of reconciliation between the linear time as laid out in learning design and the not‐yet‐here/always‐there time of online learning.

Implications for practice and/or policy

Attention must continue to be paid to the experiences of educators as even experienced ones find teaching online disturbs identities and practices.

Collegially sharing virtual spaces may assist university educators in making sense of the shifts demanded by online teaching and allow more active modelling of meaning‐making processes for students.

Teaching may benefit from deliberate consideration of developing online personas and reflection on how to accommodate them within academic professional identities.
A Gibbs sampler for the multidimensional four‐parameter logistic item response model via a data augmentation scheme
Authors: Fu Zhihui , Zhang Susu , Su Ya‐Hui , Shi Ningzhong , Tao Jian
Published: May 2021

The four‐parameter logistic (4PL) item response model, which includes an upper asymptote for the correct response probability, has drawn increasing interest due to its suitability for many practical scenarios. This paper proposes a new Gibbs sampling algorithm for estimation of the multidimensional 4PL model based on an efficient data augmentation scheme (DAGS). With the introduction of three continuous latent variables, the full conditional distributions are tractable, allowing easy implementation of a Gibbs sampler. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the proposed method and several popular alternatives. An empirical data set was analysed using the 4PL model to show its improved performance over the three‐parameter and two‐parameter logistic models. The proposed estimation scheme is easily accessible to practitioners through the open‐source IRTlogit package.
SMAD4 loss is associated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus hydroxychloroquine in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma
Authors: Fei Naomi , Wen Sijin , Ramanathan Rajesh , Hogg Melissa E. , Zureikat Amer H. , Lotze Michael T. , Bahary Nathan , Singhi Aatur D. , Zeh Herbert J. , Boone Brian A.
Published: May 2021

SMAD4, a tumor suppressor gene, is lost in up to 60%–90% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PDAs). Loss of SMAD4 allows tumor progression by upregulating autophagy, a cell survival mechanism that counteracts apoptosis and allows intracellular recycling of macromolecules. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an autophagy inhibitor. We studied whether HCQ treatment in SMAD4 deficient PDA may prevent therapeutic resistance induced by autophagy upregulation. We retrospectively analyzed the SMAD4 status of patients with PDA enrolled in two prospective clinical trials evaluating pre‐operative HCQ. The first dose escalation trial demonstrated the safety of preoperative gemcitabine with HCQ (NCT01128296). More recently, a randomized trial of gemcitabine/nab‐paclitaxel +/− HCQ evaluated Evans Grade histopathologic response (NCT01978184). The effect of SMAD4 loss on response to HCQ and chemotherapy was studied for association with clinical outcome. Fisher’s exact test and log‐rank test were used to assess response and survival. Fifty‐two patients receiving HCQ with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were studied. Twenty‐five patients had SMAD4 loss (48%). 76% of HCQ‐treated patients with SMAD4 loss obtained a histopathologic response greater than or equal to 2A, compared with only 37% with SMAD4 intact (p = 0.006). Although loss of SMAD4 has been associated with worse outcomes, in the current study, loss of SMAD4 was not associated with a detriment in median overall survival in HCQ‐treated patients (34.43 months in SMAD4 loss vs. 27.27 months in SMAD4 intact, p = 0.18). The addition of HCQ to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with PDA may improve treatment response in those with SMAD4 loss. Further study of the relationship among SMAD4, autophagy, and treatment outcomes in PDA is warranted.
Susceptibility of sugar pine, Shasta red fir and Sierra lodgepole pine to mountain hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobiumtsugensesubsp.mertensianae, Viscaceae) in south central Oregon
Authors: Oblinger Brent W.
Published: May 2021

In southern Oregon and northern California, mountain hemlock dwarf mistletoe (MHDM;Arceuthobium tsugensesubsp.mertensianae) commonly parasitizes mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) in multiple mountain ranges such as the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains. However, limited information is available on the susceptibility of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), Shasta red fir (Abies magnificavar.shastensis) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) to MHDM. From 2015–2019, I found MHDM on sugar pine at multiple sites in northwestern Klamath County, Oregon. To evaluate the susceptibilities of sugar pine, Shasta red fir and Sierra lodgepole pine to MHDM infection, 41 temporary, fixed‐radius plots (area 182.4 m2) were established at five sites in 2018 and 2019 around an overstory tree (western white, sugar and whitebark pines along with one mountain hemlock) severely infected with MHDM in each plot centre. Live trees ≥2.6 cm in diameter at breast height (1.37 m; dbh) were assigned a dwarf mistletoe severity rating (6‐class system) and incidence (% infection) of MHDM on live trees at the tree level were used to estimate host susceptibilities. To confirm the identity of the dwarf mistletoe infecting live trees in each plot, dwarf mistletoe specimens were collected from the severely infected tree at the centre of each plot and from all tree species bearing dwarf mistletoe in each plot. Morphological characters were used to identify the dwarf mistletoe plants on each tree species and included plant heights, length of the third internode and plant colour. Dwarf mistletoe plants were collected from each affected tree species, and morphological characteristics of aerial shoots of dwarf mistletoes were examined in the laboratory. Morphological measurements confirmed the dwarf mistletoe infesting each plot was MHDM. Mountain hemlock dwarf mistletoe was found on sugar pine in all 41 plots. At the tree level after pooling larger sugar pine trees from all plots (total of 164 live trees ≥2.6 cm dbh), incidence was 76%. Morphological characteristics of MHDM aerial shoots, such as colour, shoot height and third internode length, were consistent with previous descriptions of MHDM plants. These data indicate that sugar pine should be classified as a secondary host of MHDM in the Oregon East Cascades, and not as a rare host as previously reported. No dwarf mistletoe plants were found on 98 living Shasta red fir trees ≥2.6 cm dbh in 26 plots. Shasta red fir should be classified as immune to MHDM. No MHDM was found on 573 living lodgepole pines of this size in 41 plots, and the tree species should be classified as immune to MHDM. Western white (Pinus monticola) and whitebark (Pinus albicaulis) pines were severely parasitized by MHDM with 92% and 100% incidence, respectively. However, because the sample sizes for these white pines were relatively small, additional work is needed to evaluate the susceptibility of these pines to MHDM.
Mercantilist inequality: wealth and poverty in Stockholm, 1650–1750†
Authors: Bengtsson Erik , Olsson Mats , Svensson Patrick
Published: May 2021

This article describes and analyses social structure, poverty, wealth, and economic inequality in Stockholm from 1650 to 1750. We begin by establishing the social structure, using census data and other sources. To study wealth and poverty, the main sources are a complete record of the wealth tax of 1715, comprising 17,782 taxpayers, and a total of 1,125 probate inventories sampled from the years 1650, 1700, and 1750. These provide detailed and sometimes surprising insights into the living standards of both the poor and the rich. Stockholm in this period was a starkly unequal city, with the top decile of wealth holders owning about 90 per cent of total wealth. We relate this inequality to mercantilist policies. The city was run as an oligarchy and the oligarchical political institutions engendered policies that were rigged for inequality. The case of Stockholm thus shows the need for the historical inequality literature to consider class and power relations to understand the determinants of inequality.
Consistently positive effect of species diversity on ecosystem, but not population, temporal stability
Authors: Xu Qianna , Yang Xian , Yan Ying , Wang Shaopeng , Loreau Michel , Jiang Lin
Published: May 2021

Despite much recent progress, our understanding of diversity–stability relationships across different study systems remains incomplete. In particular, recent theory clarified that within‐species population stability and among‐species asynchronous population dynamics combine to determine ecosystem temporal stability, but their relative importance in modulating diversity‐ecosystem temporal stability relationships in different ecosystems remains unclear. We addressed this issue with a meta‐analysis of empirical studies of ecosystem and population temporal stability in relation to species diversity across a range of taxa and ecosystems. We show that ecosystem temporal stability tended to increase with species diversity, regardless of study systems. Increasing diversity promoted asynchrony, which, in turn, contributed to increased ecosystem stability. The positive diversity–ecosystem stability relationship persisted even after accounting for the influences of environmental covariates (e.g., precipitation and nutrient input). By contrast, species diversity tended to reduce population temporal stability in terrestrial systems but increase population temporal stability in aquatic systems, suggesting that asynchronous dynamics among species are essential for stabilizing diverse terrestrial ecosystems. We conclude that there is compelling empirical evidence for a general positive relationship between species diversity and ecosystem‐level temporal stability, but the contrasting diversity–population temporal stability relationships between terrestrial and aquatic systems call for more investigations into their underlying mechanisms.
A retrospective study of gastrointestinal disorders in a predominantly Austrian leisure horse referral hospital population
Authors: Gunes V. , Onmaz A. C. , Pavaloiu A. , Kaya Karasu G. , van den Hoven R.
Published: May 2021

The aim of our retrospective study was to produce and analyse epidemiological data on gastrointestinal (GI) disorders of Austrian leisure horses. Case records of horses referred to the Equine Clinic of the Veterinary University of Vienna were collected from an electronic hospital information system using its search options. All cases reported to have suffered a GI disorder between March 2003 and February 2015 were selected. In this period of 4314 days, data of 1833 GI cases, mostly accompanied by colic signs, were analysed. The vast majority of our GI cases appeared in the abdominal parts of the GI tract 96% (1760/1833) while just 1.3% (24/1833) could be definitively attributed to oesophageal disorders, whereas in 2.7% (49/1833) of the cases a definitive diagnosis could not be made. The highest prevalence of GI disorders was seen in July and October/November. A breakdown of figures for cases clustered under the colic syndrome showed that colon impactions in left ventral large and/or pelvic flexure (35%) were the major problem followed by gastric disorders (18%), spasmodic colic (9%), enteritis (7%), caecal tympany (6%); caecal impaction (4%), colitis (3%), abnormal anatomical positions of large colon including complete and partial strangulation/volvulus, nephrosplenic entrapment of the left ventral and dorsal colon and right dorsal displacement of the large colon (3%) and small intestinal volvulus (2.7%). In 12% of the cases, the cause of the abdominal discomfort was likely idiopathic paralytic ileus. The searching tool of the electronic patient data also brought up cases with malabsorbtion/IBD syndrome and GI ruptures, both these contributed less than 1% of the referred GI cases. Results suggested that the causes of colic are diverse, but the major reasons for referred cases of colic in the east Austrian horse population are large colon impaction or displacements. Seasonal distribution and specific causes of gastrointestinal disorders should be considered essential components of the initial clinical assessment of horses presenting with colic.