bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal poling of alkaline earth boroaluminosilicate glasses with intrinsically high dielectric breakdown strength
Authors: Smith Nicholas J. , Lanagan Michael T. , Pantano Carlo G.
Published: April 2012

Per the rectification model of thermal poling, it has been proposed that intrinsic breakdown strength plays a strong limiting role in the internal DC fields supported by the glass from the poling process. One might therefore hypothesize proportionately larger second-order nonlinearity (SON) in glasses with intrinsically high dielectric breakdown strength. We test these ideas by thermal poling of two different commercial alkali-free alkaline-earth boroaluminosilicate display glasses—one with barium only (AF45 from Schott), and the other with a mixture of alkaline-earth ions (OA-10 G from NEG). Not only are such compositions relevant from a commercial standpoint, they are also interesting in that they have been recently shown to exhibit remarkably high intrinsic dielectric breakdown strengths of 11–14 MV/cm. Quantitative Maker fringe and stack Maker-fringe measurements provide an accurate evaluation of the poling-induced SON susceptibilities, and indicate maximum χ(2) values of 0.44 and 0.26 pm/V in these glasses. These values are comparable to those reported for silica and other multicomponent glasses. Thus, the hypothesis that higher χ(2) would be observed in high intrinsic breakdown strength glasses was not validated. Based on our application of the rectification model, internal fields of the order 2–4 MV/cm were calculated, which are well below the measured intrinsic breakdown strengths at room temperature. The most plausible explanation for these observations is nonlinear electronic conduction effects taking place within the depletion region at the poling temperature, limiting internal fields to a fraction of the breakdown field.
A pure H2O isolated line-shape model based on classical molecular dynamics simulations of velocity changes and semi-classical calculations of speed-dependent collisional parameters
Authors: Ngo N. H. , Tran H. , Gamache R. R.
Published: April 2012

It is well known that the Voigt profile does not well describe the (measured) shapes of isolated lines. This is due to the neglect of the intermolecular collision-induced velocity changes and of the speed dependence of the collisional parameters. In this paper, we present a new line profile model for pure H2O which takes both of these effects into account. The speed dependence of the collisional parameters has been calculated by a semi-classical method. The velocity changes have been modeled by using the Keilson-Storer collision kernel with two characteristic parameters. The latter have been deduced from classical molecular dynamics simulations which also indicate that, for pure H2O, the correlation between velocity-changing and state-changing collisions is not negligible, a result confirmed by the analysis of measured spectra. A partially correlated speed-dependent Keilson-Storer model has thus been adopted to describe the line-shape. Comparisons between simulated spectra and measurements for four self-broadened lines in the near-infrared at various pressures show excellent agreements.
On finite-size Lyapunov exponents in multiscale systems
Authors: Mitchell Lewis , Gottwald Georg A.
Published: April 2012

We study the effect of regime switches on finite size Lyapunov exponents (FSLEs) in determining the error growth rates and predictability of multiscale systems. We consider a dynamical system involving slow and fast regimes and switches between them. The surprising result is that due to the presence of regimes, the error growth rate can be a non-monotonic function of initial error amplitude. In particular, troughs in the large scales of FSLE spectra are shown to be a signature of slow regimes, whereas fast regimes are shown to cause large peaks in the spectra where error growth rates far exceed those estimated from the maximal Lyapunov exponent. We present analytical results explaining these signatures and corroborate them with numerical simulations. We show further that these peaks disappear in stochastic parametrizations of the fast chaotic processes, and the associated FSLE spectra reveal that large scale predictability properties of the full deterministic model are well approximated, whereas small scale features are not properly resolved.
Regular and chaotic dynamics of a fountain in a stratified fluid
Authors: Druzhinin O. A. , Troitskaya Yu. I.
Published: April 2012

In the present paper, we study by direct numerical simulation (DNS) and theoretical analysis, the dynamics of a fountain penetrating a pycnocline (a sharp density interface) in a density-stratified fluid. A circular, laminar jet flow of neutral buoyancy is considered, which propagates vertically upwards towards the pycnocline level, penetrates a distance into the layer of lighter fluid, and further stagnates and flows down under gravity around the up-flowing core thus creating a fountain. The DNS results show that if the Froude number (Fr) is small enough, the fountain top remains axisymmetric and steady. However, if Fr is increased, the fountain top becomes unsteady and oscillates in a circular flapping (CF) mode, whereby it retains its shape and moves periodically around the jet central axis. If Fr is increased further, the fountain top rises and collapses chaotically in a bobbing oscillation mode (or B-mode). The development of these two modes is accompanied by the generation of different patterns of internal waves (IW) in the pycnocline. The CF-mode generates spiral internal waves, whereas the B-mode generates IW packets with a complex spatial distribution. The dependence of the amplitude of the fountain-top oscillations on Fr is well described by a Landau-type two-mode-competition model.
Mathematical modeling elucidates the role of transcriptional feedback in gibberellin signaling
Authors: Middleton Alistair M. , Úbeda-Tomás Susana , Griffiths Jayne , Holman Tara , Hedden Peter , Thomas Stephen G. , Phillips Andrew L. , Holdsworth Michael J. , Bennett Malcolm J. , King John R. , Owen Markus R.
Published: April 2012

The hormone gibberellin (GA) is a key regulator of plant growth. Many of the components of the gibberellin signal transduction [e.g., GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE DWARF 1 (GID1) and DELLA], biosynthesis [e.g., GA 20-oxidase (GA20ox) and GA3ox], and deactivation pathways have been identified. Gibberellin binds its receptor, GID1, to form a complex that mediates the degradation of DELLA proteins. In this way, gibberellin relieves DELLA-dependent growth repression. However, gibberellin regulates expression of
GID1
,
GA20ox
, and
GA3ox
, and there is also evidence that it regulates
DELLA
expression. In this paper, we use integrated mathematical modeling and experiments to understand how these feedback loops interact to control gibberellin signaling. Model simulations are in good agreement with in vitro data on the signal transduction and biosynthesis pathways and in vivo data on the expression levels of gibberellin-responsive genes. We find that GA–GID1 interactions are characterized by two timescales (because of a lid on GID1 that can open and close slowly relative to GA–GID1 binding and dissociation). Furthermore, the model accurately predicts the response to exogenous gibberellin after a number of chemical and genetic perturbations. Finally, we investigate the role of the various feedback loops in gibberellin signaling. We find that regulation of
GA20ox
transcription plays a significant role in both modulating the level of endogenous gibberellin and generating overshoots after the removal of exogenous gibberellin. Moreover, although the contribution of other individual feedback loops seems relatively small,
GID1
and
DELLA
transcriptional regulation acts synergistically with
GA20ox
feedback.
Flat tori in three-dimensional space and convex integration
Authors: Borrelli Vincent , Jabrane Saïd , Lazarus Francis , Thibert Boris
Published: April 2012

It is well-known that the curvature tensor is an isometric invariant of
C
2
Riemannian manifolds. This invariant is at the origin of the rigidity observed in Riemannian geometry. In the mid 1950s, Nash amazed the world mathematical community by showing that this rigidity breaks down in regularity
C
1
. This unexpected flexibility has many paradoxical consequences, one of them is the existence of
C
1
isometric embeddings of flat tori into Euclidean three-dimensional space. In the 1970s and 1980s, M. Gromov, revisiting Nash’s results introduced convex integration theory offering a general framework to solve this type of geometric problems. In this research, we convert convex integration theory into an algorithm that produces isometric maps of flat tori. We provide an implementation of a convex integration process leading to images of an embedding of a flat torus. The resulting surface reveals a
C
1
fractal structure: Although the tangent plane is defined everywhere, the normal vector exhibits a fractal behavior. Isometric embeddings of flat tori may thus appear as a geometric occurrence of a structure that is simultaneously
C
1
and fractal. Beyond these results, our implementation demonstrates that convex integration, a theory still confined to specialists, can produce computationally tractable solutions of partial differential relations.
Committed carbon emissions, deforestation, and community land conversion from oil palm plantation expansion in West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Carlson Kimberly M. , Curran Lisa M. , Ratnasari Dessy , Pittman Alice M. , Soares-Filho Britaldo S. , Asner Gregory P. , Trigg Simon N. , Gaveau David A. , Lawrence Deborah , Rodrigues Hermann O.
Published: April 2012

Industrial agricultural plantations are a rapidly increasing yet largely unmeasured source of tropical land cover change. Here, we evaluate impacts of oil palm plantation development on land cover, carbon flux, and agrarian community lands in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. With a spatially explicit land change/carbon bookkeeping model, parameterized using high-resolution satellite time series and informed by socioeconomic surveys, we assess previous and project future plantation expansion under five scenarios. Although fire was the primary proximate cause of 1989–2008 deforestation (93%) and net carbon emissions (69%), by 2007–2008, oil palm directly caused 27% of total and 40% of peatland deforestation. Plantation land sources exhibited distinctive temporal dynamics, comprising 81% forests on mineral soils (1994–2001), shifting to 69% peatlands (2008–2011). Plantation leases reveal vast development potential. In 2008, leases spanned ∼65% of the region, including 62% on peatlands and 59% of community-managed lands, yet <10% of lease area was planted. Projecting business as usual (BAU), by 2020 ∼40% of regional and 35% of community lands are cleared for oil palm, generating 26% of net carbon emissions. Intact forest cover declines to 4%, and the proportion of emissions sourced from peatlands increases 38%. Prohibiting intact and logged forest and peatland conversion to oil palm reduces emissions only 4% below BAU, because of continued uncontrolled fire. Protecting logged forests achieves greater carbon emissions reductions (21%) than protecting intact forests alone (9%) and is critical for mitigating carbon emissions. Extensive allocated leases constrain land management options, requiring trade-offs among oil palm production, carbon emissions mitigation, and maintaining community landholdings.
A hybrid approach to protein differential expression in mass spectrometry-based proteomics
Authors: Wang Xuan , Anderson Gordon A. , Smith Richard D. , Dabney Alan R.
Published: April 2012

Motivation: Quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics involves statistical inference on protein abundance, based on the intensities of each protein's associated spectral peaks. However, typical MS-based proteomics datasets have substantial proportions of missing observations, due at least in part to censoring of low intensities. This complicates intensity-based differential expression analysis.

Results: We outline a statistical method for protein differential expression, based on a simple Binomial likelihood. By modeling peak intensities as binary, in terms of ‘presence/absence,’ we enable the selection of proteins not typically amenable to quantitative analysis; e.g. ‘one-state’ proteins that are present in one condition but absent in another. In addition, we present an analysis protocol that combines quantitative and presence/absence analysis of a given dataset in a principled way, resulting in a single list of selected proteins with a single-associated false discovery rate.

Availability: All R code available here: http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~adabney/share/xuan_code.zip.

Contact:  adabney@stat.tamu.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Stakelama sediminis sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment
Authors: Thawng Cung Nawl , Park Sung-Joon , Cha Ju-Hee , Cha Chang-Jun
Published: April 2012

A novel bacterial strain designated CJ70T was isolated from tidal flat sediment in Korea. A polyphasic approach was used to identify this strain taxonomically. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped and non-motile. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain CJ70T was related most closely to

Stakelama pacifica

JLT832T with 95.7 % similarity and formed an independent phyletic line from recognized species of the genus

Sphingomonas

, comprising a clade with

Stakelama pacifica

, which is the only recognized species of the genus

Stakelama

. The predominant cellular fatty acids of strain CJ70T were C18 : 1ω7c (60.0 %), C16 : 0 (21.2 %) and C14 : 0 2-OH (5.8 %). The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-10. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 61.4 mol%. The results obtained from this study suggested that strain CJ70T represents a novel species of the genus

Stakelama

, for which the name Stakelama sediminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CJ70T ( = KACC 16559T = JCM 18079T).
Enterococcus ureilyticus sp. nov. and Enterococcus rotai sp. nov., two urease-producing enterococci from the environment
Authors: Sedláček Ivo , Holochová Pavla , Mašlaňová Ivana , Kosina Marcel , Spröer Cathrin , Bryndová Hana , Vandamme Peter , Rudolf Ivo , Hubálek Zdenek , Švec Pavel
Published: April 2012

A set of 25 urease-producing, yellow-pigmented enterococci was isolated from environmental sources. Phenotypic classification divided the isolates into two phena. Both phena were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA base composition, rep-PCR fingerprinting and automated ribotyping. The obtained data distinguished the isolates from all members of the genus

Enterococcus

with validly published names and placed them in the

Enterococcus faecalis

species group. DNA–DNA hybridization experiments, pheS and rpoA sequencing and whole-cell protein electrophoresis provided conclusive evidence for the classification of each phenon as a novel species of the genus

Enterococcus

, for which the names Enterococcus ureilyticus sp. nov. (type strain CCM 4629T  = LMG 26676T  = CCUG 48799T), inhabiting water and plants, and Enterococcus rotai sp. nov. (type strain CCM 4630T  = LMG 26678T  = CCUG 61593T), inhabiting water, insects (mosquitoes) and plants, are proposed.
lobSTR: A short tandem repeat profiler for personal genomes
Authors: Gymrek Melissa , Golan David , Rosset Saharon , Erlich Yaniv
Published: April 2012

Short tandem repeats (STRs) have a wide range of applications, including medical genetics, forensics, and genetic genealogy. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has the potential to profile hundreds of thousands of STR loci. However, mainstream bioinformatics pipelines are inadequate for the task. These pipelines treat STR mapping as gapped alignment, which results in cumbersome processing times and a biased sampling of STR alleles. Here, we present lobSTR, a novel method for profiling STRs in personal genomes. lobSTR harnesses concepts from signal processing and statistical learning to avoid gapped alignment and to address the specific noise patterns in STR calling. The speed and reliability of lobSTR exceed the performance of current mainstream algorithms for STR profiling. We validated lobSTR's accuracy by measuring its consistency in calling STRs from whole-genome sequencing of two biological replicates from the same individual, by tracing Mendelian inheritance patterns in STR alleles in whole-genome sequencing of a HapMap trio, and by comparing lobSTR results to traditional molecular techniques. Encouraged by the speed and accuracy of lobSTR, we used the algorithm to conduct a comprehensive survey of STR variations in a deeply sequenced personal genome. We traced the mutation dynamics of close to 100,000 STR loci and observed more than 50,000 STR variations in a single genome. lobSTR's implementation is an end-to-end solution. The package accepts raw sequencing reads and provides the user with the genotyping results. It is written in C/C++, includes multi-threading capabilities, and is compatible with the BAM format.
Mycorrhizal Networks: Common Goods of Plants Shared under Unequal Terms of Trade
Authors: Walder Florian , Niemann Helge , Natarajan Mathimaran , Lehmann Moritz F. , Boller Thomas , Wiemken Andres
Published: April 2012

Plants commonly live in a symbiotic association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). They invest photosynthetic products to feed their fungal partners, which, in return, provide mineral nutrients foraged in the soil by their intricate hyphal networks. Intriguingly, AMF can link neighboring plants, forming common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs). What are the terms of trade in such CMNs between plants and their shared fungal partners? To address this question, we set up microcosms containing a pair of test plants, interlinked by a CMN of Glomus intraradices or Glomus mosseae. The plants were flax (Linum usitatissimum; a C3 plant) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor; a C4 plant), which display distinctly different 13C/12C isotope compositions. This allowed us to differentially assess the carbon investment of the two plants into the CMN through stable isotope tracing. In parallel, we determined the plants’ “return of investment” (i.e. the acquisition of nutrients via CMN) using 15N and 33P as tracers. Depending on the AMF species, we found a strong asymmetry in the terms of trade: flax invested little carbon but gained up to 94% of the nitrogen and phosphorus provided by the CMN, which highly facilitated growth, whereas the neighboring sorghum invested massive amounts of carbon with little return but was barely affected in growth. Overall biomass production in the mixed culture surpassed the mean of the two monocultures. Thus, CMNs may contribute to interplant facilitation and the productivity boosts often found with intercropping compared with conventional monocropping.
Professional avatars: librarians and educators in virtual worlds
Authors: Mon Lorri M.
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This study aims to examine librarianship and education in virtual world settings, focusing particularly on how librarians and educators establish professional identity and trust while teaching and providing information services as avatars within Second Life.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was gathered through semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with 12 librarians and educators within the virtual world of Second Life, and in visits to 50 virtual world workplaces.

Findings

Librarians and educators faced challenges of establishing professional identity and credibility for two different audiences – i.e. “newbies” and “residents” – within the “game‐like” virtual world environment. Visual elements such as a conservative, humanoid avatar appearance, and imagery drawn from traditional workplaces were used by librarians and educators to establish their professional role with “newbies”, while for “residents” an upgraded avatar appearance was necessary to convey credibility.

Practical implications

For librarians and educators working within highly visual, graphical online settings such as virtual worlds, this study describes issues in providing avatar‐mediated online distance education and online library services.

Originality/value

This research provides in‐depth interviews and observations with librarians and educators from a variety of libraries and educational settings. The study also explores avatar‐mediated communication, which is little‐examined as yet in LIS research.
Epistemic foundation of bibliographic classification in early China
Authors: Lee Hur‐Li
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This study aims to understand the epistemic foundation of the classification applied in the first Chinese library catalogue, the Seven Epitomes (Qilue).

Design/methodology/approach

Originating from a theoretical stance that situates knowledge organization in its social context, the study applies a multifaceted framework pertaining to five categories of textual data: the Seven Epitomes; biographical information about the classificationist Liu Xin; and the relevant intellectual, political, and technological history.

Findings

The study discovers seven principles contributing to the epistemic foundation of the catalogue's classification: the Han imperial library collection imposed as the literary warrant; government functions considered for structuring texts; classicist morality determining the main classificatory structure; knowledge perceived and organized as a unity; objects, rather than subjects, of concern affecting categories at the main class level; correlative thinking connecting all text categories to a supreme knowledge embodied by the Six Classics; and classicist moral values resulting in both vertical and horizontal hierarchies among categories as well as texts.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation of the study is its focus on the main classes, with limited attention to subclasses. Future research can extend the analysis to examine subclasses of the same scheme. Findings from these studies may lead to a comparison between the epistemic approach in the target classification and the analytic one common in today's bibliographic classification.

Originality/value

The study is the first to examine in depth the epistemic foundation of traditional Chinese bibliographic classification, anchoring the classification in its appropriate social and historical context.
Information retrieval (IR) and the paradox of change
Authors: Thornley Clare
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to explore whether philosophical insights from Plato's dialogue “Parmenides” on the complex and often paradoxical nature of change can illuminate the nature of information retrieval (IR). IR is modelled as a dialectic process involving mutually dependent yet conflicting forces between the subjective and the objective. These forces operate to produce change in the subjective experience of users (becoming informed) through facilitating a relationship with objective documents. Accurately modelling, predicting and enabling this process remains a persistent problem for IR and this paper seeks to examine the extent to which this is because of the nature of change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual analysis and literature review.

Findings

The problem of change (what it is, how it happens and how we can know it has happened) is essential to our understanding of information as information normally implies some kind of change in knowledge state. Any process of change, however, on examination of its qualities, appears to necessitate the combination of irreconcilable and conflicting forces. The apparent contradictions within the existence of change as discussed in “Parmenides” also exist in IR on both a theoretical and a technical level.

Research limitations/implications

Change is a central concept for information in general and IR in particular. A deeper understanding of the paradoxical nature of change can provide new insights into IR theory and practice.

Originality/value

The paper presents a new historical philosophical perspective on the nature of change and applies it to current IR problems.
Bilateral inter‐organizational learning in corporate venture capital activity
Authors: Yang Yi
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate impacts of governance characteristics and bilateral inter‐organizational learning on performance in the context of corporate venture capital (CVC) activity.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a dataset of 232 CVC investments, the author examined how characteristics such as autonomy, incentive scheme, and broad representation of a CVC program and the knowledge inflows and outflows of the corporate investors impacted the corporate investor's innovativeness and the portfolio company's performance.

Findings

The results show that knowledge outflows from corporate investors can help enhance their portfolio companies' performance. In addition, incentive scheme and autonomy may facilitate knowledge inflows from portfolio companies to corporate investors, and influence the performance of both corporate investors and portfolio companies.

Originality/value

The paper's findings contribute to the inter‐organizational learning literature by empirically analysing the mutual learning processes in the context of corporate venturing. The paper extends corporate venturing literature by linking governance characteristic to the underlying mechanism of inter‐organizational learning between the corporate investors and the portfolio companies, as well as their performance.
Employees' feelings about more meetings
Authors: Allen Joseph A. , Sands Stephanie J. , Mueller Stephanie L. , Frear Katherine A. , Mudd Mara , Rogelberg Steven G.
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify how employees feel about having more meetings and what can be done to improve employees' feelings about their work meetings.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from three samples of working adults. The first was a convenience sample recruited by undergraduate students (n=120), the second was a stratified random sample from a metropolitan area in the southern USA (n=126), and the third was an internet‐based panel sample (n=402). Constant comparative analysis of responses to open‐ended questions was used to investigate the overarching research questions.

Findings

It is found that employees enjoy meetings when they have a clear objective, and when important relevant information is shared. Consistent with conservation of resources theory, most employees are unhappy with meetings when they reduce their work‐related resources (e.g. meetings constrain their time, lack structure and are unproductive).

Practical implications

The data suggest that meetings appear to be both resource‐draining and resource‐supplying activities in the workplace. Researchers and managers should consider overtly asking about how people feel about meetings, as a means of identifying areas for future research inquiry and targets for improvement in the workplace generally.

Originality/value

The paper describes one of the few studies on meetings that ask the participants overtly what their feelings are regarding their workplace meetings. Additionally, the paper illustrates the usefulness of qualitative data analysis as a means for further understanding workplace activities viewing respondents as informants.
Technological imperatives in the internationalization process
Authors: Sedoglavich Vesna
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how a firm's leading‐edge technology affects the way international business is conducted.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the issues faced by high‐tech, small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from New Zealand in the internationalization process. Since the research is anchored within a realism framework, case studies and semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were applied.

Findings

The research suggests that current foreign activities result in a stream of indicators closely related to the firm's technology, which are instrumental in shaping and driving future international activities. The paper demonstrates that firms tend to be influenced by the entry decisions made by other firms in the same/similar industry targeting the same market; and that a firm's technological capabilities and the advantages of specialized knowledge act as the constraints in the development of the firm's future international strategy.

Practical implications

The paper helps to increase the understanding of how lack of foreign market knowledge can be perceived as an obstacle to carrying out international business.

Originality/value

The paper presents the internationalization process as a dynamic process in an approach which is an extension of past thinking. However, past research has been motivated by generalizing findings across firms, to understand shared patterns in the process of internationalization. This approach overlooks the unique distinctiveness of firms in different sectors and contexts where idiosyncratic behavior is the norm rather than the exception to the rule.
Outside, inside: gender work in industrial relations
Authors: Ledwith Sue
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the role and experiences of women working in the industrial relations (IR) academy and to explore the recent claim that the subject of industrial relations has “been very receptive to the contributions of feminist analysis”.

Design/methodology/approach

An examination is made of the liminal position of women IR scholars in the IR academy and their concern for feminist and gender analysis. Parallels are drawn with IR and trade unions, focusing mainly on Britain, which also occupy, simultaneously, insider and outsider spaces. This approach draws on the relevant literature and is then tested through a questionnaire survey of women scholars working in the field, the author included, together with interviews and interactive discussions about the findings.

Findings

Gender politics remain highly contested in the IR academy, with women and their work experiencing considerable marginalisation and exclusion. Nevertheless women IR scholars display a high level of commitment to the field, especially its emphasis on policy and practice. The conclusion is that so far, a “gender turn” has yet to occur in the field in the way that women's studies is claimed as being part of a new knowledge movement.

Research limitations

A limitation of the study is a relatively low response rate to the questionnaire, with a bias towards older, more senior women academics.

Originality/value

For probably the first time the role and experiences in the IR academy of women researchers/ academics are examined and published. The study reveals that the exclusion and sexism experienced there closely reflect the gender and diversity analyses in the IR field.
Visibility and voice in organisations
Authors: Colgan Fiona , McKearney Aidan
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The paper aims to focus on the activism of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people and their allies within work organisations. Specifically, it explores whether LGBT trade union groups and company employee network groups provide mechanisms for visibility, voice and activism for LGBT employees within UK organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on in‐depth interviews with 149 LGB employees within 14 UK case study organisations. These took place within four local authorities, three fire and emergency services, two national voluntary sector organisations and five private sector organisations between 2004‐2006. In addition, 55 in‐depth interviews with management, trade union and LGBT company employee network group representatives within the organisations plus analysis of company and trade union web sites and publications provided information on organisation policy and practice. Interviews were conducted using a semi‐structured interview schedule and the data collected were coded and analysed with the assistance of Nvivo software.

Findings

This paper outlines the history of LGBT trade union groups and company employee network groups within the UK. It found that both LGBT trade union groups and company employee network groups have provided important and at times complimentary mechanisms for visibility, community and voice for LGBT employees. However, the paper recognised that LGBT company network groups were relatively “new actors” within the case study organisations and suggests that some early gains may have been those which companies were willing to concede. It concludes that more research will be needed to see whether both LGBT trade union and company employee network groups can maintain their momentum during a time of economic recession as equality and diversity budgets are squeezed.

Originality/value

A decline in trade unions and increasing non‐unionisation despite labour movement revitalisation campaigns has meant that there is growing interest in whether employee network groups can provide meaningful avenues for “employee voice” in both unionised and non‐unionised workplaces. The paper addresses a gap in knowledge by focusing firstly on LGBT activism in the workplace and secondly on the rationale for and development of LGBT trade union and company employee network groups as mechanisms for “employee voice” for LGBT employees.
Inclusion of a diverse workforce in the UK: the case of the EU expansion
Authors: Hopkins Benjamin
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the integration of an increasingly diverse workforce in the UK following the EU expansion of 2004 to incorporate the accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe, at a time of increased migration from other areas of the EU such as Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents data from five case study companies. The key methods of data collection were 88 semi‐structured interviews coupled with lengthy time spent on observation at each company, leading to an ethnographically‐informed method.

Findings

The key contribution of this paper is to analyse the relationships between migrant workers and the British workers they work alongside in the context of the EU expansion. It shows how low levels of English language skills lead migrant workers into low skilled roles, and that in the workplace this leads to hostility from British workers. However, as migrant workers had mainly sought employment through an agency, the case study companies actually accentuated differences between workers, and this paper examines why they act in this manner, and analyses the effects this has on workplace relations.

Originality/value

This paper provides an original contribution to the equality and diversity literature as it analyses workplace relations in the context of the EU expansion of 2004. In addition to providing new empirical data for academics, it will also be of value for policy makers, particularly with regard to legislation relating to agency work, and also to management practitioners who have a diverse workforce.
Relationship between intangibility and perceived risk: moderating effect of privacy, system security and general security concerns
Authors: Vinhal Nepomuceno Marcelo , Laroche Michel , Richard Marie‐Odile , Eggert Axel
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the association between intangibility and perceived risk using a sample of North American households. This relationship is explored within two purchase environments, namely online and offline. The authors also investigated the moderating effects of privacy, system security and general security concerns when purchasing in an online environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey was delivered to 156 households in a small town in the Midwest and collected upon completion.

Findings

The perception of risk is increased when two negatively loaded pieces of information are processed simultaneously (i.e. product intangibility and privacy concern). Furthermore, system security was identified as the most relevant concern in e‐commerce.

Research limitations/implications

The representativeness of the sample is limited. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Originality/value

The results provide interesting insights about the generalizability of previous findings based on student samples, and show the importance of privacy concerns, system security concerns, general security concerns for those purchasing in online environments.
Brand communities for mainstream brands: the example of the Yamaha R1 brand community
Authors: Felix Reto
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand consumers' product use, practices, identity, and brand meanings in the context of a brand community dedicated to a mainstream Japanese motorcycle brand.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research approach was used in the form of netnography (i.e. ethnography adapted to the study of online communities).

Findings

On the product level, consumers experience multiple conflicts and negotiations of meaning related to the use of the product. These findings are reproduced on the brand level, where members of the brand community present a more differentiated look on the brand, accompanied by lower levels of admiration and identification with the brand, as in previous reports of brand communities for brands such as Apple, Jeep, or Harley‐Davidson. The results suggest that consumers for mainstream brands may be more prone to multi‐brand loyalty instead of single‐brand loyalty.

Practical implications

Marketers should monitor motivations, attitudes, and decision‐making processes on both the product and the brand level. Further, non‐company‐run online communities such as the Yamaha R1 forum bear the risk of community members transmitting brand information in a way not desired by the company. Thus, marketers should consider sponsoring an entire discussion website, a forum, or part of a forum.

Originality/value

Whereas previous studies on brand communities have concentrated predominantly on highly admired and differentiated brands, such as Apple or Harley‐Davidson, this study investigates consumer practices, identities, and negotiations of meaning on both the product and brand level for a less differentiated mainstream brand.
Social media's emerging importance in market research
Authors: Patino Anthony , Pitta Dennis A. , Quinones Ralph
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of social media as a new investigative tool in marketing research.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's approach is an analysis of the existing social marketing literature and industry practice in marketing analysis.

Findings

The market research profession has been affected by developments in social media. First, some of the traditional research methods suffer from changes in consumer communication patterns. As social media supplant communication methods such as telephony and even email, researchers have diminished capacity to reach consumer subjects. As a result, the social media have spawned a number of research techniques that overcome the problems that have started to affect the old techniques.

Research limitations/implications

The article reviews the state of market research and its efforts to remain effective. The major new social media based market research techniques are described as well as their strengths and weaknesses. One limitation of the study is the focus on published research techniques. The study does not address proprietary techniques that may be used in practice.

Practical implications

Social media have reduced the effectiveness of traditional market research techniques. Marketers can overcome that effect by employing some of the social media related techniques that have become available.

Originality/value

To date, few, if any, academic studies have been done that assess the impact of social media on the use of market research techniques. The study draws conclusions that may aid practitioners in maintaining successful marketing research techniques.
Online apparel retailing: roles of e‐shopping quality and experiential e‐shopping motives
Authors: Ha Sejin , Stoel Leslie
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The objectives of this paper are to: examine e‐shopping quality dimensions; explore how e‐shopping quality factors influence consumer shopping outcomes (e‐shopping satisfaction and e‐shopping intention); and test the moderating effects of consumer experiential e‐shopping motives on the e‐shopping quality – e‐shopping outcomes links within the context of online apparel retailing.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from 298 college students in the USA using a self‐administered online survey.

Findings

Among four e‐shopping quality factors identified (privacy/security, web site content/functionality, customer service, and experiential/atmospheric), web site content/functionality and atmospheric/experiential quality have significant impact on e‐shopping satisfaction contributing to e‐shopping intention, while privacy/security and customer service have significant impact on e‐shopping intention but not on e‐shopping satisfaction. Furthermore, this study provides some support for the moderating roles that experiential e‐shopping motives plays in the e‐shopping quality – e‐shopping outcomes links.

Research limitation/implications

This paper shows that experiential e‐shopping motives as an individual characteristic play a role in controlling the dynamics among e‐shopping quality, e‐shopping satisfaction, and e‐shopping intention. However, the data consisting of self‐reported measures from a single segment of online retail industry warrants caution in generalization in relation to common method bias.

Practical implications

This paper entails useful implications for internet‐ and multichannel retail marketers delivering apparel/fashion goods to better understand the online consumer response process and determine effective e‐store management strategies that reflect the differing customer evaluation processes.

Originality/value

This study extends and complements the e‐tail service literature by examining whether and how experiential e‐shopping motives moderate the relationships among e‐shopping quality dimensions, e‐shopping satisfaction, and e‐shopping intention.
Governing for innovation in horizontal service cooperations
Authors: Steinicke Silvia , Marcus Wallenburg Carl , Schmoltzi Christina
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the role of governance mechanisms in fostering innovativeness in horizontal service cooperations.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 225 horizontal service cooperations in the logistics industry via an online survey. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the empirical data.

Findings

The choice of governance measures helps to improve the innovativeness of service cooperations. The use of formalization and balanced mutual influence, combined with cultural similarity provides the basis for the development of new or enhanced services within the cooperation. In contexts that build on equity‐based contracts, innovativeness is driven by the degree of mutual influence among partners.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical data were collected in a single industry (logistics) and in a single country (Germany). A confirmation of the results in different service settings is therefore encouraged.

Practical implications

This research emphasizes the importance of governance in facilitating innovation in service cooperations. By applying the right governance mechanisms in possible settings of co‐opetition, managers can foster coordination and the exchange of knowledge and diminish opportunistic behavior among parties.

Originality/value

The research is extended by developing a model based on the knowledge of service innovation, cooperation performance and governance mechanisms and by empirically testing this model.
Family allowances as reverse retail discrimination
Authors: Rosenbaum Mark S. , Walsh Gianfranco , Wozniak Richard
Published: April 2012

Purpose

Researchers have explored the extent to which consumers belonging to minority, ethnic, marginalized, and sub‐cultural groups experience discrimination in retail settings. This study aims to explore the converse of retail racism – namely, reverse retail discrimination. The work shows that gay men in the USA and Turkish people in Germany often secure relational benefits, or “family allowances,” from like employees, for no reason other than that they share a socio‐collective trait.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs grounded theory methodology to put forth a framework regarding five types of family allowances. The framework emerges from two in‐depth interview studies conducted with gay and Turkish people. A third qualitative study reveals insights into how majority groups view family allowances.

Findings

This study reveals that consumers who share ethnic and sexual orientation traits with like employees obtain family allowances; these are complementary products, monetary discounts, service improvements, customer comfort, and the sharing of information. The study also reveals that consumers from majority groups realize that reverse retail discrimination exists; however, they react negatively to having their thoughts confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited in that respondents were gay men and Turkish people. Studies are needed to further develop understanding of reverse retail discrimination and to investigate the extent to which managers realize that this phenomenon occurs.

Practical implications

Managers should realize that the potential for reverse discrimination exists and that discriminatory victims may become discriminatory agents.

Originality/value

This study develops the concept of family allowances. In addition, the study expands knowledge regarding a new type of marketplace discrimination.
Understanding pro‐environmental behavior
Authors: Park Joohyung , Ha Sejin
Published: April 2012

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the differences in underlying psychological aspects regarding pro‐environmental behaviors between two distinct consumer groups: green product purchasers and green product non‐purchasers. Focusing on pro‐environmental behavior in recycling, it seeks to investigate these psychological aspects: cognitive attitude, affective attitude, social norm, personal norm, and behavioral intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a web‐based survey, a total of 363 responses from US consumers were used for the data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to check the measurement model, and a multiple regression and MANOVA were performed to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Compared to green product non‐purchasers, green product purchasers exhibited significantly higher levels of cognitive attitude, affective attitude, social norm, personal norm, and recycling intention. Also cognitive attitude, social norm, and personal norm predicted recycling intention.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study include the self‐reporting questionnaire and the measurement of consumers' recycling intention rather than their actual behavior.

Practical implications

This study will provide useful information to retailers who are developing product/service offerings and operation practices to address sustainable consumption.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence that certain consumer groups in relation to pro‐environmental product shopping behavior (purchasers vs. non‐purchasers) exhibit differences in the psychological formation of another pro‐environmental behavior, recycling.