bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sparse-Coding Variational Auto-Encoders
Authors: Geadah Victor , Barello Gabriel , Greenidge Daniel , Charles Adam S. , Pillow Jonathan W.
Published: August 2018

The sparse coding model posits that the visual system has evolved to efficiently code natural stimuli using a sparse set of features from an overcomplete dictionary. The original sparse coding model suffered from two key limitations, however: (1) computing the neural response to an image patch required minimizing a nonlinear objective function via recurrent dynamics; (2) fitting relied on approximate inference methods that ignored uncertainty. Although subsequent work has developed several methods to overcome these obstacles, we propose a novel solution inspired by the variational auto-encoder (VAE) framework. We introduce the sparse-coding variational auto-encoder (SVAE), which augments the sparse coding model with a probabilistic recognition model parametrized by a deep neural network. This recognition model provides a neurally plausible feedforward implementation for the mapping from image patches to neural activities, and enables a principled method for fitting the sparse coding model to data via maximization of the evidence lower bound (ELBO). The SVAE differs from standard VAEs in three key respects: the latent representation is overcomplete (there are more latent dimensions than image pixels), the prior is sparse or heavy-tailed instead of Gaussian, and the decoder network is a linear projection instead of a deep network. We fit the SVAE to natural image data under different assumed prior distributions, and show that it obtains higher test performance than previous fitting methods. Finally, we examine the response properties of the recognition network and show that it captures important nonlinear properties of neurons in the early visual pathway.
Differences in DNA methylation of white blood cell types at birth and in adulthood reflect postnatal immune maturation and influence accuracy of cell type prediction
Authors: Jones Meaghan J , Dinh Louie , Razzaghian Hamid Reza , Goede Olivia de , MacIsaac Julia L , Morin Alexander M. , Gervin Kristina , Ng Raymond , Duijts Liesbeth , Zelm Menno C van , Moll Henriëtte A , Lyle Robert , Robinson Wendy P , Koestler Devin C , Felix Janine F , Lavoie Pascal M , Mostafavi Sara , Kobor Michael S
Published: August 2018

Background

DNA methylation profiling of peripheral blood leukocytes has many research applications, and characterizing the changes in DNA methylation of specific white blood cell types between newborn and adult could add insight into the maturation of the immune system. As a consequence of developmental changes, DNA methylation profiles derived from adult white blood cells are poor references for prediction of cord blood cell types from DNA methylation data. We thus examined cell-type specific differences in DNA methylation in leukocyte subsets between cord and adult blood, and assessed the impact of these differences on prediction of cell types in cord blood.

Results

Though all cell types showed differences between cord and adult blood, some specific patterns stood out that reflected how the immune system changes after birth. In cord blood, lymphoid cells showed less variability than in adult, potentially demonstrating their naïve status. In fact, cord CD4 and CD8 T cells were so similar that genetic effects on DNA methylation were greater than cell type effects in our analysis, and CD8 T cell frequencies remained difficult to predict, even after optimizing the library used for cord blood composition estimation. Myeloid cells showed fewer changes between cord and adult and also less variability, with monocytes showing the fewest sites of DNA methylation change between cord and adult. Finally, including nucleated red blood cells in the reference library was necessary for accurate cell type predictions in cord blood.

Conclusion

Changes in DNA methylation with age were highly cell type specific, and those differences paralleled what is known about the maturation of the postnatal immune system.
Prevalence and growth characteristics of Bacillus sporothermodurans in UHT milk
Authors: Tabit Frederick Tawi
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence of Bacillus sporothermodurans in UHT milk brands in South Africa and to analyse the level of proteolysis in UHT milk due to the growth of B. sporothermodurans during short-term and long-term storage.

Design/methodology/approach

Different brands and batches of commercially available retail UHT milk packages were bought from different supermarkets, during different seasons and tested for the presence of B. sporothermodurans. Sterile UHT milk was spiked with B. sporothermodurans vegetative cells and incubated at 37°C for up to 172 hours. Total plate counts, pH, spore counts, UHT milk proteolysis and the headspace volatiles dynamics were analysed at different intervals.

Findings

The contamination of retail UHT milk packages by B. sporothermodurans was found to be prevalent. The growth of B. sporothermodurans in spiked UHT milk reached a maximum of 1.9×105 cfu/ml; however, the significant proteolytic activity in UHT milk due to B. sporothermodurans only occurred long after the exponential growth phase had been attained. Furthermore, the growth of B. sporothermodurans in UHT milk did not lead to significant changes in the headspace volatile profiles of spiked UHT milk samples. Proteolytic activity in retail UHT milk packages, contaminated with B. sporothermodurans, was significantly higher when the use-by dates were reached.

Practical implications

Significant proteolysis in UHT milk means the assurance of high-quality UHT milk with extended storage stability for up to 10-12 months is compromised. Proteolysis of casein may lead to rapid sedimentation in UHT milk compared to UHT milk without sedimentation.

Originality/value

This paper is of interest to manufacturers because it raises the awareness that UHT milk containing B. sporothermodurans may not have the same storage stability when compared those without B. sporothermodurans. The presence of B. sporothermodurans in commercial UHT milk packages may lead to international and national trade restrictions for manufacturers.
Can credit rating agencies play a greater role in corporate governance disclosure?
Authors: Cash Daniel
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The European Commission (EC) is currently examining methods to increase the effectiveness of corporate governance disclosures. This paper aims to examine whether the credit rating agencies (CRAs), both on account of their influence within the marketplace and also their methodological approach to rating Governance, may have a greater role to play in the EC achieving those particular objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based upon a normative methodology, upon which the issue is contextualised and a proposal is put forward regarding a methodological alteration that can be instituted by the CRAs.

Findings

The paper finds that the CRAs may have a much greater role to play in meeting the objectives of the EC. Whilst the EC is focusing upon regulatory monitoring, the paper finds that there is a potential for a more efficient model within which the CRAs adapt their methodologies to include corporate governance disclosure into their rating processes.

Originality/value

In presenting the idea that the comply or explain principles put forward by the EC are proving to be somewhat ineffective, the paper contributes to the field by suggesting there are private endeavours which may add a sense of impact to disclosure proceedings, rather than the purely public regime being envisioned.
Pseudo direct drive simulation and analysis
Authors: da Costa Neves Carlos Guilherme , Flores Filho Aly Ferreira , Goettems Mateus Felipe , Borges Pablo Augusto Machado
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to simulate a pseudo direct drive (PDD) by using permanent magnet arrays.

Design/methodology/approach

A 2D finite element model of the PDD was built. The static magnetic torque on air-gaps was obtained by Coulomb’s virtual work method using Ansys Maxwell software. To simulate the relative movement between input rotor and output rotor, two movement bands were applied.

Findings

The PDD’s torque relation was proved. The PDD simulated presents low cogging torque.

Practical implications

The manufacturing steps and materials applied in a construction of a coaxial magnetic gear, PDD’s main component, are presented.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is to present the numerical techniques applied to simulate a PDD and the manufacturing steps and materials applied in a construction of a coaxial magnetic gear.
Unraveling the black box
Authors: Karadas Georgiana , Karatepe Osman M.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential mediators that operate in the black box between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and employee outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The relationships the authors developed were assessed via data obtained from a time-lagged sample of customer-contact employees and their direct supervisors in the Romanian hotel industry. The study employed bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis to gauge the mediating effects.

Findings

The findings reveal that psychological capital mediates the impact of HPWS on work engagement. As hypothesized, both psychological capital and work engagement mediate the impact of HPWS on quitting intentions, creative performance and extra-role performance. In short, the findings underscore both psychological capital and work engagement as the two mediators that operate in the black box between HPWS and the aforesaid employee outcomes. In addition, the empirical data support the impact of work engagement in the intermediate linkage between psychological capital and these outcomes.

Originality/value

The study enhances current knowledge on HPWS by examining the potential mediators between HPWS and motivational outcomes and job outcomes.
Ranking lean tools for world class reach through grey relational analysis
Authors: Satolo Eduardo Guilherme , Leite Caroline , Calado Robisom Damasceno , Goes Gustavo Antiqueira , Salgado Douglas D’Alessandro
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The lean production system and world class manufacturing (WCM) have been prominent in recent studies due to their conceptual synergy. However, although the number of studies is increasing, the research is immature, especially regarding the interaction between topics. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to rank the tools of the lean production system, indicating how they help organizations achieve WCM, using the theory of grey systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Therefore, the authors conducted an initial survey to collect data to determine how the lean production tools are related to the WCM pillars. These data were analyzed by the grey relational analysis statistical method, which passes through the construction of four stages.

Findings

The results show that of the lean production tools, stream mapping, kaizen, total productive maintenance, Six Sigma, standardized work and 5S stand out for their use and implementation in the organizational environment and facilitate organizations’ transitions to world-class performance through the WCM pillars.

Practical implications

The results achieved guide organizations to use the tools of the lean production system to help them reach world class status.

Originality/value

This paper stands out in the field of operations management, specifically in the research on lean production, by making use of the theory of grey correlation system in an innovative and original way. In addition, it promotes the consolidation of information on two of the main administrative strategies currently employed in the organizational environment.
Modeling of double-layer jacquard fabrics for pattern simulation
Authors: Cong Honglian , Li Xinxin , Zhang Aijun , Zhang Yanting , Zhong Jun
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Double-jacquard technique is referred as the most advanced technology for forming patterns on both layers of a 3D fabric knitted on a double-needle bar warp-knitting machine. In order to realize the computer-aided design and simulation of jacquard patterns, the purpose of this paper is to propose a mathematic model for representation of jacquard structures and an improved mass-spring model to improve the simulation of structural deformation behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Primarily, it analyzes the jacquard patterning method and displacing principle to design jacquard structures on each layer and linking structures of two layers. Based on that, a loop geometry defined by six key points and segmental lines is built to transfer the jacquard bitmap and lapping movements into a fabric of loops and therefore realizing patterns visualization. Afterwards, an improved mass-spring model is built to simulate structural deformation, in which the fabric is simplified as a mesh of uniformly distributed mass particles. Each loop is treated as a massless particle while underlaps are referred as structural springs connecting loops particles. Elastic forces of these springs on each loop particle is calculated according to the Hook’s law and Newton’s second law, and then based on the explicit Euler’s equations, motion state of each particle is solved including the velocity and the shift.

Findings

Based on the above method, a simulator for double-layer jacquard fabrics is developed via Visual C++ language to visualize the patterned fabrics with pitting effects. With a jacquard shoe fabric as an example, this simulation model is proved to be practical and efficient by comparing the simulation result and real fabric.

Research limitations/implications

Because of limited researches, 3D simulation modeling of this double-layer jacquard fabric will be studied in the further research.

Practical implications

The implement of this simulation method will offer the industries a time-saving and cost-saving approach for new fabrics development.

Originality/value

This approach can be used as a reference for simulating other knitted fabrics with jacquard patterns, such as jacquard garment fabrics and home textile fabrics.
The determinants of using cloud supply chain adoption
Authors: Lin Chinho , Lin Meichun
Published: August 2018

Purpose

It is necessary to determine the processes affecting cloud computing service applications in supply chain management (SCM) systems in order to facilitate cloud computing service exchanges and transmission of data among supply chain members. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and integrating the commitment trust theory, this paper develops a theoretical model using argument advantage and source credibility constructs to examine the relationships among perceived usefulness, attitude, trust and usage intention.

Findings

The results indicate that both the central route and the peripheral route of the ELM have a positive influence on perceived usefulness. The argument advantage has a strong influence on perceived usefulness as compared to source credibility while source credibility has a strong impact on trust. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of cloud computing services plays a pivotal role in attitude and intention, whereas trust has a weak effect on usage intention.

Originality/value

The proposed model not only explores the argument that potential user evaluations of both the advantages of cloud computing services and source credibility influence their affective states, which in turn affect their usage intention, but it also examines the mediating factors that influence processes related to cloud SCM acceptance.
The role of technological capabilities in the competitive advantage of companies in the Campinas, SP Tech Hub
Authors: Vitorino Filho Valdir Antonio , Moori Roberto Giro
Published: August 2018

Purpose

This study aims to examine the role of technological capabilities in the competitive advantage of supply chains for the “countryside” hub of São Paulo state.

Design/methodology/approach

An interdisciplinary approach was adopted by combining the strategic orientation of supply chain management as a link between market and operational activities, with technological capabilities as an essential factor for competitive advantage. This exploratory, mixed-method study was conducted in the Campinas technology hub, which has become important for its available skilled workforce, and broad and structured supply chain. The study sample included ten companies and dealt with the techniques of content analysis and non-parametric statistics – the Mann–Whitney U technique.

Findings

The results revealed that strategic supply chain management has an impact on technological capabilities and competitive advantage.

Originality/value

They also showed that technological capabilities have a partial mediating effect on competitive advantage.
The allure of luxury brands’ social media activities: a uses and gratifications perspective
Authors: Athwal Navdeep , Istanbulluoglu Doga , McCormack Sophie Elizabeth
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the social media marketing activities of luxury brands, guided by uses and gratifications theory (UGT). It examines the gratifications sought by millennials, a new core luxury consumer group, and the gratifications obtained when following and connecting with luxury brands.

Design/methodology/approach

Online data are gathered from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of five top luxury brands. In addition, 30 in-depth interviews with millennials, the new generation of luxury consumers, were conducted. Thematic analysis strategy was followed to analyze the data and present the findings.

Findings

Luxury brands remain distant and aloof, which helps them to maintain a sense of exclusivity. User activity, ranging from observations to commenting on and liking luxury brand content, leads to the gratification of two types of need: affective and cognitive. Two affective needs that are satisfied by luxury brands’ social media marketing activities are aesthetic appreciation and entertainment. Cognitive needs are satisfied through the functional use of social media as an information source.

Originality/value

Several studies have investigated social media from the perspective of UGT, but this study is the first to investigate the implications of luxury brands’ social media usage with the lenses of UGT.
Performance management model for teachers based on emotional intelligence and social media competencies
Authors: Kaur Irameet , Shri Charu , Mital K.M.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The technological advances worldwide are posing challenges for the teaching fraternity. However, certain competencies can enable the teachers to enhance their performance by managing self and adopting flexible teaching and learning tools. The purpose of this paper is to identify, analyse and model such competencies with special reference to emotional intelligence and social media competencies (SMCs). A competency framework is developed and a subsequent performance ranking system is derived in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

The statistical approach of multiple regression using partial least square based strucutural equation modelling is used for model development by estimating the impact of various competencies on performance. The technique of analytical network process is applied to derive a performance management system for ranking employees.

Findings

The paper estimates the relative impact of various competencies on superior performance of teachers, thus enabling to develop a competency model. A performance management and ranking system has also been developed.

Practical implications

A working practical model for performance management and ranking of teachers is developed on the basis of different criteria having different weightage. The ranking model can enable to develop suitable strategies for making effective recruitment and appraisal decisions.

Originality/value

The performance management model integrates emotional intelligence competencies, SMCs along with knowledge, skills and attitude, to develop fair and weightage-based performance ranking system.
Predicting changing pattern: building model for consumer decision making in digital market
Authors: Kumar Anil , Mangla Sachin Kumar , Luthra Sunil , Rana Nripendra P. , Dwivedi Yogesh K.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context.

Design/methodology/approach

To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data.

Findings

The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal.

Practical implications

The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk.

Originality/value

This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era.
Factors influencing customers’ change of behaviors from online banking to mobile banking in Tejarat Bank, Iran
Authors: Ahmadi Danyali Arezo
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the influential factors in changing customers’ behaviors from online banking to mobile banking based on Tiller and Tad model.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative method was used. This study is a practical research work by using 400 people, among whom 384 participants were selected based on simple random sampling.

Findings

The results indicated that the perceived advantage of using mobile banking, the influence of peer groups, source facilitator conditions as well as technology had the highest correlation. Among the influential components on attitude, the highest level belongs to perceived advantage of using mobile bank. Among the effective factors on behavioral control, source facilitator conditions and technology facilitator conditions had the highest correlation.

Research limitations/implications

It is suggested that the provided services be expanded via mobile banking and more customers be encouraged to use mobile banking services. For instance, the transaction of currency, stock, etc. via mobile banking is suggested. It is recommended that mobile banking software should be designed in a way that the process of mobile banking services is very easy for customers. Bank staff and employees should be trained to be active promoters of mobile banking services not only inside branch locations, but in other places and work environments as informers, messengers and models of using mobile banking.

Practical implications

It is recommended that bank managers should make use of the mass media such TV, billboard, radio, press, etc., in order to increase public awareness of mobile banking, and try to take effective steps in creating positive attitude in their customers on using mobile banking.

Social implications

Mobile banking has evolved as a wireless communication interface for producing value by customers in banking transactions. Todays, one of the substantially remarkable modern techniques in providing banking services is the provision of financial and banking services by using smart phones (mobiles). Although the life of using smart phones for banking and financial operations is not too long, significant advancements have been observed in this area within a short time, which could highly promise the extensive development of this modern electronic banking technique in future.

Originality/value

During the last decade, information technology has had tremendous impacts on banking industry through guiding and introducing new financial products with a specific delivering to its customers, enabling the banks to be able to provide distinguished products and special services to their customers safely and reliably. It is more than 200 years since banks have served their customers through their branch systems. However, with the emergence of various types of technology, the nature of providing financial services has greatly changed, with the increasing growth in electronic commerce.
Implicit change leadership, change management, and affective commitment to change
Authors: Hechanova Ma. Regina M. , Caringal-Go Jaimee Felice , Magsaysay Jowett F.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in implicit change leadership schemas and their relationship with change management (CM) of employees of academic institutions and business enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative approach through surveys with 645 employees in academic institutions and business enterprises. Path analysis and regression were conducted to determine the relationships between the constructs.

Findings

Results show that CM mediates the relationship of change leadership schemas and affective commitment to change in both business enterprises and academic institutions. However, differences were found in the change leadership schemas that predict perceived effectiveness of CM. Execution competencies predicted effectiveness of CM in business enterprises whereas strategic and social competencies predicted perceived effectiveness of CM in academic institutions.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the study were the use of self-report data and its cross-sectional design. Future research may use longitudinal designs and multiple sources of data to explore the relationship of change leadership schemas and perceived effectiveness of CM. Moreover, leadership schemas may be examined in other types of organizations such as non-profits, government agencies and social enterprises.

Practical implications

Results suggest that change leadership schemas are context-dependent. Thus, it is important to consider organizational culture and follower schemas when choosing change leaders and executing change. Moreover, differences in the saliences of change leader schemas by type of organization suggest the need to adopt contextually nuanced approaches to the selection and development of change leaders.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to organizational change literature by providing evidence of differences in change leadership schemas among academic institutions and business enterprises.
Using artificial neural network for predicting and controlling the effluent chemical oxygen demand in wastewater treatment plant
Authors: Bekkari Naceureddine , Zeddouri Aziez
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Modeling Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) constitutes an important tool for controlling the operation of the process and for predicting its performance with substantial influent fluctuations. The purpose of this paper is to apply an artificial neural network (ANN) approach with a feed-forward back-propagation in order to predict the ten-month performance of Touggourt WWTP in terms of effluent Chemical Oxygen Demand (CODeff).

Design/methodology/approach

The inﬂuent variables such as (pHinf), temperature (TEinf), suspended solid (SSinf), Kjeldahl Nitrogen (KNinf), biochemical oxygen demand (BODinf) and chemical oxygen demand (CODinf) were used as input variables of neural networks. To determine the appropriate architecture of the neural network models, several steps of training were conducted, namely the validation and testing of the models by varying the number of neurons and activation functions in the hidden layer, the activation function in output layer as well as the learning algorithms.

Findings

The better results were achieved with an architecture network [6-50-1], hyperbolic tangent sigmoid activation functions at hidden layer, linear activation functions at output layer and a Levenberg – Marquardt method as learning algorithm. The results showed that the ANN model could predict the experimental results with high correlation coefficient 0.89, 0.96 and 0.87 during learning, validation and testing phases, respectively. The overall results indicated that the ANN modeling approach can provide an effective tool for simulating, controlling and predicting the performance of WWTP.

Originality/value

This work is the first of its kind in this region due to the remarkable development in terms of population and agricultural activity in the region, which drove to the increase of water pollutants, so it is necessary to use the modern technologies to modeling and controlling of WWTP.
Analyzing racial profiling from traffic searches
Authors: Vito Anthony Gennaro , Grossi Elizabeth L. , Higgins George E.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of racial profiling when the traffic stop outcome is a search using focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making and propensity score matching (PSM) as a better analysis to understand the race of the driver.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this study come from traffic stops conducted by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002.

Findings

The results show that the elements of focal concerns theory matter most when it comes to if a traffic stop that resulted in a search even though racial profiling was evident. The use of PSM provides evidence that it is a better statistical technique when studying racial profiling. The gender of the driver was significant for male drivers but not for female drivers.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this study are cross-sectional and are self-report data from the police officer.

Practical implications

This paper serves as a theoretical explanation that other researchers could use when studying racial profiling along with a better type of statistical analysis being PSM.

Social implications

The findings based on focal concerns theory could provide an explanation for police officer decision making that police departments could use to help citizens understand why a traffic stop search took place.

Originality/value

This is the first study of its kind to the researcher’s knowledge to apply focal concerns theory with PSM to understand traffic stop searches.
Resilience of public and private security providers: a state-of-the-art literature review
Authors: Laureys Vanessa A.S. , Easton Marleen
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the empirical literature on the resilience of public police officers and private security guards in stressful situations involving threats, violence, accidents or death. This paper studies the definitions of resilience used in these professions, identifies trends in applied research methods and examines the main topics addressed in previous research.

Design/methodology/approach

A scoping review was carried out, with searches in Web of Science and Google Scholar, as well as a secondary manual screening in Dutch academic journals. Based on this review, 33 empirical studies were included in the current paper.

Findings

First, it was revealed that a clear-cut definition of resilience applied to public police and private security guards is currently lacking. Second, predominantly quantitative designs were found to be used in the selected studies. Third, the 33 empirical studies provided insights on four main topics: demographic factors, personal characteristics, interpersonal aspects and resilience training programs. Remarkably, this scoping review did not find any empirical research on the resilience of private security guards.

Originality/value

This study systematically integrates the findings of empirical research on the resilience of security providers to stressful situations. The documentation of research activity, gaps and inconsistencies in the literature offer direction for future research in this relatively new field of study.
Measurement issues in police use of force: a state-of-the-art review
Authors: Hollis Meghan E.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to systematically and comprehensively review the extant literature on measurement issues in police use of force.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study uses a narrative meta-review of measurement issues in police use of force through a systematic and exhaustive search of several academic databases (e.g. Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCO Host, PsychInfo, etc.).

Findings

The current meta-review identified 56 studies that matched the inclusion criteria. These studies examined public and police officer perceptions of use of force, rates of use of force, types of force used, neighborhood contextual correlates of use of force, and severity of force used. A wide variety of approaches were used to measure use of force, and operationalization of use of force was inconsistent across studies. This indicates a need for high-quality research focusing on comparable operationalization of variables, consistency in measurement, and use of more rigorous research techniques. The use of validated measures is essential moving forward.

Practical implications

The practical implications derived from this meta-review indicate a need for future researchers to carefully evaluate the measurement approaches used in use of force studies. The lack of consistency in measurement of use of force research is concerning, and a focused effort is required to validate measures.

Originality/value

The state-of-the-art review on measurement issues in police use of force is the first of its kind. This study comprehensively reviews the literature on measurement issues in police use of force. This study will be useful for those who wish to further explore measurement issues in police use of force issues in policing and those who wish to work toward validated use of force measures.
Input resources indicators in use for accreditation purpose of higher education institutions
Authors: Mati Yazid
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Higher education is a complex system that involves multiple inputs and outputs, where various activities and processes are performed. The purpose of this paper is to monitor the input resources used for executing various activities of higher education institutions. These resources are classified into three types: human resources, physical resources and financial resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The author examines various national and international accreditation standards to determine their requirements for key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor input resources. Moreover, the author uses implications proposed by previous research and best practices.

Findings

A set of appropriate and generic KPIs is developed for each type of these resources leading to a total of 72 key indicators. These indicators are easy to measure, which makes them practical to be adopted by a large scale of institutions.

Practical implications

The proposed indicators provide adequate information to administrators and policy-makers, accrediting bodies and stakeholders to identify the progress and achievements. These indicators are also used for benchmarking purposes by comparing the institution’s performance against their comparable institutions counterparts. Moreover, they are used for marketing purposes to commercialize the institution by attracting prospective students and teaching faculty in addition to increasing current students’ satisfaction.

Originality/value

The paper gives special attention to developing a set of generic KPIs for assessing the availability and quality of input resources used for carrying out various activities of higher education institutions for the aim of improving their performance and hence helping them comply with the requirements of accreditation standards.
Can ecosystem functioning be maintained despite climate‐driven shifts in species composition? Insights from novel marine forests
Authors: Pessarrodona Albert , Foggo Andrew , Smale Dan A.
Published: August 2018

Climate change is driving a redistribution of species and the reconfiguration of ecological communities at a global scale. Persistent warming in many regions has caused species to extend their geographical ranges into new habitats, with thermally tolerant species often becoming competitively dominant over species with colder affinities. Although these climate‐driven changes in species abundance and diversity are well documented, their ecosystem‐level implications are poorly understood, and resolving whether reconfigured communities can maintain fundamental ecosystem functions represents a pressing challenge in an increasingly warmer world.

Here, we investigated how climate‐driven substitutions of foundation species influence processes associated with the cycling of organic matter (biomass production, detritus flow, herbivory, decomposition) by comparing two habitat‐forming kelp species with contrasting thermal affinities. We examined the wider ecosystem consequences of such shifts for the observed (and predicted) emergence of novel marine forest communities in the NE Atlantic, which are expected to become more dominated by range‐expanding, warm‐temperate kelp species.

Warm‐temperate kelps both accumulated and released 80% more biomass than the cold‐temperate species despite being taxonomically closely related and morphologically similar. Furthermore, the warm‐temperate species accumulated biomass and released detritus year‐round, whereas the cold‐temperate species did so during short, discrete periods. The warm‐temperate kelps supported higher densities of invertebrate grazers and were a preferred food source. Finally, their detritus decomposed 6.5 times faster, despite supporting comparable numbers of detritivores. Overall, our results indicate an important shift in organic matter circulation along large sections of NE Atlantic coastline following the climate‐driven expansion of a warm‐affinity kelp, with novel forests supplying large amounts of temporally continuous—yet highly labile—organic matter.

Synthesis. Collectively, our results show that, like species invasions, climate‐driven range expansions and consequent shifts in the identity of dominant species can modify a wide range of important ecosystem processes. However, alterations in overall ecosystem functioning may be relatively limited where foundation species share similar ecological and functional traits.
Different ecological strategies during the seed germination phase of nine grasses inhabiting the hyper‐arid Arabian desert
Authors: Bhatt Arvind , Santo Andrea
Published: August 2018

The effect of photoperiod, thermoperiod and their interaction on seed germination and its rate was studied for nine grasses growing in the Arabian desert. Germination tests were conducted under two photoperiods and three thermoperiods. Germination of light‐incubated seeds of Hyparrhenia hirta, Pennisetum divisum, Stipacapensis, Centropodia forsskaolii, Stipagrostis plumosa, Cymbopogon parkeri and Panicum turgidum was significantly higher than that detected in the darkness. Photoperiod did not influence the seed germination of Aristida adscensionis and Imperata cylindrica. Seeds of all species, except P. divisum, C. parkeri and I. cylindrica, germinated indepen dently of the tested temperature. Our results indicate that species belonging to the same family and growing in the same hyper‐arid desert habitat may influence and act in different ways during the seed germination phase, causing species‐specific effects, and therefore might affect the ecology of each taxon in this harsh environment.
The model squid–vibrio symbiosis provides a window into the impact of strain‐ and species‐level differences during the initial stages of symbiont engagement
Authors: Koehler Sabrina , Gaedeke Roxane , Thompson Cecilia , Bongrand Clotilde , Visick Karen L. , Ruby Edward , McFall‐Ngai Margaret
Published: August 2018

Among horizontally acquired symbioses, the mechanisms underlying microbial strain‐ and species‐level specificity remain poorly understood. Here, confocal‐microscopy analyses and genetic manipulation of the squid–vibrio association revealed quantitative differences in a symbiont's capacity to interact with the host during initial engagement. Specifically, dominant strains of Vibrio fischeri, ‘D‐type’, previously named for their dominant, single‐strain colonization of the squid's bioluminescent organ, were compared with ‘S‐type’, or ‘sharing’, strains, which can co‐colonize the organ. These D‐type strains typically: (i) formed aggregations of 100s–1000s of cells on the light‐organ surface, up to 3 orders of magnitude larger than those of S‐type strains; (ii) showed dominance in co‐aggregation experiments, independent of inoculum size or strain proportion; (iii) perturbed larger areas of the organ's ciliated surface; and, (iv) appeared at the pore of the organ approximately 4×s more quickly than S‐type strains. At least in part, genes responsible for biofilm synthesis control the hyperaggregation phenotype of a D‐type strain. Other marine vibrios produced relatively small aggregations, while an array of marine Gram‐positive and ‐negative species outside of the Vibrionaceae did not attach to the organ's surface. These studies provide insight into the impact of strain variation on early events leading to establishment of an environmentally acquired symbiosis.
Delivering a World Leading Food and Farming Sector
Authors: Curnow John
Published: August 2018

For the last 40 years, farming policy in the UK has been driven by its membership of the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Leaving the EU creates a huge opportunity to reform UK policy. The new policy needs to work for all stakeholders – for the UK's important food and farming sector; for consumers and taxpayers; and for the environment we steward for future generations. This article sets out the UK Government's key areas of focus for policy, as articulated in its consultation document in February 2018 and some of the underpinning analysis. It sets out the document's diagnosis of the current situation and the ideas it puts forward for policy development. A simpler system of regulation and enforcement is envisaged, which prioritises spending on the public goods and environmental outcomes that the public cares about, while phasing out direct payments and allowing the farming industry to develop its underlying competitiveness.
Brexit: How Will UK Agriculture Fare?
Authors: Hubbard Carmen , Davis John , Feng Siyi , Harvey David , Liddon Anne , Moxey Andrew , Ojo Mercy , Patton Myles , Philippidis George , Scott Charles , Shrestha Shailesh , Wallace Michael
Published: August 2018

There is little doubt that Brexit would have significant implications for UK agriculture, a sector with strong trade links to the EU and strong reliance on CAP income support. This article reports preliminary results from employing a Computable General Equilibrium Model, a Partial Equilibrium Model and Farm Level Models to explore selected trade and domestic policy scenarios post‐Brexit. These allow for the estimation of changes in producer prices, production and farm incomes against a baseline scenario of continued EU membership. Under a Free Trade Agreement with the EU, agricultural impacts are relatively modest. By contrast, unilateral removal of import tariffs has significant negative impacts on prices, production and incomes. Adoption of the EU's WTO tariff schedule for all imports favours net importers (e.g. dairy) and harms net exporters (e.g. sheep). Given the strong dependence of most UK farms on direct payments, their removal worsens negative impacts of new trade arrangements and offsets positive impacts. Impacts vary across different types and sizes of farm, but also regionally. However, the period of adjustment to new trade and domestic policy conditions may prove very challenging for a large number of farm businesses.
Biological Connectivity of Seasonally Ponded Wetlands across Spatial and Temporal Scales
Authors: Smith L.L. , Subalusky A.L. , Atkinson C.L. , Earl J.E. , Mushet D.M. , Scott D.E. , Lance S.L. , Johnson S.A.
Published: August 2018

Many species that inhabit seasonally ponded wetlands also rely on surrounding upland habitats and nearby aquatic ecosystems for resources to support life stages and to maintain viable populations. Understanding biological connectivity among these habitats is critical to ensure that landscapes are protected at appropriate scales to conserve species and ecosystem function. Biological connectivity occurs across a range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, at annual time scales many organisms move between seasonal wetlands and adjacent terrestrial habitats as they undergo life‐stage transitions; at generational time scales, individuals may disperse among nearby wetlands; and at multigenerational scales, there can be gene flow across large portions of a species’ range. The scale of biological connectivity may also vary among species. Larger bodied or more vagile species can connect a matrix of seasonally ponded wetlands, streams, lakes, and surrounding terrestrial habitats on a seasonal or annual basis. Measuring biological connectivity at different spatial and temporal scales remains a challenge. Here we review environmental and biological factors that drive biological connectivity, discuss implications of biological connectivity for animal populations and ecosystem processes, and provide examples illustrating the range of spatial and temporal scales across which biological connectivity occurs in seasonal wetlands.
China's Expanding Security Involvement in Africa: A Pillar for ‘China–Africa Community of Common Destiny’
Authors: Yu Lei
Published: August 2018

China has been committed to creating an ‘all weather’ relationship with Africa particularly since the new century by persistently expanding its economic, political and, more recently, security involvement in Africa. China's intensified peacekeeping efforts in Africa reveals not only China's desire for maintaining the regional peace and stability for its economic cooperation and trade with Africa, but also China's strategic intention of creating its own sphere of influence in the forms of Sino‐African ‘Community of Common Destiny’. In so doing, China wishes to cement its relations with Africa that it identifies, together with those with other developing nations, as the ‘basis of China's international relations’ and provide itself with a safe access to African markets, resources and investment destinations in order to sustain its economic growth that bases its long cherished dream of restoring its past glory of ‘Fuqiang’ (wealth and power) and rise in the global power hierarchy.