bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GRAM: A generalized model to predict the molecular effect of a non-coding variant in a cell-type specific manner
Authors: Lou Shaoke , Cotter Kellie A. , Li Tianxiao , Liang Jin , Mohsen Hussein , Liu Jason , Zhang Jing , Cohen Sandra , Xu Jinrui , Yu Haiyuan , Rubin Mark , Gerstein Mark
Published: November 2018

There has been much effort to prioritize genomic variants with respect to their impact on “function”. However, function is often not precisely defined: Sometimes, it is the disease association of a variant; other times, it reflects a molecular effect on transcription or epigenetics. Here we coupled multiple genomic predictors to build GRAM, a generalized model, to predict a well-defined experimental target: the expression-modulating effect of a non-coding variant in a cell-specific manner. As a first step, we performed feature engineering: using a LASSO regularized linear model, we found transcription factor (TF) binding most predictive, especially for TFs that are hubs in the regulatory network; in contrast, evolutionary conservation, a popular feature in many other functional-impact predictors, has almost no contribution. Moreover, TF binding inferred from in vitro SELEX is as effective as that from in vivo ChIP-Seq. Second, we implemented GRAM integrating SELEX features and expression profiles. The program combines a universal regulatory score for a variant in a non-coding element with a modifier score reflecting the particular cell type. We benchmarked GRAM on a large-scale MPRA dataset in the GM12878 cell line, achieving a ROC score of ∼0.73; performance on the K562 cell line was similar. Finally, we evaluated the performance of GRAM on targeted regions using luciferase assays in MCF7 and K562 cell lines. We noted that changing the insertion position of the construct relative to the reporter gene gives very different results, highlighting the importance of carefully defining the functional target the model is predicting.

Author Summary

Noncoding variants lie outside of protein-coding regions, and are found to have disease associations. However, knowledge on the molecular effect of these non-coding variants in a cell-specific context is very limited. Also, different output between multiple experiment platforms may introduce extra complexity in analyzing the molecular function of these variants. We developed GRAM, a generalized model to predict molecular effect of non-coding variants in multiple cell types for different experimental platforms. We first selected the most informative cell-independent SELEX transcription factor binding score on the variant locus as features and then combine cell-specific gene expression profile to build a multi-step prediction model. GRAM has been successfully tested on both MPRA and Luciferase assay, and on three different cell lines: GM12878, K562 and MCF7, shows high performance.
New public management and the rise of public sector performance audit
Authors: Parker Lee D. , Jacobs Kerry , Schmitz Jana
Published: November 2018

Purpose

In the context of global new public management reform trends and the associated phenomenon of performance auditing (PA), the purpose of this paper is to explore the rise of performance audit in Australia and examines its focus across audit jurisdictions and the role key stakeholders play in driving its practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a multi-jurisdictional analysis of PA in Australia to explore its scale and focus, drawing on the theoretical tools of Goffman. Documentary analysis and interview methods are employed.

Findings

Performance audit growth has continued but not always consistently over time and across audit jurisdictions. Despite auditor discourse concerning backstage performance audit intentions being strongly focussed on evaluating programme outcomes, published front stage reports retain a strong control focus. While this appears to reflect Auditors-General (AGs) reluctance to critique government policy, nonetheless there are signs of direct and indirectly recursive relationships emerging between AGs and parliamentarians, the media and the public.

Research limitations/implications

PA merits renewed researcher attention as it is now an established process but with ongoing variability in focus and stakeholder influence.

Social implications

As an audit technology now well-embedded in the public sector accountability setting, it offers potential insights into matters of local, state and national importance for parliament and the public, but exhibits variable underlying drivers, agendas and styles of presentation that have the capacity to enhance or detract from the public interest.

Originality/value

Performance audit emerges as a complex practice deployed as a mask by auditors in managing their relationship with key stakeholders.
Entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Farrukh Muhammad , Alzubi Yazan , Shahzad Imran Ahmad , Waheed Abdul , Kanwal Nagina
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to inculcate personality traits in theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and analyze mediation of perceived behavior control (PBC) and attitude toward entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from students at four universities located in capital city of Pakistan. SmartPLS has been used to run structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

Findings of PLS analysis revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and personality traits was mediated by PBC and attitude toward entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This study contributes toward the understanding of EI of students in Pakistan – a developing economy. More specifically, it sheds light on the vitality of personality traits in determining the antecedents of EI. Leaning on TPB and intention models, the study incorporated personality traits to unveil a unique and testable multidimensional model of EI, which supports the notion that external factors such as personality characteristics can indirectly affect EI. This research also supports the incorporation of personality traits in TPB and suggests that these socio cognitive theories should concede the indirect effect of personality on intention and behavior.
Effect of entrepreneurial orientation on competency and micro-enterprise performance
Authors: Al Mamun Abdullah , Fazal Syed Ali
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effect of creativity and innovativeness, risk taking propensity, proactiveness and autonomy on entrepreneurial competency and performance among micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a cross-sectional design, the authors collected data from 403 micro-entrepreneurs who were registered under “Majlis Amanah Rakyat” and “Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat”. Quantitative data were collected through structured interviews from September 2017 to December 2017.

Findings

The findings revealed that creativity and innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy had a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies. In addition, autonomy and entrepreneurial competencies had a positive effect on micro-enterprise performance. Then, entrepreneurial competencies showed a mediating effect on the relationships between creativity, innovativeness, autonomy and micro-enterprise performance.

Originality/value

The findings contributed to resource-based view and enriched the entrepreneurship literature, particularly in the context of small businesses in emerging economies. This study recommended underlying organizations to pay attention to the improvement of creativity and innovativeness, proactiveness, autonomy and entrepreneurial competencies among low-income entrepreneurs through useful policies and training programs, which were expected to improve micro-enterprise performance and encourage poor households to perform entrepreneurial activities for better socio-economic conditions.
Complementarity effect of supply chain competencies on innovation capability
Authors: Liao Ying , Li Yulong
Published: November 2018

Purpose

From the perspective of the economic theory of complementarity, the purpose of this paper is to examine how internal collaboration and external competencies would provoke and strengthen each other, and subsequently enhance organizational innovation capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey data were collected from 201 manufacturing firms and checked for common method variance, validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was then used to test the hypothetical complementarity effect.

Findings

The results suggest that internal collaboration (as a manifestation of exploitative learning) and external competencies, which include supply network flexibility and supplier operational capabilities (as manifestation of exploratory learning), do in fact compensate for each other’s deficiencies. Complementary deployment of internal collaboration and external competencies enhances each other’s contribution to innovation capability. Practically, the study indicates that organizations should consider making concerted efforts to develop internal collaboration, supply network flexibility and supplier operational capability as a bundle.

Originality/value

Extensive discussions exist in the literature on exploration and exploitation being essential components of innovation and their conflicting impact on innovation efficiency and effectiveness. But how an organization should operationally develop supply chain competencies in order to maximize overall innovation capability still remains largely an unanswered question. The current study advances the research on the inter-relationships between exploration and exploitation by empirically demonstrating the complementary nature of internal collaboration and external competencies in developing sustainable innovation capabilities.
Numerical prediction of the elastoplastic response of FG tubes using nonlinear kinematic hardening rule with power-law function model under thermomechanical loadings
Authors: Mehditabar Aref , Rahimi Gholam H.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to explain the characterization of cyclic behavior of a tube made of functionally graded material (FGM) under different combinations of internal pressure and cyclic through-thickness temperature gradients.

Design/methodology/approach

The normality rule, nonlinear kinematic hardening Chaboche model and Von Mises yield criterion were used to model the constitutive behavior of an FG tube in the incremental form. The material properties and hardening parameters of the Chaboche model vary according to the power-law function in the radial direction. The backward Euler integration scheme combined with return mapping algorithm which relies on the solution of a nonlinear equation performs the numerical procedure. The algorithm is implemented within the user subroutine UMAT in ABAQUS/standard.

Findings

The published works on FG components considering only the mechanical and physical properties as a function of spatial coordinate and nonlinear kinematic hardening parameters have not been considered to be changed continuously from one surface to another. Motivated by this, the present paper has deliberately been targeted to tackle this kind of problem to simulate the cyclic behavior of an FG tube as accurately as possible. In addition, to classify various behaviors the FG tube under cyclic thermomechanical loadings, Bree’s interaction diagram as an essential tool in designing of the FG pressure vessels in many engineering sectors is presented.

Originality/value

Provides a detailed description of the FG parameters of Chaboche kinematic hardening parameters in the adopted constitutive equations. In this paper, the significant effects of internal pressure values, kinematic hardening models and also FG inhomogeneity index related to the hardening rule parameters on plastic deformation of the FG tube are illustrated. Finally, the various cyclic behaviors of the FG tube under different combinations of thermomechanical loading are fully explored.
EEG predicts the attention level of elderly measured by RBANS
Authors: Fahimi Fatemeh , Goh Wooi Boon , Lee Tih-Shih , Guan Cuntai
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the correlation between neural indexes of attention and behavioral indexes of attention and detect the most informative period of brain activity in which the strongest correlation with attentive performance (behavioral index) exists. Finally, to further validate the findings, this paper aims at the prediction of different levels of attention function based on the attention score obtained from repeatable battery for the assessment of neurophysiological status (RBANS).

Design/methodology/approach

The present paper analyzes electroencephalogram (EEG) signals recorded by a single prefrontal channel from 105 elderly subjects while they were responding to Stroop color test which is an attention-demanded task. Beside Stroop test, subjects also performed RBANS which provides their level of functionality in different domains including attention. After data acquisition (EEG during Stroop test and RBANS attention score), the authors extract the spectral features of EEG as neural indexes of attention and subjects’ reaction time in response to Stroop test as behavioral index of attention. Then, they explore the correlation between these post-cue frequency band oscillations of EEG with elderly response time (RT). Next, the authors exploit these findings to classify RBANS attention score.

Findings

The observations of this study suggest that there is significant negative correlation between alpha gamma ratio (AGR) and RT (p < 0.0001), theta beta ratio (TBR) is positively correlated with subjects’ RT (p < 0.0001), these correlations are stronger in a 500ms period right after triggering the cue (question onset in Stroop test), and 4) TBR and AGR can be effectively used to predict RBANS attention score.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the experiment design, the pre-cue EEG of the next trail was very much overlapped with the post-cue EEG of the current trail. Therefore, the authors could analyze only post-cue EEG. In future study, it would be interesting to investigate the predictability of subject’s future performance from pre-cue EEG and mental preparation.

Practical implications

This study provides an insight into the research on detection of human attention level from EEG instead of conventional neurophysiological tests. It has also potential to be used in implementation of feasible and efficient EEG-based brain computer interface training systems for elderly.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among very few attempts for early prediction of cognitive decline in the domain of attention from brain activity (EEG) instead of conventional tests which are prone to human errors.
Transaction costs in microfinance – study from clients’ perspective
Authors: Singh Prakash , Kapoor Sanjeev
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The issue of transaction cost (TC) has always been the concern of both researchers and policymakers in microfinance. This paper aims to measure the TC of borrowers across various microfinance business models in India.

Design/methodology/approach

To identify sources of the TC of the clients in the entire process of borrowing loan, the technique of process mapping has been used in this study. Using the data collected from randomly selected 700 clients under different microfinance models, the study has computed the different components of clients’ TC.

Findings

The results show that although SHG-Bank linkage model has more robust organizational design, its sluggish operational modalities has resulted in a higher client TC as compared to that in MFI lending model. The indirect TC (in terms of clients’ opportunity cost of time) occupies major share in clients’ TC, and strategies are required by MFIs/banks to reduce it substantially by using the appropriate technology.

Research limitations/implications

The client TC can become one of the important factor to evaluate efficiency of the different models of microfinance. Policymakers can use the findings to reduce the clients’ TC by benchmarking best practices across all the microfinance business models.

Originality/value

The research paper offers an insight into different components of clients’ TC across different models of microfinance. So far, not much research has been carried out on the subject in Indian context.
Service modularity in managing healthcare logistics
Authors: Pohjosenperä Timo , Kekkonen Päivi , Pekkarinen Saara , Juga Jari
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how modularity is used for enabling value creation in managing healthcare logistics services.

Design/methodology/approach

Material logistics of four different kinds of hospitals is examined through a qualitative case study. The theoretical framework builds on the literature on healthcare logistics, service modularity and value creation.

Findings

The case hospitals have developed their material logistics independently from others when looking at the modularity of offerings, processes and organisations. Services, such as assortment management, shelving and developing an information platform, have been performed in-house partly by the care personnel, but steps towards modularised and standardised solutions are now being taken in the case hospitals, including ideas about outsourcing some of the services.

Research limitations/implications

This paper proposes seven modularity components for healthcare logistics management: segmentation, categorisation and unitisation of offerings, differentiation and decoupling of processes, and centralisation and specialisation of organisations. Thus, this study clarifies the three-dimensional concept of modularity as a cognitive frame for managing logistics services with heterogeneous customer needs in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.

Practical implications

Modularity offers a tool for developing logistics services inside the hospital and increases possibilities to consider also external logistics service providers.

Social implications

Managing healthcare logistics services through modularity has potential social implications in developing healthcare processes and changing the usage of health services. On a wider scale, modularity is helping healthcare systems reaching their goals in terms of service quality and cost.

Originality/value

This paper shows the context-specific antecedents of service modularity and the usage of modular thinking in managing healthcare logistics.
Reforming public procurement and public financial management in Africa
Authors: Aboelazm Karem Sayed
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Country comparative studies especially in Africa on public procurement reforms toward financial control and accountability of public expenditure are limited. Meanwhile, these kinds of studies have potential for providing useful insights on how value for money through public procurement is being ensured across Africa. This paper attempts to provide this. The purpose of this paper is to highlight several policy recommendations for public management aimed at improving public procurement and public financial management (PFM) systems in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a qualitative case study using secondary data drawn from Global Integrity Index (GII) of the Transparency International and the World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessments databases to investigate variables that influence public procurement practices in three purposively selected African countries. The comparative approach for presenting some of the experiences of countries in public procurement methods is used in this paper.

Findings

The findings suggest three main variables, namely, government structure and economic variables, complicated by socio-cultural values interact to influence public procurement and PFM systems in the case study countries.

Research limitations/implications

Data for the GII indicators used were only available from 2013, which restricted the discussion of those indicators to a short span (2013–2015).

Social implications

The socio-cultural milieu within which public procurement takes place has implications for how governance structures function to deliver value-for-money public procurement.

Originality/value

This study adds value by comparing three countries within Africa to reveal common variables which influence public procurement and PFM systems.
Let’s get personal: the little nudge that improves document retrieval in the Cloud
Authors: Bergman Ofer , Whittaker Steve , Frishman Yaron
Published: November 2018

Purpose

State-of-the-art cloud applications are problematic for collaborative document management; their current design does not encourage active personal folder categorization. Cloud applications such as Google Drive and Microsoft’s OneDrive store documents automatically, so at no point are users directed to categorize them by placing them in folders. To encourage active categorization and promote effective retrieval of cloud documents, the authors designed an add-on “nudge” called Personal Organizer which prompts Google Drive users to categorize by storing cloud documents in personal folders. The add-on prompt is triggered when users attempt to close uncategorized or unnamed documents. The purpose of this paper is to test whether using the Personal Organizer add-on leads participants to actively store their documents in folders that they personally created, and whether this promotes more successful and efficient retrieval.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the add-on, the authors conducted a pretest-manipulation-post-test intervention study with 34 participants lasting over three months. In both tests, participants were asked to retrieve personal documents taken from their own “Recents” list to improve ecological validity.

Findings

Using our add-on doubled the percentage of documents that were actively stored in folders. Additionally, using personally created folders substantially improved retrieval success while decreasing retrieval time.

Originality/value

Implementing our findings can improve document storage and retrieval for millions of users of collaborative cloud storage. The authors discuss broader theoretical implications concerning the role of active organization for retrieval in collaborative repositories, as well as design implications.
Development of Islamic microfinance: a sustainable poverty reduction approach
Authors: Begum Halima , Alam A.S.A. Ferdous , Mia Md Aslam , Bhuiyan Faruk , Ghani Ahmad Bashawir Abdul
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Though microfinance has been working for many years as a tool to eradicate poverty from its root, most of the least developed and developing countries are yet to significantly alleviate it from the society. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Shariah-based microfinance products in the context of sustainable poverty alleviation approach and provide them financial benefits to enhance their livelihoods.

Design/methodology/approach

Here, this qualitative study critically analyzes the basics of the sustainable Islamic microfinance to exterminate the level of poverty.

Findings

Islamic microfinance is a more ethical practice than the traditional motives of profit maximization, and it encourages extending the time of repayment if the debtors are in hardship. In some case, it suggests to give charity if the creditor has capability.

Research limitations/implications

Most importantly, research scholars and experts have already criticized the concept of conventional microfinance on the basis of various points, especially for its high rate of interest.

Social implications

Islamic microfinance is provided with a view to fulfill two tools simultaneously, i.e., social and financial inclusion. In this case, credits and Zakah can be given to the extreme poor people for satisfying basic needs. In terms of social responsibility, Islam encourages the people to be soft in case of collecting the lending money.

Originality/value

The study discoursed that sustainable Islamic Microfinance (IM) may be a promising future option to draw the attention of the religiously sensitive people toward the Shariah-based microfinance which can, in turn, mitigate the poverty level.
System wide collaboration? Health and social care leaders’ perspectives on working across boundaries
Authors: Shand Jenny , Turner Simon
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Structural integration is increasingly explored as a means of achieving efficiency gains alongside improved health outcomes. In 2015, three boroughs in London, England began working together to develop an Accountable Care Organisation for the 750,000 population they serve. The purpose of this paper is to understand the experiences of working across organisational and sectoral boundaries for the benefit of the population, including enablers and barriers encountered, the role of financial incentives and perspectives on Accountable Care Organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A single site instrumental case study involving 35 semi-structured interviews using a topic guide, with key leaders and decision makers from the site and nationally, between April 2016 and August 2016.

Findings

There are differences in levels of autonomy and operational priorities between councils and the NHS. Existing financial mechanisms can be used to overcome sectoral boundaries, but require strong leadership to implement. There are challenges associated with primary care participating in integration, including reluctance for small organisations to adopt the risk associated with large scale programmes. Interviewees were aligned on espoused ambitions for the Accountable Care Organisation but not on whether one organisation was needed to deliver these in practice.

Research limitations/implications

Progressing the integration agenda requires consideration of the context of primary care and the core differences between health and government. Further, research into ACOs is required as they may not be required to deliver the anticipated integration and system outcomes. Understanding if there are specific population groups for whom cross-organisation and cross-sector working could have particular benefits would help to target efforts.

Originality/value

This paper highlights some of the challenges associated with cross-sector collaboration.
Transforming big data into knowledge: the role of knowledge management practice
Authors: Chierici Roberto , Mazzucchelli Alice , Garcia-Perez Alexeis , Vrontis Demetris
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how big data collected from social media contribute to knowledge management practices, innovation processes and business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used 418 questionnaires collected from firms that actively invest in marketing, advertising and communication in the Italian market. The hypotheses testing and analysis were conducted using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results reveal that customers’ data gathered from social media produce different effects on knowledge management practices and firms’ innovation capacity. Furthermore, increased innovation capacity turned out to affect customer relationship performance directly, while it contributes to gain better financial performance only when it is used to gain relational outcomes.

Originality/value

The outcomes of the study help firms to develop a clear understanding about which big data retrieved from social media can be useful to improve their knowledge management practices and enhance their innovation capacity. Moreover, by investigating the mediating role of big data knowledge management in the context of social media knowledge acquisition and innovation capacity, this study also extends the mediation variables used to understand the relationship between knowledge capabilities and practices and innovation constructs.
The impact of family vs non-family governance contingencies on CSR reporting in Bangladesh
Authors: Biswas Pallab K. , Roberts Helen , Whiting Rosalind H.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Based on the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective and agency theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine how the introduction of the 2006 Corporate Governance (CG) Guidelines and family governance affected the level of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting of non-financial companies in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use multivariate regression to analyse 2,637 firm-level annual observations, from 1996 to 2011 annual reports of Bangladeshi publicly listed non-financial-sector companies, to investigate how firm-level CG quality affects CSR disclosure in family and non-family firms.

Findings

CG quality significantly increases the level of CSR disclosure and this relationship is stronger prior to the new CG Guidelines. Family firms’ CSR reporting levels are significantly lower than non-family firms’, and this effect is stronger after the change in the CG Guidelines. CEO duality, the presence of an audit committee and profitability improve family-firm CSR reporting in Bangladesh, while non-family CSR disclosures are positively associated with board size and firm competition. Board independence is not related to CSR disclosure.

Originality/value

The authors provide evidence of the benefit of the CG Guidelines’ introduction on company CSR disclosure in an emerging economy and the importance of specific governance mechanisms that differentiate family and non-family-firm CSR disclosures in Bangladesh using a SEW framework.
Exploration of activation energy and binary chemical reaction effects on nano Casson fluid flow with thermal and exponential space-based heat source
Authors: B.J. Gireesha , Archana M. , Mahanthesh B. , B.C. Prasannakumara
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of binary chemical reaction and activation energy on nano Casson liquid flow past a stretched plate with non-linear radiative heat, and also, the effect of a novel exponential space-dependent heat source (ESHS) aspect along with thermal-dependent heat source (THS) effect in the analysis of heat transfer in nanofluid. Comparative analysis is carried out between the flows with linear radiative heat process and non-linear radiative heat process.

Design/methodology/approach

A similarity transformation technique is utilised to access the ODEs from the governed PDEs. The manipulation of subsequent non-linear equations is carried out by a well-known numerical approach called Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg scheme. Obtained solutions are briefly discussed with the help of graphical and tabular illustrations.

Findings

The effects of various physical parameters on temperature, nanoparticles volume fraction and velocity fields within the boundary layer are discussed for two different flow situations, namely, flow with linear radiative heat and flow with non-linear radiative heat. It is found that an irregular heat source/sink (ESHS and THS) and non-linear solar radiation play a vital role in the enhancement of the temperature distributions.

Originality/value

The problem is relatively original to study the effects of activation energy and binary chemical reaction along with a novel exponential space-based heat source on laminar boundary flow past a stretched plate in the presence of non-linear Rosseland radiative heat.
An open letter to the Universe: a reflection on conducting “good” research
Authors: Ruel Stefanie
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal a qualitative researcher’s journey into finding her sense of self during a trial she faced while conducting her dissertation research.

Design/methodology/approach

Indigenous research methodologies (IRM) mixed with an autoethnography were used. A critical reflexivity position, with respect to being in the field, was adopted, melding in the Universe, the Sun and the Earth as objects that the author can talk and interact with. This reflexivity was captured within the letter to the Universe.

Findings

Three outcomes are discussed. Notably, the implications of this work with respect to power-relations and gender. The issue of being in the field is then discussed. Finally, untangling the practical implications of using IRM/autoethnography as a combined method is presented.

Social implications

The letter to the Universe offers a guide of sorts to other qualitative researchers, via one person’s experience in the field. The letter is, in the end, a cautionary story for others, acknowledging that the author can respond to a trial in a gendered fashion, that one needs to be humble along with being persistent, flexible and resourceful toward achieving “good” research.

Originality/value

As a Western, White woman scholar, who circles Indigenous influences, the author demonstrated (through this letter) one possible way of embracing, and acknowledging, IRM without appropriating it.
Continuity and change in United States’ foreign policy towards Gulf region after the events of September 11th, 2001
Authors: Al-Qahtani Fawaz
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to scrutinize and analyze the continuity and change in US foreign policy toward the Gulf region, with a comparison between the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Also, it explores the nature of the changes in US foreign policy toward the Gulf region to explain the factors that lead to change and when this change occurs. Policymakers were one of the most important factors that led to the occurrence of change in US policy. Therefore, the study also focuses on decision-makers as an engine of change in foreign policy. In this vein, the study seeks to answer the following question: what is the extent of continuity and change in US foreign policy toward the Gulf region under both Bush and Obama administrations?

Design/methodology/approach

The study seeks to answer its research question by using the rational choice approach. This approach explains that foreign policy does not change because of change of leadership. Therefore, this approach is suitable to study the research question.

Findings

The study reached several points of results, the most important of which are as follows: there is continuity within US foreign policy toward the Gulf countries under the two Bush and Obama administrations. Despite the difference of mechanisms of implementing this foreign policy under both administrations, the objectives of the US foreign policy are still constant and continuous. For example, although the events of September led to the occurrence of tensions between the USA and the Gulf region, the repercussions of the events of September were ostensible where the effects were confined to a change in tactical objectives. Also, successive American administrations have recognized the USA’s enduring and salient interests in the Gulf region.

Research limitations/implications

The region is important as a source of US energy supplies as a strategic military base of operations and also as a site of US foreign policy influence through relationship with individual nations such as Saudi Arabia and the smaller states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Practical implications

This paper adds to the existing literature which charts the effects of US foreign policy on the Gulf region.
Exploring multi-axis material extrusion additive manufacturing for improving mechanical properties of printed parts
Authors: Kubalak Joseph R. , Wicks Alfred L. , Williams Christopher B.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Material extrusion (ME) suffers from anisotropic mechanical properties that stem from the three degree of freedom (DoF) toolpaths used for deposition. The formation of each layer is restricted to the XY-plane, which produces poorly bonded layer interfaces along the build direction. Multi-axis ME affords the opportunity to change the layering and deposition directions locally throughout a part, which could improve a part’s overall mechanical performance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of changing the layering and deposition directions on the tensile mechanical properties of parts printed via multi-axis ME.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-axis toolpath generation algorithm is presented and implemented on a 6-DoF robotic arm ME system to fabricate tensile specimens at different global orientations. Specifically, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) tensile specimens are printed at various inclination angles using the multi-axis technique; the resulting tensile strengths of the multi-axis specimens are compared to similarly oriented specimens printed using a traditional 3-DoF method.

Findings

The multi-axis specimens had similar performances regardless of orientation and were equivalent to the 3-DoF specimens printed in the XYZ orientation (i.e. flat on the bed with roads aligned to the loading condition). This similarity is attributed to those sets of specimens having the same degree of road alignment.

Practical implications

Parts with out-of-plane loads currently require design compromises (e.g. additional material in critical areas). Multi-axis deposition strategies could enable local changes in layering and deposition directions to more optimally orient roads in critical areas of the part.

Originality/value

Though multi-axis ME systems have been demonstrated in literature, no prior work has been done to determine the effects of the deposition angle on the resulting mechanical properties. This work demonstrates that identical mechanical properties can be obtained irrespective of the build direction through multi-axis deposition. For ABS, the yield tensile strength of vertically oriented tensile bars was improved by 153 per cent using multi-axis deposition as compared to geometrically similar samples fabricated via 3-DoF deposition.
Australia Has the World's Best Petrol Price Data: FuelWatch and FuelCheck
Authors: Byrne David P , Nah Jia Sheen , Xue Peng
Published: November 2018

This article introduces two retail fuel price databases in Australia, FuelWatch and FuelCheck. Each dataset consists of a complete panel of station‐level prices over time and across stations, and they are available for public access via web download. We provide background on how the two databases were established, describe their data‐generating processes, review some existing studies that utilise these data, and provide suggestions for future potential use.
Cryptocurrencies, Mainstream Asset Classes and Risk Factors: A Study of Connectedness
Authors: Milunovich George
Published: November 2018

We investigate connectedness within and across two major groups or assets: i) five popular cryptocurrencies and ii) six major asset classes plus two commonly employed risk factors. Granger causality tests uncover six direct channels of causality from the elements of the mainstream assets/risk factors group to digital assets. There are also two statistically significant causal links going in the other direction. In order to provide some perspective on the magnitude of these linkages we estimate networks from forecast error variance decompositions. The estimated connectedness within the groups is relatively large, whereas the linkages across the two groups are small in comparison.
Silence and Voice in Nigeria's Hybrid Urban Water Markets: Implications for Local Governance of Public Goods
Authors: Acey Charisma Shonté
Published: November 2018

This article highlights how the governance of the water sector affects the strategies and tactics urban residents use to gain improved access to water for household consumption in cities with limited networked infrastructure. A framework of exit, voice and loyalty (EVL) is used to characterize the actions household decision makers take in neighborhoods across metropolitan areas. In Nigeria, Lagos and Benin City are rapidly growing metropolitan regions with urban water markets competing with a state‐run utility. Scholars have documented informality and hybridity between state and non‐state actors, but there is less understanding of variables associated with citizen behavior in urban water markets across different types of households and communities. This article places Nigeria in the context of African mobilization around water provision, using interviews, observation and findings from fieldwork, household interviews and surveys undertaken between 2008 and 2015 to show how access to water is shaped by the interplay between state and non‐state sources of water. This access is filtered through differently regulated service providers and the perceived authority of each actor involved in water delivery, which can lead to what I call structural silence. Findings show the need for a grounded understanding of factors influencing voice and participation in local governance.
Management of abnormal observations in the emergency department: A review
Authors: Trajkovska Aleksandra , Farooq Munawar , Richardson Drew
Published: November 2018

Objective

To assess utility and accuracy of general observation modified early warning score charts; and compare sensitivity and specificity of single‐ and multiple‐parameter‐based trigger scores on patient outcomes in the ED.

Methods

Retrospective cohort clinical audit of all adult Modified Early Warning Score charts in the ED of a mixed tertiary hospital over 4 weeks. Data extracted included recorded parameters required to calculate Modified Early Warning Score and evidence of response.

Results

Of 5901 ED presentations, medical records system identified 2482 Modified Early Warning Score; 347 were missing or blank. Of 2135 Modified Early Warning Score charts, 19.5% contained a calculation error, 51.9% had one or more missing parameters and 36.6% did not have usual/target systolic blood pressure recorded; with 25.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.3–27.0) charts correctly completed. Four hundred and forty‐three had a single‐abnormal parameter of which chart review showed 96.6% (94.5–97.3) were identified as abnormal by nurses with 25.7% (21.9–30.0); only 5.6% (3.9–8.2) had evidence of recognition by medical staff. Modified Early Warning Score sensitivity and specificity for ward admission was 14.7% and 96.1%, respectively. Modelling using the dataset of a single‐abnormal parameter suggested sensitivity and specificity of 31.6% and 85.8%, respectively.

Conclusions

This study highlights serious deficiencies in documentation of abnormal parameters and emergency response. It has also shown poor accuracy of both single‐ and multiple‐parameter‐based trigger scores in predicting patient outcomes within the ED. However, single‐parameter‐based trigger scores are twice as sensitive as total Modified Early Warning Score for admission and reduces documentation error by 23%.
Putting homicide followed by suicide in context: Do macro‐environmental characteristics impact the odds of committing suicide after homicide?*
Authors: Fridel Emma E. , Zimmerman Gregory M.
Published: November 2018

Homicide followed by suicide remains an understudied phenomenon in the criminological literature. This is due, in part, to methodological and statistical limitations—much of the extant research includes small samples and has not kept pace with quantitative advances. Moreover, scholarship on homicide–suicide has been focused almost exclusively on individual risk factors, discounting contextual influences. In this study, we examine whether macro‐environmental characteristics affect the odds of suicide after a homicide. We use data on 24,373 homicide and homicide–suicide cases distributed across 3,019 cities and 48 U.S. states from the National Violent Death Reporting System to examine the direct effects of structural factors on the odds of suicide after a homicide; and whether structural characteristics condition the impact of the victim–offender relationship on the odds of homicide–suicide. Hierarchical logistic regression models indicate that macro‐level concentrated disadvantage decreases the odds of homicide–suicide. Furthermore, concentrated disadvantage attenuates the odds of suicide after the homicide of an intimate partner, child, family member, or friend, relative to the killing of a stranger. The findings reveal that researchers should account for the context in which homicide–suicide occurs; failure to do so may unintentionally discount a key correlate of homicide–suicide and artificially inflate the effects of the micro‐environment.
Facilitating International Cooperation on Air Pollution in East Asia: Fragmentation of the Epistemic Communities
Authors: Yarime Masaru , Li Aitong
Published: November 2018

To tackle transboundary air pollution in East Asia, international schemes for environmental cooperation have been introduced, including the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET), Long‐Range Transboundary Pollution of China, Japan and Korea (LTP), and the North‐East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC). These programs, however, have not been successful in establishing robust regimes for effectively reducing transboundary air pollution in the region. This paper aims to examine the process of forming epistemic communities through these programs in East Asia. A bibliometric data on the scientific articles and reports produced were analyzed to examine the network structure of the scientific activities through EANET. The fragmentation of expert groups within EANET and among the major international schemes on air pollution in East Asia contributed to discouraging solid formation of an epistemic community covering air pollution comprehensively in the region. That makes it difficult to reach a consensus based on the current state of scientific knowledge on air pollution for providing effective advice and recommendations for the development of policies and regulations.
Functional pathways regulated by microRNA networks in CD8 T‐cell aging
Authors: Gustafson Claire E. , Cavanagh Mary M. , Jin Jun , Weyand Cornelia M. , Goronzy Jörg J.
Published: November 2018

One of the most prominent immunological changes during human aging is the alteration in CD8 T‐cell subset distribution, predominated by a loss of naïve CD8 T cells. The molecular mechanisms that contribute to the loss of naïve CD8 T‐cells during aging remain unclear. Considering that many CD8 T‐cell functions are influenced by microRNAs (miRNAs), we explored miRNA expression profiling to identify novel dysfunctions that contribute to naïve CD8 T‐cell loss during aging. Here, we describe age‐dependent miRNA expression changes in naïve, central memory, and effector memory CD8 T‐cell subsets. Changes in old naïve CD8 T‐cells partially resembled those driven by an underlying shift in cellular differentiation toward a young central memory phenotype. Pathways enriched for targets of age‐dependent miRNAs included FOXO1, NF‐κB, and PI3K‐AKT signaling. Transcriptome analysis of old naïve CD8 T‐cells yielded corresponding patterns that correlated to those seen with reduced FOXO1 or altered NF‐κB activities. Of particular interest, IL‐7R expression, controlled by FOXO1 signaling, declines on naïve CD8 T cells with age and directly correlates with the frequencies of naïve CD8 T cells. Thus, age‐associated changes in miRNA networks may ultimately contribute to the failure in CD8 T‐cell homeostasis exemplified by the loss in naïve cells.