bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Murabaha syndrome of Islamic banks: a paradox or product of the system?
Authors: Miah Mohammad Dulal , Suzuki Yasushi
Published: January 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the “murabaha syndrome” of Islamic banks. It further attempts to offer alternatives for the expansion of profit and loss sharing (PLS)-based financing.

Design/methodology/approach

Audited financial statements of 18 Islamic banks in the GCC countries are analyzed to assess the financing structures of banks. Moreover, additional data about financing pattern of Islamic banks in other Muslim majority countries are collected from the Islamic finance literature. A comparative analysis is offered to examine the financing structures of Islamic banks.

Findings

The paper confirms murabaha (mark-up financing) concentration of Islamic banks. About 90 per cent of the total financing are concentrated on murabaha, which is the result of existing institutional underpinnings. Islamic banks would logically be involved with PLS-based financing only limitedly unless the current governing institutions are changed. Entrepreneurs’ financing needs based on PLS contracts should be catered by venture capital, whereas micro-finance enterprises can meet the demand for funds of marginal clients.

Practical implications

PLS investment in the portfolio of Islamic banks would result in higher risk and uncertainty. Ambiguity, or its equivalent uncertainty, is prohibited in Islam. This is a dilemma which the existing literature does not sufficiently explain.

Originality/value

Ideally, Islamic banks should practice PLS-based financing; otherwise, their raison d’être would be difficult to justify. Islamic finance literature does not shed sufficient analytical lights in explaining Islamic banks’ preference of mark-up financing to PLS-based financing. Moreover, strategies to ameliorate this condition have largely remained unexplored.
The intention to adopt Islamic financing in emerging economies: evidence from Uganda
Authors: Bananuka Juma , Mukyala Veronica , Tumwebaze Zainabu , Ssekakubo Johnson , Kasera Musa , Najjuma Mariam Ssemakula
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish whether there is a relationship between religiosity, religious preferences, firm age and intention to adopt Islamic financing in an emerging economy like Uganda which is a secular state and adopting Islamic financing for the first time.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross-sectional and mixed-methods design. The authors administered closed-ended questionnaires and these were supplemented by semi-structured interviews.

Findings

Results indicate that religiosity is significantly associated with intention to adopt Islamic financing. Further, religious experience as a dimension of religiosity is significantly associated with intention to adopt Islamic financing unlike ideology. Religious preferences and firm age are also significantly associated with intention to adopt Islamic financing. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) reveals that there are significant differences in between religions whereby Muslims are more ready for Islamic financing than the Christians are.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s main limitation is that it uses evidence from Uganda’s micro businesses which account for 70 per cent of Uganda’s total businesses. It is unclear on whether this study results can be generalized to the remaining 30 per cent of the businesses and if results of this study can be generalized to other national settings.

Originality/value

Islamic financing being an emerging phenomenon on the African continent especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa where most countries are secular states, there are few empirical studies exploring religiosity, religious preferences, firm age and intention to adopt Islamic financing in an emerging economy perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that provides some insights into religiosity, religious preference, firm age and intention to adopt Islamic financing from a Ugandan perspective using a mixed methods research design.
Salam for import operations: mitigating commodity macro risk
Authors: Anwer Zaheer
Published: January 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to present the idea of using classic Islamic finance instrument Salam to conduct import transactions. It documents the complete framework of the proposed model. At present, this mode is not used by Islamic Financial Services Industry although it is capable of becoming a viable risk-sharing instrument.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the features of existing import financing products are explored and compared with various contractual features of Salam. Second, a discussion on why banks are reluctant in practicing Salam is included. Third, the pricing techniques, accounting treatment and collateral arrangements related to proposed product are discussed. Finally, the feasibility of this product in present industry environment is assessed.

Findings

The proposed model carries certain features that make it a true risk-sharing product. For example, it suggests changing bank’s role from intermediary to entrepreneur and favours better alignment of risk between the related parties. This work has also proposed using market-based returns, instead of the existing interest-based benchmarks, for pricing the contract. To practice this product, a dedicated effort of all the stakeholders is required. The product features can contribute to the goal of practicing responsible financing, engrained in true economic reality.

Research limitations/implications

The present work is a technical paper, and the product features may be improved in the light of feedback from the industry and academia.

Practical implications

The proposed model views Islamic bank as a trader instead of a lender, who will assume the effective ownership of imported goods before selling them to the customers. The pricing structure will also be unique, as the margins will be decided upon the basis of market-driven returns of the underlying assets. Indeed, by entering into such contract, Islamic Banks will be exposed to market-related risks. They will be required to design their risk management frameworks accordingly.

Originality/value

It is widely argued that many Islamic finance products are similar to their conventional counterparts in substance. There is a need for the instruments that carry risk sharing attributes. This paper aims to bridge this gap by investigating the potential of classical Islamic finance product Salam for conducting foreign trade transactions.
Risk management with a duration gap approach
Authors: Chattha Jamshaid Anwar , Alhabshi Syed Musa , Meera Ahamed Kameel Mydin
Published: January 2020

Purpose

In line with the IFSB and BCBS methodology, the purpose of this study is to undertake a comparative analysis of dual banking systems for asset-liability management (ALM) practices with the duration gap, in Islamic Commercial Banks (ICBs) and Conventional Commercial Banks (CCBs). Based on the research objective, two research questions are developed: How do the duration gaps of ICBs compare with those of similar sized CCBs? Are there any country-specific and regional differences among ICBs in terms of managing their duration gaps?

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology comprises two-stages: stage one uses a duration gap model to calculate the duration gaps of ICBs and CCBs; stage two applies parametric tests. In terms of the duration gap model, the study determines the duration gap with a four-step process. The study selected a sample of 100 banks (50 ICBs and 50 CCBs) from 13 countries for the period 2009-2015.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights into the duration gap and ALM of ICBs and CCBs. The ICBs have more variations in their mean duration gap compared to the CCBs, and they have a tendency for a higher (more) mean duration gap (28.37 years) in comparison to the CCBs (11.79 years). The study found ICBs as having 2.41 times more duration gap compared to the CCBs, and they are exposed to increasing rate of return (ROR) risk due to their larger duration gaps and severe liquidity mismatches. There are significant regional differences in terms of the duration gap and asset-liability management.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies also consider “Off-Balance Sheet” activities of the ICBs, with multi-term duration measures. A larger sample size of 100 ICBs with 10 years’ data after the GFC would be more beneficial to the industry. In addition, the impact of an increasing benchmark rate (e.g. 100, 200 and 300 bps) on the ICBs as per the IFSB 20 per cent threshold can also be established with the duration gap approach to identify the vulnerabilities of the ICBs.

Practical implications

The study makes profound contributions to the literature and suggests various policy recommendations for Islamic banks, regulators, and standard setters of the ICBs, for identifying and measuring the significance of the duration gaps; and management of the ROR risk under Pillar 2 of the BCBS and IFSB, for financial soundness and stability purposes.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer study in Islamic banking involving a sample of 100 banks (50 ICBs and 50 CCBs) from 13 countries. The results of the study provide original empirical evidence regarding the estimation of duration gap, and variations across jurisdictions in terms of vulnerability of ICBs and CCBs in dual banking systems.
Enhancing socio-economic justice and financial inclusion in Nigeria
Authors: Zauro Nurudeen Abubakar , Zauro Nurudeen Abubakar , Saad Ram Al Jaffri , Sawandi Norfaiezah
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the roles of Zakat, Sadaqah and Qardhul Hassan within the context of the existing literature as major Islamic financial instruments for enhancing socio-economic justice amongst Muslims haves and have-nots as these enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The discussion in this paper is based on secondary sources such as the divine knowledge contained in the Qur’an, Hadiths and the existing literature, such as previously conducted empirical studies and Islamic world view (Tawhidi epistemology).

Findings

This paper implores Islamic societies to use Zakat, Sadaqah and Qardhul Hassan as instruments that encourages wealth redistribution that promotes efficient and effective wealth redistribution between haves and have-nots as part of the vicegerent (khaliphah) role between mortal being (human) and his immortal creator (Allah). This paper concludes by suggesting the use of these Islamic financial instruments as means to enhance socio-economic justice and financial inclusion in the Nigeria’s Muslims’ communities that are negatively affected by the high rate of financial exclusion and poverty as had been previously practiced in the Muslim world throughout the Islamic history.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides critical suggestions on the ways Zakat, Sadaqah and Qardhul Hassan will contribute significantly towards assisting Nigeria in achieving its vision of reducing the financial exclusion rate that is currently put at 41.6% to 20% by the year 2020 and may foster inclusive growth and sustainable development. However, the limitation is that it is a mare conceptual study, and the future researchers may subject it to the scientific test to offer empirical evidence regarding the roles of Zakat, Sadaqah and Qardhul Hassan towards closing the gap of financial exclusion in Nigeria.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing literature on the doctrine of the Islamic moral economy by recommending the adoption of Islamic financial instruments as tools for enhancing income redistribution and financial inclusion.
Rethinking democratizing potential of digital technology
Authors: Ma Luyue
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the shifting conceptualization of the democratizing potential of digital technology can be more comprehensively understood by bringing in science and technology studies (STS) perspectives to communication scholarship. The synthesis and discussion are aiming at providing an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for comprehensively understand the democratizing potential of digital technology, and urging researchers to be conscious of assumptions underpinning epistemological positions they take when examining the issue of democratizing potential of digital technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a constructive literature review that synthesizes and integrates existed literature from communication and STS on the democratizing potential of digital technology. The author attempts to bridge theoretical perspectives from communication and STS by identifying core arguments and debates around key concepts and discussing potential implications of different epistemological positions.

Findings

Tracing the evolving analytical perspectives of technological determinism, the social construction of technology and actor-network theory, the author argues that researchers should be aware of their underlying epistemological assumptions embedded in relationships among users, technological systems and social factors. Analyzing the contested notion of power in the democratizing potential of digital technology from two contrasting perspectives, the author argues that researchers should recognize both the front end and the back end of digital technology in their analysis. In addition, new challenges of algorithm opacity and accountability in impacting the democratizing potential of digital technology are further discussed.

Originality/value

This study provides an original interdisciplinary theoretical framework by reviewing and bridging scholarship from communication and STS in examining the democratizing potential of digital technology. Adopting this interdisciplinary theoretical framework helps researchers develop a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the democratizing potential of digital technology.
Social media use in academia
Authors: Nijjer Shivinder , Raj Sahil
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The high rate of internet penetration has led to the proliferation of social media (SM) use, even at the workplace, including academia. This research attempts to develop a topology and thereby determine the dominant use motive for faculty’s use of SM.

Design/methodology/approach

In this two-part study, a two-stage research design has been adopted for topology development based on the application of Uses and Gratifications Theory. In the second part, the Technology Acceptance Model is applied to discern the dominant motive for SM use in academia.

Findings

The work is able to develop a seven-item topology, conforming to the basic three use motives, namely, hedonic, utilitarian and social. The work shows faculty attach more value to the instrumental utility of SM, while the hedonic function is also significant.

Practical implications

Discerning dominant motive implies that SM use at the workplace should not be banned, rather effective regulated use will instil the faculty to enhance work outcomes. The conceptualisation of topology for SM use in academia at the workplace can aid in designing an effective organisation policy, and design of an internal SM platform.

Originality/value

The study is unique towards topology development for academic faculty and has many important implications for management and academia, especially towards policy design for SM use at the workplace.
A feminist and decolonial perspective on passing the test in activist ethnography
Authors: Deschner Claire Jin , Dorion Léa
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to question the idea of “passing a test” within activist ethnography. Activist ethnography is an ethnographic engagement with social movement organizations as anti-authoritarian, anarchist, feminist and/or anti-racist collectives. It is based on the personal situating of the researcher within the field to avoid a replication of colonialist research dynamics. Addressing these concerns, we explore activist ethnography through feminist standpoint epistemologies and decolonial perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on our two activist ethnographies conducted as PhD research in two distinct European cities with two different starting points. While Léa entered the field through her PhD research, Claire partly withdrew and re-entered as academic.

Findings

Even when activist researchers share the political positioning of the social movement they want to study, they still experience tests regarding their research methodology. As activists, they are accountable to their movement and experience – as most other activist – a constant threat of exclusion. In addition, activist networks are fractured along political lines, the test is therefore ongoing.

Originality/value

Our contribution is threefold. First, the understanding of tests within activist ethnography helps decolonizing ethnography. Being both the knower and the known, activist ethnographers reflect on the colonial and heterosexist history of ethnography which offers potentials to use ethnography in non-exploitative ways. Second, we conceive of activist ethnography as a prefigurative methodology, i.e. as an embedded activist practice, that should therefore answer to the same tests as any other practice of prefigurative movements: it should aim to enact here and now the type of society the movement reaches for. Finally, we argue that activist ethnography relies on and contribute to developing consciousness about the researcher’s political subjectivity.
Different strokes for different folks
Authors: Cafferkey Kenny , Dundon Tony , Winterton Jonathan , Townsend Keith
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Existing research on the relationship between human resources management (HRM) and worker reactions to practices rarely explore differences between occupational classes and their receptiveness to HRM initiatives. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from a single case organization, the authors examine whether HRM practices apply uniformly across distinct occupational groups, and if there are differing impacts by occupational class on commitment, motivation and satisfaction.

Findings

Using occupational identity, the results indicate that different groups of employees have varied perceptions of, and reactions to, the same HRM practices.

Practical implications

The paper adds that human resource practice application may have a tipping point, after which distinct employee groups require different HR architectural configurations.

Social implications

HRM policy and practice may be better tailored to the different specific needs of diverse occupational groups of workers.

Originality/value

The paper argues that existing theory and practice advocating universal or high potential HRM as a route to positive employee outcomes are potentially flawed.
Failed promises – performance measurement ambiguities in hybrid universities
Authors: Vakkuri Jarmo , Johanson Jan-Erik
Published: January 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse performance measurement ambiguities in hybrid universities. In accounting research, performance measurement of universities has been discussed in detail, and there is some research on impacts of hybridity in institutional systems. However, there is a particular need in accounting research for more sophisticated theorizations of the ambiguities associated with measuring performance in hybrid organizations. Moreover, there is a dearth of accounting-related interdisciplinary studies conceptualizing the hybridity of universities with important implications for measuring and reporting performance. This paper fills this research gap by providing more elaborate basis for conceptualizing performance measurement ambiguities through the lenses of hybrid universities.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors critically scrutinize the promise of performance measurement in hybrid universities and explore why it may result in new policy problems. Questions asked are as follows: How can we better understand those institutional mechanisms through which the promise of performance measurement may ultimately result in new forms of ambiguities and unexpected outcomes, and what are the specific characteristics of hybridity that make those mechanisms possible in universities?

Findings

The authors propose a conceptual model for studying universities in hybrid performance settings. The model provides a new inter-disciplinary approach for conceptualizing performance measurement ambiguities in universities when they are influenced by hybridity, hybrid arrangements and hybrid governance.

Originality/value

This paper provides more elaborate basis for understanding hybridity of universities, not only through reforms for combining business, government and collegial professional logics (e.g. corporatization, marketization) or through new hybrid mixes of professions but also as a more comprehensive, inter-disciplinary understanding of institutional structures, logics and practices at modern universities.
Student reflections on doctoral learning: challenges and breakthroughs
Authors: Owens Alison , Brien Donna Lee , Ellison Elizabeth , Batty Craig
Published: January 2020

Purpose

There has been sustained interest in how to support doctoral students through the often-gruelling journey they undertake from enrolment to graduation. Although doctoral numbers and successful completions have been steadily increasing globally as well as in Australia, the quality of student progression and outcomes has been widely interrogated and criticised in the literature that is reported in this paper. The authors’ interest as experienced research higher degree supervisors and research leaders in the creative arts and humanities prompted a research project that aimed to better understand the challenges and breakthroughs involved in completing a doctorate from the perspective of candidates themselves.

Design/methodology/approach

This was implemented through an action learning collaboration with 18 students from three Australian universities facilitated by four research supervisors.

Findings

The main findings presented in this paper include the necessity for maintaining, brokering and supporting a range of relationships; understanding expectations of research study and embracing the need for agility in managing these; and finally, using techniques to improve personal agency and ownership of the transformative journey of research higher degree candidature. The importance of establishing an understanding of the multidimensional human experience of doing a doctorate and providing appropriate support through enhanced forms of research training emerged as a core finding from this research project.

Research limitations/implications

The relatively small number of research participants in this study and the discipline-specific focus prohibits generalizability of findings; however, the collaborative, action learning method adopted represents an approach that is both productive and transferable to other contexts and disciplines.

Practical implications

Further research might investigate the relevance of the findings from this research to doctoral students in other disciplines and/or institutions or apply the collaborative action learning approach to doctoral training presented here to a range of contexts and cohorts.

Social implications

Improving doctoral training options to support the multidimensional needs of candidates can better assure the mental and emotional well-being of doctoral students (essential to their continuing intellectual development and sense of agency) through developing sustainable relationships and realistic expectations. This in turn has the potential to address the consistently high attrition rates in doctoral programmes.

Originality/value

This research contributes new insights from doctoral students on the challenges and breakthroughs experienced by them as they pursue original research through formal study and present a novel, collaborative and empowering approach to doctoral training that can be applied in diverse setting.
Corporate social responsibility, family ownership and earnings management: the case of Indonesia
Authors: Kumala Rini , Siregar Sylvia Veronica
Published: January 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the association of corporate social responsibility (CSR), family ownership and earnings management.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors specifically examine mining companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2012-2014. Total observations are 105 firm-years. Research data are collected from sustainability reports, annual reports and annual financial statements. Data are analysed using panel data regression.

Findings

The evidence suggests a negative association between corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRDs) and earnings management. The authors also examine the direct and moderating role of family ownership. The authors find a positive association between family ownership and earnings management. In addition, family ownership strengthens the negative association between CSR and earnings management.

Research limitations/implications

This research only examines mining companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange, which limit the generalisation of the results.

Practical implications

The results should useful for: investors wishing to use the level of CSRD as an indicator of firm ethics, especially in relation to family-owned firms; capital-market regulators wishing to improve market transparency by introducing requirements to encourage more CSRD; and other users of financial statements, especially financial analysts to consider ownership structure, specifically family ownership.

Originality/value

Previous studies have mainly focussed on companies in the USA. This paper adds to the body of knowledge regarding whether the positive relationship between family ownership and CSR is also present outside the USA, especially in emerging countries. Further, this study examines the effect of family ownership on the association of CSR and earnings management, which rarely examined in previous studies.
Diabetes and people with learning disabilities: issues for policy, practice, and education
Authors: Maine Andrew , Brown Michael , Truesdale Maria
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the extant literature on diabetes in people with learning disabilities (LD) and discuss implications for policy, practice and research.

Design/methodology/approach

The key findings are extracted from qualitative and quantitative studies and recent systematic literature reviews. These findings are discussed in the areas of prevalence, treatments and implications.

Findings

The complex health needs of people with LDs who are diagnosed or at risk of developing diabetes are gaining wider recognition, and recent studies have begun to implement and evaluate potential solutions. Further analysis and alignment between services is required.

Originality/value

Following a dearth of studies on diabetes in people with LD, the past decade has seen a sudden upsurge in large and diverse set of studies. This paper provides an overview on the extent of this study.
The role of supervisor knowledge sharing behavior in stimulating subordinate creativity
Authors: Thuan Le Cong
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Knowledge sharing is critical for employee creative performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of supervisor knowledge sharing behavior on subordinate creativity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected data by paper-based surveys at information technology organizations in southern Vietnam (N= 339). The hypotheses were tested by conducting a hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results showed that supervisor knowledge sharing behavior positively affected subordinates’ creative performance. Further, the positive association between supervisor knowledge sharing behavior and subordinate creativity was reinforced by subordinate absorptive capacity and partially mediated by subordinate task-efficacy and subordinate domain knowledge.

Practical implications

Companies should choose individuals who frequently share their knowledge with others when staffing supervisory positions. Moreover, companies should encourage supervisors as well as give supervisors a substantial amount of time and opportunities to share their knowledge with their subordinates. Further, companies should encourage employees to proactively gain valuable knowledge shared by their supervisors. Finally, companies should provide employees with job training programs as well as encourage them to join these programs to improve their absorptive capacity.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers to investigate whether supervisors can stimulate their subordinate creativity by sharing explicit and tacit knowledge. This study also contributes to the creativity literature by examining the mediating role of subordinate task-efficacy and subordinate domain knowledge and the moderating effect of subordinate absorptive capacity.
The impact of cytomegalovirus infection on clinical severity and outcomes in kidney transplant recipients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia
Authors: Lee Sua , Park Yohan , Kim Seong Gyu , Ko Eun Jeong , Chung Byung Ha , Yang Chul Woo
Published: January 2020

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs), but its impact on clinical severity and outcomes in KTRs with PJP is unknown. We reviewed 1994 medical records of KTRs from January 1997 to March 2019. PJP or CMV infection was diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction or culturing using blood or respiratory specimens. We divided patients into PJP and PJP+CMV groups, and evaluated the clinical severity and outcomes. Fifty two patients had PJP (2.6%) in the whole study cohort. Among patients with PJP, 38 (73.1%) had PJP alone and 14 (26.9%) had combined PJP and CMV co‐infection. The PJP+CMV group showed worse laboratory findings (serum albumin and C‐reactive protein, P = 0.010 for both) and higher requirement of continuous renal replacement therapy than the PJP group (P = 0.050). The pneumonia severity was worse in the PJP+CMV group than in the PJP group (P < 0.05), and CMV infection was a high risk factor of pneumonia severity (odds ratio 16.0; P = 0.002). The graft function was worse in the PJP+CMV group (P < 0.001), and the incidence of graft failure was higher in the PJP+CMV group than in the PJP group (85.7% vs 36.8%; P < 0.001). Mortality was double in the PJP+CMV group than in the PJP group, but not statistically significant (21.4% vs 10.5%; P = 0.370). Our results show that approximately one in four patients with PJP after kidney transplantation develops CMV with increased clinical severity and risk of graft failure. The possibility of increased clinical severity and worse clinical outcomes by CMV co‐infection should be considered in KTRs with PJP.
Adaptive seasonal shift towards investment in fewer, larger offspring: Evidence from field and laboratory studies
Authors: Hall Joshua M. , Mitchell Timothy S. , Thawley Christopher J. , Stroud James T. , Warner Daniel A.
Published: January 2020

Seasonal changes in reproduction have been described for many taxa. As reproductive seasons progress, females often shift from greater energetic investment in many small offspring towards investing less total energy into fewer, better provisioned (i.e. larger) offspring. The underlying causes of this pattern have not been assessed in many systems.

Two primary hypotheses have been proposed to explain these patterns. The first is an adaptive hypothesis from life‐history theory: early offspring have a survival advantage over those produced later. Accordingly, selection favours females that invest in offspring quantity early in the season and offspring quality later. The second hypothesis suggests these patterns are not intrinsic but result from passive responses to seasonal changes in the environment experienced by reproducing females (i.e. maternal environment).

To disentangle the causes underlying this pattern, which has been reported in brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei), we performed complementary field and laboratory studies. The laboratory study carefully controlled maternal environments and quantified reproductive patterns throughout the reproductive season for each female. The field study measured similar metrics from free ranging lizards across an entire reproductive season.

In the laboratory, females increased relative effort per offspring as the reproductive season progressed; smaller eggs were laid earlier, larger eggs were laid later. Moreover, we observed significant among‐individual variation in seasonal changes in reproduction, which is necessary for traits to evolve via natural selection. Because these patterns consistently emerge under controlled laboratory conditions, they likely represent an intrinsic and potentially adaptive adjustment of reproductive effort as predicted by life‐history theory.

The field study revealed similar trends, further suggesting that intrinsic patterns observed in the laboratory are strong enough to persist despite the environmental variability that characterizes natural habitats. The observed patterns are indicative of an adaptive seasonal shift in parental investment in response to a deteriorating offspring environment: allocating greater resources to late‐produced offspring likely enhances maternal fitness.
Language, literacy and cognitive skills of young adults with developmental language disorder (DLD)
Authors: Botting Nicola
Published: January 2020

Background

There is limited evidence concerning the longer term language, literacy and cognitive skills of young adults with developmental language disorder (DLD). Studies that exist suggest continuing difficulties with language and reading, but abilities may change over time.

Aims

This study aimed to examine the language, literacy and cognitive skills of young adults with and without DLD.

Methods & Procedures

Data were used from the Manchester Language Study data set which was collected from a group of young adults with DLD (recruited originally at 7 years of age from language units—specialist educational resource bases). Participants were assessed on their language, literacy and cognitive functioning when they were aged 24. A comparison group of age‐matched peers (AMPs; also 24 years old) were also assessed. For language and cognition, change in scores between 16 and 24 years was also available for analysis. Finally, self‐rated measures of literacy difficulties were taken at 24 years for functional reading and writing.

Outcome & Results

The results indicate that the young people with DLD in this sample continue to perform more poorly as a group on formal oral and written language tests. A small but significant minority of young adults with DLD also report functional reading and writing difficulties compared with AMPs despite reporting reading as often as their peer group. Compared with scores at 16 years of age, this subsample now appears to show slightly less risk of non‐verbal IQ difficulties, showing small but significant ‘catch‐up’ to AMPs.

Conclusions & Implications

These preliminary data suggest that at least some individuals with DLD experience marked linguistic difficulties in adulthood, and that the pathways of language, literacy and cognition are not entirely parallel for this group. Continued support and awareness of challenges for young adults with DLD may be useful.

What this paper adds

What is already known on the subject

It is known that DLD is long term and persists into adulthood. There has recently been a body of work reporting on the well‐being of this population, as well as their employment, financial status and driving ability. However, there is very little information about language, literacy and cognitive skills beyond school age.

What this paper adds to existing knowledge

This study presents data on language, literacy and cognition from a large cohort of young adults with DLD and their AMPs. In this sample, a large proportion of participants score low on language, with fewer scoring as impaired on literacy and cognition. A significant minority reports difficulties in functional reading. Preliminary analysis appears to suggest that while language development remains depressed, non‐verbal cognitive skills show some catch up over time.

What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?

Increased awareness and continued support for language, literacy and cognition may be useful for young adults with DLD.
Translating Knowledge into Action to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Medicare Expansion of the National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Intervention
Authors: BURD CARLYE , GRUSS STEPHANIE , ALBRIGHT ANN , ZINA ARIELLE , SCHUMACHER PATRICIA , ALLEY DAWN
Published: January 2020

Policy Points

Although preventable chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes carry a significant cost and health burden, few lifestyle interventions have been scaled at a national policy level.

The translation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention from research to a Medicare‐covered service can serve as a model for national adoption of other interventions that have the potential to improve population health.

The successful translation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program has depended on the collaboration of government agencies, academic researchers, community‐based healthcare providers, payers, and other parties.

Context

Many evidence‐based health interventions never achieve national implementation. This article analyzes factors that supported the translation and national implementation of a lifestyle change intervention to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in individuals with prediabetes.

Methods

We used the Knowledge to Action framework, which was developed to map how science is translated into effective health programs, to examine how the evidence‐based intervention from the 2002 Diabetes Prevention Program trial was translated into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's large‐scale National Diabetes Prevention Program, eventually resulting in payment for the lifestyle intervention as a Medicare‐covered service.

Findings

Key findings of our analysis include the importance of a collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and payers to encourage early adopters; development of evidence‐based, national standards to support widespread adoption of the intervention; and use of public input from community organizations to scale the intervention to a national level.

Conclusions

This analysis offers timely lessons for other high‐value, scalable interventions attempting to move beyond the evidence‐gathering phase and into translation and institutionalization.
The Shrinking City as a Growth Machine: Detroit's Reinvention of Growth through Triage, Foundation Work and Talent Attraction
Authors: Berglund Lisa
Published: January 2020

Despite Detroit's reputation for social and financial crisis, developers and investors have successfully pursued growth and land‐use intensification in recent years. However, in Molotch's initial conception of the growth machine, environments of extreme decline go under analyzed. While scholars have investigated the role of growth in Detroit, they have narrowly focused on a single document: the Detroit Future City framework. This work looks more holistically at the development networks leveraged to pursue growth through a discourse analysis of a broader set of development documents and interviews with development professionals, uncovering ways the growth machine adapts to this unlikely environment for growth. Rather than proposing an alternative to growth for a shrinking city, growth elites (led by philanthropic foundations) propose development scenarios leveraging triage to channel diminished amounts of development resources. In doing this, Greater Downtown, with its investment potential, is polarized from other areas of the city seen as risky investments. In addition to focusing growth in investment‐friendly areas, growth coalitions pursue incentives and branding campaigns to attract talent and affluence. These dynamics are a divergence from the growth machine model that supports the narrative that growth benefits all residents in favor of a narrative of triage.
Medical diagnosis of dyslexia in a Swedish elite school: A case of “consecrating medicalization”
Authors: Holmqvist Mikael
Published: January 2020

Based on qualitative data of an upper‐secondary school in Sweden’s primary elite community, Djursholm, I propose how medical diagnosis of students as dyslexics contributes to consecrating them by offering a short cut to successful performance, while at the same time reproducing differences between social classes. The study suggests how students that do not score top can be labeled dyslexic and the social and moral consequences of that. I introduce the concept of “consecrating medicalization” in order to discriminate between the effects of medical diagnosis of members of different social classes. In this way, this paper contributes to further examining some key problems in medical sociology and the sociology of elites, by offering a framework of synthesis and integration.
The influence of sociodemographic factors on trauma center transport for severely injured older adults
Authors: Scheetz Linda J. , Orazem John P.
Published: January 2020

Objective

To examine sociodemographic predictors of trauma center (TC) transport of severely injured older adults.

Data Sources

The data source was the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, New York Inpatient Database (2014).

Study Design

This study was a secondary analysis of injured older adults. Key sociodemographic variables were age, gender, race/ethnicity, median household income, and primary payer. Confounding variables were injury severity, geographic location, number of chronic conditions, and injury mechanism. The outcome variable was TC transport.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

The database was filtered on the following criteria: age =/> 55 years, primary diagnosis of injury (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD‐9‐CM], 800.0‐957.9, excluding poisoning, late effects, and interfacility transfers), admitted to an acute care hospital in New York.

Principal Findings

Records of 33 696 patients were included. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that all variables were statistically significant predictors of TC transport except primary payer. Predictors of TC transport were as follows: higher injury severity (OR 2.1, CI 1.79‐2.46; 3.39, CI 2.85‐4.05); Asian/Pacific and Hispanic race/ethnicity (OR 2.51, CI 1.92‐3.27; OR 1.1, CI 0.86‐1.42), highest median household income (OR 1.24, CI 1.01‐1.52), high population density (OR 1.32, CI 1.12‐1.55; OR 3.2, CI 2.68‐2.83), and vehicle crashes (OR 3.39, CI 2.79‐4.11). Predictors of non‐TC transport were as follows: older age groups (OR 0.92, CI 0.76‐1.11; OR 0.79, CI 0.64‐0.96; OR 0.77, CI 0.63‐0.95), females (OR 0.65, CI 0.57‐0.74), Black and “other” race (OR 0.75, CI 0.0.56‐1.0; OR 0.96, CI 0.77‐1.20), lower median household income (OR 0.76, CI 0.62‐0.93; OR 0.86, CI 0.71‐1.05), low population density (OR 0.96, CI 0.67‐1.36; OR 0.89, CI 0.53‐1.51), and number of chronic conditions (OR 0.89, CI 0.87‐0.91).

Conclusions

Sociodemographic factors are a source of disparity for access to TCs. Further research is needed to confirm bias and test bias reduction strategies. Comprehensive education and policies are needed to reduce disparities in access to trauma care.
Food safety hazards in the European seaweed chain
Authors: Banach J. L. , Hoek‐van den Hil E. F. , van der Fels‐Klerx H. J.
Published: January 2020

Seaweed is a source of protein that can help overcome the anticipated challenges of a growing world population and the current challenges for finding alternatives for animal proteins in the Western diet. Thus far, data on the safety of seaweed for feed and food purposes in the Western world are scattered. This study aimed to review the available knowledge on the presence of food safety hazards in seaweed, including factors influencing their presence, and to prioritize the hazards that may pose a risk to human health. Given current knowledge from the literature, data from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, and results from a stakeholder survey, 22 food safety hazards were ranked into major (4), moderate (5), and minor (13) hazards. Arsenic, cadmium, iodine, and Salmonella were identified as major hazards. Hazards, where data gaps exist, should be carefully assessed. These include pesticide residues, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, marine biotoxins, allergens, micro‐ and nanoplastics, other pathogenic bacteria, norovirus, and hepatitis E virus. It is recommended to collect more data on these hazards in future studies. Many factors can affect the presence of hazards including seaweed type, physiology, season, harvest and cultivation environment, geography including the location of cultivation, alongside further processing. Moreover, when seaweed is cultivated near industrialized or anthropogenic activities, these activities may negatively influence water quality, which can increase the likelihood of hazards in seaweed. Results of the ranking prioritized hazards can be used to prioritize monitoring programs and adjusted given future additional knowledge covering the data gaps.
Association between MRI findings and patient‐reported outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in clinical remission and at relapse
Authors: Glinatsi Daniel , Brahe Cecilie H. , Hetland Merete L. , Ørnbjerg Lykke , Krabbe Simon , Baker Joshua F. , Boesen Mikael , Rastiemadabadi Zoreh , Morsel‐Carlsen Lone , Røgind Henrik , Hansen Annette , Nørregaard Jesper , Jacobsen Søren , Terslev Lene , Huynh Tuan K. , Manilo Natalia , Jensen Dorte V. , Møller Jakob M. , Krogh Niels S. , Østergaard Mikkel
Published: January 2020

Objective

To investigate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pathologies in the wrist/hand of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are associated with patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) at clinical remission and relapse.

Methods

Wrist/hand MRIs and wrists/hands/feet radiographs were obtained in 114 established RA patients in clinical remission, before tapering their biologic disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs. MRIs were assessed according to the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) RA MRI score (RAMRIS) for inflammation (synovitis/tenosynovitis/bone marrow edema) and damage (bone erosion/joint space narrowing) at baseline (ie remission) and in case of a relapse (n = 70). Radiographs were assessed according to the Sharp/van der Heijde (SvH) method at baseline. These scores were assessed for associations with health assessment questionnaires (HAQ), visual analog scales (VAS global/pain), EuroQol‐5 dimensions and Short‐Form 36 physical and mental component summary (SF‐36 PCS/MCS) using Spearman correlations, univariate/multivariable linear regression analyses and generalized estimating equations. Furthermore, MRI pathologies were assessed for association with specific hand‐related HAQ items using Jonckheere trend tests.

Results

Magnetic resonance imaging‐assessed damage was associated with impaired HAQ and SF‐36 PCS at remission and relapse (P < .01), independent of clinical and radiographic measures, and was also associated with most of the hand‐related HAQ items (P < .03). In multivariate models including MRI, SvH scores were not associated with PROs. MRI‐assessed inflammation was not associated with PROs at remission or relapse.

Conclusion

Magnetic resonance imaging‐assessed wrist/hand damage, but not inflammation, in patients with established RA is associated with patient‐reported physical impairment at remission and relapse. The amount of damage in the wrist/hand is associated with reduced hand function.