bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovative work behavior through high-quality leadership
Authors: Miller Linda , Miller Andrew Foster
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to understand how innovative work behavior (IWB) was affected by leaders’ relationships with their employees to enhance engagement/job commitment in the grocery retail industry. The general business problem is some organizations in the grocery retail industry lack IWB to generate innovative solutions to remain competitive.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative method and a single case study design because the literature identified a need to understand how the leader–member relationships, employee engagement/job commitment and employee idea generation and implementation affect organizational innovation in the grocery retail industry. Using this method and design provided the appropriate approach to explore a single organization business process model for innovation. The three data sources for this study were semistructured one-on-one individual interviews, a single focus group and relevant organizational documentation.

Findings

The findings showed high-quality relationships between knowledge workers and their leaders can positively affect their engagement/job commitment and ability to generate and implement useful ideas. A fundamental catalyst for IWB is when all four critical forces are in alignment including high-quality relationships between the knowledge workers and their leadership, the employee is fully engaged and the organization promotes risk-taking behavior to create new ideas with its commitment to innovation through resources and prioritization. The millennial participants indicated their leaders should be more transformational leaders coaching and mentoring them rather than transactional task-oriented disciplinarians. The Generation X and baby boomer participants were seeking more autonomy and resources to explore ideas.

Research limitations/implications

Future researchers could consider exploring a deeper understanding of the multigenerational knowledge workers’ needs to help leaders stimulate employee engagement/job commitment and increase IWB.

Practical implications

Organizations are able to meet the market demand for innovation and remain competitive.

Social implications

Higher quality leader–member relationships lead to employee engagement/job commitment that can increase innovation.

Originality/value

The findings were the trends and preferences revealed within generational groupings. The needs and wants expressed by the millennial participants indicated that their leaders should be more of a coach and mentor. The Generation X and baby boomer participants were seeking more autonomy and resources to explore ideas.
Voice behavior of Indian IT employees: a moderated mediation model
Authors: Prince R. , Rao M. Kameshwar
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors of Indian information technology (IT) employees vary in their relationship with other factors. This study investigates a moderated mediation model involving different factors like managerial openness, voice self-efficacy, turnover intentions and promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross-sectional design to collect data from 254 executives working in the IT companies located in India. This study uses IBM SPSS 22 along with the Hayes’ PROCESS module to investigate the moderation and mediation effects.

Findings

The results reveal that both promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors fully mediate the negative relationship between managerial openness and employee turnover intentions. The results also support that voice self-efficacy strengthens the relationship between managerial openness and promotive voice behavior but not prohibitive voice behavior.

Originality/value

This is one of the very few studies to explore voice behavior from the Indian context and thus heeds to the call made by researchers to explore voice in a non-Western context. The treatment of voice as a combination of promotive and prohibitive voice rather than as a unitary concept enhances the voice literature and invites further research.
Emirati women’s professional legitimacy
Authors: Goby Valerie Priscilla
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper reports an exploration of changing the legitimacy judgments of Emirati women employees in the UAE’s public sector. This paper aims to fill the research gap on gender at employee, rather than managerial level, a topic that has already generated considerable research.

Design/methodology/approach

Data derived from semi-structured interviews with 29 Emirati women working in the public sector is analyzed using NVivo 12 to identify their attitudes to, and experience of, participating in the workforce.

Findings

Interview narratives reveal that women not only consider that they have the right to enhanced professional status but also view this as exerting a positive impact on their personal lives.

Research limitations/implications

It is suggested that this emerging sense of entitlement to work may be traced to the early political endorsement of women in the UAE workforce, underscoring the value of political and judicial agendas that contribute to female legitimacy and their rigorous implementation.

Originality/value

This study highlights the imperative of political goodwill and equitable legislation, as well as the need to assess Islamic values versus patriarchal biases in relation to women in the workforce.
Evaluating the motives of child labourers in the informal economy
Authors: Ilyas Aamar , Shahid Muhammad Shehryar , Ali Hassan Ramraini
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Conventionally, the marginalised population was considered to engage in child labour due to poverty, education or lack of other options, but indeed, a few children work voluntarily. However, a growing number of scholars, in recent years, have drawn their attention to the valuable question, “why children are engaged in child labour in the informal economy”. Even though a few studies have explored the motives of informal workers, to our knowledge not a single paper has explored the motives of child labourers working in the informal economy. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by evaluating the motives of child labourers, through three competing theorisations of the informal economy.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, face-to-face structured interviews of 45 child labourers were conducted, who worked in different automobile workshops in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Respondents were selected using the snowball sampling technique as this strategy is suitable for researching sensitive issues and is feasible for small sample sizes.

Findings

The main finding is that no single explanation is universally applicable to all child labourers. Some (27 per cent) justify their participation in the informal sector as driven by necessity (structuralist perspective), majority (40 per cent) explain their participation in the informal economy as a rational economic choice (neo-liberal perspective) and finally, more than a quarter of respondents (31 per cent) engaged in child labour due to their own free will or voluntarily to work for their family (post-structuralist perspective). This study also revealed that entrepreneurial spawning is a key determinant of child labour as the majority of children, in our study, working in automobile workshops intended to start their own workshop business in the future.

Research limitations/implications

This article shows that children early engaged in work with entrepreneurial intention/spawning. Entrepreneurial education is very important in a child’s life. Entrepreneurial education will be a ticket to fulfill their dreams and learn new things with entrepreneurial attitude.

Practical implications

Government should develop the vocational training institutes for children who left the schools.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the body of literature by providing a better understanding of why children work in informal employment, an occupation generally perceived as constituting exploitative working conditions. This study also contributes to the wider literature of entrepreneurship by exploring “entrepreneurial spawning” as one of the major reasons underlying the participation of children in informal work.
Alternative models of activation policies: the experience of public oriented services
Authors: Scarano Gianluca
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of activation policies in contexts of public-oriented employment services.

Design/methodology/approach

The fieldwork was conducted in Italy, using the regional case of Emilia-Romagna as a representation of public-oriented models. The empirical research relies primarily on quantitative research methods by means of impact evaluations based on very rich and recent administrative data that includes 20,014 observations. These are integrated with some interesting insights from qualitative research tools by means of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the fieldwork.

Findings

The overall level of effectiveness of activation policies does not seem to be particularly high. However, the results show that, to some extent, there are more advantages for job seekers furthest from the labor market. The stronger efforts made to assist those disadvantaged groups are probably related to a loss in the overall effectiveness of the system.

Research limitations/implications

This analysis has focused on a substantially homogeneous and economically developed region. Indeed, Italian activation policy reforms have been implemented differently in different areas of the country. Similar to other Southern European countries, they are characterized by regional fragmentation and implementation gaps in activation policies.

Practical implications

The findings of the present study are relevant to policymakers who deal with activation policies and to both public and nonpublic organizations involved in this field. It seems plausible to support the possibility that public-oriented models could represent a proficient alternative to proposals relying heavily on market-based interventions. Such evidence becomes particularly interesting in the aftermath of the Great Recession when this model is confronted with the consequences of the economic crisis.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the literature on public-oriented models, while overcoming some of the limitations of earlier research, which has been restricted mainly to cases with early traditions of marketized services.
Reflecting on outcome-based education for human services programs in higher education: a policing degree case study
Authors: Kennedy Michael , Birch Philip
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the impact of outcome-based education (OBE) on students studying human services degrees, particularly those in a policing program. This work examines the validity of the notion that OBE is a progressive teaching approach that improves the quality of education and subsequently professional practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical analysis of a systemised outcome-based teaching and learning approach is adopted.

Findings

OBE has, as an idea, swept across most educational institutions in an apparently revolutionary wave. However, any critical scrutiny of this systemised approach to teaching and learning calls into question whether it is really progressive or empty rhetoric achieving reactionary ends. Any systemised attempt at social change by way of neo-liberal outcomes that are not principle-driven will serve only to reinforce a philosophy of aggressive competition and individualism at the expense of the rule of law and social policy that is situated on a social contract foundation.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this paper relate to the delivery of higher education teaching, with particular reference to human service degrees such as policing: the use of post-modernist theory to develop contemporary teaching and learning systems has created challenges with regards to scientific knowledge; a principled, deontological teaching and learning system rather than a utilitarian “outcome”-based delivery is proposed; the validity of the notion that outcome-based teaching and learning systems are progressive initiatives that improve the quality of education is questioned; and the impact of OBE for students entering human services professions such as policing has implications for public and community safety.

Originality/value

This paper considers the efficacy of OBE as a model for higher education teaching, with particular reference to human services degrees such as policing.
Reassessing the LIS approach to traditional knowledge: learning from Xochimilco, Mexico city
Authors: Cox Andrew M. , Tiago Martins Jorge , Rivera González Gibrán
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The study aims to understand the nature of traditional knowledge by examining how it is used and reinvented in the context of Xochimilco in Mexico City.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on field site visits and focus group interviews.

Findings

Traditional knowledge was being reinvented in two contrasting ways. One was based on heritage tourism drawing on syncretism between Aztec and Spanish culture in the formation of Xochimilco. The other was agro-ecological focussed on traditional farming practices on the chinampas, their productivity, their ability to sustain biodiversity and their link to social justice. There were some common elements, such as a passionate concern with retaining a valued past in the face of growing threat.

Research limitations/implications

Traditional knowledge is often seen as a static heritage, under threat. But it also has the potential to be a fertile source of strong identities and sustainable practices.

Originality/value

The paper helps to conceptualise the dynamic character of traditional knowledge.
Financial distress determinants among SMEs: empirical evidence from Sweden
Authors: Yazdanfar Darush , Öhman Peter
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.

Design/methodology/approach

Several statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.

Findings

The results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.

Research limitations

Due to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.
Trade credits substitution during crisis period: spatial aspects within developing countries
Authors: Deari Fitim , Lakshina Valeriya , Lapshina Kseniya
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically test the hypothesis about substitution of trade and bank credits during the crisis period among 1,570 firms from 16 developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines the dynamics of trade credits, following previous studies with special emphasis on the research by Love et al. (2007). The foregoing methodology was expanded by taking into account the effects of the interdependence between firms by means of spatial panel model.

Findings

The study reveals that, taking into account spatial effects, there is a positive relationship between bank and trade credits, that is, they behave as complements for each other. Significant positive spatial correlation, obtained for the firms within the same country or cluster, points to the presence of externalities inside these groups. The latter implies that neighboring firms demonstrate similar unidirectional dynamics of trade credits.

Originality/value

Results of this study may create a basis for policy implementation in the sphere of corporate lending, and allow to build appropriate supporting policies during crisis period.
Underlying causes and mitigation measures of delays in construction projects
Authors: Arantes Amílcar , Ferreira Luís Miguel D.F.
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory and practice of project management in the construction industry by identifying the primary causes and extracting the underlying causes of construction delays and providing recommendations on delay mitigation measures.

Design/methodology/approach

AA survey was used to identify the importance of 47 causes of delays. The relative importance index was used to rank them, factor analysis was applied to extract the underlying causes and focus group interviews were used for discussion and development of mitigation measures.

Findings

Six of the ten most important causes are in the top ten universal delays in construction projects. Factor analysis revealed six underlying causes: improper planning, poor consultant performance, inefficient site management, owner influence, bureaucracy and sub-standard contracts.

Practical implications

The owner/sponsor/client must have adequate engineering and project management skills to be able to evaluate proposals and contractors more accurately, economically and technically. The bidding and contract award process should focus on the most economically advantageous proposal and contracts should provide for mechanisms for managing risks while executing projects. Contractors should select reliable, high-quality subcontractors and suppliers and should have competent site managers.

Originality/value

This work expands and improves the understanding of the causes of delays in construction projects by providing an empirical study of the causes of delays and respective mitigation measures in Portugal.
Priority setting and resource allocation in the US health system: is there a place for hard caps?
Authors: Mitton Craig , Dionne Francois
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The United States devotes a larger share of its GDP to health care and spends more on health care per capita than any other country. The sheer size of the total spending on health care, at approximately $3.5 trillion in 2017, puts significant pressure on all payers and crowds out other forms of public and private spending.

Design/methodology/approach

In this brief commentary the authors suggest that, as part of the effort to deal with this pressure, the United States should look at borrowing a cost containment strategy from other countries: the use of hard caps on spending growth. The authors draw on our their experience of working with decision-makers over the last 20 years on the topic of priority setting to put forward some ideas on whether there is potential for application of trade-offs in the United States.

Findings

As hard caps force choices to be made, a necessary condition for successful implementation of this policy is the presence of an effective priority-setting framework to ensure that the right choices are made in operationalizing spending limitations. Work on this topic elsewhere can provide some insight into the use of a criteria-based framework for priority setting that purports transparency in decision-making to achieve value-based decisions.

Originality/value

Other countries still have much work to do, but there is a substantial track record of using formal priority-setting approaches that could potentially inform practice in the United States. We suggest that there are key segments of the US healthcare system where the adoption of formal priority-setting frameworks to guide trade-off decisions is feasible. Piloting such activity in these contexts is the next natural step in this line of inquiry.
Flickr data for analysing tourists’ spatial behaviour and movement patterns
Authors: Höpken Wolfram , Müller Marcel , Fuchs Matthias , Lexhagen Maria
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the suitability of photo-sharing platforms, such as Flickr, to extract relevant knowledge on tourists’ spatial movement and point of interest (POI) visitation behaviour and compare the most prominent clustering approaches to identify POIs in various application scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

The study, first, extracts photo metadata from Flickr, such as upload time, location and user. Then, photo uploads are assigned to latent POIs by density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) andk-means clustering algorithms. Finally, association rule analysis (FP-growth algorithm) and sequential pattern mining (generalised sequential pattern algorithm) are used to identify tourists’ behavioural patterns.

Findings

The approach has been demonstrated for the city of Munich, extracting 13,545 photos for the year 2015. POIs, identified by DBSCAN andk-means clustering, could be meaningfully assigned to well-known POIs. By doing so, both techniques show specific advantages for different usage scenarios. Association rule analysis revealed strong rules (support: 1.0-4.6 per cent; lift: 1.4-32.1 per cent), and sequential pattern mining identified relevant frequent visitation sequences (support: 0.6-1.7 per cent).

Research limitations/implications

As a theoretic contribution, this study comparatively analyses the suitability of different clustering techniques to appropriately identify POIs based on photo upload data as an input to association rule analysis and sequential pattern mining as an alternative but also complementary techniques to analyse tourists’ spatial behaviour.

Practical implications

From a practical perspective, the study highlights that big data sources, such as Flickr, show the potential to effectively substitute traditional data sources for analysing tourists’ spatial behaviour and movement patterns within a destination. Especially, the approach offers the advantage of being fully automatic and executable in a real-time environment.

Originality/value

The study presents an approach to identify POIs by clustering photo uploads on social media platforms and to analyse tourists’ spatial behaviour by association rule analysis and sequential pattern mining. The study gains novel insights into the suitability of different clustering techniques to identify POIs in different application scenarios.
Review of digital record management needs for academic libraries
Authors: Rahman Md. Habibur
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the present practicing situation of digital record management (DRM) in the university libraries of Bangladesh. The more particular objectives are to identify the present preservation scenario of DRM, to find out the problems of DRM which are faced by archivists for long-term preservation, to identify the necessary tools and technologies for DRM and to explore the ways to overcome the existing problems.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey methods were used for gathering data using a well-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to the respondents of some selected public and private universities of Bangladesh.

Findings

The findings revealed that there are some hindrances to practise DRM, such as lack of stable preservation software, shortage of skilled IT personnel, allocation of insufficient budget, shortage of digital records, lack of proper training of library professionals, and these also provided some suitable suggestions, such as allocation of adequate fund, infrastructure development, recruitment of knowledgeable IT professionals, the simplicity of the intellectual property act, the willingness of authority regarding the implementation of DRM and frequently training arrangements for library professionals for the advancement of DH in the university libraries of Bangladesh.

Originality/value

The insights and views of the respondents regarding DRM tools and technologies obtained from this study are original and unique.
Antecedents to employee suggestion schemes: the study of UAE
Authors: Mehrajunnisa Mehrajunnisa , Jabeen Fauzia
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is identifying and ranking the various antecedents or enablers that will enhance performance through employee suggestion schemes (ESSs) in various sector-specific businesses based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an emerging Arab country.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the factors affecting ESS. The AHP model was developed with five criteria and 24 subcriteria based on the interactional theory of organizational creativity. Data were collected through interviews with 27 top-level managers and industry experts from nine government agencies, nine semigovernment agencies, and nine privately owned UAE-based businesses.

Findings

The findings show that leadership support and management style, individual attributes, and corporate strategy are the most important factors that influence performance through ESS.

Research limitations/implications

The research model had limited dimensions and the findings cannot be generalized. To generalize the findings, the study should be carried out in other GCC countries because of homogeneity in the political, organizational, and sociocultural context. The outcome of the study provides both organizational and managerial implications for the better organizational performance through ESS.

Originality/value

Past studies on ESS have neglected the construct of individual characteristics of employees that generate novel ideas. This paper addresses the gap of sector-specific studies by considering that individual attributes of creative people as individuals are the heart of innovation, along with contextual factors that could help organizations to transform innovative engines through ESS. The originality of this research stems from a reliable and valid framework that can be subsequently used for driving performance through ESS. This study is a relevant contribution to both the academic literature and practical implications.
Branded premiums in tourism destination promotion
Authors: Wang Shasha , Japutra Arnold , Molinillo Sebastián
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of branded premiums or branded free gifts (e.g. a free of charge suitcase of a well-recognised brand) on tourism destination promotion. Specifically, the impact of brand name and price value of a branded premium on promoting a tourism destination was examined.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses two experiment-based studies, applying a between-group experimental design.

Findings

The results revealed that appreciation leads to intention to visit the promoted destination when the branded promotion is offered. When a destination promotional offer contains a branded premium, consumers respond more favourably to the brand name of the premium than the price value of the premium. This finding applies to consumers’ responses to both the destination and the premium.

Research limitations/implications

This research adds to the body of knowledge on tourism destination promotion and the branding literature, specifically with promotional and branded premiums.

Practical implications

Mutual benefits can be obtained by both tourism destination marketers and premium marketers.

Originality/value

This research highlights the importance of branded premiums in tourism destination promotional offers. This research also shows the influence of the price value of a premium’s brand name in a tourism destination promotional offer.
Collapse of dispersal trait diversity across a long‐term chronosequence reveals a strong negative impact of frugivore extinctions on forest resilience
Authors: Albert Sébastien , Flores Olivier , Strasberg Dominique
Published: February 2020

Understanding how seed dispersal disruption may alter plant community diversity and dynamics over a large temporal scale remains a challenge. Here, we use a long‐term chronosequence to compare changes in the richness and composition of different dispersal trait assemblages in communities established before and after human colonization in the Mascarene archipelago.

Our study was located on Réunion on the slopes of the Piton de la Fournaise which is one of the most active volcanoes worldwide. We analysed 151 vegetation surveys on lava flows dated between 1401 AD and 1956 AD and in tropical rainforests established on older substrata. We defined five classes of substratum age, according to the well‐known chronology of native frugivore defaunation: ‘old substrata’ and [1401, 1665[ when frugivores were abundant and diverse before permanent human settlement; [1665, 1800[ when large‐bodied frugivore populations were strongly reduced; [1800, 1900[ when large‐bodied frugivores went extinct and small‐bodied frugivores were still abundant; [1900, 1956] decline in the populations of small‐bodied frugivores. Based on dispersal traits, we categorized 146 native woody species as anemochorous, small fleshy‐fruited or large fleshy‐fruited, i.e. plant of which fruit could not theoretically be dispersed by extant frugivores.

Changes in dispersal trait diversity strongly correlated with the chronology of defaunation. Species‐rich communities settled before human colonization was strongly dominated by fleshy‐fruited species. Large fleshy‐fruited plants in the oldest communities settled after human colonization declined markedly and almost disappeared after 1800. The richness of small fleshy‐fruited plants decreased less rapidly across the chronosequence, with medium levels on [1665, 1800[ and [1800, 1900[ lava flows and low levels on [1900, 1956] lava flows. Conversely, the richness of anemochorous plants remained unchanged. Communities settled before human colonization had a similar composition. Fleshy‐fruited assemblages showed strong species loss across the chronosequence, while anemochorous assemblages showed strong species turnover, which was probably due to lower dispersal limitation.

Synthesis. Our results provide the first insights into the tremendous impact that frugivore extinction has on plant colonization dynamics over 300 years. The dramatic loss of fleshy‐fruited plant diversity on historical lava flows highlights the irreplaceable dispersal role played by frugivores, especially large‐bodied species. The conservation of plant–animal mutualistic interactions is invaluable and refaunation efforts need to be undertaken in areas where frugivores have been extirpated.
Bourdieu Comes to Town: Part II
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: February 2020

This essay introduces the second selection of essays associated with the Interventions forum ‘Bourdieu Comes to Town’, the first of which appeared in 2018. There seems to be a tendency to conflate the relevance of Bourdieu for urban studies by focusing specifically on particular contentious concepts that have been fashioned from Bourdieu's own tools. I briefly discuss this point with respect to the concepts of ‘elective belonging', which I helped introduce, and ‘territorial stigmatization’, which Loïc Wacquant himself has popularized. I argue that whatever the virtues or otherwise of these concepts, Bourdieu offers substantially more to urban studies, namely the capacity to synthesize across sites, to link micro and macro, to engage pragmatist concerns with daily life to a wider political economy, and to foreground the role of accumulation. I briefly show how the four essays in this selection exemplify these qualities.
Taking Bourdieu to the Shantytown
Authors: Auyero Javier
Published: February 2020

This essay extends Bourdieu's work on habitat–habitus and symbolic domination to the study of urban marginality. A full account of urban relegation should pay systematic attention to the environmental hazards to which the dispossessed are routinely exposed. Social science accounts of how domination works at the urban margins should place poor people's experience of time (and, particularly, of waiting) at their front and center.
Understanding parent‐reported factors that influence children and young people's anxiety and depression presentations to emergency departments: A multi‐site study
Authors: Hiscock Harriet , Connolly Ann‐Siobhan , Dunlop Katie , Perera Prescilla , O'Loughlin Rachel , Brown Stephanie J , Krieser David M , West Adam , Chapman Pauline , Lawford Robyn , Cheek John A
Published: February 2020

Objective

Victorian ED data show increased presentations for anxiety and depression in children. We aimed to determine parent‐reported factors contributing to these presentations.

Methods

Qualitative study with parents of children and young people aged 0–17 years who attended one of four EDs across Victoria between October 2017 and September 2018 and received a primary diagnosis of anxiety or depression (excluding self‐harm or suicide attempt). Eligible parents completed semi‐structured phone interviews, which were audio‐recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were coded and qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Seventy parents completed interviews. The average age of children and young people was 14 years (standard deviation 2.4) and 63% (n = 44) identified as female. Thirty (43%) children received a primary diagnosis of depression, compared to 40 (57%) children who received a primary diagnosis of anxiety. The majority of respondents were mothers (n = 59; 84%). Key themes as to why families presented to EDs included: listening to trusted professionals, desperation, a feeling of no alternative, respecting their child's need to feel safe and to rule out a potentially serious medical condition.

Conclusions

Parents bring their children to the ED for many reasons. Policy makers, managers and clinicians should work with parents to develop alternative approaches that provide families with community‐based support, particularly for younger children and after hours, in order to provide an appropriate source of care for children and young people with anxiety and depression.
Engineering thermophilic Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius for riboflavin production
Authors: Yang Zhiheng , Sun Qingqing , Tan Gaoyi , Zhang Quanwei , Wang Zhengduo , Li Chuan , Qi Fengxian , Wang Weishan , Zhang Lixin , Li Zilong
Published: February 2020

The potential advantages for fermentation production of chemicals at high temperatures are attractive, such as promoting the rate of biochemical reactions, reducing the risk of contamination and the energy consumption for fermenter cooling. In this work, we de novo engineered the thermophile Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius to produce riboflavin, since this bacterium can ferment diverse carbohydrates at an optimal temperature of 60°C with a high growth rate. We first introduced a heterogeneous riboflavin biosynthetic gene cluster and enabled the strain to produce detectable riboflavin (28.7 mg l−1). Then, with the aid of an improved gene replacement method, we preformed metabolic engineering in this strain, including replacement of ribCGtg with a mutant allele to weaken the consumption of riboflavin, manipulation of purine pathway to enhance precursor supply, deletion of ccpNGtg to tune central carbon catabolism towards riboflavin production and elimination of the lactate dehydrogenase gene to block the dominating product lactic acid. Finally, the engineered strain could produce riboflavin with the titre of 1034.5 mg l−1 after 12‐h fermentation in a mineral salt medium, indicating G. thermoglucosidasius is a promising host to develop high‐temperature cell factory of riboflavin production. This is the first demonstration of riboflavin production in thermophilic bacteria at an elevated temperature.
Vertical farming systems bring new considerations for pest and disease management
Authors: Roberts Joe M. , Bruce Toby J. A. , Monaghan James M. , Pope Tom W. , Leather Simon R. , Beacham Andrew M.
Published: February 2020

Vertical farming is an emerging area of food production that aims to provide sustainable intensification of agriculture by maximising the obtainable yield per unit area of land. This approach commonly utilises stacked horizontal levels of crop growth in glasshouse or controlled environment (CE) facilities. Vertical farming has, however, received relatively little scientific investigation to date. Consequently, important factors such as economic feasibility, system design and optimisation of production methods are still being evaluated. Vertical farming methods bring additional considerations for the effective management of pests and diseases compared with conventional protected horticulture, such as movement of both pest and beneficial insects between growth levels. This article aims to provide a perspective on the positive and negative issues facing pest and disease control in Vertical farming systems. We highlight important considerations for system optimisation and areas for future investigation.
Association between mortality rates and medication and residential treatment after in‐patient medically managed opioid withdrawal: a cohort analysis
Authors: Walley Alexander Y. , Lodi Sara , Li Yijing , Bernson Dana , Babakhanlou‐Chase Hermik , Land Thomas , Larochelle Marc R.
Published: February 2020

Background and aim

Medically managed opioid withdrawal (detox) can increase the risk of subsequent opioid overdose. We assessed the association between mortality following detox and receipt of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and residential treatment after detox.

Design

Cohort study generated from individually linked public health data sets.

Setting

Massachusetts, USA.

Participants

A total of 30 681 opioid detox patients with 61 819 detox episodes between 2012 and 2014.

Measurements

Treatment categories included no post‐detox treatment, MOUD, residential treatment or both MOUD and residential treatment identified at monthly intervals. We classified treatment exposures in two ways: (a) ‘on‐treatment’ included any month where a treatment was received and (b) ‘with‐discontinuation’ individuals were considered exposed through the month following treatment discontinuation. We conducted multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses and extended Kaplan–Meier estimator cumulative incidence for all‐cause and opioid‐related mortality for the treatment categories as monthly time‐varying exposure variables.

Findings

Twelve months after detox, 41% received MOUD for a median of 3 months, 35% received residential treatment for a median of 2 months and 13% received both for a median of 5 months. In on‐treatment analyses for all‐cause mortality compared with no treatment, adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) were 0.34 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.27–0.43] for MOUD, 0.63 (95% CI = 0.47–0.84) for residential treatment and 0.11 (95% CI = 0.03–0.43) for both. In with‐discontinuation analyses for all‐cause mortality, compared with no treatment, AHRs were 0.52 (95% CI = 0.42–0.63) for MOUD, 0.76 (95% CI = 0.59–0.96) for residential treatment and 0.21 (95% CI = 0.08–0.55) for both. Results were similar for opioid‐related overdose mortality.

Conclusions

Among people who have undergone medically managed opioid withdrawal, receipt of medications for opioid use disorder, residential treatment or the combination of medications for opioid use disorder and residential treatment were associated with substantially reduced mortality compared with no treatment.
Potential for biological control of the vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Australia with parasitoid wasps
Authors: Ridland Peter M , Umina Paul A , Pirtle Elia I , Hoffmann Ary A
Published: February 2020

The vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, poses a risk to vegetable and nursery production in mainland Australia since established in Cape York in 2015. Effective control overseas depends on maximising the impact of natural enemies. Problems with polyphagous Liriomyza pest species typically result from the destruction of their parasitoids by excessive use of non‐selective insecticides. Field studies are reviewed to identify parasitoid species involved in the biological control of L. sativae in open‐air and glasshouse production internationally and to assess the current knowledge of parasitoids of agromyzids in Australia. Overseas, invading Liriomyza populations have frequently been exploited by endemic parasitoids (often found on non‐pest agromyzid species), and non‐crop hosts have played a role as reservoirs of these parasitoids. The few published Australian field studies on the occurrence of agromyzid flies and their parasitoids show a large community of wasps attacking agromyzids, with species mainly from the Eulophidae, Pteromalidae and Braconidae. The most abundant recorded species are two cosmopolitan eulophid species, Hemiptarsenus varicornis (Girault) and Diglyphus isaea (Walker), and four Australian species: two eulophid species, Zagrammosoma latilineatum Ubaidillah and Closterocerus mirabilis Edwards & La Salle, one pteromalid species, Trigonogastrella sp., and one braconid species, Opius cinerariae Fischer, for which there is little biological information. One deficiency in the known assemblage in Australia is the absence of parasitoids from the Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), a subfamily with several abundant species attacking agromyzids overseas. The composition and impact of the endemic parasitoid assemblage in Australia on populations of L. sativae needs to be assessed adequately in the field before the importation of additional exotic parasitoid species is contemplated. Overseas, two species, D. isaea and Dacnusa sibirica Telenga, are reared commercially for augmentative biological control, although the relatively high cost of production has restricted their release to protected cropping situations. Knowledge gaps remain locally about the taxonomy, distribution, host range and life cycle of parasitoids, and their potential impact on L. sativae.
Correlation between the rate of intravitreal injections, use of aflibercept as a second‐line treatment and visual impairment for wet AMD in Finland
Authors: Karesvuo Petteri , Hakkala Laura , Kaarniranta Kai , Uusitalo Hannu , Ojamo Matti , Tuuminen Raimo
Published: February 2020

Purpose

To correlate the rate of intravitreal anti‐VEGF injections and the use of aflibercept as a second‐line treatment with visual impairment throughout Finland.

Methods

Information related to anti‐VEGF treatment, proportions of bevacizumab and aflibercept and new visual impairments due to wet age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) was gathered from 5 university hospitals and 14 central hospital districts between 2015 and 2017 covering 232 568 injections and 1172 visual impairments.

Results

Between 2015 and 2017, the number of annual total anti‐VEGF injections increased from 60 412 to 93 589 (+24.5% annual change) and of aflibercept injections from 8299 to 20 833 (+58.7% annual change). The 3‐year average for total anti‐VEGF injections ranged from 9.6 to 21.1 (median 13.3) per 1000 citizens between hospital districts and for aflibercept injections from 0.8 to 4.0 (median 1.9). According to the primary protocol for wet AMD, during 2015–2017, the number of total anti‐VEGF injections increased from 10.9 to 15.2 per 1000 citizens with the pro re nata (PRN) protocol and from 11.3 to 18.9 with the treat‐and‐extend regimen (TER). The 3‐year average of aflibercept injections as a second‐line treatment, but not the total number of anti‐VEGF or bevacizumab injections, inversely correlated with new onset visual impairments (R = −0.505, P = 0.027) in the hospital districts. The number of visual impairments did not differ between the hospital districts according to the PRN and TER protocols (1.23 ± 0.41 and 1.14 ± 0.67, respectively, per 1000 citizens aged ≥64 years, P = 0.713).

Conclusion

These results emphasize that the use of aflibercept injections as a second‐line treatment may decrease new onset visual impairments.
Study on the algorithm for smart community sensor network routing with adaptive optimization via cluster head election
Authors: Yongqiang He
Published: February 2020

To reduce the uneven energy consumption for the data transmission and extend network life of intelligent community sensor network, an adaptive routing optimized algorithm for intelligent community sensor networks with cluster head election is proposed. In this algorithm, a three‐dimensional clustering method adapted to the structure of intelligent community sensor network is proposed. The three‐dimensional clustering method uses the cluster head election mechanism based on minimizing the total transmission loss to optimize the energy of the intelligent community sensor network. Second, an adaptive ant colony propagation method is proposed to solve the problem of intercluster data propagation after clustering. With the best path finding algorithm of ant colony algorithm, energy balance routing with lower energy loss and lower packet error rate is proposed. Finally, the simulation results show that the algorithm has better performance in reducing energy consumption and delay, improving transmission efficiency and node survival
time.
Effect of opioid treatment on clinical outcomes among cirrhotic patients in the United States
Authors: Ali Bilal , Jiang Yu , Agbim Uchenna , Kedia Satish K. , Satapathy Sanjaya K. , Barnes Matthew , Maliakkal Benedict , Nair Satheesh P. , Eason James D. , Gonzalez Humberto C.
Published: February 2020

Background

Opioid medications are frequently used to address pain among patients with cirrhosis, including those on the liver transplant (LT) waitlist and after transplantation. However, opioid use has been associated with poor allograft outcomes and reduced transplant survival. We examined the impact of opioid use across the spectrum of advanced liver disease, from the initial hepatology consultation for cirrhosis through transplant referral, listing, and the post‐LT process.

Methods

The study includes all patients referred for cirrhosis management in a single healthcare system in the United States. Data were extracted retrospectively through medical chart review.

Results

Of 414 patients included in the study, 104 (25%) were treated with opioid. Patients on opioids were more likely to be White, have body mass indices (BMI) >30, have HCV, suffer from hepatic encephalopathy, cigarette smokers, and use benzodiazepines concurrently. Higher doses of opioids were associated with multiple emergency department (ED). Eighty‐nine underwent LT, including 20 opioid‐treated patients. There was no difference found between the opioid and non‐opioid groups with regard to allograft loss, ED visits, and hospital readmissions at 2 years post‐LT follow‐up.

Conclusions

Opioid treatment was common among patients with cirrhosis. We did not find increased negative outcomes among opioid users across the spectrum of cirrhosis. However, the sample for LT patients was small.