bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brain development in mice lacking L1–L1 homophilic adhesion
Authors: Itoh Kyoko , Cheng Ling , Kamei Yoshimasa , Fushiki Shinji , Kamiguchi Hiroyuki , Gutwein Paul , Stoeck Alexander , Arnold Bernd , Altevogt Peter , Lemmon Vance
Published: April 2004

A new mouse line has been produced in which the sixth Ig domain of the L1 cell adhesion molecule has been deleted. Despite the rather large deletion, L1 expression is preserved at normal levels. In vitro experiments showed that L1–L1 homophilic binding was lost, along with L1-α5β1 integrin binding. However, L1–neurocan and L1–neuropilin binding were preserved and sema3a responses were intact. Surprisingly, many of the axon guidance defects present in the L1 knockout mice, such as abnormal corticospinal tract and corpus callosum, were not observed. Nonetheless, when backcrossed on the C57BL/6 strain, a severe hydrocephalus was observed and after several generations, became an embryonic lethal. These results imply that L1 binding to L1, TAG-1, or F3, and L1-α5β1 integrin binding are not essential for normal development of a variety of axon pathways, and suggest that L1–L1 homophilic binding is important in the production of X-linked hydrocephalus.
A tribute to Shinya Inoue and innovation in light microscopy
Authors: Dell Karen R. , Vale Ronald D.
Published: April 2004

The 2003 International Prize for Biology was awarded to Shinya Inoue for his pioneering work in visualizing dynamic processes within living cells using the light microscope. He and his scientific descendants are now pushing light microscopy even further by developing new techniques such as imaging single molecules, visualizing processes in living animals, and correlating results from light and electron microscopy.
High- and Low-mobility Populations of HP1 in Heterochromatin of Mammalian Cells
Authors: Schmiedeberg Lars , Weisshart Klaus , Diekmann Stephan , Meyer zu Hoerste Gabriele , Hemmerich Peter
Published: April 2004

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is a conserved nonhistone chromosomal protein with functions in euchromatin and heterochromatin. Here we investigated the diffusional behaviors of HP1 isoforms in mammalian cells. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) we found that in interphase cells most HP1 molecules (50–80%) are highly mobile (recovery halftime: t1/2≈ 0.9 s; diffusion coefficient: D ≈ 0.6–0.7 μm2s-1). Twenty to 40% of HP1 molecules appear to be incorporated into stable, slow-moving oligomeric complexes (t1/2≈ 10 s), and constitutive heterochromatin of all mammalian cell types analyzed contain 5–7% of very slow HP1 molecules. The amount of very slow HP1 molecules correlated with the chromatin condensation state, mounting to more than 44% in condensed chromatin of transcriptionally silent cells. During mitosis 8–14% of GFP-HP1α, but not the other isoforms, are very slow within pericentromeric heterochromatin, indicating an isoform-specific function of HP1α in heterochromatin of mitotic chromosomes. These data suggest that mobile as well as very slow populations of HP1 may function in concert to maintain a stable conformation of constitutive heterochromatin throughout the cell cycle.
BPGAP1 Interacts with Cortactin and Facilitates Its Translocation to Cell Periphery for Enhanced Cell Migration
Authors: Lua Bee Leng , Low Boon Chuan
Published: April 2004

Rho GTPases control cell dynamics during growth and development. They are activated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors and inactivated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Many GAPs exist with various protein modules, the functions of which largely remain unknown. We recently cloned and identified BPGAP1 as a novel RhoGAP that coordinately regulates pseudopodia and cell migration via the interplay of its BNIP-2 and Cdc42GAP homology, RhoGAP, and the proline-rich domains. To further elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying cell dynamics control by BPGAP1, we used protein precipitations and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and identified cortactin, a cortical actin binding protein as a novel partner of BPGAP1 both in vitro and in vivo. Progressive deletion studies confirmed that cortactin interacted directly and constitutively with the proline-rich motif 182-PPPRPPLP-189 of BPGAP1 via its Src homology 3 domain. Together, they colocalized to periphery and enhanced cell migration. Furthermore, substitution of prolines at 184 and 186 with alanines abolished their interaction. Consequently, this BPGAP1 mutant failed to facilitate translocation of cortactin to the periphery, and no enhanced cell migration was observed. These results provide the first evidence that a RhoGAP functionally interacts with cortactin and represents a novel determinant in the regulation of cell dynamics.
Designing and executing scientific workflows with a programmable integrator
Authors: Chagoyen M. , Kurul M. E. , De-Alarcón P. A. , Carazo J. M. , Gupta A.
Published: April 2004

Motivation: As in many other fields of science, computational methods in molecular biology need to intersperse information access and algorithm execution in a computational workflow. Users often find difficulties when transferring data between data sources and applications. In most cases there is no standard solution for workflow design and execution and tailored scripting mechanisms are implemented in a case by case basis.

Results: In this paper, we present a general purpose ‘programmable integrator’ that can access information from a variety of sources in a coordinated manner. Its usefulness in complex bioinformatics applications is claimed and supported by some application examples.

Availability: Tools are freely available to non-profit educations and research institutions. Usage by commercial organizations requires a license agreement. Software requirements: Java v1.3 (http://java.sun.com), Xerces XML Parser (http://xml.apache.org/xerces-j) and Kweelt implementation of XQuery (http://kweelt.sourceforge.net/).
Efficient selection of unique and popular oligos for large EST databases
Authors: Zheng Jie , Close Timothy J. , Jiang Tao , Lonardi Stefano
Published: April 2004

Motivation: Expressed sequence tag (EST) databases have grown exponentially in recent years and now represent the largest collection of genetic sequences. An important application of these databases is that they contain information useful for the design of gene-specific oligonucleotides (or simply, oligos) that can be used in PCR primer design, microarray experiments and genomic library screening.

Results: In this paper, we study two complementary problems concerning the selection of short oligos, e.g. 20–50 bases, from a large database of tens of thousands of ESTs: (i) selection of oligos each of which appears (exactly) in one unigene but does not appear (exactly or approximately) in any other unigene and (ii) selection of oligos that appear (exactly or approximately) in many unigenes. The first problem is called the unique oligo problem and has applications in PCR primer and microarray probe designs, and library screening for gene-rich clones. The second is called the popular oligo problem and is also useful in screening genomic libraries. We present an efficient algorithm to identify all unique oligos in the unigenes and an efficient heuristic algorithm to enumerate the most popular oligos. By taking into account the distribution of the frequencies of the words in the unigene database, the algorithms have been engineered carefully to achieve remarkable running times on regular PCs. Each of the algorithms takes only a couple of hours (on a 1.2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM machine) to run on a dataset 28 Mb of barley unigenes from the HarvEST database. We present simulation results on the synthetic data and a preliminary analysis of the barley unigene database.

Availability: Available on request from the authors.
A weighted least-squares approach for inferring phylogenies from incomplete distance matrices
Authors: Makarenkov Vladimir , Lapointe François-Joseph
Published: April 2004

Motivation: The problem of phylogenetic inference from datasets including incomplete or uncertain entries is among the most relevant issues in systematic biology. In this paper, we propose a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees from partial distance matrices. The new method combines the usage of the four-point condition and the ultrametric inequality with a weighted least-squares approximation to solve the problem of missing entries. It can be applied to infer phylogenies from evolutionary data including some missing or uncertain information, for instance, when observed nucleotide or protein sequences contain gaps or missing entries.

Results: In a number of simulations involving incomplete datasets, the proposed method outperformed the well-known Ultrametric and Additive procedures. Generally, the new method also outperformed all the other competing approaches including Triangle and Fitch which is the most popular least-squares method for reconstructing phylogenies. We illustrate the usefulness of the introduced method by analyzing two well-known phylogenies derived from complete mammalian mtDNA sequences. Some interesting theoretical results concerning the NP-hardness of the ordinary and weighted least-squares fitting of a phylogenetic tree to a partial distance matrix are also established.

Availability: The T-Rex package including this method is freely available for download at http://www.info.uqam.ca/~makarenv/trex.html
MuSiC: a tool for multiple sequence alignment with constraints
Authors: Tsai Yin Te , Huang Yen Pin , Yu Ching Ta , Lu Chin Lung
Published: April 2004

Summary: MuSiC is a web server to perform the constrained alignment of a set of sequences, such that the user-specified residues/nucleotides are aligned with each other. The input of the MuSiC system consists of a set of protein/DNA/RNA sequences and a set of user-specified constraints, each with a fragment of residue/nucleotide that (approximately) appears in all input sequences. The output of MuSiC is a constrained multiple sequence alignment in which the fragments of the input sequences whose residues/nucleotides exhibit a given degree of similarity to a constraint are aligned together. The current MuSiC system is implemented in Java language and can be accessed via a simple web interface.

Availability:  http://genome.life.nctu.edu.tw/MUSIC
Drawing phylogenetic trees in LATEX and Microsoft Word
Authors: Savva George , Conn Jenn , Dicks Jo
Published: April 2004

Summary: newicktree is a PSTricks-based LATEX package which enables phylogenetic trees described in the Newick format to be drawn directly into LATEX documents. mswordtree is a macro for producing phylogenetic trees using the drawing elements available in Microsoft Word.

Availability: Both programs are available free from the John Innes Centre's Bioinformatics Research Group website at http://jic-bioinfo.bbsrc.ac.uk/bioinformatics-research/software/index.html.

Supplementary information: A full user-guide for newicktree and installation and usage instructions for mswordtree and available at http://jic-bioinfo.bbsrc.ac.uk/bioinformatics-research/software/index.html
Spot shape modelling and data transformations for microarrays
Authors: Ekstrøm Claus Thorn , Bak Søren , Kristensen Charlotte , Rudemo Mats
Published: April 2004

Motivation: To study lowly expressed genes in microarray experiments, it is useful to increase the photometric gain in the scanning. However, a large gain may cause some pixels for highly expressed genes to become saturated. Spatial statistical models that model spot shapes on the pixel level may be used to infer information about the saturated pixel intensities. Other possible applications for spot shape models include data quality control and accurate determination of spot centres and spot diameters.

Results: Spatial statistical models for spotted microarrays are studied including pixel level transformations and spot shape models. The models are applied to a dataset from 50mer oligonucleotide microarrays with 452 selected Arabidopsis genes. Logarithmic, Box–Cox and inverse hyperbolic sine transformations are compared in combination with four spot shape models: a cylindric plateau shape, an isotropic Gaussian distribution and a difference of two-scaled Gaussian distribution suggested in the literature, as well as a proposed new polynomial-hyperbolic spot shape model. A substantial improvement is obtained for the dataset studied by the polynomial-hyperbolic spot shape model in combination with the Box–Cox transformation. The spatial statistical models are used to correct spot measurements with saturation by extrapolating the censored data.

Availability: Source code for R is available at http://www.matfys.kvl.dk/~ekstrom/spotshapes/
AliasServer: a web server to handle multiple aliases used to refer to proteins
Authors: Iragne Florian , Barré Aurélien , Goffard Nicolas , de Daruvar Antoine
Published: April 2004

Summary: AliasServer provides services that facilitate the assembly of data or datasets that make use of different identifiers for refering to the same protein. This resource relies on a database which contains, for a given organism, a non-redundant list of protein sequences associated with a set of aliases.

Availability: AliasServer is available as an interactive Web server at http://cbi.labri.fr/outils/alias/ and as a web service using a SOAP interface. The complete tool, including sources and data, is available for local installations upon request.

Supplementary information: Technical documentation is available at http://cbi.labri.fr/outils/alias/asdoc.pdf
A Gα-dependent pathway that antagonizes multiple chemoattractant responses that regulate directional cell movement
Authors: Brzostowski Joseph A. , Parent Carole A. , Kimmel Alan R.
Published: April 2004

Chemotactic cells, including neutrophils and Dictyostelium discoideum, orient and move directionally in very shallow chemical gradients. As cells polarize, distinct structural and signaling components become spatially constrained to the leading edge or rear of the cell. It has been suggested that complex feedback loops that function downstream of receptor signaling integrate activating and inhibiting pathways to establish cell polarity within such gradients. Much effort has focused on defining activating pathways, whereas inhibitory networks have remained largely unexplored. We have identified a novel signaling function in Dictyostelium involving a Gα subunit (Gα9) that antagonizes broad chemotactic response. Mechanistically, Gα9 functions rapidly following receptor stimulation to negatively regulate PI3K/PTEN, adenylyl cyclase, and guanylyl cyclase pathways. The coordinated activation of these pathways is required to establish the asymmetric mobilization of actin and myosin that typifies polarity and ultimately directs chemotaxis. Most dramatically, cells lacking Gα9 have extended PI(3,4,5)P3, cAMP, and cGMP responses and are hyperpolarized. In contrast, cells expressing constitutively activated Gα9 exhibit a reciprocal phenotype. Their second message pathways are attenuated, and they have lost the ability to suppress lateral pseudopod formation. Potentially, functionally similar Gα-mediated inhibitory signaling may exist in other eukaryotic cells to regulate chemoattractant response.
RNase-sensitive DNA modification(s) initiates S. pombe mating-type switching
Authors: Vengrova Sonya , Dalgaard Jacob Z.
Published: April 2004

Mating-type switching in fission yeast depends on an imprint at the mat1 locus. Previous data showed that the imprint is made in the DNA strand replicated as lagging. We now identify this imprint as an RNase-sensitive modification and suggest that it consists of one or two RNA residues incorporated into the mat1 DNA. Formation of the imprint requires swi1- and swi3-dependent pausing of the replication fork. Interestingly, swi1 and swi3 mutations that abolish pausing do not affect the use of lagging-strand priming site during replication. We show that the pausing of replication and subsequent formation of the imprint occur after the leading-strand replication complex has passed the site of the imprint and after lagging-strand synthesis has initiated at this proximal priming site. We propose a model in which a swi1- and swi3-dependent signal during lagging-strand synthesis leads to pausing of leading-strand replication and the introduction of the imprint.
Co‐producing management knowledge
Authors: Tranfield David , Denyer David , Marcos Javier , Burr Mike
Published: April 2004

The division between academic knowledge and its relevance for practice is an enduring problem across many fields. Nowhere is this division more pronounced, and resolution of its negative features more required, than in academic management research and its relationship to management practice, for the advent of the knowledge revolution requires that organizations capitalize on all available assets including knowledge assets when improving performance either by increasing efficiencies or ensuring mission delivery in the medium term. How companies might achieve this has become a key question. This paper reports the “co‐production” model of knowledge creation and transfer through a novel case of this in practice. It outlines how academics and managers can work together using a “systematic review” of the science base to synthesize management knowledge and ensure its transfer. In doing so it offers management academics and practitioners a new model for the production and application of knowledge.
Developing the researcher‐manager interface in the case analysis process
Authors: Guercini Simone
Published: April 2004

This paper explores the extent to which the use of case analysis as a tool for production of original knowledge on managerial processes is of relevance to relations between the study and practice of management. The paper's hypothesis is that the research strategy adopted by scholars, and thus the methodological approach, can lead to processes capable of building up and reinforcing the bridge between scholars and educators on the one hand, and management practice by professionals on the other. This paper puts forward arguments in favor of the claim that the case analysis process can be characterized by the quality of the communication processes between researcher and manager. In addition, this process contributes to enabling scholars and corporate management involved in research based on case analysis to build up and define a convergent context of formation/elaboration of knowledge on corporate processes. The manner and forms of devising the methodological response to the problems of the discipline‐practice interface deserve in‐depth attention as part of the study of relations between the discipline and practice of management.
Missing the point? Management education and entrepreneurship
Authors: Adcroft Andy , Willis Robert , Dhaliwal Spinder
Published: April 2004

The growth in management education generally, and entrepreneurship education specifically, has occurred at the same time as increasing importance is attached to management both as an activity for academic investigation and as a practical activity in both public and private sectors. This paper argues that the intellectual foundations of this growth are unsupported by a significant volume of evidence and so it is unlikely that the hope for economic outcomes will be achieved. In the specific case of entrepreneurship education, this paper recommends that the tension between prescription and recognition of the activity needs to be resolved by both academics and policy makers before the benefits of education in this area can be realised.
The application dilemma – a sceptic's perspective
Authors: Smith Roger C.
Published: April 2004

Management researchers, academics and educators and self proclaimed management gurus have produced an enormous literary output on the topic of management and organisations over the past 100 years or so. There is no dearth of information available to practitioners on almost any topic in this field about which they wish to enquire. The $64 question remains – how much of the information and advice actually gets put into continuing effective use by managers? This paper examines a range of topics and suggests that the answer to the question is “very little”.
The practice of management education in Australian universities
Authors: Holian Rosalie
Published: April 2004

This paper is based on reflections around the following three broad questions: “Can management be taught or do management educators simply teach those who are or wish to become managers?”. “Can management educators and scholars become effective managers?”; “Can managers become effective management educators and scholars?” The roles of management educators in Australia include those employed in staff development in organizations, management consultants and academic staff in business schools and management departments of universities. This paper focuses on management education in universities in Australia, where educators may be academic discipline experts, teachers who have come into management department, or managers who have moved into academia. They may teach management theory, explore the links between theory and practice, focus on the development of assessable competencies, or all of these. Regarding current challenges facing management education, are we avoiding changes necessary in tertiary education or resisting the erosion of important educational values and standards? Considering the future of management education, both locally and globally, what part can universities play?
Teaching enterprise in vocational disciplines: reflecting on positive experience
Authors: Keogh William , Galloway Laura
Published: April 2004

Business skills, particularly in the areas of science, engineering and technology (SET) and small firm development are becoming increasingly important. The vocational skills student learns can be augmented by an understanding of how business operates as well as an appreciation that enterprise skills can be applied within an organisation i.e. acting as an “intrapreneur”. Universities prepare students for many of the “professions” such as medicine, engineering, law and accountancy. Many other disciplines such as healthcare, social sciences and the sciences also require a professional attitude to be adopted. However, new graduates generally begin their post‐university career in a form of apprenticeship where their professional skills are developed, often via a pre‐registration period before achieving, for example, for engineers, chartered status. After that stage is reached, and with a few years work experience, they may move on to form practices or partnerships of their own. Based on the principle that business skills development, particularly in the SET disciplines, is likely to have a positive impact on the competitiveness of existing SET organisations, as well as encourage the creation of new, innovative knowledge firms, this paper aims to document the experience of introducing and embedding entrepreneurship education into vocational disciplines at Heriot‐Watt University, with a key objective being to provide a model which other institutions may find useful.
Integratively balancing structured and unstructured thinking
Authors: Mockler Robert J.
Published: April 2004

This paper explores the answers to two questions, “Can management educators and scholars become effective managers?”; and “Can managers become effective management educators and scholars?”. “The qualified answers, as in other management areas, are that it all depends on the person and the situation”. This paper first describes how successful managers/leaders continually strive to balance structured and unstructured approaches and thinking, as well as how the failure to balance them has led especially recently to many burst financial bubbles, such as the one in the dot.com area. Second, the paper describes how educators can help students learn this basic management skill and in the process, when supplemented by ample workplace experience, acquire that management skills which would enable educators to function as competent business managers. Third, the paper describes how managers can nurture and acquire educator skills through building on their successful work experiences in balancing structured and unstructured approaches and thinking.
Back to basics and beyond
Authors: Drejer Anders
Published: April 2004

Based on the strategic challenges faced by Western companies in the coming decade, this paper is concerned with the area of strategic management. In particular, emphasis is on the relationship between managerial problems, managerial practice and state‐of‐the‐art theories on strategic management. Interestingly, it is found that managerial practice over the past 10 years has had a poor relationship to the actual problems faced by managers and to the state‐of‐the‐art theories on strategic management. At the same time, however, state‐of‐the art theories of strategic management have also had a poor relationship to the problems faced by managers. Strategic management is, therefore, lost and needs to be reconsidered in light of the empirical challenges of the area.
Can management educators and scholars become effective managers?
Authors: Scutt Carol N.
Published: April 2004

Fundamentally, this paper argues in favour of the two questions posed in the title, i.e. that management educators and scholars can become effective managers, and also managers can become effective management educators and scholars. This has been supported by some modern, and indeed, “transformational” approaches to the leadership (as opposed to functional management) argument; that we all need to lead initiatives today without having the traditionally necessary title of manager to go with it. Thus, management educators and scholars find themselves effectively managing or certainly leading others through whole programmes of learning requiring new and closely audited processes and procedures. It also argues that many experienced managers can and do turn their attention to the learning and development of other managers in academic environments. It concludes by highlighting the benefits of each to the recipients of the other. The references used are no earlier than the late 1990s.
The times they are a‐changing: who will stay and who will go in a downsizing organization?
Authors: Cross Bernadette , Travaglione Anthony
Published: April 2004

Human resource management has entertained the rise of downsizing as a strategy for producing visible improvements to organizations. However, the history of downsizing has failed to consistently provide the anticipated benefits. This study postulates that success is contingent upon the severance acceptors possessing characteristics least beneficial to the organization. The study explored 234 employees from a major Australian transport company, 141 who remained after the downsizing, and 93 who accepted severance packages. It was found that those employees who left showed significantly lower levels of affective and continuance commitment and job satisfaction, significantly higher levels of intention to turnover and absenteeism, and no significant difference for perceived organizational support. Furthermore, employee intention to turnover was significantly predicted by employees commitment and job satisfaction. This study concludes that downsizing should not be governed by retrenching employees in abundance, but should be guided by retaining those most valuable to the organization.
Effects of performance appraisal politics on job satisfaction and turnover intention
Authors: Poon June M.L.
Published: April 2004

There is evidence that performance ratings are often manipulated for political purposes. The present study examined the effects of employees' perceptions of political motives in performance appraisal on their job satisfaction and intention to quit using survey data from an occupationally heterogeneous sample of white‐collar employees (N=127) from various organizations. Regression analysis results indicated that when employees perceived performance ratings to be manipulated because of raters' personal bias and intent to punish subordinates they expressed reduced job satisfaction that, in turn, led to greater intentions to quit their jobs. Manipulations of ratings for motivational purposes, however, had no effect on job satisfaction and turnover intention.
Managing customers as employees of the firm
Authors: Halbesleben Jonathon R.B. , Buckley M. Ronald
Published: April 2004

This paper discusses the role that customers play as human resources in service‐based organizations. These involve situations where a customer replaces a more traditional employee (ATMs, self‐serve gas stations), or situations where the customer serves as a strategic partner by providing resources, particularly information, that are critical for the performance of the service exchange (consulting, health care, physical fitness training). After discussing the conditions under which a customer acts as a “partial employee” of a firm, we turn to a discussion of how human resource functions apply to partial employees. Research propositions are offered to guide future research in customer labor contributions.
Bluetooth ubiquitous networks: seamlessly integrating humans and machines
Authors: Diegel Olaf , Bright Glen , Potgieter Johan
Published: April 2004

The integration of humans and machines can be achieved using Bluetooth ubiquitous networks. Ideally, the interface between users and machines should be completely seamless and transparent. A user should not need to take any physical action to have a machine react to commands. A novel application area for Bluetooth communication technology is being developed in the Massey University Smart House project, in New Zealand. The creation of a Bluetooth ubiquitous network allows the house users to be tracked and monitored throughout the house. Their specific preferences or needs can automatically be taken care of by a control computer. This paper outlines and describes this seamless application.
First results on vibration feeding of small parts in the presence of adhesive forces
Authors: Vorstenbosch Jan‐Mark , Bourgeois Fabien , Koelemeijer Chollet Sandra , Tichem Marcel
Published: April 2004

In this paper, a flexible solution for part feeding in assembly is analysed for its suitability to feed small parts with typical dimensions between 0.5 and 5.0 mm. The feeding concept is based on a tooling plate, which vibrates to separate and reorient the parts. A vision system is used to determine the position of parts in a correct orientation. A robot picks these parts and assembles them. The conditions for a successful reorientation of parts are studied. The influence of adhesive forces on the ability to re‐orientate is investigated. A prototype is built to determine empirically the magnitude of the adhesive forces and the influence of these forces on the feeding process.
Applying Shainin’s variables search methodology in aerospace applications
Authors: Thomas Andrew , Antony Jiju
Published: April 2004

Shainin's variables search methodology (SVSM) is a powerful tool for spotting the key or critical process parameters or variables (such as Red X, Pink X and Pale Pink X) from a large list of process parameters. It has been argued that the variables search methodology developed by Dorian Shainin provides a powerful, yet simple approach that lends itself to easier implementation in an industrial environment. This paper illustrates how SVSM has been employed in identifying the influencing variables that control the joint strength of honeycomb composite tongue and slot joints within an aerospace company. The results of the study have provided the stimulus for the wider application of this approach in other business processes within the company.
Strategies for the adaptation of ERP systems
Authors: Ho Chin‐Fu , Wu Wen‐Hsiung , Tai Yi‐Ming
Published: April 2004

Given the significant impact of implementing enterprise resources planning (ERP), managerial adaptation of ERP offers a useful method of further maximizing the benefits of this system. This study employs a technology adaptation perspective and case research methodology to examine three dimensions of alignment between organization and ERP system. Four medium size electronic component manufacturers are selected, which are typical of domestic companies that could afford and implement ERP. From the findings of the case study, this research attempts to build a theoretical model of prescribing management strategies for implementing ERP. The findings indicated that the requirement for successful alignment between the system and organization falls into two categories. The alignment issues in the two categories help explain the working of process integration in the organization and also how to reduce the alignment gap. To summarize, this study proposes an adaptation framework containing a set of propositions and hypotheses to delineate the relevant research issues.
What makes mavens tick? Exploring the motives of market mavens’ initiation of information diffusion
Authors: Walsh Gianfranco , Gwinner Kevin P. , Swanson Scott R.
Published: April 2004

With growing competition and the increasing complexity of commercial information, interpersonal communication continues to be important to marketers. Market mavens, those consumers with general product knowledge that act as disseminators of product information, play a central role in influencing others’ purchase decisions. Previous research, which has focused on mavens’ demographics and media consumption, has neglected the motives that drive these consumer communicators. From a survey of 326 consumers, we explore how those respondents ranked high on the maven scale differ in terms of their motivations to engage in word‐of‐mouth behavior from those scoring lower on the maven scale. Our results indicate that market mavens, compared with moderate and non‐mavens, are motivated to a greater extent by a sense of obligation to share information, a desire to help others, and feelings of pleasure associated with informing others about products. The relationship between initial information diffusion, maven group, and the investigated motivations are also explored. Implications for marketers targeting mavens are offered.
Strategies for influencing parental decisions on food purchasing
Authors: Marquis Marie
Published: April 2004

In 2002, Story et al. proposed an ecological model for understanding the individual and environmental factors that influence young consumers’ eating behaviors. The theoretical framework suggests that eating behavior is a function of four levels of influence: individual, interpersonal, environmental and societal. The objective of the study is to explore how these levels of influence may explain strategies used by ten‐year‐old children to influence parental decisions on food purchasing. A self‐administered questionnaire was filled out by children. Gender differences were observed in terms of eating environment, social motivations to select foods and use of specific persuasive strategies. The results obtained contribute to our knowledge on interpersonal influences on children’s consumer behavior and on individual differences in consumer socialization. Practical implications are presented and recommendations for future research are made.
Open Archives Initiative (OAI) 3 Workshop
Authors: Comba Valentina
Published: April 2004

Reports on the 3rd OAI Workshop entitled “Innovations in Scholarly Communication: Implementing the Benefits of OAI”, which was held at CERN in Geneva on 12‐14 February 2004. States that the workshop addressed new implementations and a follow‐up of Open Archive Initiative (OAI) infrastructures for e‐publishing and research. The workshop concluded with discussion groups examining various aspects of OAI, the results of which were recorded in the agenda.
The transformed leader and spiritual psychology: a few insights
Authors: Chakraborty S.K. , Chakraborty Debangshu
Published: April 2004

This paper presents both conceptual insights and practical examples about spiritually transformed leadership. The Yoga‐Vedanta spiritual model is its anchor. Some profound Western thinkers, besides Indian realizers, have provided clues relevant to this approach. This paper explores a much wider vista for transformational leadership beyond business success or political strategy. Transformed leaders are the cause, transformation of followers the effect.
Sensemaking of change in the managed care era: a case of hospital‐based nurses
Authors: Apker Julie
Published: April 2004

This study explores how nurses working in a large, metropolitan hospital make sense of the managed care change. Findings from 24 nurse interviews suggest that nurse sensemaking has generated interpretations of managed care change that are grounded in the caregiving role. Study results show that nurses view managed care with ambiguity. Nurses understand managed care change as instrumental in encouraging collaboration and affecting patient care quality. Implications are drawn regarding the importance of identity construction to the sensemaking process and illustrate the paradox of change in the managed care era. Although nurses view collaboration and professional empowerment as positive outcomes of managed care, further analysis reveals that these values function ideologically, promoting managed care concerns over worker interests. Concertive control – a team‐based process which shifts organizational control from management to employees – is explored as a way that workers act in accordance with management decisions and uphold traditional power structures.
Food retail change and the growth of food deserts: a case study of Cardiff
Authors: Guy Cliff , Clarke Graham , Eyre Heather
Published: April 2004

“Food deserts” in British cities are partly the result of the expansion of multiple food retailing. New large stores force smaller stores to close down, thus depriving local residents of food shopping opportunities. Examines this proposition through an analysis of changes in consumer access to food shopping in Cardiff over the last 20 years. Shows that although accessibility scores have increased in Cardiff since 1980 they have increased at a faster rate in higher income areas. In a pocket of deprived areas accessibility has declined over the decade. Thus, there has been a polarisation effect with a widening gap in accessibility scores across the city.
Retail competition and consumer choice: contextualising the “food deserts” debate
Authors: Clarke Ian , Hallsworth Alan , Jackson Peter , de Kervenoael Ronan , Perez‐del‐Aguila Rossana , Kirkup Malcolm
Published: April 2004

The “food deserts” debate can be enriched by setting the particular circumstances of food deserts – areas of very limited consumer choice – within a wider context of changing retail provision in other areas. This paper’s combined focus on retail competition and consumer choice shifts the emphasis from changing patterns of retail provision towards a more qualitative understanding of how “choice” is actually experienced by consumers at the local level “on the ground”. This argument has critical implications for current policy debates where the emphasis on monopolies and mergers at the national level needs to be brought together with the planning and regulation of retail provision at the local, neighbourhood level.
Measuring convenience: Scots’ perceptions of local food and retail provision
Authors: Fitch David
Published: April 2004

Interest is increasing interest in the links between social exclusion and access to both grocery and retail stores. There is however little knowledge of the extent to which consumers lack convenient access to retail facilities. Data from 30,000 households from the 1999‐2000 Scottish household survey were analysed to measure opinions on the convenience of local food stores and the quality and convenience of local shops and link these perceptions to a series of economic and social indicators. One out of every ten Scots households believes they do not have convenient access to a local food store, an issue which affects both rural and urban residents. Scots were also found to be very ambivalent about local stores, while e‐commerce is shown to have limited applicability as an alternative to local retail provision, particularly as an alternative source of food and groceries.
Food access and dietary variety among older people
Authors: Wilson Lisa C. , Alexander Andrew , Lumbers Margaret
Published: April 2004

Decentralisation of many food retailers to edge‐of‐town and out‐of‐town locations has resulted in some older people experiencing difficulty in accessing food shops and those experiencing the greatest difficulties in food shopping are considered to be at the greatest nutritional risk. The present study examines how and to what extent usage of, and physical access to food shops might influence dietary variety. Shopping behaviour and dietary variety are investigated using focus groups, a consumer questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). A dietary variety score system, developed from the FFQ, is employed in this study. Neither usage of (particular) food shops nor basic accessibility variables are found to have a direct effect on dietary variety. Yet, coping strategies employed by older consumers to obtain food are revealed to be important. This suggests that more complex access factors remain an important issue for study in relation to the shopping experience of a proportion of the older population.
Radio frequency identification in the UK: opportunities and challenges
Authors: Jones Peter , Clarke‐Hill Colin , Shears Peter , Comfort Daphne , Hillier David
Published: April 2004

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is the generic name for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify individual items that carry such identification tags. Unlike barcodes, which need line of sight sensors, RFID tags do not. As the cost of this new technology falls, the take‐up rate by the retail industry will be significant, revolutionizing retailers’ control of the product supply chains and knowledge about the consumer. The paper argues that the opportunities and challenges for RFID tags for retailers are significant, and reports on a number of trials that have been conducted by retailers in the UK in the management and introduction of this technology. The paper also examines some of the issues facing retailers in terms of the widespread use of RFID tags and the privacy concerns that are linked to data capture and data usage by retailers and third parties.
Price discrimination in retailing
Authors: Rondán Cataluña Francisco Javier
Published: April 2004

In this paper, price and promotional selling variations for non‐durable goods in Spain are tested. An overview of price discrimination and promotional strategies for non‐durable goods is offered. In this study, the objective is to analyse how prices and promotional sales of different product categories vary between different geographical areas within Spain. An idea of the implementation of geographical price strategies and the application of micro‐marketing in frequent purchase product categories is also offered. The results of the multivariate analysis of the variance indicated that there were no significant differences in mean prices between the areas tested. However, significant differences did exist between promotional selling and promotional selling percentage using only price discounts.
Streaming audio from African‐American oral history collections
Authors: Bond Trevor James
Published: April 2004

Through the use of OCLC/DiMeMa’s CONTENTdm software and a RealSystems Server 8, this article outlines the process of converting two collections of African‐American oral histories recorded on cassette tapes to digital streaming files at the Washington State University Libraries.
Unqualified Dublin Core usage in OAI‐PMH data providers
Authors: Ward Jewel
Published: April 2004

This research describes an empirical study of how the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) is used by 100 data providers (DPs) registered with the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). The research was conducted to determine whether or not the DCMES is used to its full capabilities. Of 100 DPs, 82 have metadata records available for analysis; the DC elements used in each record were parsed and counted. Of the 15 elements, five – creator, identifier, title, date, and type – are used 71 per cent of the time and 54 per cent of the 82 DPs used only the creator and identifier elements for approximately half of their overall DCMES usage. The results show the DCMES is not used to its fullest extent within DPs registered with OAI.
Supplier parks in the automotive industry
Authors: Morris David , Donnelly Tim , Donnelly Tom
Published: April 2004

The auto industry has undergone substantial structural and other change in the last 20 years. The influences of globalisation, implementation of lean production and the development of modularisation have had profound influences on the relationships between automobile assemblers (OEMs) and their suppliers, in particular those in the first tier. In the age of e‐business and global outsourcing the development of supplier parks could be argued to be surprising. This paper briefly outlines the development of supplier parks as part of the auto industry supply chain and offers some potential theoretical perspectives on why they have emerged.
An evaluation procedure for materials service centers
Authors: Ding Fong‐Yuen , Stoner Anthony
Published: April 2004

A third party logistics practice in using a materials service center to provide a manufacturer the component‐parts management function has become more widely accepted in industry. Due to the long‐term, high investment, and high part variety nature of a material service center operation, a sound evaluation procedure is needed for a potential user of this service to guide its decision making. An evaluation procedure is proposed here for materials service center decisions. The procedure includes five stages, which are to define the objectives, define the specification, identify the alternatives, evaluate the alternatives, and select an alternative. Specific considerations in these stages are discussed. A case study based on a materials service decision of a manufacturing firm is presented in the paper to demonstrate the use of the evaluation procedure.
Human resource management and business performance measurement
Authors: Roos G. , Fernström Lisa , Pike S.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this paper is to review the research into the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and business performance. The paper examines the change of the HR function into HRM taking on its current strategic role. Recent work on the links between HRM and business performance is reviewed highlighting the conclusion that while the links are not disputed by researchers using a variety of approaches, the ability to characterize definitive causal links has proved almost impossible. The techniques and resource‐based approach of intellectual capital (IC) may provide the key to quantifying the links but again, work to date has proved that it may not be possible to clearly separate HRM from other management actions to quantify the effects of HRM. A solution based on the IC approach involving rigorous measurement is suggested.
Assessing national and regional value creation
Authors: Edvinsson Leif , Bounfour Ahmed
Published: April 2004

In the knowledge economy, the value of corporations, organizations and individuals is directly related to their knowledge and intellectual capital. This does not only apply to organizations in the private or public sector but also to entire nations. If intangibles and intellectual capital are important to organizations, they are also important to the productivity and competitiveness of nations as a whole. The question we try to answer is how can we better understand the dynamics of intangibles on a national scale?
Job regulation and the managerial challenge to trade unions: evidence from two union membership surveys
Authors: Whitston Colin , Roe Alan , Jefferys Steve
Published: April 2004

Data from a survey of union activists in twelve unions, and from a survey of members of the Communication Workers Union, are used to argue that changes in labour management and work organisation do not provide scope for social partnership at work, but do represent new difficulties for collective representation.