bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrated co-creation process with multiple stakeholders in innovation networks
Authors: Takahashi Sergio , Takahashi Vania Passarini
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the organizational processes in co-creation with multiple stakeholders within the scope of innovation networks. It consists of analyzing the necessary adaptation of organizational processes and to structure a proposal of an integrated process.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a review article, an analysis of relevant articles in the areas of co-creation with multiple stakeholders, innovation networks, dynamic capabilities and organizational aspects linked to network organization which reflect on the main differences by relating them to the relevant literature.

Findings

Identification of related processes: Innovation development, knowledge integration/sharing, Co-evolution, Value Co-creation, Value Capture, Stakeholders capabilities, and elements of an integrated process in an innovation network.

Originality/value

Proposition of an integrated co-creation process with multiple stakeholders in an innovation network based on dynamic capabilities with the elements of literature and an analysis of the model variables. This process makes it possible, before reconfiguring the network itself, to create and to define the Project in an integrated manner. They also promote an evolution in the commitment, in the relationship and in the sharing of knowledge among the stakeholders and in the anticipation and evaluation by the stakeholders.
Technical inefficiency of the manufacturing sector in Laos: a case study of the firm survey
Authors: Sayavong Vanxay
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to unlock the path of growth for sustainable economic development and accomplish the government's vision 2030 by ameliorating the productivity of the manufacturing sector in Laos.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied cross-sectional data of 2,009 firms from the national firm survey, namely the Economic Census Survey (ECS), in 2012/13 in addition to employing the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to assess the production frontier and factors behind the technical inefficiency to arrive at policy recommendations.

Findings

The study found that the efficiency level varied across subindustries with an average of 72.51% in full potential production. Out of the five classified groups, Sub4 (chemical and plastic) was found to be the most efficient manufacturer, while the rest in order are Sub1 (food and beverage), Sub5 (furniture and others), Sub2 (garment and textile), and Sub3 (paper and printing), providing the evidence to improve the technical efficiency. This study discovered that the firm's size, accounting system and credit access are crucial to enhancing the production efficiency of all sampling firms. However, these factors might be subject to specific industries.

Practical implications

For the implication to the business community and policymakers, the findings of this study could be a reference in terms of which areas they should concentrate on to improve the technical efficiency as a part of productivity in the manufacturing industry. For instance, it suggests that firms could improve their production efficiency by introducing the accounting system, laborers' skills (education of managers) and engaging in international trade activities. Additionally, it asks policymakers to help private firms by improving the infrastructure, credit access, training and trade facilitation.

Originality/value

It is believed that, as the major contribution in Lao literature, this study is the first research applying the largest data from the national survey – the Lao ECS – examining the technical efficiency in the manufacturing sector in the country, and overcoming the gap of the previous research which recruited few policy variables and applied a small sample size in one specific industry. Therefore, the findings of this study impart more insights into the analysis, providing more effective and credible recommendations to policymakers and firms to improve their technical efficiency and, consequently, their competitiveness.
Community, learning and leadership: reflections on the work of Karen Seashore Louis
Authors: Kruse Sharon D. , Walls Jeff
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Seashore Louis has enjoyed a long and productive career, contributing many key understandings to the field; among them, foundational theorizing regarding professional community, organizational learning and the role of principal leadership in organizational and student learning. In each, the role of organizational change and its bearing on school improvement has been a key focus of her research. Central to Seashore Louis' organizational change theorizing has been the contention that organizations are expected to produce outcomes (i.e. that they exist to do things), and in turn, those outcomes have consequences for the organization and its members. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the impact her work has had on the field of educational leadership research.

Design/methodology/approach

This article traces the development of Karen Seashore Louis' contribution to and work in organizational theory.

Findings

By focusing on Seashore Louis' contribution to our understanding of how professionals learn, both individually and together, and what they do with that information and knowledge, this article will synthesize Seashore Louis' contributions to understanding how change is established, enacted and experienced in schools, as well as how those understandings are informed by theorizing about the role of school culture, openness to new ideas and understandings, alternatives and multiple perspectives, and caring as it relates to leading schools.

Originality/value

The authors’ experience of learning from and with Karen Seashore Louis has deepened the authors’ own understandings of how schools work, how teachers and leaders learn, and the ways in which school organizations can thrive. Key to her influence is her ability to generate and use conceptual and theoretical lenses to explain why people act the ways they do, and how understanding those actions can help us all to improve. Her theorizing has provided the field clarity about what works, where it works and why it works while still problematizing our understandings and pushing for greater depth of understanding and analysis.
International growth of SMEs: exploring the effects of adaptive selling, institutional knowledge, innovativeness and opportunity recognition
Authors: Aghazadeh Hashem , Zandi Farzad
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of adaptive selling, as a high-level individual-level marketing capability, institutional knowledge, international opportunity recognition and general innovation-orientation of managers on the international growth of Iranian small- and medium-sized enterprises. Also, drawing on strands of research into early internationalisation firms, this study attempts to determine the impact of precocity and speed of internationalisation as a moderator of the relationship of antecedents to international growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on answers of 748 managers from 186 firms to a self-reporting questionnaire. The partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling approach was used to assess the measurement and construct the model. Furthermore, the study used a PLS multigroup design with four groups of firms to compare the paths with regard to precocity and speed of internationalisation.

Findings

Significant associations for seven out of eight hypotheses were found. The international opportunity recognition was found to mediate the relationship between institutional knowledge and adaptive selling-innovativeness. Additionally, the results of the comparisons found important implications to early and fast internationalisation.

Originality/value

This study shows that international growth stems from individual innovation orientation. It sheds light on the importance of institutional knowledge, adaptive selling and opportunity recognition for early and pacey internationalisation. The findings contribute to the international entrepreneurship literature based on both the early and gradual internationalisation.
Mitigating information asymmetry in inventory pledge financing through the Internet of things and blockchain
Authors: Liu Lixin , Zhang Justin Zuopeng , He Wu , Li Wenzhuo
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Risks resulted from asymmetric information have become crucial barriers for commercial banks to implement supply chain finance (SCF) – mainly the inventory pledge financing (IPF). At the same time, online financial service providers (OFSPs) are emerging as strong competitors in the SCF market. As a result, commercial banks need to update their traditional SCF business models and alleviate their over-dependence on OFSPs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a multi-case-study method to investigate how the Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technologies can be jointly leveraged to mitigate SCF risks. In-depth interviews were conducted to depict the business models and their novel ecosystem to reinforce traditional banks' ability in SCF services.

Findings

From the perspective of information asymmetry, the authors categorize IPF risks into three groups based on the principal-agent theory: collateral, warehousing and liquidity risk. The findings suggest that IoT can primarily improve traditional banks' information acquisition ability, and blockchain can facilitate credible information transformation, enabling banks to acquire knowledge from collaterals. Besides, the e-platform in the new architecture increases banks' involvement in the supply chain and builds a fair network to curtail warehousing risks. The employment of smart contracts and collaborative mechanism ensure process and outcome control in mitigating liquidity risks.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the literature by confirming the role of emerging technologies in reducing information asymmetry risks. Besides, the findings provide valuable insights for practitioners to promote effective practices and approaches in IPF.
Lower-status experts' influence on health-care managers' decision-making
Authors: Liff Roy , Wikström Ewa
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and theoretically explain how line managers and lower-status experts work together in public health-care organizations. Hence, this study explores how lower-status experts influence line managers' decision-making and task prioritizing in order to guide staff experts' cooperation and performance improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a qualitative method for data collection and analysis of the experts' and line managers' explanations about their cooperation. A theoretical approach of experts' identity positioning, in terms of differences and similarities, was used in analyzing the interaction between managers and experts.

Findings

This study shows that similarities and differences in positioning acts exist simultaneously. Similarity is constructed by way of strategic and professional alignment with the line managers' core tasks. Differences stem from the distinction between knowledge-grounded skills and professional attributes such as language, analytical tools, and jargon. Lower-status experts need to leave their entrenched positions and match the professional status of line managers in both knowledge aspirations and appearance to reach a respected approach of experts' identity positioning.

Originality/value

Unlike many previous studies, this study demonstrates that similarities and differences in positioning acts exist simultaneously.
Cross-border M&As and technological innovation: the moderating roles of formal and informal institutional distance
Authors: Zhang Hongxia , Yang Huixin
Published: August 2021

Purpose

To reconcile the existing contradictory conclusions on the relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and innovation, this paper aims to propose a theoretical model of the impact of cross-border M&As on technological innovation and explore the moderating role of institutional distance from the perspective of springboard theory and new institutional theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the use of the two-way fixed effect model and the U-test method, the authors test the hypotheses based on a sample of cross-border M&A events of Chinese manufacturing enterprises during the period from 2006 to 2019.

Findings

The research shows that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between cross-border M&As and technological innovation. Furthermore, formal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a smaller scale of cross-border M&As, and the inverted U-shaped relationship is steeper when formal institutional distance is relatively high. The informal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a larger scale of cross-border M&As and the inverted U-shaped relationship is flatter when the informal institutional distance is relatively high.

Originality/value

The research conclusions integrate heterogeneous views of the existing research, further clarify the influence mechanism and boundary conditions between cross-border M&As and technological innovation, identify the different moderating roles of formal institutional distance and informal institutional distance and enrich the literature on knowledge transfer and recombinant innovation during post-merger integration.
Customer acceptance of frontline service robots in retail banking: A qualitative approach
Authors: Amelia Amelia , Mathies Christine , Patterson Paul G.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore what drives customer acceptance of frontline service robots (FSR), as a result of their interaction experiences with FSR in the context of retail banking services.

Design/methodology/approach

Applications of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and service robot acceptance model frame the exploration of customers’ interaction experiences with physical FSR to explain acceptance. A thematic analysis of information obtained through observations, focus groups and participant interviews was applied to identify themes.

Findings

This study identifies 16 dimensions that group into five main themes that influence customer acceptance of FSR in retail banking services: (1) utilitarian aspect, (2) social interaction, (3) customer responses toward FSR, (4) customer perspectives of the company brand and (5) individual and task heterogeneity. Themes 1 and 2 are labeled confirmed themes based on existing theoretical frameworks used; themes 3–5 are additional themes.

Practical implications

This study provides actionable suggestions to allow managers to reflect on their strategy and consider ways to design and improve the delivery of services that involve FSR.

Originality/value

This study adds to our limited knowledge of how human-robot interaction research in robotics translates to a relatively new research area in frontline services and provides a step toward a comprehensive FSR acceptance model.
Organisational and environmental indicators of B2B sales performance
Authors: Høgevold Nils M. , Rodriguez Rocio , Svensson Gøran , Roberts-Lombard Mornay
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to confirm a conceptualised framework regarding organizational and environmental indicators of sales performance on sellers in a business-to-business environment. The study is based on the meta-analyses of sales performance by Churchillet al.(1985) and Verbekeet al.(2011).

Design/methodology/approach

A research instrument was used to establish whether three categories that were positioned into a framework of six dimensions can be perceived as valid and reliable. These categories related to organization and environmental indicators of sales performance. A wide variety of organization that are representative of different sectors and organizational sizes were included in the study. These industries and sectors are representative of the commercial sector of Norway.

Findings

A six-dimensional framework of organizational and environmental indicators was tested with success in the study. The different dimensions encompass a focus on the external environment, market orientation (internal environment), teamwork (internal environment), positive behavioral feedback (supervisory leadership), transformational leadership (supervisory leadership) and positive feedback (supervisory leadership).

Originality/value

A foundation is provided to structure the assessment of sales performance in business-to-business settings through the development of a business-to-business framework of organisational and environmental indicators in sales performance. In addition, a foundation for further studies on sales performance is delivered. Therefore, the study secures a practical orientation to organise and structure the process of business-to-business environmental and organisational planning through verified categories of organisational and environmental indicators, divided into six categories.
The prophylactic potential of Zingiber officinale flowers and leaves extract to mitigate hyperglycemia in Sprague Dawley rats
Authors: Tanweer Saira , Mehmood Tariq , Zainab Saadia , Ahmad Zulfiqar , Khan Muhammad Ammar , Shehzad Aamir , Khaliq Adnan , Chughtai Farhan Jahangir , Liaqat Atif
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Innovative health-promoting approaches of the era have verified phytoceutics as one of the prime therapeutic tools to alleviate numerous health-related ailments. The purpose of this paper is to probe the nutraceutic potential of ginger flowers and leaves against hyperglycemia.

Design/methodology/approach

The aqueous extracts of ginger flowers and leaves were observed on Sprague Dawley rats for 8 weeks. Two parallel studies were carried out based on dietary regimes: control and hyperglycemic diets. At the end of the experimental modus, the overnight fed rats were killed to determine the concentration of glucose and insulin in serum. The insulin resistance and insulin secretions were also calculated by formulae by considering fasting glucose and fasting insulin concentrations. Furthermore, the feed and drink intakes, body weight gain and hematological analysis were also carried out.

Findings

In streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic rats, the ginger flowers extract depicted 5.62% reduction; however, ginger leaves extract reduced the glucose concentration up to 7.11% (p = 0.001). Similarly, ginger flowers extract uplifted the insulin concentration up to 3.07%, while, by ginger leaves extract, the insulin value increased to 4.11% (p = 0.002). For the insulin resistance, the ginger flower showed 5.32% decrease; however, the insulin resistance was reduced to 6.48% by ginger leaves (p = 0.014). Moreover, the insulin secretion increased to 18.9% by flower extract and 21.8% by ginger leave extract (p = 0.001). The feed intake and body weight gain increased momentously by the addition of ginger flowers and leaves; however, the drink intake and hematological analysis remained non-significant by the addition of ginger parts.

Originality/value

Conclusively, it was revealed that leaves have more hypoglycemic potential as compared to flowers.
Fostering sustainable relationships in Pakistani cellular service industry through CSR and brand love
Authors: Javed Ammar , Khan Zia
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study investigates the mediating role of brand love in two important relationships: first, corporate social responsibility (CSR)–word-of-mouth (WoM) intentions and second, corporate ability (CA)–WoM relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected with a sample of 359 respondents, and partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was utilized for data analysis.

Findings

The research reveals interesting findings as brand love fully mediates the CSR–WoM relationship, whilst it partially mediates the CA–WoM relationship.

Practical implications

The results demonstrate that cellular service firms should strive to create brand love. This is because CSR investments can be diligently translated into WoM intentions through brand love.

Originality/value

The proposal and validation of brand love as a mediator in CSR–WoM and CA–WoM relationships in the cellular service context of a South Asian market is the key contribution of this research.
The influence of consumer Socialization agents and personal attitude in the consumption of alcohol among youth in South Africa
Authors: Matjila Kagiso , Ameyibor Leeford Edem Kojo , Saini Yvonne
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to estimate the effects of three socialization agents in the form of advertising exposure, parental influence and peer influence and effects of personal attitude on youth alcohol consumption behaviour in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation model was used to test the proposed conceptual model of four hypotheses based on the validated survey data gathered from 300 youth in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Findings

Empirical results show that advertising, parental influence, peer influence and personal attitude has positive effects on youth alcohol consumption behaviour, with advertising and personal attitude exhibiting statistical significance on alcohol consumption behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

The study involves only youthful demographic in the age range of 18–35 and hence suffers from generalizability. The cross-sectional design also limits the findings with respect to time.

Practical implications

It provides policymakers insights into important factors to focus on changing drinking behaviour in South Africa.

Social implications

It also improves the understanding of how consumer socialization agents and personal attitudes affect alcohol consumption of young people in South Africa and help deal with the problem through policy changes and social marketing interventions.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to estimate three socialization agents and personal attitude of youth in alcohol consumption behaviour in an emerging market context.
Omecamtiv mecarbil attenuates length–tension relationship in healthy rat myocardium and preserves it in monocrotaline‐induced pulmonary heart failure
Authors: Lookin Oleg , Kuznetsov Daniil , Protsenko Yuri
Published: August 2021

The cardiac‐specific myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil (OM), is an effective inotrope for treating heart failure but its effects on active force and Ca2+ kinetics in healthy and diseased myocardium remain poorly studied. We tested the effect of two concentrations of OM (0.2 and 1 µmol/L in saline) on isometric contraction and Ca‐transient (CaT) in right ventricular trabeculae of healthy rats (CONT, n = 8) and rats with monocrotaline‐induced pulmonary heart failure (MCT, n = 8). The contractions were obtained under preload of 75%–100% of optimal length (tension–length relationship). The 0.2 µmol/L OM did not affect the diastolic level, amplitude, or kinetics of isometric contraction and CaT, irrespective of the group of rats or preload. The 1 µmol/L OM significantly suppressed active tension–length relationships in CONT but not in MCT, while leading in both groups to a significantly prolonged relaxation. CaT time‐to‐peak was unaffected in CONT and MCT, but CaT decay was slightly accelerated in its early phase and considerably prolonged in its late phase to a similar extent in both groups. We conclude that the substantial prolongation of CaT decay is due to enhanced Ca2+ utilisation by troponin C mediated by the direct effect of OM on the cooperative activation of myofilaments. The lack of beneficial effect of OM in the healthy rat myocardium may be due to a relatively high level of activating Ca2+ in cells with normal Ca2+ handling, whereas the preservation of the tension–length relationship in the failing heart may relate to the diminished Ca2+ levels of sarcoplasmic reticulum.
Modelling of Chinese corporate bond default – A machine learning approach
Authors: Lu Zhou , Zhuo Zhuyao
Published: August 2021

We apply machine learning techniques to construct a series of models of corporate bond defaults. By combining Chinese accounting information and corporate bond data from January 2012 to December 2019, we construct an out‐of‐sample forecast that significantly improves the identification rate of corporate bond defaults, with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve greater than 90 percent. Our models are robust to different machine learning models, including stacking, boosting, and bagging ensembling models. Our models consider cross‐sectional heterogeneity, such as different ownership structures, accessibility to external finance, industry heterogeneity, different sample periods, and government policy impact.
Estimating the distribution and habitat suitability for aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Authors: Epps Clinton W. , Weldy Matthew J. , Crowhurst Rachel S. , Spaan Robert S.
Published: August 2021

Cryptic, nocturnal or rare species pose a conservation challenge. Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) occur across sub‐Saharan Africa, but local or regional distribution is frequently unclear. We investigated the habitat relationships of aardvarks within Kruger National Park, South Africa, using non‐invasive driving and walking surveys of aardvark sign. We used generalised linear and Maxent models in an exploratory analysis to evaluate our predictions that the distribution of suitable habitat would be influenced by elevation, vegetation productivity, potential termite activity, potential presence of large predators and amount of sand in the soils. We surveyed 1,786 km of roads and conducted 247 short walking surveys, detecting aardvark sign in 601 locations. Relative habitat use by aardvarks was positively correlated with elevation and vegetation productivity and was negatively correlated with surface water occurrence, suggesting that aardvarks avoided areas with high densities of predators, and favoured higher elevations and areas with greener vegetation. Mean annual rainfall, employed as an index of termite activity, was only weakly correlated with habitat suitability, and soil components had little predictive power. We generated predictive maps of aardvark habitat distribution within the Kruger National Park. Our sampling technique could be employed to investigate aardvark distribution and habitat relationships more broadly.
Denigrating Images of Migrant Workers in Two Chinese Soap Operas
Authors: Chu Qinghua , Bu Yu , Lu Zhixiu
Published: August 2021

The emergence of migrant workers is a unique phenomenon in the process of China's modernization. Since the “new era,” the shaping of this group’s image in film and television has not only revealed mainstream society’s general understanding and evaluation of the group, but has also, to some extent, led to an even deeper discrimination against this group in China. Based on an analysis of a group of trans‐provincial female migrant workers in the 10‐episode soap opera Migrant Working Girls on a Guangzhou TV station in 1991, and an analysis of two male migrant laborers working in a small town in the TV series Ma Dashuai, which premiered in 2004, this article shows how migrant‐worker‐themed film and TV productions further amplify discrimination against this already marginalized group. These programs disparage the mentality of Chinese peasants and their rural lifestyle. This is mainly achieved by magnifying the migrant‐worker characters’ defects, presenting the countryside as a place the characters need to escape from, and treating the city as their only possible salvation.
Movies and the Complexity of U.S. Racial Inequity
Authors: Giesen David
Published: August 2021

Three movies from more than half a century ago continue to offer valuable insights into the problem of white supremacy in the United States. Pinky (1949) tells the story of a light‐skinned Black woman who has a chance to escape the torments of racism by “passing,” but she chooses instead to build a more just system one day at a time. Since whites also have the option of “passing” by taking white privilege as a right, this story still has the capacity to sting the conscience. Intruder in the Dust (1949) reminds us of the importance of economic equality as the foundation of a just society. Until all are granted equal shares of the “common wealth,” social and political equality will remain a mirage. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1969) conveyed the terrible message at the end of the Civil Rights Movement that integration was a scheme that allowed only a few token Blacks to achieve the desired level of wealth necessary to socialize with whites. Whereas Martin Luther King, Jr. shifted his emphasis to economic equity in his final years, white Americans never fully grasped that civil rights depend on a distribution of wealth that would compensate for an unpaid debt to those who worked for centuries without reward. Instead, white America is still preparing a “dinner” that serves little more than symbols of equality.
Efficacy and safety of dupilumab in patients with uncontrolled severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and a clinical diagnosis of NSAID‐ERD: Results from two randomized placebo‐controlled phase 3 trials
Authors: Mullol Joaquim , Laidlaw Tanya M. , Bachert Claus , Mannent Leda P. , Canonica G. Walter , Han Joseph K. , Maspero Jorge F. , Picado Cesar , Daizadeh Nadia , Ortiz Benjamin , Li Yongtao , Ruddy Marcella , Laws Elizabeth , Amin Nikhil
Published: August 2021

Background

About one‐tenth of patients with difficult‐to‐treat chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) have comorbid non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug‐exacerbated respiratory disease (NSAID‐ERD). Dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that blocks the shared interleukin (IL)‐4/IL‐13 receptor component, is an approved add‐on treatment in severe CRSwNP. This post hoc analysis evaluated dupilumab efficacy and safety in patients with CRSwNP with/without NSAID‐ERD.

Methods

Data were pooled from the phase 3 SINUS‐24 and SINUS‐52 studies in adults with uncontrolled severe CRSwNP who received dupilumab 300 mg or placebo every 2 weeks. CRSwNP, nasal airflow, lung function, and asthma control outcomes at Week 24 were evaluated, and treatment–subgroup interactions were assessed for patients with and without NSAID‐ERD.

Results

Of 724 patients, 204 (28.2%) had a diagnosis of NSAID‐ERD. At Week 24, least squares mean treatment differences demonstrated significant improvements in nasal polyp score, nasal congestion (NC), Lund–Mackay computed tomography, 22‐item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22), Total Symptom Score (TSS), rhinosinusitis severity visual analog scale, peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF), six‐item Asthma Control Questionnaire score, and improvement in smell with dupilumab versus placebo (all p < .0001) in patients with NSAID‐ERD. Treatment comparisons demonstrated significantly greater improvements with dupilumab in patients with versus without NSAID‐ERD for NC (p = .0044), SNOT‐22 (p = .0313), TSS (p = .0425), and PNIF (p = .0123).

Conclusions

In patients with uncontrolled severe CRSwNP, dupilumab significantly improved objective measures and patient‐reported symptoms to a greater extent in the presence of comorbid NSAID‐ERD than without. Dupilumab was well tolerated in patients with/without NSAID‐ERD.
Ecologies of capture in Bangladesh's Sundarbans
Authors: CONS JASON
Published: August 2021

What is the relationship between climate change and criminal predation? Bangladesh's Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, has, over the past decade, emerged as a climate frontier. It is a space viewed not only as a climate hot spot but also as a zone where control and opportunity emerge out of friction between long‐standing political economies, new conservation interventions, and the materialities of the mangrove forest. Concomitantly, those who work in the Sundarbans have reported a dramatic increase in banditry and kidnapping. This article proposes the concept of an “ecology of capture” to chart the articulations between such kidnappings and other attempts to control rents, resources, and territory. Seen through the lens of capture, the Sundarbans highlights how the global rush to secure climate hot spots against degradation and displacement produces new configurations of expropriation and exploitation. [climate change, piracy, capture, conservation, Sundarbans, Bangladesh]
Prehospital barriers for rural New Zealand parents in paediatric appendicitis: a qualitative analysis
Authors: Elliott Brodie M. , Bissett Ian P. , Harmston Christopher
Published: August 2021

Background

Appendicitis is the most common reason children undergo emergency general surgery. Worse appendicitis outcomes have been demonstrated in rural, lower socioeconomic, and indigenous populations. These findings are hypothesised to be a result of differential access and delay in presentation to hospital. However, no qualitative study has investigated why prehospital delay may exist.

Methods

We conducted individual, semi‐structured interviews with the parents of 11 rural children who presented with acute appendicitis between June 2019–January 2020. Utilising grounded theory methodology, we created an exploratory framework.

Results

Participating families travelled a mean distance of 50.4 km to access hospital, and the median prehospital symptom duration was 42 h. Families with reduced financial or social resources were more likely to ‘watch and wait’ due to the increased relative burden of access. Key considerations were travel, organising childcare and parental income loss in a rural environment. Structural healthcare barriers further dissuaded prompt access and subsequent engagement. These included poor cultural safety, maldistribution of rural health services, and contradictory public health messages. Several families sought informal community‐based health advice to mitigate these barriers, leading to earlier hospital presentation.

Conclusion

Prehospital delay in rural families occurred most frequently due to an extended decision‐making phase where families evaluated the costs and benefits of accessing hospital‐level care. The utilisation of informal community expertise and whānau advocacy helped circumvent reduced access to health facilities. Cultural safety remains problematic and hinders engagement with Māori families.
Drop Rawls?
Authors: Dierksmeier Claus
Published: August 2021

Business ethicists disagree on whether John Rawls’s political philosophy can be applied to their questions and concerns. They concur, however, that, if warranted, such an application of his theory would be highly instructive for the field. This article scrutinizes that assumption. The paper examines to what extent a normative import of Rawls’s philosophy into business ethics would indeed render adequate results. Highlighting shortcomings of Rawls in regard to several pressing concerns of contemporary business ethics, the paper ponders whether, for purposes of normative guidance and conceptual orientation, Rawls’s theory can meet the expectations that its adherents foster.
Contextual bias, the democratization of healthcare, and medical artificial intelligence in low‐ and middle‐income countries
Authors: Weissglass Daniel E.
Published: August 2021

Medical artificial intelligence (MAI) creates an opportunity to radically expand access to healthcare across the globe by allowing us to overcome the persistent labor shortages that limit healthcare access. This democratization of healthcare is the greatest moral promise of MAI. Whatever comes of the enthusiastic discourse about the ability of MAI to improve the state‐of‐the‐art in high‐income countries (HICs), it will be far less impactful than improving the desperate state‐of‐the‐actual in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). However, the almost exclusive development of MAI in HICs risks this promise being thwarted by contextual bias, an algorithmic bias that arises when the context of the training data is significantly dissimilar from potential contexts of application, which makes the unreflective application of HIC‐based MAI in LMIC contexts dangerous. The use of MAI in LMICs demands careful attention to context. In this paper, I aim to provide that attention. First, I illustrate the dire state of healthcare in LMICs and the hope that MAI may help us to improve this state. Next, I show that the radical differences between the health contexts of HICs and those of LMICs create an extraordinary risk of contextual bias. Then, I explore ethical challenges raised by this risk, and propose policies that will help to overcome those challenges. Finally, I sketch a wide range of related issues that need to be addressed to ensure that MAI has a positive impact on LMICs—and is able to improve, rather than worsen, global health equity.
The STING antagonist H‐151 ameliorates psoriasis via suppression of STING/NF‐κB‐mediated inflammation
Authors: Pan Yanhong , You Yanping , Sun Li , Sui Qibang , Liu Liu , Yuan Haoliang , Chen Caiping , Liu Jun , Wen Xiaoan , Dai Liang , Sun Hongbin
Published: August 2021

Background and Purpose

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with both innate and adaptive immune responses. The stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein engages in sensing of cytosolic DNA to initiate dsDNA‐driven immune responses. In vitro and in vivo anti‐psoriasis effects of STING antagonist H‐151 were explored.

Experimental Approach

We analysed the gene expression profile of STING and related downstream targets in the skin samples of healthy people and psoriasis patients from the GEO database. Cellular inhibitory activity of H‐151 on STING pathway was confirmed via qPCR and western blotting. The preventive effect of topical application of H‐151 on imiquimod‐induced psoriatic mice was examined through histological, immunohistochemical, immunofluorescent, flow cytometric analysis, ELISA Kits and other approaches. Preliminary mechanistic studies were also performed.

Key Results

Gene expressions of STING and its downstream target were up‐regulated in lesional skin samples from psoriasis patients. Topical administration of H‐151 attenuated the skin lesions in imiquimod‐induced psoriatic mouse model, while the secretion of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐17, IL‐23 and IL‐6), infiltration of M1 macrophages and differentiation of Th17 cells were significantly suppressed by H‐151 treatment. Mechanistically, H‐151 inhibited STING/NF‐κB signalling in both keratinocytes and immune cells.

Conclusion and Implications

H‐151 displayed anti‐inflammatory activity in both keratinocytes and immune cells, and decreased the severity of psoriatic response in vivo. Inhibition of STING signalling pathway may represent a novel therapeutic approach to psoriasis and related complications.
Tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of the offshore western Niger Delta from the Cretaceous to present: Implications of delta dynamics and paleo‐topography on gravity‐driven deformation
Authors: Chima Kelvin Ikenna , Granjeon Didier , Couto Damien Do , Leroux Estelle , Gorini Christian , Rabineau Marina , Letouzey Jean , Hoggmascall Nick , Glukstad Miguel‐Mora
Published: August 2021

The interaction between sedimentary wedge dynamics and paleo‐fracture zones is investigated offshore western Niger Delta lobe (WNDL) to reconstruct the evolution of the delta from the Cretaceous to present. This was achieved through detailed regional seismic interpretation, calibrated with well data. Our results suggest that high sedimentation rates in the WNDL since the Serravallian–Tortonian triggered the migration of the ‘Oligocene‐Tortonian extensional zone’ and gravity spreading seawards (from a present‐day onshore to a present‐day offshore position), with extensional, translational and contractional deformation. An additional increase in sedimentation rate since the early Pliocene, further accelerated gravity spreading and the development of the present‐day contractional front. A five‐stage tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of the offshore WNDL from the late Cretaceous to present is proposed. Paleo‐topographies formed by the Charcot and Chain Fracture Zones exerted depositional control on the stratigraphic architecture of the offshore WNDL from the Cretaceous to Serravallian. Differential subsidence on both sides of the relict Charcot and Chain transform faults is responsible for the segmentation of gravity‐driven deformation of the eastern and western Niger Delta lobes. In addition, a comparison of the stratigraphic architecture of the eastern Niger Delta lobe (ENDL) and WNDL demonstrates a similar overall progradation and sediment bypass to the deep basin during the Pliocene. During the Pleistocene, the two lobes show a distinct evolution and architecture: the ENDL shows an overall retrogradation and sediment sequestration on the shelf, whereas the WNDL displays an overall progradation and sediment bypass. This study documents long‐term and large‐scale control of delta dynamics and paleo‐topography on gravity‐driven deformation of the offshore eastern and western Niger Delta lobes, and similar analysis could be applied in the reconstruction of other passive margin basins.
Editorial: Are our kids getting a fair deal?
Authors: Merry Sally
Published: August 2021

With the patchy but increasing roll‐out of the COVID‐19 vaccine, and as the world begins to emerge in a bumpy fashion from strict lock‐downs, the frightening experience of overwhelmed hospitals and alarmingly high mortality rates from COVID‐19, we are beginning to take stock of the huge toll from the pandemic. One of the oft‐voiced concerns is the impact on mental health, particularly for vulnerable children and adolescents, but how much of a problem is there really? Are we facing a crisis?
Toddlers' Emotional Overregulation: Relations With Infant Temperament and Family Emotional Climate
Authors: DeMartini Sarah E. , Gallegos Martin I. , Jacobvitz Deborah B. , Hazen Nancy L.
Published: August 2021

Objective

The aim of this article is to examine the development of toddlers' overregulated emotions in relation to temperament, as well as to family hostile and emotionally disengaged emotional climates.

Background

Toddlerhood is a time in which children have developed consistent, characteristic strategies for coping with their negative emotions. Temperament plays an important role in the development of emotion regulation strategies. Overregulated emotions are understudied and characterized by children's flat or suppressed affect.

Method

The present study examined mothers' reports of infant temperament assessed at 6 weeks of age and observations of hostile and emotionally disengaged family interactions in relation to observed toddlers' emotional overregulation gathered at 24 months of age. Families (N = 108) were videotaped while interacting in four separate family subsystems. The marital, mother–child, father–child, and whole family subsystems were observationally coded for overt hostility and disengagement. Toddlers were separately observed and coded for overregulation.

Results

Infants with temperaments low in net negative reactivity who experienced disengaged family interactions at 24 months showed the greatest overregulation.

Conclusions

Taken together, the results suggest that the way toddlers respond to a disengaged family emotional environment may depend at least in part on temperament assessed at infancy. Findings support the suggestion that overregulation is a unique type of emotional dysregulation and that it should continue to be examined in relation to family subsystems.

Implications

This work emphasizes the importance of clinicians examining emotional disengagement within multiple family subsystems and the importance of not overlooking overregulated toddlers compared with underregulated children.
Tracing the Continual Present: Yoko Tawada and Vilém Flusser1
Authors: Arslan Gizem
Published: August 2021

Contemporary German‐Japanese author Yoko Tawada and Czech‐born, German‐speaking media theorist Vilém Flusser constitute an unlikely pair for analysis. Yet, both have produced multilingual oeuvres resistant to systematization and intensely preoccupied with the medium of writing. In her fiction‐essay “An der Spree” from the 2007 collection Sprachpolizei und Spielpolyglotte, Tawada cites Flusser's essay “Letters of the Alphabet” from his 1987 collection Does Writing have a Future? Recalling Flusser's depiction of the Latin alphabet's imagistic roots, Tawada rediscovers and retraces written signs (letters, logograms, and numerals) in Berlin. This essay argues for two key critical products of Tawada's contact with Flusser. First, Tawada reveals the Eurocentrism in Flusser's theory of writing and Western media theory more generally. Second, Tawada's narrators' acts of writing and reading produce continual presents, which in turn revise Flusser's linear‐teleological understanding of writing and time, and a common conception of our current age as one of simultaneity.
SCHILLER GOES TRANSNATIONAL: JULIE PAUCKER AND ROBERT SCHUSTER'S ‘MALALAI – DIE AFGHANISCHE JUNGFRAU VON ORLEANS’ (2017)
Authors: Böcking Cordula
Published: August 2021

This article focuses on Julie Paucker and Robert Schuster's ‘MALALAI – Die afghanische Jungfrau von Orléans’ (2017), paying special attention to the constructions and contestations of gender and nation in this recent re‐working of Schiller's Die Jungfrau von Orleans (1801). Paucker radically re‐configures Schiller's play, whose engagement with the concept of nation allowed subsequent interpretations to view it as a nationalist text depicting a symbolic figure for a German nation that did not as yet exist, by centring on nineteenth‐century Afghan folk hero Malalai of Maiwand and placing her in dialogue with her Franco‐German counterpart. Set against past and present conflict in Afghanistan, migration to Europe, and the ‘refugee crisis’ in Germany, ‘MALALAI’ engages two geographically and culturally disparate myths. Whilst Paucker's version of Schiller's text elaborates an intertextual negotiation with the past, her transnational adaptation of a national narrative undermines and transcends the nationalism and Eurocentrism which have marked much of modern Jeanne d'Arc‐reception to date. Through its multilingual and multinational politics of performance, ‘MALALAI’ resists re‐writing Schiller's Jungfrau as an example of a major literature, positing instead a centre/periphery shift as a way of attending to historical and political development on a global level.
Could the Ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Have Depended on a Groundwater Ecosystem?
Authors: Short Henry L.
Published: August 2021

A thousand years ago, a population of Ancestral Puebloans occupied a high desert canyon in northwestern New Mexico, USA, where precipitation was limited and surface water scarce. Geological conditions, however, seem favorable for the production of a large Hypocrene springs system near the south canyon walls sufficient to have produced a groundwater ecosystem favorable for agriculture, tree growth, and human occupancy. A human‐induced ecological impact is suggested as contributing to the dewatering of the springs, eventually reducing local agricultural production and, presumably, the suitability of Chaco Canyon for human occupancy.