bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The acquisition of the semantic values of the Spanish present tense in L2 and heritage Spanish
Authors: Cuza Alejandro , López Otero Julio César
Published: January 2017

We examine the acquisition of the semantic values of the Spanish present tense among second language learners and Spanish heritage speakers, an area so far underexplored. We predict bilingualism effects evidenced in lower patterns of use, acceptance and preference of the simple present with an ongoing meaning, as well as preference for the progressive in ongoing and habitual contexts. Furthermore, we expect the heritage speakers to outperform the L2 learners, and to behave closer to native speakers. In contrast to our expectations, we found overextension of the simple present to ongoing situations and to contexts where the present progressive is preferred. The heritage speakers behaved closer to the native speakers, suggesting age-related effects in language development. We argue for morphosemantic convergence towards the less aspectually restrictive configuration.
The processing of gender assignment in Spanish
Authors: Imaz Agirre Ainara
Published: January 2017

This paper reports on an experiment investigating the processing of accurate gender assignment in canonical and non-canonical inanimate nouns in Spanish by native speakers of Basque with nativelike proficiency in Spanish. 33 Basque/Spanish bilinguals and 32 native speakers of Spanish completed an online and an offline gender assignment task. Participants assigned gender to inanimate nouns with canonical (-o; -a) and non-canonical word endings (-e; consonants). The results revealed that the Basque/Spanish bilingual group obtained high accuracy scores in both tasks, similar to the Spanish native speaker group. Interestingly, unlike the Spanish group, the Basque speakers showed faster reaction times with feminine nouns than masculine ones. Canonicity seems to be a strong cue for both groups, since all participants were more accurate and faster with canonical word endings. Even though quantitatively Basque/Spanish bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals’ gender assignment accuracy rates do not differ, qualitatively, the Basque/Spanish bilinguals’ assignment patterns seem to differ somewhat from those of the native Spanish speakers.
Negative doubling in the Italo-Mexican community of Chipilo, Mexico
Authors: Tararova Olga
Published: January 2017

This study describes the phenomenon of negative doubling in Chipilo, Mexico. It has been hypothesized that Italo-Mexican bilinguals who speak Veneto (L1) and Spanish (L2) have transferred a second finalno(no fui no‘I did not go NEG’) from their L1 into Spanish, a language that does not allow a repetition of the same negator in the postverbal position. This study analysed the data of 49 participants (Chipileños, mixed groups, and monolingual speakers) classified into two sex groups and four ethnicity groups, who performed a preference forced choice task and a repetition task. The results suggest a transfer effect from L1 to L2 in the bilinguals’ speech, specifically in the discourse of males. Second negative mention and verbs as previous constituents had a strong effect on elicitation of negation doubling.
Kefir prevented excess fat accumulation in diet-induced obese mice
Authors: Choi Jae-Woo , Kang Hye Won , Lim Won-Chul , Kim Mi-Kyoung , Lee In-Young , Cho Hong-Yon
Published: January 2017

Excessive body fat accumulation can result in obesity, which is a serious health concern. Kefir, a probiotic, has recently shown possible health benefits in fighting obesity. This study investigated the inhibitory effects of 0.1 and 0.2% kefir powder on fat accumulation in adipose and liver tissues of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Kefir reduced body weight and epididymal fat pad weight and decreased adipocyte diameters in HFD-induced obese mice. This was supported by decreased expression of genes related to adipogenesis and lipogenesis as well as reduced proinflammatory marker levels in epididymal fat. Along with reduced hepatic triacylglycerol concentrations and serum alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase activities, genes related to lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation were downregulated and upregulated, respectively, in liver tissue. Kefir also decreased serum triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein–cholesterol concentrations. Overall, kefir has the potential to prevent obesity.
Development of a radio frequency heating system for sterilization of vacuum-packed fish in water
Authors: Uemura Kunihiko , Kanafusa Sumiyo , Takahashi Chieko , Kobayashi Isao
Published: January 2017

We developed equipment that quickly and uniformly heats packed whole fish in circulating tap water using radio frequency (RF) heating. Four vacuumed plastic-packed Pacific sauries in tap water were set in a radial arrangement between coaxial cylindrical electrodes in a closed vessel. For sterilization testing, Bacillus subtilis spores added in the center of the sauries were counted after treatment. For quality assurance, meat color and backbone hardness were measured after treatment. The temperature at the center of the sauries was increased up to 130 °C for 19 min using 9 kW RF heating, and up to 119 °C for 45 min using conventional heating (CH) at 120 °C. B. subtilis spores were decreased by five logarithmic orders using RF heating and by four logarithmic orders using CH. The RF-treated meat was brighter than the CH-treated meat, and the RF-treated backbone was softer than CH-treated one.
Daily oral intake of β-cryptoxanthin ameliorates neuropathic pain
Authors: Park Gyujin , Horie Tetsuhiro , Iezaki Takashi , Okamoto Maika , Fukasawa Kazuya , Kanayama Takashi , Ozaki Kakeru , Onishi Yuki , Sugiura Minoru , Hinoi Eiichi
Published: January 2017

β-cryptoxanthin, a xanthophyll carotenoid, exerts preventive effects on various lifestyle-related diseases. Here, we found that daily oral administration of β-cryptoxanthin significantly ameliorated the development of tactile allodynia following spinal nerve injury but was ineffective in mechanical allodynia in an inflammatory pain model in mice. Our results suggest that β-cryptoxanthin supplementation would be beneficial for the prophylaxis of neuropathic pain.
Continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE): policy and practice at the national level
Authors: Yagnamurthy Sreekanth
Published: January 2017

There is a growing agreement among the academic community, in schools and among researchers, concerning the advantages of formative assessment and the limitations of large‐scale assessment. In this paper, the school‐based assessment reform of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) popularly known in India as continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) is studied in the context of the curriculum policy outlined by the National Focus Group (NFG) on Examination Reforms and the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF 2005). The necessity, importance and scope of CCE have been a matter of debate among stakeholders. This paper focuses on how curriculum planners have conceived of school‐based assessment and how it is implemented by CBSE. Though CBSE makes extensive reference to NCF 2005 in its manual, its scheme of CCE contradicts with the philosophy of that framework. At the same time, CBSE's CCE is more in alignment with the position of the NFG, which formed the basis for NCF 2005 on students’ assessment. The author considers that these conceptual differences in policy and implementation framework have created confusion. Furthermore, decentralised decision‐making on assessment, less rigid recording and reporting procedures, flexible timeframes, and continuous engagement with teachers are necessary for effective implementation of CCE.
Final report on the APMP key comparison liquid hydrocarbon flow (APMP.M.FF-K2.a)
Authors: Shimada Takashi , Su Chun-Min , Chen I-Cheng , Dignan Simon
Published: January 2017

A key comparison, APMP.M.FF-K2. was undertaken by the APMP Technical Committee for Fluid Flow, and was piloted by the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ/AIST). The objective of this key comparison is to demonstrate the degree of equivalence of the hydrocarbon flow standards held at the participating laboratories (CMS, NMIA and NMIJ), to link the key comparison reference value (KCRV) of CCM.FF-K2 and to provide supporting evidence for the calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs) claimed by the participating laboratories in the Asia-Pacific regions. A screw type positive displacement flow meter was selected as a transfer standard. The performance of the transfer standard and its stability was evaluated from repeated measurements by the pilot institute, NMIJ. The transfer standard showed high performance and good stability since the uncertainty due to the transfer standard was less than quoted uncertainties in the participants. CMS and NMIJ have En values which show consistency with both the relevant KCRV for APMP.M.FF-K2.a and each pair of participants. However some En values for NMIA were from 1 to 1.2, indicating 'alert'.

Main text

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
𝔸¹-connectedness in reductive algebraic groups
Authors: Balwe Chetan , Sawant Anand
Published: January 2017

Using sheaves of

A

1

\mathbb {A}^1

-connected components, we prove that the Morel-Voevodsky singular construction on a reductive algebraic group fails to be

A

1

\mathbb {A}^1

-local if the group does not satisfy suitable isotropy hypotheses. As a consequence, we show the failure of

A

1

\mathbb {A}^1

-invariance of torsors for such groups on smooth affine schemes over infinite perfect fields. We also characterize

A

1

\mathbb {A}^1

-connected reductive algebraic groups over a field of characteristic

0
0

.
Identification of Environmental Factors Related to Claviceps purpurea Ascospore Production in Perennial Ryegrass Seed Fields and Development of Predictive Models
Authors: Dung Jeremiah K. S. , Alderman Stephen C. , Kaur Navneet , Walenta Darrin L. , Frost Kenneth E. , Hamm Philip B.
Published: January 2017

Claviceps purpurea, the causal agent of ergot of perennial ryegrass seed crops, overwinters as sclerotia in the soil and releases airborne ascospores in the spring that infect flower ovaries and replace seed with sclerotia. Burkard spore traps were used to quantify the dispersal phenology and concentration of ascospores in perennial ryegrass seed fields in the Columbia Basin of Oregon. Weather factors were measured concurrently with spore trapping. Nonparametric regression, box-and-whisker plots, and univariate analysis were used to visualize and identify trends between ascospore concentrations and weather variables. Most ascospores (75.4%) were trapped when minimum soil temperatures were between 16.2 and 20.4°C. Over 67% of the total ascospores trapped were observed when minimum air temperatures were between 6.8 and 12.4°C and 64% of ascospores were trapped when daily mean dew point was between 3.7 and 8.2°C. Environmental favorability index (EFI) models were developed and validated based on their ability to predict ascospore occurrence. The EFI models were able to predict ascospore occurrence with an accuracy of 71.7 to 87.5% depending on the year. The models were up to 79.8% accurate when validated using three years of historical spore trap data not used in the EFI model development. Ninety-four percent of ascospores were trapped when cumulative air degree days, using lower and upper thresholds of 10 and 25°C, respectively, were between 230 and 403. These results suggest that weather parameters can be used to model C. purpurea ascospore occurrence and potentially improve the timing and efficacy of fungicide applications by identifying when plant protection is most needed.
Detection of Latent Monilinia Infections in Nectarine Flowers and Fruit by qPCR
Authors: Garcia-Benitez C. , Melgarejo P. , De Cal A.
Published: January 2017

Most stone fruit with a latent brown rot infection caused by Monilinia do not develop visible signs of disease until the arrival of fruit at the markets or the consumer’s homes. The overnight freezing-incubation technique (ONFIT) is a well-established method for detecting latent brown rot infections, but it takes between 7 to 9 days. In this report, we inform on the advantages of applying a qPCR-based method to (i) detect a latent brown rot infection in the blossoms and fruit of nectarine trees (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) and (ii) distinguish between the Monilinia spp. in them. For applying this qPCR-based method, artificial latent infections were established in nectarine flowers and fruit using 10 Monilinia fructicola isolates, 8 M. fructigena isolates, and 10 M. laxa isolates. We detected greater amounts of M. fructicola DNA than M. laxa and M. fructigena DNA in latently infected flowers using qPCR. However, greater DNA amounts of M. laxa than M. fructicola were detected in the mesocarp of latently infected nectarines. We found that the qPCR-based method is more sensitive, reliable, and quicker than ONFIT for detecting a latent brown rot infection, and could be very useful in those countries where Monilinia spp. are classified as quarantine pathogens.
Identification of Loci ofPseudomonas syringaepv.actinidiaeInvolved in Lipolytic Activity and Their Role in Colonization of Kiwifruit Leaves
Authors: Patel Hitendra Kumar , Ferrante Patrizia , Xianfa Meng , Javvadi Sree Gowrinadh , Subramoni Sujatha , Scortichini Marco , Venturi Vittorio
Published: January 2017

Bacterial canker disease caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, an emerging pathogen of kiwifruit plants, has recently brought about major economic losses worldwide. Genetic studies on virulence functions of P. syringae pv. actinidiae have not yet been reported and there is little experimental data regarding bacterial genes involved in pathogenesis. In this study, we performed a genetic screen in order to identify transposon mutants altered in the lipolytic activity because it is known that mechanisms of regulation, production, and secretion of enzymes often play crucial roles in virulence of plant pathogens. We aimed to identify the set of secretion and global regulatory loci that control lipolytic activity and also play important roles in in planta fitness. Our screen for altered lipolytic activity phenotype identified a total of 58 Tn5 transposon mutants. Mapping all these Tn5 mutants revealed that the transposons were inserted in genes that play roles in cell division, chemotaxis, metabolism, movement, recombination, regulation, signal transduction, and transport as well as a few unknown functions. Several of these identified P. syringae pv. actinidiae Tn5 mutants, notably the functions affected in phosphomannomutase AlgC, lipid A biosynthesis acyltransferase, glutamate–cysteine ligase, and the type IV pilus protein PilI, were also found affected in in planta survival and/or growth in kiwifruit plants. The results of the genetic screen and identification of novel loci involved in in planta fitness of P. syringae pv. actinidiae are presented and discussed.
Activation of gga-miR-155 by reticuloendotheliosis virus T strain and its contribution to transformation
Authors: Yao Yongxiu , Vasoya Deepali , Kgosana Lydia , Smith Lorraine P , Gao Yulong , Wang Xiaomei , Watson Mick , Nair Venugopal
Published: January 2017

The v-reloncoprotein encoded by reticuloendotheliosis virus T strain (Rev-T) is a member of therel/NF-κB family of transcription factors capable of transformation of primary chicken spleen and bone marrow cells. Rapid transformation of avian haematopoietic cells by v-reloccurs through a process of deregulation of multiple protein-encoding genes through its direct effect on their promoters. More recently, upregulation of oncogenic miR-155 and its precursor pre-miR-155 was demonstrated in both Rev-T-infected chicken embryo fibroblast cultures and Rev-T-induced B-cell lymphomas. Through electrophoresis mobility shift assay and reporter analysis on the gga-miR-155 promoter, we showed that the v-rel-induced miR-155 overexpression occurred by the direct binding to one of the putative NF-κB binding sites. Using the v-rel-induced transformation model on chicken embryonic splenocyte cultures, we could demonstrate a dynamic increase in miR-155 levels during the transformation. Transcriptome profiles of lymphoid cells transformed by v-relshowed upregulation of miR-155 accompanied by downregulation of a number of putative miR-155 targets such as Pu.1 and CEBPβ. We also showed that v-relcould rescue the suppression of miR-155 expression observed in Marek’s disease virus (MDV)-transformed cell lines, where its functional viral homologue MDV-miR-M4 is overexpressed. Demonstration of gene expression changes affecting major molecular pathways, including organismal injury and cancer in avian macrophages transfected with synthetic mature miR-155, underlines its potential direct role in transformation. Our study suggests that v-rel-induced transformation involves a complex set of events mediated by the direct activation of NF-κB targets, together with inhibitory effects on microRNA targets.
Tex19.1Regulates Meiotic DNA Double Strand Break Frequency in Mouse Spermatocytes
Authors: Crichton James H. , Playfoot Christopher J. , MacLennan Marie , Read David , Cooke Howard J. , Adams Ian R.
Published: January 2017

Meiosis relies on the SPO11 endonuclease to generate the recombinogenic DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) required for homologous chromosome synapsis and segregation. The number of meiotic DSBs needs to be sufficient to allow chromosomes to search for and find their homologs, but not excessive to the point of causing genome instability. Here we report that meiotic DSB frequency in mouse spermatocytes is regulated by the mammal-specific geneTex19.1. We show that the chromosome asynapsis previously reported inTex19.1-/-spermatocytes is preceded by reduced numbers of recombination foci in leptotene and zygotene.Tex19.1is required for the generation of normal levels ofSpo11-dependent DNA damage during leptotene, but not for upstream events such as MEI4 foci formation or accumulation of H3K4me3 at recombination hotspots. Furthermore, we show that mice carrying mutations in the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR2, a TEX19.1-interacting partner, phenocopy theTex19.1-/-recombination defects. These data show thatTex19.1andUbr2are required for mouse spermatocytes to generate sufficient meiotic DSBs to ensure that homology search is consistently successful, and reveal a hitherto unknown genetic pathway regulating meiotic DSB frequency in mammals.

Author Summary

Meiosis is a specialised type of cell division that occurs during sperm and egg development to reduce chromosome number prior to fertilisation. Recombination is a key step in meiosis as it facilitates the pairing of homologous chromosomes prior to their reductional division, and generates new combinations of genetic alleles for transmission in the next generation. Regulating the amount of recombination is key for successful meiosis: too much will likely cause mutations, chromosomal re-arrangements and genetic instability, whereas too little causes defects in homologous chromosome pairing prior to the meiotic divisions. This study identifies a genetic pathway requiredto generate robust meiotic recombination in mouse spermatocytes. We show that male mice with mutations inTex19.1orUbr2, which encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that interacts with TEX19.1, have defects in generating normal levels of meiotic recombination. We show that the defects in these mutants impact on the recombination process at the stage when programmed DNA double strand breaks are being made. This defect likely contributes to the chromosome synapsis and meiotic progression phenotypes previously described in these mutant mice. This study has implications for our understanding of how this fundamental aspect of genetics and inheritance is controlled.
Tuning of recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli by manipulating transcription, translation initiation rates and incorporation of non-canonical amino acids
Authors: Schlesinger Orr , Chemla Yonatan , Heltberg Mathias , Ozer Eden , Marshall Ryan , Noireaux Vincent , Jensen Mogens Høgh , Alfonta Lital
Published: January 2017

Protein synthesis in cells has been thoroughly investigated and characterized over the past 60 years. However, some fundamental issues remain unresolved, including the reasons for genetic code redundancy and codon bias. In this study, we changed the kinetics of the E. coli transcription and translation processes by mutating the promoter and ribosome binding domains and by using genetic code expansion. The results expose a counterintuitive phenomenon, whereby an increase in the initiation rates of transcription and translation lead to a decrease in protein expression. This effect can be rescued by introducing slow translating codons into the beginning of the gene, by shortening gene length or by reducing initiation rates. Based on the results, we developed a biophysical model, which suggests that the density of co-transcriptional translation plays a role in bacterial protein synthesis. These findings indicate how cells use codon bias to tune translation speed and protein synthesis.
Defects in Meiotic Recombination Delay Progression Through Pachytene in Mouse Spermatocytes
Authors: Crichton James H. , Read David , Adams Ian R.
Published: January 2017

During meiosis, recombination, synapsis, chromosome segregation and gene expression are coordinately regulated to ensure successful execution of this specialised cell division. In many model organisms, checkpoint controls can delay meiotic progression to allow defects or errors in these processes to be repaired or corrected. Mouse spermatocytes possess quality control checkpoints that eliminate cells with persistent irreparable defects in chromosome synapsis or recombination, and here we show that a spermatocyte checkpoint regulates progression through pachytene to accommodate delays in meiotic recombination. We have previously show that the appearance of early recombination foci is delayed inTex19.1-/-spermatocytes during leptotene/zygotene, but someTex19.1-/-spermatocytes still successfully synapse their chromosomes. Therefore, we have used autosomally synapsedTex19.1-/-mouse spermatocytes to assess the consequences of delayed recombination on progression through pachytene. We show that these pachytene spermatocytes are enriched for early recombination foci. This skew is not accompanied by cell death and likely reflects delays in the generation and/or maturation of recombination foci. Moreover, patterns of axis elongation, chromatin modifications, and histone H1t expression are also all skewed towards earlier substages of pachytene suggesting these events are co-ordinately regulated. Importantly, the delay in histone H1t expression in response to loss ofTex19.1does not occur in aSpo11mutant background, suggesting that histone H1t expression is being delayed by a recombination-dependent checkpoint. These data indicate that a recombination-dependent checkpoint operates in mouse spermatocytes that can alter progression through pachytene to accommodate spermatocytes with some types of recombination defect.
The idiosyncratic nature of confidence
Authors: Navajas Joaquin , Hindocha Chandni , Foda Hebah , Keramati Mehdi , Latham Peter E , Bahrami Bahador
Published: January 2017

Confidence is the ‘feeling of knowing’ that accompanies decision making and guides processes such as learning, error detection, and inter-personal communication. Bayesian theory proposes that confidence is a function of the probability that a decision is correct given the evidence. Empirical research has shown, however, that humans tend to report confidence in very different ways. This idiosyncratic behaviour suggests that different individuals may perform different computations to estimate confidence from uncertain evidence. We tested this hypothesis by collecting confidence reports from healthy adults making decisions under either visual or numerical uncertainty. We found that for most individuals, confidence did indeed reflect the perceived probability of being correct. However, in approximately half of them, confidence also reflected a different probabilistic quantity: the observed Fisher information. We isolated the influence of each of these two quantities on confidence, and found that this decomposition is stable across weeks, and consistent across tasks involving uncertainty in both perceptual and cognitive domains. Our findings provide, for the first time, a mechanistic interpretation of individual differences in the human sense of confidence.
The role of gene expression in the recent evolution of resistance in a model host parasite system
Authors: Lohman Brian K. , Steinel Natalie , Weber Jesse N. , Bolnick Daniel I.
Published: January 2017

Damage by parasites is a perpetual challenge for hosts, often leading to the evolution of elaborate mechanisms of avoidance, immunity, or tolerance. Host resistance can evolve via changes in immune protein coding and/or expression. Heritable population differences in gene expression following infection can reveal mechanisms of immune evolution. We compared gene expression in infected and uninfected threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from two natural populations that differ in their resistance to a native cestode parasite,Schistocephalus solidus. Genes in both the innate and adaptive immune system were differentially expressed as a function of host population, infection status, and their interaction. These genes were enriched for loci controlling immune functions that we independently verified differ between host populations, or in response to infection. For instance, populations differ strongly in reactive oxygen (ROS) production, and we observed corresponding differences in expression of ROS-affecting loci. Differentially expressed genes also were involved in fibroblast activation, B-cell activation, and leukocyte trafficking. Coexpression network analysis identified two distinct immune processes contributing to stickleback resistance; several modules of genes are correlated with parasite survival while a different set of modules are correlated with suppression of cestode growth. Comparison of networks between populations showed resistant fish have a dynamic expression profile while susceptible fish are static. In summary, recent evolutionary divergence between two vertebrate populations has generated population-specific gene expression responses to parasite infection, which reveal a few immune modules likely to separately affect cestode establishment, and growth.
Akshaya Patra (Bhilai): purchasing and supply management
Authors: Roy Vivek , Sahay B.S. , Charan Parikshit
Published: January 2017

Subject area

This case is intended for use in a course on supply chain management.

Study level/applicability

The study is applicable to MBA or executive MBA programme.

Case overview

The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) is an Indian non-governmental organisation which provides free mid-day meals to students in government schools. This case revolves around one of its kitchen facility (TAPF Bhilai) located in Bhilai in the Chhattisgarh province of India. TAPF Bhilai is about to witness a significant increase in the number of students to cater for. The Unit President, Vyomapada Das, is determined to ensure that there is no compromise in the standards of service in terms of quality and hygiene of meals in the wake of present expansions. As such, he recognizes that addressing a social cause brings additional responsibilities to them towards ensuring superior quality meals. He thereby lays a special emphasis upon the role of purchasing and supply in facilitating the scale expansion.

Expected learning outcomes

This case intends to demonstrate the process of managing, purchasing and supply for a socially responsible supply chain. Students must be able to appreciate the challenges associated with such a system. By applying the key theoretical concept of the social capital theory, they must also understand the nature of managerial responses inherent in these challenges.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.
Sakhumzi Restaurant: exploring new avenues
Authors: Urban Boris , Gaylard Alison
Published: January 2017

Subject area

Entrepreneurship.

Study level/applicability

Postgraduate Management Diploma Masters of Business Administration.

Case overview

Sakhumzi Restaurant on Vilakazi Street, in Soweto’s Orlando West, had grown exponentially since it opened in October 2001. Vilakazi Street was named after a South African Zulu poet, novelist and educator, Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, who was the first black South African to obtain a PhD in 1946. The street was famous for housing two Nobel Peace Prize laureates – Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – as well as for being the site of the shooting of Hector Pieterson during the Soweto Uprising. There were two museums in the vicinity that attracted thousands of tourists every year – Mandela House and the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum. The founder of Sakhumzi Restaurant, Sakhumzi Maqubela, had no experience of the hospitality industry but, nevertheless, had a “deep appreciation” of customer satisfaction, which he had learnt through his previous job in the banking sector. During the start-up phase of the restaurant, Maqubela immersed himself in books on business, focusing on leadership and communication. From such humble beginnings, the restaurant had become a thriving magnet for the tourist and local markets – tourists enjoyed sampling traditional Soweto fare, and for locals, Sakhumzi offered a culinary “home away from home”. Dressed smartly, Maqubela could be seen every day at his restaurant, mingling with patrons and greeting tour operators warmly. But what worried Maqubela was how to keep growing. Should he open another Sakhumzi? Would it work away from the tourist hub of Vilakazi Street? Or were there other options that he needed to explore?

Expected learning outcomes

The outcomes are as follows: evaluate the entrepreneurial mindset and how entrepreneurial opportunities are recognised, assess the individual-opportunity fit of an opportunity that is being pursued, navigate the entrepreneurial process, identify sources of entrepreneurial finance, identify and overcome resistance and obstacles to start-ups and growing the venture, rigorously analyse the potential of a new business opportunity/venture and assess the relevance of the practice of entrepreneurship to firms and society.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Portuguese primary healthcare – sustainability through quality management
Authors: Silva Sónia Duarte , Fonseca Ana
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply quality management tools and practices in the design of an integrated accreditation model for Local Health Trusts, in order to contribute to the sustainability of the Portuguese Primary HealthCare Service. Following the guidelines of the Portuguese Health Quality Strategy, the proposed model is an adaptation of the model from Agencia para la Calidad Sanitaria de Andaluzia.

Design/methodology/approach

The development of the integrated accreditation model was based on a literature review, complemented with observation and analysis of the usual working methods in a Local Health Trust (Western Oporto Health Trust).

Findings

Local Health Trusts include not only clinical management units but also non-clinical administrative units. Therefore, the National Model for Accreditation of HealthCare Institutions is not easily or directly applicable to them. To overcome this problem, the model proposed in this study incorporates ISO 9001 principles, widely accepted regarding organizational management. The success of the application of this model is highly dependent on the ability of public Primary HealthCare organizations to deal with potential problems such as resistance to change, lack of leadership and inadequate people management and involvement.

Originality/value

The integrated accreditation model proposed in this research is expected to promote the cohesion of Local Health Trust units, encouraging integrated quality management practices and continuous improvement strategies, leading Local Health Trusts, Primary Care and HealthCare in a global perspective toward sustainability.
Strategies to avoid liability of foreignness when entering a new market
Authors: Gorostidi-Martinez Haritz , Zhao Xiaokang
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the liability of foreignness (LOF) concept when entering a new market. Drawing on the past literature, the current research provides a summary of issues of the main LOF that companies face, as well as suggestions to help avoid such burdens. The research also attempts to provide a bibliographic analysis of the topic.

Design/methodology/approach

Articles were collected from All Database of ISI Web of Knowledge, using “all years,” “social science,” and “business economics” as search terms. Relevant papers on the LOF topic were retrieved and sorted to identify the main issues. Furthermore, a bibliographic analysis of the LOF concept was elaborated. HistCite software was used to create a table and a graph for the most relevant papers. A summary of issues on LOF strategies was created along with guidance for companies entering a new market.

Findings

The study sorts strategies to avoid LOF, including operational capabilities, entry modes, country of origin, legitimacy achievement, risk of politico-economic changes, and location selection. The study identified strategies for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) entering emerging and transitional economies, as well as suggestions when entering sophisticated economies.

Practical implications

The current data summary informs managers from diverse organizations who attempt to enter a new market with particular sociopolitical contexts.

Originality/value

A summary of issues on LOF and suggestions for overcoming these problems to help companies enter new markets have not been available. The current study attempts to fill that void, providing suggestions to managers and business owners who have moved or expanded their businesses to a foreign country or contemplate an international move.
Momentum anomaly: evidence from the Indian stock market
Authors: Maheshwari Supriya , Dhankar Raj Singh
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the profitability of momentum strategies in the Indian stock market. This study further evaluates whether the momentum effect is a manifestation of size, value or an illiquidity effect.

Design/methodology/approach

Monthly stock return data of 470 BSE listed stocks over the sample period from January 1997 to March 2013 were used to create extreme portfolios (winner and loser). The returns of extreme portfolios were evaluated using t-statistics and a risk-adjusted measure. Further checks were imposed by controlling for other potential sources of risk including size, value and illiquidity.

Findings

The study provides support in favor of momentum profitability in the Indian stock market. In contrast to the literature, momentum profitability is driven by winning stocks, and hence, buying past winning stocks generates higher returns than shorting loosing stocks in the Indian stock market. Strong momentum profits were observed even after controlling for size, value and trading volume of stocks. This suggests that the momentum effect in the Indian stock market is not a manifestation of small size effect, value effect or an illiquidity effect.

Practical implications

From the practitioner’s perspective, the study indicates that a momentum-based investment strategy in the short run is still persistent and can generate potential profits in the Indian stock market.

Originality/value

There is little empirical evidence on the momentum profitability, especially in the Indian stock market. The study contributes toward the literature by analyzing the momentum profitability even after controlling for size, value and an illiquidity effect. Some aspects of the momentum effect were observed to be dissimilar from those observed in literature for the USA and other countries. Such findings justify the need for testing the momentum profitability in stock markets other than the USA.
Asymmetric sensitivity of ecosystem carbon and water processes in response to precipitation change in a semi‐arid steppe
Authors: Zhang Bingwei , Tan Xingru , Wang Shanshan , Chen Minling , Chen Shiping , Ren Tingting , Xia Jianyang , Bai Yongfei , Huang Jianhui , Han Xingguo
Published: January 2017

Semi‐arid ecosystems play an important role in regulating the dynamics of the global terrestrial CO2 sink. These dynamics are mainly driven by increasing inter‐annual precipitation variability. However, how ecosystem carbon processes respond to changes in precipitation is not well understood, due to a lack of substantial experimental evidence that combines increased and decreased precipitation treatments.

This study, a 3‐year field manipulation experiment with five precipitation levels conducted in a semi‐arid steppe, examined the impacts of increased and decreased precipitation on ecosystem CO2 (GEP: gross ecosystem photosynthesis; ER: ecosystem respiration; NEE: net ecosystem CO2 exchange), water exchange (ET: evapotranspiration), and resource use efficiency (CUE: carbon use efficiency; WUE: water use efficiency).

We found that decreased precipitation reduced ecosystem CO2, water exchange and resource use efficiency significantly, while increased precipitation did not cause significant influence on them. That is, they responded more sensitively to decreased precipitation. Soil water availability was the most important driver determining changes in GEP, ER and ET. Changes in NEE, CUE and WUE were predominately regulated by soil temperature. Photosynthesis at leaf and ecosystem levels showed significantly greater sensitivity to changed precipitation than respiration and ET, and therefore determined the trends of net carbon uptake and resource use efficiency.

This study highlighted an asymmetric response of ecosystem carbon and water processes to altered precipitation. This is potentially important for improving our understanding of how possible future changes in precipitation will affect the carbon cycle. Taking this asymmetric response into consideration will inevitably reduce uncertainties in predicting the dynamics of the global carbon cycle.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Muslim American adolescents’ explanations of changing religious practices: Cultural tools in cultural contexts
Authors: Cain Kathleen M. , Schiro Isabella N. , Gregory Wesley E. , Westberg Lindsay M. , Lee Samantha R. , Boyle Colleen D.
Published: January 2017

To examine the culturally embedded nature of religious practices, we conducted a mixed‐methods study in which Muslim American adolescents described how and why their religious practices had changed in recent years (see Etengoff & Daiute, 2013, J. Adolesc. Res., 28, 690). Participants included 201 Muslim adolescents (ages 13–19) from predominantly immigrant families; all were contestants in a Muslim Inter‐Scholastic Tournament regional competition. Participants completed surveys including an item regarding whether their religious practices had changed, and for those who answered affirmatively, open‐ended questions about the change. Additional measures assessed ethnic identity and perceived discrimination. As hypothesized, the 60% of participants who reported a change in religious practices described this shift as a response to new contexts, people, and religious knowledge. Those who reported a change also reported higher levels of ethnic identity exploration and perceived discrimination. Overall, Muslim American adolescents’ descriptions portrayed religious practices as developing through reciprocal interactions with culture. More generally, participants’ descriptions point to the viability of a model in which religious practices change and in turn are changed by cultural contexts.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Religious development is viewed as taking place in relational systems with reciprocity between individuals and surrounding contexts.

Variations in contexts predict variations in religious development, but mechanisms of development are not well understood.

Muslim Americans, including adolescents, show high levels of religious involvement and experience unique cultural and religious contexts.

Muslim American emerging adults describe their religious practices as responsive to sociocultural contexts.

What does the study add?

This study focuses on Muslim American adolescents, a group that has received little research attention, especially in regard to religious development.

Participants reported a wide array of changes in religious practices, and they described these changes as responses to social and cultural influences.

Participants’ descriptions of changing practices can be understood through a Vygotskian framework in which religious practices are cultural tools that both respond to and shape surrounding cultural contexts.
The ‘I’ of Elephants and Eyes: Psychotic Signification and Psychoanalysis
Authors: Watson Jenny
Published: January 2017

Writing as an analysand I argue that without psychoanalytic support psychotic signification may retain the incomprehensibility of a private language destined never to be understood. Using Lacan's (over‐quoted) belief that ‘the unconscious is structured like a language’, I show how his concept of ‘master signifiers’, when applied to the/my unconscious, read by metaphor and metonymy, is particularly helpful in understanding the apparently unintelligible ‘language’ of psychosis. Drawing on my own psychotic material, with reference to a specific ‘master signifier’ in one of my psychotic episodes, I also begin to explore the challenges that the solipsism of psychotic signification presents in the therapeutic relationship.
‘What a Lovely Baby’: Some Thoughts on Narcissism and Projective Identification Through the Lens of Infant Observation
Authors: McGregor Hepburn Jan
Published: January 2017

Esther Bick introduced psychoanalytic infant observation courses at the Tavistock Clinic in London in 1948 as part of the training for child psychotherapists in order to facilitate clinical training. She thought that being able to observe infantile processes as they developed was a good grounding for psychoanalytic practice, and noted that it was helpful for mothers to have someone visiting who could admire and appreciate their baby. Since then, there has been considerable writing and some research about the value of infant observation to trainee psychotherapists (Sternberg, ), but relatively little has been written about the effect of being observed in this way. Watillon‐Naveau () wrote about the families she visited after they had been observed; Bekos () did an MA study of three observed mothers. Both concluded that it was an important experience for the observed. This paper endeavours to understand more about what exactly can be perceived in the interrelated and intersubjective communication and feedback loops between the infant, their primary carers and the observer. The author argues for the theoretical possibility of healthy narcissism and for projective identification being a reactive process. The paper considers what learning from infant observation can offer psychoanalytic theory and what clinical implications could be drawn.
‘You Can Take it With You’: Transitions and Transitional Objects in Psychotherapy with Children Who have Learning Disabilities
Authors: Cottis Tamsin
Published: January 2017

This paper will consider what impact a learning disability may have on development and transition in a child's life. With reference to Hollins and Sinason's ‘Three secrets’ (2000), Alvarez's ‘Levels of psychoanalytic work’ (2012), and attachment theory, I will reflect on the development of the self when there is learning disability. The paper will go on to relate Winnicott's paper, ‘Transitional objects and transitional phenomena’ (1953) to the theory and practice of integrative arts child psychotherapy (IACP). In IACP, objects, play and creativity form a central part of the treatment. Drawing on clinical material from my long‐term treatment of two young people in particular, I will link the therapeutic effect of objects with Winnicott's ideas about creativity, aggression, motivation and the expression of self. In the paper I set out how, through the therapeutic use of objects and what I call, ‘object games’ we were able to address the children's experiences of trauma as well as the impact of their disabilities. I will describe the changes I saw in the internal worlds of my patients which in turn led to significant and positive changes in their relationships with self and with others. These changes came, over time, to allow them greater independence and self‐determination in everyday life.
From the Treatment of a Compulsive Spitter: A Psychoanalytical Approach to Profound Disability
Authors: Kahr Brett
Published: January 2017

Every practicing psychotherapist will have ample experience of patients expressing rage and hatred during the course of a session. In virtually all cases, patients emit their fury in a verbal form. But what happens when an angry, traumatized patient lacks the capacity to spit out nasty words and, instead, spits saliva? While most adult psychotherapy patients have developed a well‐internalized ability to keep their bodily fluids contained inside their bodies (with the possible exception of tears), severely and profoundly learned disabled patients can drool, vomit, urinate, defecate, ejaculate, and spit in the midst of a psychotherapy session. In view of this little‐discussed, yet not infrequent, clinical phenomenon, how can a psychotherapist function when under attack from the patient and his or her actual bodily fluids? In order to explore this aspect of disability psychotherapy, the author will discuss an eight‐year treatment with a psychotic, brain‐damaged psychogeriatric patient who spat compulsively in an aggressive manner. The author will describe the way in which he endeavoured to use classical psychoanalytical approaches in order to create an environment of safety in which the patient could begin to experience greater mental containment as well as bodily containment, and eventually arrive at a state in which her spittle could be transformed into feelings and even rudimentary words.