bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A metaproteomics method to determine carbon sources and assimilation pathways of species in microbial communities
Authors: Kleiner Manuel , Dong Xiaoli , Hinzke Tjorven , Wippler Juliane , Thorson Erin , Mayer Bernhard , Strous Marc
Published: January 2018

Measurements of the carbon stable isotope ratio (δ13C) are widely used in biology to address major questions regarding food sources and metabolic pathways used by organisms. Measurement of these so called stable carbon isotope fingerprints (SIFs) for microbes involved in biogeochemical cycling and microbiota of plants and animals have led to major discoveries in environmental microbiology. Currently, obtaining SIFs for microbial communities is challenging as the available methods either only provide limited taxonomic resolution, such as with the use of lipid biomarkers, or are limited in throughput, such as NanoSIMS imaging of single cells.

Here we present “direct Protein-SIF” and the Calis-p software package (https://sourceforge.net/projects/calis-p/), which enable high-throughput measurements of accurate δ13C values for individual species within a microbial community. We benchmark the method using 20 pure culture microorganisms and show that the method reproducibly provides SIF values consistent with gold standard bulk measurements performed with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Using mock community samples, we show that SIF values can also be obtained for individual species within a microbial community. Finally, a case study of an obligate bacteria-animal symbiosis showed that direct Protein-SIF confirms previous physiological hypotheses and can provide unexpected new insights into the symbionts’ metabolism. This confirms the usefulness of this new approach to accurately determine δ13C values for different species in microbial community samples.

Significance

To understand the roles that microorganisms play in diverse environments such as the open ocean and the human intestinal tract, we need an understanding of their metabolism and physiology. A variety of methods such as metagenomics and metaproteomics exist to assess the metabolism of environmental microorganisms based on gene content and gene expression. These methods often only provide indirect evidence for which substrates are used by a microorganism in a community. The direct Protein-SIF method that we developed allows linking microbial species in communities to the environmental carbon sources they consume by determining their stable carbon isotope signature. Direct Protein-SIF also allows assessing which carbon fixation pathway is used by autotrophic microorganisms that directly assimilate CO2.
An entropic barriers diffusion theory of decision-making in multiple alternative tasks
Authors: Fernandez Slezak Diego , Sigman Mariano , Cecchi Guillermo A.
Published: January 2018

We present a theory of decision-making in the presence of multiple choices that departs from traditional approaches by explicitly incorporating entropic barriers in a stochastic search process. We analyze response time data from an on-line repository of 15 million blitz chess games, and show that our model fits not just the mean and variance, but the entire response time distribution (over several response-time orders of magnitude) at every stage of the game. We apply the model to show that (a) higher cognitive expertise corresponds to the exploration of more complex solution spaces, and (b) reaction times of users at an on-line buying website can be similarly explained. Our model can be seen as a synergy between diffusion models used to model simple two-choice decision-making and planning agents in complex problem solving.
Long read sequencing reveals Poxvirus evolution through rapid homogenization of gene arrays
Authors: Sasani Thomas A. , Cone Kelsey R. , Quinlan Aaron R. , Elde Nels C.
Published: January 2018

Large DNA viruses rapidly evolve to defeat host defenses. Poxvirus adaptation can involve combinations of recombination-driven gene copy number variation and beneficial single nucleotide variants (SNVs) at the same locus, yet how these distinct mechanisms of genetic diversification might simultaneously facilitate adaptation to immune blocks is unknown. We performed experimental evolution with a vaccinia virus population harboring a SNV in a gene actively undergoing copy number amplification. Comparisons of virus genomes using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing platform allowed us to phase SNVs within large gene copy arrays for the first time, and uncovered a mechanism of adaptive SNV homogenization reminiscent of gene conversion, which is actively driven by selection. Our work reveals a new mechanism for the fluid gain of beneficial mutations in genetic regions undergoing active recombination in viruses, and illustrates the value of long read sequencing technologies for investigating complex genome dynamics in diverse biological systems.
The abnormal, mis-localizated HR bmh protein associates with members of the protein processing machinery in the cytoplasm
Authors: Folco Eric G. , Brancaz-Bouvier Maud-Virginie , Belly Agnès , Nonchev Stefan
Published: January 2018

We have recently mapped a 296 bp deletion at the mouse hairless locus that causes the mutation hairless rhino bald Mill Hill, (Hrrhbmh), (ID:MGI:3039558; J:89321), removing the stop codon and generating a larger mutant protein HR bmh with an additional sequence of 117 amino acids. The mutanthairlessgene mRNA is expressed during the embryonic and post-natal development of the hair follicle. A mutant HR protein was identified in bmh mouse skin at different stages of development by a specific antibody. We demonstrated that the HR bmh protein is able to interact with the vitamin D receptor, but is not able to repress VDR-mediated transactivation. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that HR bmh protein displays an abnormal cellular localization in transfected cell lines, as well as in the epidermis and hair follicle of bmh mutant mice. Here we analyse the patterns of HR bmh extra-nuclear localization in cell transfection experiments. Using a candidate approach, double transfection experiments, immunofluorescent staining and IP protocols we established that HR bmh co-localizes specifically with the proteins HDAC6 in the cytoplasm is able to physically interact with it. Blast analysis allowed to show that HDAC6 and share high sequence homologies with specific motifs of HR bmh. We studied the association of these potential interactors with various cytoplasmic compartments. We discuss the relevance of the mutant hairless protein mis-localization in endosomal processing and in proteasome related pathways with respect to the specific skin phenotype of mouse hairless mutants.
In silico design of ligand triggered RNA switches
Authors: Findeiß Sven , Hammer Stefan , Wolfinger Michael T. , Kühnl Felix , Flamm Christoph , Hofacker Ivo L.
Published: January 2018

This contribution sketches a work flow to design an RNA switch that is able to adapt two structural conformations in a ligand-dependent way. A well characterized RNA aptamer, i. e., knowing its Kd and adaptive structural features, is an essential ingredient of the described design process. We exemplify the principles using the well-known theophylline aptamer throughout this work. The aptamer in its ligand-binding competent structure represents one structural conformation of the switch while an alternative fold that disrupts the binding-competent structure forms the other conformation. To keep it simple we do not incorporate any regulatory mechanism to control transcription or translation. We elucidate a commonly used design process by explicitly dissecting and explaining the necessary steps in detail. We developed a novel objective function which specifies the mechanistics of this simple, ligand-triggered riboswitch and describe an extensive in silico analysis pipeline to evaluate important kinetic properties of the designed sequences. This protocol and the developed software can be easily extended or adapted to fit novel design scenarios and thus can serve as a template for future needs.
Septal Secretion of Protein A inStaphylococcus aureusRequires SecA and Lipoteichoic Acid Synthesis
Authors: Yu Wenqi , Missiakas Dominique , Schneewind Olaf
Published: January 2018

Surface proteins ofStaphylococcus aureusare secreted across septal membranes for assembly into the bacterial cross-wall. This localized secretion requires the YSIRK/GXXS motif signal peptide, however the mechanisms supporting precursor trafficking are not known. We show here that the signal peptide of staphylococcal protein A (SpA) is cleaved at the YSIRK/GXXS motif. A signal peptide mutant defective for cleavage can be crosslinked to SecA, SecDF and LtaS. SecA depletion blocks precursor targeting to septal membranes, whereas deletion ofsecDFdiminishes SpA secretion into the cross-wall. Depletion of LtaS blocks lipoteichoic acid synthesis and promotes precursor trafficking to peripheral membranes. We propose a model whereby SecA directs SpA precursors to lipoteichoic acid-rich septal membranes for YSIRK/GXXS motif cleavage and secretion into the cross-wall.
A conserved function for pericentromeric satellite DNA
Authors: Jagannathan Madhav , Cummings Ryan , Yamashita Yukiko M.
Published: January 2018

A universal and unquestioned characteristic of eukaryotic cells is that the genome is divided into multiple chromosomes and encapsulated in a single nucleus. However, the underlying mechanism to ensure such a configuration is unknown. Here we provide evidence that pericentromeric satellite DNA, which is often regarded as junk, is a critical constituent of the chromosome, allowing the packaging of all chromosomes into a single nucleus. We show that the multi AT-hook satellite DNA binding proteins, D. melanogaster D1 and mouse HMGA1, play an evolutionarily conserved role in bundling pericentromeric satellite DNA from heterologous chromosomes into ‘chromocenters’, a cytological association of pericentromeric heterochromatin. Defective chromocenter formation leads to micronuclei formation due to budding off of interphase nucleus and cell death. We propose that chromocenter and satellite DNA serves a fundamental role to achieve the universal characteristic of eukaryotic cells: full complement of the genome within a single nucleus.
CENP-B dynamics at centromeres is regulated by a SUMOylation/ubiquitination and proteasomal-dependent degradation mechanism involving the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase RNF4
Authors: Maalouf Jhony El , Texier Pascale , Erliandri Indri , Cohen Camille , Corpet Armelle , Catez Frédéric , Boutell Chris , Lomonte Patrick
Published: January 2018

Centromeric protein B (CENP-B) is a major constituent of the centromere. It is a DNA binding protein that recognizes a specific 17-nt sequence present in the centromeric alphoid satellite repeats. CENP-B importance for centromere stability has only been revealed recently. In addition to its DNA binding properties, CENP-B interacts with the histone H3 variant CENP-A and CENP-C. These interactions confer a mechanical strength to the kinetochore that enables accurate sister chromatids segregation to avoid aneuploidy. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate CENP-B stability at the centromere is a major unresolved issue for the comprehension of centromere function. In this study, we demonstrate that lysine K402 of CENP-B is a substrate for SUMO post-translational modifications. We show that K402 regulates CENP-B stability at centromeres through a SUMOylation/ubiquitination and proteasomal-dependent degradation mechanism involving the SUMO-Targeted Ubiquitin E3 Ligase RNF4/SNURF. Our study describes SUMOylation of CENP-B as a major post-translational modification involved in centromere dynamics.
Evaluation of a Chlamydia trachomatis-specific, commercial, real-time PCR for use with ocular swabs
Authors: Pickering H , Holland MJ , Last AR , Burton MJ , Burr SE
Published: January 2018

Background

Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection and the causative organism of trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. Trachoma is diagnosed clinically by observation of conjunctival inflammation and/or scarring, however, there is evidence that monitoring Ct infection may be required for elimination programs. There are many commercial and ‘in-house’ nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of Ct DNA, but the vast majority have not been validated for use with ocular swabs. This study evaluated a commercial assay, the Fast-Track Vaginal swab kit, using conjunctival samples from two trachoma-endemic areas. An objective, biostatistical-based method for binary classification of continuous PCR data was also developed, to limit potential user-bias in diagnostic settings.

Results

The Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay was run on 210 ocular swab samples from Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania. Fit of individual amplification curves to exponential or sigmoid models, derivative and second derivative of the curves and final fluorescence value were examined for utility in thresholding for determining positivity. The results from the Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay were evaluated against a commercial test (Amplicor CT/NG) as well as a non-commercial test (in-house ddPCR) both of whose performance has previously been evaluated.

Significant evidence of exponential amplification (R2 > 0.99) and final fluorescence > 0.15 were combined for thresholding. This objective approach identified a population of positive samples, however there were a subset of samples that amplified towards the end of the cycling protocol (at or later than 35 cycles), which were less clearly defined. The Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay showed good sensitivity against the commercial (95.71) and non-commercial (97.18) tests. Specificity was lower against both tests (90.00 and 96.55 respectively).

Conclusions

This study defined a simple, automated protocol for binary classification of continuous, real time qPCR data, for use in an end-point diagnostic test. This method identified a population of positive samples, however, as with manual thresholding, a subset of samples that amplified towards the end of the thermal cycling program were less easily classified. When used with ocular swabs, the Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay had good sensitivity but for Ct detection lower specificity than the commercial and non-commercial assays it was evaluated against, possibly leading to false positives.
Collicular circuits for flexible sensorimotor routing
Authors: Duan Chunyu A. , Pagan Marino , Piet Alex T. , Kopec Charles D. , Akrami Athena , Riordan Alexander J. , Erlich Jeffrey C. , Brody Carlos D.
Published: January 2018

Historically, cognitive processing has been thought to rely on cortical areas such as prefrontal cortex (PFC), with the outputs of these areas modulating activity in lower, putatively simpler spatiomotor regions, such as the midbrain superior colliculus (SC). Using a rat task in which subjects switch rapidly between task contexts that demand changes in sensorimotor mappings, we report a surprising role for the SC in non-spatial cognitive processes. Before spatial response choices could be formed, neurons in SC encoded task context more strongly than neurons in PFC, and bilateral SC silencing impaired behavioral performance. Once spatial choices could begin to be formed, SC neurons encoded the choice faster than PFC, while bilateral SC silencing no longer impaired choices. A set of dynamical models of the SC replicates our findings. Our results challenge cortically-focused views of cognition, and suggest that ostensibly spatiomotor structures can play central roles in non-spatiomotor cognitive processes.
Transcription factor-dependent ‘anti-repressive’ mammalian enhancers exclude H3K27me3 from extended genomic domains
Authors: Saxena Madhurima , Roman Adrianna K. San , O'Neill Nicholas K. , Sulahian Rita , Jadhav Unmesh , Shivdasani Ramesh A.
Published: January 2018

Compacted chromatin and nucleosomes are known barriers to gene expression; the nature and relative importance of other transcriptional constraints remain unclear, especially at distant enhancers. Polycomb repressor complex 2 (PRC2) places the histone mark H3K27me3 predominantly at promoters, where its silencing activity is well documented. In adult tissues, enhancers lack H3K27me3, and it is unknown whether intergenic H3K27me3 deposits affect nearby genes. In primary intestinal villus cells, we identified hundreds of tissue-restricted enhancers that require the transcription factor (TF) CDX2 to prevent the incursion of H3K27me3 from adjoining areas of elevated basal marking into large well-demarcated genome domains. Similarly, GATA1-dependent enhancers exclude H3K27me3 from extended regions in erythroid blood cells. Excess intergenic H3K27me3 in both TF-deficient tissues is associated with extreme mRNA deficits, which are significantly rescued in intestinal cells lacking PRC2. Explaining these observations, enhancers show TF-dependent binding of the H3K27 demethylase KDM6A. Thus, in diverse cell types, certain genome regions far from promoters accumulate H3K27me3, and optimal gene expression depends on enhancers clearing this repressive mark. These findings reveal new “anti-repressive” function for hundreds of tissue-specific enhancers.
Small-cell transformation of ALK-rearranged non-small-cell adenocarcinoma of the lung
Authors: Balla Agnes , Khan Farrah , Hampel Kenneth J. , Aisner Dara L. , Sidiropoulos Nikoletta
Published: January 2018

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements are present in ∼5% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). These rearrangements occur because of a chromosomal inversion within the short arm of Chromosome 2, which results in the formation of the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)–ALK fusion oncogene. Whereas NSCLC transformation to SCLC is a rare phenomenon described in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant cancers primarily after treatment with targeted therapy, it is exceedingly rare in ALK-rearranged adenocarcinomas. It is currently unclear what the therapeutic significance of the rearrangement is in this transformed tumor as there is a paucity of medical literature describing follow-up care and outcomes of patients in this rare scenario. We describe a unique case in which a patient with ALK-rearranged adenocarcinoma underwent small-cell transformation at a metastatic site with retained ALK rearrangement and was provided clinical follow-up after treatment with second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibiter (TKI) therapy.
Three-dimensional ultrastructural imaging reveals the nanoscale architecture of mammalian cells
Authors: Yao Shengkun , Fan Jiadong , Chen Zhiyun , Zong Yunbing , Zhang Jianhua , Sun Zhibin , Zhang Lijuan , Tai Renzhong , Liu Zhi , Chen Chunying , Jiang Huaidong
Published: January 2018

Knowledge of the interactions between nanomaterials and large-size mammalian cells, including cellular uptake, intracellular localization and translocation, has greatly advanced nanomedicine and nanotoxicology. Imaging techniques that can locate nanomaterials within the structures of intact large-size cells at nanoscale resolution play crucial roles in acquiring this knowledge. Here, the quantitative imaging of intracellular nanomaterials in three dimensions was performed by combining dual-energy contrast X-ray microscopy and an iterative tomographic algorithm termed equally sloped tomography (EST). Macrophages with a size of ∼20 µm that had been exposed to the potential antitumour agent [Gd@C82(OH)22]nwere investigated. Large numbers of nanoparticles (NPs) aggregated within the cell and were mainly located in phagosomes. No NPs were observed in the nucleus. Imaging of the nanomedicine within whole cells advanced the understanding of the high-efficiency antitumour activity and the low toxicity of this agent. This imaging technique can be used to probe nanomaterials within intact large-size cells at nanometre resolution uniformly in three dimensions and may greatly benefit the fields of nanomedicine and nanotoxicology.
A variational model for 3D tolerance analysis with manufacturing signature and operating conditions
Authors: Corrado Andrea , Polini Wilma , Moroni Giovanni , Petrò Stefano
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to present a variational model able to deal with form tolerances and assembly conditions. The variational model is one of the methods proposed in literature for tolerance analysis, but it cannot deal with form tolerances and assembly conditions that may influence the functional requirements of mechanical assemblies.

Design/methodology/approach

This work shows how to manage the actual surfaces generated by the manufacturing process and the operating conditions inside the variational model that has been modified to integrate the manufacturing signature left on the surfaces of the parts and the operating conditions that arise during an actual assembly, such as gravity and friction. Moreover, a geometrical model was developed to numerically simulate what happens in a real assembly process and to give a reference value.

Findings

The new variational model was applied to a three-dimensional case study. The obtained results were compared to those of the geometrical model and to those of the variational model to validate the new model and to show the improvements.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed approach may be extended to other models of literature. However, its limitation is that it is able to deal with a sphere–plane contact.

Practical implications

Tolerance analysis is a valid tool to foresee geometric interferences among the components of an assembly before getting the physical assembly. It involves a decrease in the manufacturing costs.

Originality/value

The main contributions of the study are the insertion of a systematic pattern characterizing the features manufactured by a process, assembly operating conditions and development of a geometrical model to reproduce what happens in a real assembly process.
Anxiety and self-efficacy as sequential mediators in US college students’ career preparation
Authors: Deer LillyBelle K. , Gohn Kelsey , Kanaya Tomoe
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Current college students in the USA are reporting higher levels of anxiety over career planning than previous generations, placing pressure on colleges to provide effective career development opportunities for their students. Research has consistently found that increasing career-related self-efficacy is particularly effective at increasing career-related behaviors among college students. These studies, however, do not account for the potentially negative impact of anxiety on cognitive, mediational pathways, including self-efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine if anxiety plays a sequentially mediating role in the relationship between self-efficacy and job search intentions among college students.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants who were currently looking for a job or an internship were recruited to participate in an online study regarding career development preparation. Participants completed a job search behaviors “quiz” and were randomly assigned to either a “no feedback/control” condition or a “false-positive feedback/experimental” condition. Their career decision-making self-efficacy and state-trait anxiety were then assessed, as well as their intentions to engage in job search behaviors. A sequential mediational pathway analysis was performed to determine whether anxiety plays a mediational role in the relationship between self-efficacy and job search behaviors.

Findings

The hypothesized sequential mediational model was statistically significant. More specifically, participants who were randomly assigned to receive positive feedback experienced significantly lower levels of anxiety than participants in the control condition. In turn, lower levels of anxiety led to significantly higher levels of self-efficacy and significantly higher levels of job search intentions.

Practical implications

These findings have immediate implications for practitioners and educators who work with college students or any population that may be facing anxiety regarding the job search process. More specifically, these underscore the importance of lowering anxiety in order to lead to significantly higher levels of engagement in the career preparation process.

Originality/value

Currently, few studies (if any) have examined the potential mediating impact of anxiety on career-related self-efficacy and career development. Furthermore, no study has incorporated experimental methodology to test multiple pathways between anxiety, self-efficacy, and career preparation.
“The cut and thrust of industrial relations” – bullying by another name?
Authors: Drake Pat
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a feminography, that is a “narration of a female self in a feminist age” (Abrams, 2017) by presenting a conceptual analysis, derived from experience, of email providing a form of discourse – that the author calls finger-speak – through which unexamined gender positioning caricatures a person’s identity. In so doing, the paper provides an illustrative case of a female manager being positioned through email to “know her place, perform it and feel it” (Hey, 2011).

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis of email foregrounds “finger-speak” as a form of digital conversation and through which people in universities may be positioned publicly but without their consent in relation to unexamined norms and assumptions. For women, it is argued, these norms are ageist and sexist. In this paper, fragments of finger-speak are collated to provide a reading of how mixing gendered norms with apparent differences of opinion constructs, via unexamined sexism, a public identity and then undermines it.

Findings

Through the case presented, the author argues that, because of a shared but unarticulated shadow over women as leaders, email lays the ground for subsequent scapegoating in such a manner that the woman takes responsibility for structural challenges that rightly belong to the organisation.

Originality/value

The contribution that email makes to constructing female identity in public is new, complementing other work that publicly characterises women leaders, through film (Ezzedeen, 2015), and through published writing such as autobiography (Kapasi et al., 2016). Emotional work undertaken by women in university leadership is so far under-represented in public, and email is a site through which this work becomes visible.
When the scars begin to heal: narratives of obstetric violence in Chiapas, Mexico
Authors: Murray de Lopez Jenna
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how obstetric violence is embodied and understood by the women who experience it, how it impacts on maternal subjectivity and what the long-term health implications may be.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a qualitative, non-clinical analysis of women’s experiences of obstetric violence in Mexico. Data sources are derived from ethnographic interviews, participant observation and an extensive revision of public reports and policy.

Findings

Local ideas and beliefs over what one must endure to become a “good mother” contribute to how acts of obstetric violence are treated and interpreted by professionals, the community and the individual alike. The ways in which women interpret violence in relation to the wider context of their everyday lives have significant implications for evaluating the effectiveness of approaches to reproductive and maternal health.

Social implications

Situating women’s narratives within an ecological framework of gender-based violence reveals not only the conditions under which obstetric violations occur, but also the forms of resilience and coping mechanisms that women develop. This provides a deeper understanding for the long-term health implications of iatrogenic trauma during pregnancy and birth.

Originality/value

This paper discusses obstetric violence from the perspective of women who experience it and contextualises it within the wider life course approach to personhood and maternal transformation.
Supply chain information integration, flexibility, and operational performance
Authors: Yu Kangkang , Luo Ben Nanfeng , Feng Xue , Liu Jianing
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Supply chain flexibility is crucial for firms to respond to uncertain circumstances caused by environmental factors, such as the diversity of customer demands, problems of product safety, and adjustments of industrial policies. To investigate the approach to enhance supply chain flexibility, the purpose of this paper is to propose that both internal and external information integration contribute to reactive and proactive supply chain flexibilities, which elicit high operational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 84 food companies that have been listed three years in China and content analysis based on their annual reports, evidence was collected to test the hypotheses through hierarchical regressions.

Findings

The results reveal that external information integration results in both reactive and proactive flexibilities, which further improve operational performance. Internal information integration positively affects both reactive and proactive flexibilities, but its mediating role was not determined in the study.

Originality/value

The research provides insights into how supply chain flexibility mediates the effect of supply chain information integration on operational performance in the context of the Chinese food industry.
Determinants of success in transport services outsourcing: empirical study in Europe
Authors: Sanchis-Pedregosa Carlos , Machuca Jose A.D. , González-Zamora María-del-Mar
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This research proposes ideal interaction patterns for structural dimensions (buyer and supplier representatives involved in the interaction and buyer and supplier critical capabilities) for transport service outsourcing. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether those ideal interaction patterns are determinants of success of the interaction. In this paper, the latter is measured against the corresponding process success and outcome success.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a conceptual model based on the prior literature and adapted to this specific case of transport services. The proposed model is approached using the partial least squares simultaneous equation models. For this, the result of a survey to senior management at European machinery, electronics and automotive sector manufacturing plants has been used.

Findings

When companies possess the proposed ideal patterns for the structural dimensions, this brings with it positive effects on both the process success and the outcome success obtained by the outsourcing plant. Therefore, buyer-supplier relationships have been recognized to play a key role in the outcomes of this interaction and that the design and management of interfaces between companies and their logistics providers are critical.

Practical implications

Managers can use the present research findings to produce an appropriate interaction design that includes the representatives and capabilities required to make transport service outsourcing a success.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on transport research by specifically establishing ideal interaction patterns for the structural dimensions that buyer and supplier’s companies need to consider for achieving successful transport services outsourcing. Besides, the present research proposes a multidimensional measure of outcome success that combines major strategic, operational and financial outputs. Finally, this research represents the first survey-based empirical evidence on the topic, having used a sample of 93 plants belonging to many different companies in five European countries.
Enhancing the creativity of frontline employees
Authors: Jeng Shih Ping
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Logistics companies need creative employees to enhance supply chain resiliency and differentiate service. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a job-resource perspective to investigate the antecedents of frontline employee creativity in the logistics industry and how the impact of such antecedents may differ between different types of logistics companies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a sample of 226 frontline employees of logistics companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model.

Findings

The results indicate that job complexity (the extent to which a job is multifaceted) increases customer orientation, customer orientation increases employee creativity, and job complexity increases logistics employee creativity. The mediating effect of customer orientation is stronger for logistics companies that provide a variety of logistics services than for carriers that provide standardized services.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate logistics employee creativity and its antecedents. By providing a job-resource perspective, this study provides a novel perspective on why job complexity increases creativity through customer orientation. The findings provide information for logistics companies in terms of job design and resource allocation.
Social determinants of health among Canadian inmates
Authors: Stewart Lynn A. , Nolan Amanda , Thompson Jennie , Power Jenelle
Published: January 2018

Purpose

International studies indicate that offenders have higher rates of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and physical disorders relative to the general population. Although social determinants of health have been found to affect the mental health of a population, less information is available regarding the impact of social determinants on physical health, especially among offenders. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between social determinants and the physical health status of federal Canadian offenders.

Design/methodology/approach

The study included all men admitted to federal institutions between 1 April 2012 and 30 September 2012 (n=2,273) who consented to the intake health assessment. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore whether age group, Aboriginal ancestry, and each of the individual social determinants significantly predicted a variety of health conditions.

Findings

The majority of men reported having a physical health condition and had experienced social determinants associated with adverse health outcomes, especially men of Aboriginal ancestry. Two social determinants factors in particular were consistently related to the health of offenders, a history of childhood abuse, and the use of social assistance.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to the use of self-report data. Additionally, the measures of social determinants of health were indicators taken from assessments that provided only rough estimates of the constructs rather than from established measures.

Originality/value

A better understanding of how these factors affect offenders can inform strategies to address correctional health issues and reduce the impact of chronic conditions through targeted correctional education and intervention programmes.
An examination of consensual sex in a men’s jail
Authors: Lea III Charles Herbert , Gideonse Theodore K. , Harawa Nina T.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use secondary data from qualitative interviews that examined the sexual behaviors, HIV attitudes, and condom use of 17 gay, bisexual, and transgender women housed in a protective custody unit in the Los Angeles County Jail (Harawa et al., 2010), to develop a better understanding of the consensual sexual behaviors of male prisoners.

Design/methodology/approach

Study eligibility included: report anal or oral sex with another male in the prior six months; speak and understand English; and incarcerated in the unit for at least two weeks. Data analysis consisted of an inductive, qualitative approach.

Findings

Findings illuminate participants’ experiences concerning how the correctional facility shaped their sexual choices and behaviors, and the HIV-risk reduction strategies they employed.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the prison-sex literature, and is timely, given current federal and local HIV/AIDS priorities. Recommendations that address male prisoners’ sexual and health needs and risks are posed.
Total value in business relationships: exploring the link between power and value appropriation
Authors: Chicksand Daniel , Rehme Jakob
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider how value can be better defined and to understand the drivers of value appropriation in business relationships. In doing so, the authors explore the role that power plays in determining the sharing of value in those relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper contains a conceptual discussion about value and the appropriation of value in business relationships, which leads to the development of a methodology for assessing the sharing of value.

Findings

In this paper, the authors have developed a view of total value in supply chain relationships. They argue that the value of the relationship is the sum of the customer and supplier value, including both tangible and intangible benefits and sacrifices. In addition, they maintain that the appropriation of value in a business relationship is reliant upon: the power both parties possess; the direct and tangible value each party has to offer; and the indirect and intangible value that each has to offer. They also provide a methodology, which can be used to determine the sharing of value between two actors within a business exchange.

Research limitations/implications

In arriving at the conceptualisation of total value and in the discussion of value appropriation in business relationships, the authors drew upon extant literature. However, a limitation is that they were unable to fully consider all the academic discourse centred on value and value appropriation.

Originality/value

The discussion brings together the issues of customer value and supplier value to the concept of “total value”. Thereafter, it links the contentious issue of buyer and supplier power, so as to better understand the appropriation of value in business relationships.
How do high-risk young adult prisoners with emerging personality disorders describe the process of change in therapy?
Authors: Shaw Jake , Forster Owen
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of young adult prisoners with emerging personality disorders (PDs), who were assessed as posing a high risk of causing serious harm to others, on the process of therapeutic change in a non-residential treatment service in a UK young offender institute. The treatment model utilises an integrated approach, specifically adapted for the developmental needs of young adults and combining therapies for PD with offence focussed interventions and regular keywork.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 13 participants, who had completed at least one year of therapy, were interviewed about their perspectives about what, if any, change had occurred and how any reported change had taken place. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed via thematic analysis.

Findings

All participants described having made positive therapeutic change. Three overarching change themes were identified: mentalisation of others, self-knowledge and adaptive coping. Relationships with staff were described as the key mechanism through which change was achieved. Specific treatment interventions were mentioned infrequently, although keywork and generic individual therapy and groupwork sessions were also described as drivers to change.

Originality/value

The findings suggest the possibility of positive therapeutic outcomes for this complex service user group. They also suggest that the domains of change and associated mechanisms may be similar to those reported for other service user groups and in other settings.
Internationalisation commitment of emerging market firms
Authors: Bianchi Constanza , Carneiro Jorge , Wickramasekera Rumintha
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Enhancing firm commitment towards internationalisation is an important step towards ensuring successful international performance. However, there is limited research on this topic for emerging market firms. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the internationalisation commitment of emerging market firms located in two Latin American countries with different institutional environments.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes and tests a conceptual model that includes drivers and barriers of internationalisation commitment. Data were collected from Chilean and Brazilian firms. The model uses confirmatory factor analysis to develop the underlying multi-item constructs and structural equation modelling to test the model.

Findings

The results show that managers’ perceptions of firm resources and capabilities are significant drivers of internationalisation commitment in both countries. In addition, perceptions of internal firm-specific barriers, such as a manager’s lack of international experience and knowledge, are negatively related to internationalisation commitment in Chile, but not in Brazil. Finally, external environmental barriers are negatively related to internationalisation commitment in Brazil, but not in Chile.

Practical implications

The context for the study is Chile and Brazil. Both are important emerging markets in Latin America, with a strong focus on firm internationalisation. The research design is cross-sectional and so does not allow for any causal claims to be made. The findings have important implications for internationalisation efforts of managers and export promotion agencies of emerging markets with different institutional environments.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the relatively scant but increasing number of empirical studies which investigate emerging market internationalisation in Latin America.
Sensemaking and cognitive shifts – learning from dissemination of a National Quality Register in health care and elderly care
Authors: Nordin Annika Maria Margareta , Andersson Gäre Boel , Andersson Ann-Christine
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine and establish how sensemaking develops among a group of external change agents (ECAs) engaged to disseminate a national quality register nationwide in Swedish health care and elderly care. To study the emergent sensemaking, the theoretical concept of cognitive shift has been used.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collection method included individual semi-structured interviews, and two sets of interviews (initial sensemaking and renewed sensemaking) have been conducted. Based on a typology describing how ECAs interpret their work, structural analyses and comparisons of initial and renewed sensemaking are made and illuminated in spider diagrams. The data are then analyzed to search for cognitive shifts.

Findings

The ECAs’ sensemaking develops. Three cognitive shifts are identified, and a new kind of issue-related cognitive shift, the outcome-related cognitive shift, is suggested. For the ECAs to customize their work, they need to be aware of how they interpret their own work and how these interpretations develop over time.

Originality/value

The study takes a novel view of the interrelated concepts of sensemaking and sensegivers and points out the cognitive shifts as a helpful theoretical concept to study how sensemaking develops.
I am ugly, but I am tender: the dominance of moral character and warmth
Authors: Chang Joseph W.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dominance of athlete endorser characteristics (i.e. moral character vs warmth) on athlete endorser perception and the influence of tarnished athlete endorsers (i.e. immoral character vs coldness) on brand evaluations from the perspectives of perceiver characteristics, including dispositional tendency, innate moral intuitions, and self-location (SL).

Design/methodology/approach

This research consists of three experimental studies with 135, 72, and 91 participants, respectively. Study 1 compared the dominance of moral character and warmth on athlete endorser perception. Study 2 examined the impact of perceiver characteristics on the cause-and-effect relationship between tarnished athlete endorsers (i.e. immoral character vs coldness) and brand evaluations. Study 3 investigated the cross-cultural generalizability of the US-based research findings in Study 2 for Indians.

Findings

Moral character is more influential than warmth on athlete endorser evaluations. Tarnished athlete endorsers with immoral character exert more negative influence than tarnished athlete endorsers with coldness characteristic on brand evaluations. Except for dispositional tendency, innate moral intuitions and SL moderate brand evaluations. Endorser and perceiver characteristics yield asymmetric patterns of influence on Americans’ and Indians’ brand evaluations.

Research limitations/implications

Future research is needed to verify the causal effects of thinking styles on the relationship between tarnished athlete endorsers and brand evaluations.

Practical implications

The determination of endorsement continuity has to jointly consider the characteristics of endorsers, perceivers, and cultures.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the endorsement research by advancing the research scopes of athlete endorser, perceiver, and culture characteristics.
The welfare organization agenda
Authors: Kashif Muhammad , Ur Rehman Atiq , Grigoriou Nicholas
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The role of managers is crucial to achieve holistic organizational goals to benefit the key stakeholders. However, a Western perspective is dominant as management literature where the work of Anglo-Arab philosophers is largely ignored. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap and promulgate the writings of Ibn Khaldun (a fourteenth-century Muslim philosopher) to advance management knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is primarily based on the review of Ibn Khaldun’s book Muqaddimah.

Findings

This study provides valuable insights to the leaders as well as management practitioners by offering some useful directions to the management researchers for further research. The analysis revealed five themes: Fikr (mindfulness), Ta’awun (cooperation), Ta’akhi (brotherhood), ethical leadership and Adal (justice).

Originality/value

This paper is an original contribution to the extant literature available on organization development and scant literature available on imparting employee welfare agenda in contemporary organization from the perspective of a Muslim philosopher Ibn Khaldun.