bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanical modelling of tooth wear
Authors: Karme Aleksis , Rannikko Janina , Kallonen Aki , Clauss Marcus , Fortelius Mikael
Published: July 2016

Different diets wear teeth in different ways and generate distinguishable wear and microwear patterns that have long been the basis of palaeodiet reconstructions. Little experimental research has been performed to study them together. Here, we show that an artificial mechanical masticator, a chewing machine, occluding real horse teeth in continuous simulated chewing (of 100 000 chewing cycles) is capable of replicating microscopic wear features and gross wear on teeth that resemble wear in specimens collected from nature. Simulating pure attrition (chewing without food) and four plant material diets of different abrasives content (at
n
= 5 tooth pairs per group), we detected differences in microscopic wear features by stereomicroscopy of the chewing surface in the number and quality of pits and scratches that were not always as expected. Using computed tomography scanning in one tooth per diet, absolute wear was quantified as the mean height change after the simulated chewing. Absolute wear increased with diet abrasiveness, originating from phytoliths and grit. In combination, our findings highlight that differences in actual dental tissue loss can occur at similar microwear patterns, cautioning against a direct transformation of microwear results into predictions about diet or tooth wear rate.
Is this scaling nonlinear?
Authors: Leitão J. C. , Miotto J. M. , Gerlach M. , Altmann E. G.
Published: July 2016

One of the most celebrated findings in complex systems in the last decade is that different indexes
y
(e.g. patents) scale nonlinearly with the population
x
of the cities in which they appear, i.e.
y
∼
x

β

,
β
≠1. More recently, the generality of this finding has been questioned in studies that used new databases and different definitions of city boundaries. In this paper, we investigate the existence of nonlinear scaling, using a probabilistic framework in which fluctuations are accounted for explicitly. In particular, we show that this allows not only to (i) estimate
β
and confidence intervals, but also to (ii) quantify the evidence in favour of
β
≠1 and (iii) test the hypothesis that the observations are compatible with the nonlinear scaling. We employ this framework to compare five different models to 15 different datasets and we find that the answers to points (i)–(iii) crucially depend on the fluctuations contained in the data, on how they are modelled, and on the fact that the city sizes are heavy-tailed distributed.
New information on the braincase and inner ear ofEuparkeria capensisBroom: implications for diapsid and archosaur evolution
Authors: Sobral Gabriela , Sookias Roland B. , Bhullar Bhart-Anjan S. , Smith Roger , Butler Richard J. , Müller Johannes
Published: July 2016

Since its discovery,Euparkeria capensishas been a key taxon for understanding the early evolution of archosaurs. The braincase ofEuparkeriawas described based on a single specimen, but much uncertainty remained. For the first time, all available braincase material ofEuparkeriais re-examined using micro-computed tomography scanning. Contrary to previous work, the parabasisphenoid does not form the posterior border of the fenestra ovalis in lateral view, but it does bear a dorsal projection that forms the anteroventral half of the fenestra. No bone pneumatization was found, but the lateral depression of the parabasisphenoid may have been pneumatic. We propose that the lateral depression likely corresponds to the anterior tympanic recess present in crown archosaurs. The presence of a laterosphenoid is confirmed forEuparkeria. It largely conforms to the crocodilian condition, but shows some features which make it more similar to the avemetatarsalian laterosphenoid. The cochlea ofEuparkeriais elongated, forming a deep cochlear recess. In comparison with other basal archosauromorphs, the metotic foramen is much enlarged and regionalized into vagus and recessus scalae tympani areas, indicating an increase in its pressure-relief mechanism. The anterior semicircular canal is extended and corresponds to an enlarged floccular fossa. These aspects of the braincase morphology may be related to the development of a more upright posture and active lifestyle. They also indicate further adaptations of the hearing system ofEuparkeriato terrestriality.
Camp stability predicts patterns of hunter–gatherer cooperation
Authors: Smith Daniel , Dyble Mark , Thompson James , Major Katie , Page Abigail E. , Chaudhary Nikhil , Salali Gul Deniz , Vinicius Lucio , Migliano Andrea Bamberg , Mace Ruth
Published: July 2016

Humans regularly cooperate with non-kin, which has been theorized to require reciprocity between repeatedly interacting and trusting individuals. However, the role of repeated interactions has not previously been demonstrated in explaining real-world patterns of hunter–gatherer cooperation. Here we explore cooperation among the Agta, a population of Filipino hunter–gatherers, using data from both actual resource transfers and two experimental games across multiple camps. Patterns of cooperation vary greatly between camps and depend on socio-ecological context. Stable camps (with fewer changes in membership over time) were associated with greater reciprocal sharing, indicating that an increased likelihood of future interactions facilitates reciprocity. This is the first study reporting an association between reciprocal cooperation and hunter–gatherer band stability. Under conditions of low camp stability individuals still acquire resources from others, but do so via demand sharing (taking from others), rather than based on reciprocal considerations. Hunter–gatherer cooperation may either be characterized as reciprocity or demand sharing depending on socio-ecological conditions.
Active
and
reactive
behaviour in human mobility: the influence of attraction points on pedestrians
Authors: Gutiérrez-Roig M. , Sagarra O. , Oltra A. , Palmer J. R. B. , Bartumeus F. , Díaz-Guilera A. , Perelló J.
Published: July 2016

Human mobility is becoming an accessible field of study, thanks to the progress and availability of tracking technologies as a common feature of smart phones. We describe an example of a scalable experiment exploiting these circumstances at a public, outdoor fair in Barcelona (Spain). Participants were tracked while wandering through an open space with activity stands attracting their attention. We develop a general modelling framework based on Langevin dynamics, which allows us to test the influence of two distinct types of ingredients on mobility:
reactive
or context-dependent factors, modelled by means of a force field generated by attraction points in a given spatial configuration and
active
or inherent factors, modelled from intrinsic movement patterns of the subjects. The additive and constructive framework model accounts for some observed features. Starting with the simplest model (purely random walkers) as a reference, we progressively introduce different ingredients such as persistence, memory and perceptual landscape, aiming to untangle
active
and
reactive
contributions and quantify their respective relevance. The proposed approach may help in anticipating the spatial distribution of citizens in alternative scenarios and in improving the design of public events based on a facts-based approach.
Feedback control of combustion instabilities from within limit cycle oscillations using H∞ loop-shaping and the
ν
-gap metric
Authors: Li Jingxuan , Morgans Aimee S.
Published: July 2016

Combustion instabilities arise owing to a two-way coupling between acoustic waves and unsteady heat release. Oscillation amplitudes successively grow, until nonlinear effects cause saturation into limit cycle oscillations. Feedback control, in which an actuator modifies some combustor input in response to a sensor measurement, can suppress combustion instabilities. Linear feedback controllers are typically designed, using linear combustor models. However, when activated from within limit cycle, the linear model is invalid, and such controllers are not guaranteed to stabilize. This work develops a feedback control strategy guaranteed to stabilize from within limit cycle oscillations. A low-order model of a simple combustor, exhibiting the essential features of more complex systems, is presented. Linear plane acoustic wave modelling is combined with a weakly nonlinear describing function for the flame. The latter is determined numerically using a level set approach. Its implication is that the open-loop transfer function (OLTF) needed for controller design varies with oscillation level. The difference between the mean and the rest of the OLTFs is characterized using the
ν
-gap metric, providing the minimum required ‘robustness margin’ for an

H

∞

loop-shaping controller. Such controllers are designed and achieve stability both for linear fluctuations and from within limit cycle oscillations.
Frictional slip of a rigid punch on an elastic half-plane
Authors: Adams George G.
Published: July 2016

If a rigid punch is perfectly bonded to an elastic half-plane, the stress state possesses a well-known oscillating singularity. Because the shear and normal stresses are out of phase with each other, the application of a frictional slip model is expected to result in a slip zone at each of the corners. A solution exists in the literature if the punch is subjected to a normal load. It was shown that the extent of the slip zone is an eigenvalue which depends upon Poisson’s ratio and the coefficient of friction, but is independent of the magnitude of the applied load. In this investigation, the extent of the slip zone as well as the slip displacement is determined from the perfect bond solution. The analysis is valid if the length of the slip zone is small compared with the punch width. However, the results are shown to be in excellent agreement with the solution in the literature even when the total length of the slip zones is equal to half of the punch width. A solution is then obtained for combined normal and tangential loading. This work, and its extensions, is expected to be applicable in the study of the mechanics of fretting.
Nutrition shapes life-history evolution across species
Authors: Swanson Eli M. , Espeset Anne , Mikati Ihab , Bolduc Isaac , Kulhanek Robert , White William A. , Kenzie Susan , Snell-Rood Emilie C.
Published: July 2016

Nutrition is a key component of life-history theory, yet we know little about how diet quality shapes life-history evolution across species. Here, we test whether quantitative measures of nutrition are linked to life-history evolution across 96 species of butterflies representing over 50 independent diet shifts. We find that butterflies feeding on high nitrogen host plants as larvae are more fecund, but their eggs are smaller relative to their body size. Nitrogen and sodium content of host plants are also both positively related to eye size. Some of these relationships show pronounced lineage-specific effects. Testis size is not related to nutrition. Additionally, the evolutionary timing of diet shifts is not important, suggesting that nutrition affects life histories regardless of the length of time a species has been adapting to its diet. Our results suggest that, at least for some lineages, species with higher nutrient diets can invest in a range of fitness-related traits like fecundity and eye size while allocating less to each egg as offspring have access to a richer diet. These results have important implications for the evolution of life histories in the face of anthropogenic changes in nutrient availability.
The association between religious homogamy and reproduction
Authors: Fieder Martin , Huber Susanne
Published: July 2016

Individuals more strongly affiliated to religion have on average more children than less religious ones. Here, based on census data of 3 658 650 women aged 46–60 years from 32 countries provided by IPUMS International and data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n= 2400 women, aged 53–57 years), we show that religious homogamy is also associated with higher reproduction in terms of a higher number of children and a lower chance of remaining childless. We argue that, together with the relationship between general religious intensity and number of children, religious homogamy has reproductive consequences. These may impact future demographic developments and could have also played a role in the biological evolution of humans.
Calling in sick: impacts of fever on intra-urban human mobility
Authors: Perkins T. Alex , Paz-Soldan Valerie A. , Stoddard Steven T. , Morrison Amy C. , Forshey Brett M. , Long Kanya C. , Halsey Eric S. , Kochel Tadeusz J. , Elder John P. , Kitron Uriel , Scott Thomas W. , Vazquez-Prokopec Gonzalo M.
Published: July 2016

Pathogens inflict a wide variety of disease manifestations on their hosts, yet the impacts of disease on the behaviour of infected hosts are rarely studied empirically and are seldom accounted for in mathematical models of transmission dynamics. We explored the potential impacts of one of the most common disease manifestations, fever, on a key determinant of pathogen transmission, host mobility, in residents of the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru. We did so by comparing two groups of febrile individuals (dengue-positive and dengue-negative) with an afebrile control group. A retrospective, semi-structured interview allowed us to quantify multiple aspects of mobility during the two-week period preceding each interview. We fitted nested models of each aspect of mobility to data from interviews and compared models using likelihood ratio tests to determine whether there were statistically distinguishable differences in mobility attributable to fever or its aetiology. Compared with afebrile individuals, febrile study participants spent more time at home, visited fewer locations, and, in some cases, visited locations closer to home and spent less time at certain types of locations. These multifaceted impacts are consistent with the possibility that disease-mediated changes in host mobility generate dynamic and complex changes in host contact network structure.
Acoustic telemetry and network analysis reveal the space use of multiple reef predators and enhance marine protected area design
Authors: Lea James S. E. , Humphries Nicolas E. , von Brandis Rainer G. , Clarke Christopher R. , Sims David W.
Published: July 2016

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly employed to protect ecosystems from threats like overfishing. Ideally, MPA design should incorporate movement data from multiple target species to ensure sufficient habitat is protected. We used long-term acoustic telemetry and network analysis to determine the fine-scale space use of five shark and one turtle species at a remote atoll in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, and evaluate the efficacy of a proposed MPA. Results revealed strong, species-specific habitat use in both sharks and turtles, with corresponding variation in MPA use. Defining the MPA's boundary from the edge of the reef flat at low tide instead of the beach at high tide (the current best in Seychelles) significantly increased the MPA's coverage of predator movements by an average of 34%. Informed by these results, the larger MPA was adopted by the Seychelles government, demonstrating how telemetry data can improve shark spatial conservation by affecting policy directly.
Acquired versus innate prey capturing skills in super-precocial live-bearing fish
Authors: Lankheet Martin J. , Stoffers Twan , van Leeuwen Johan L. , Pollux Bart J. A.
Published: July 2016

Live-bearing fish start hunting for mobile prey within hours after birth, an example of extreme precociality. Because prenatal,in utero, development of this behaviour is constrained by the lack of free-swimming sensory-motor interactions, immediate success after birth depends on innate, evolutionarily acquired patterns. Optimal performance however requires flexible adjustment to an unpredictable environment. To distinguish innate from postnatally developing patterns we analysed over 2000 prey capture events for 28 metallic livebearers (Girardinus metallicus; Poeciliidae), during their first 3 days after birth. We show that the use of synchronous pectoral fin beats for final acceleration and ingestion is fixed and presumably innate. It allows for direct, symmetrical control of swimming speed and direction, while avoiding head yaw. Eye movements and body curvatures, however, change considerably in the first few days, showing that eye-tail coordination requires postnatal development. The results show how successful prey captures for newborn, live-bearing fish are based on a combination of fixed motor programmes and rapid, postnatal development.
Predator-driven brain size evolution in natural populations of Trinidadian killifish (
Rivulus hartii
)
Authors: Walsh Matthew R. , Broyles Whitnee , Beston Shannon M. , Munch Stephan B.
Published: July 2016

Vertebrates exhibit extensive variation in relative brain size. It has long been assumed that this variation is the product of ecologically driven natural selection. Yet, despite more than 100 years of research, the ecological conditions that select for changes in brain size are unclear. Recent laboratory selection experiments showed that selection for larger brains is associated with increased survival in risky environments. Such results lead to the prediction that increased predation should favour increased brain size. Work on natural populations, however, foreshadows the opposite trajectory of evolution; increased predation favours increased boldness, slower learning, and may thereby select for a smaller brain. We tested the influence of predator-induced mortality on brain size evolution by quantifying brain size variation in a Trinidadian killifish,
Rivulus hartii
, from communities that differ in predation intensity. We observed strong genetic differences in male (but not female) brain size between fish communities; second generation laboratory-reared males from sites with predators exhibited smaller brains than
Rivulus
from sites in which they are the only fish present. Such trends oppose the results of recent laboratory selection experiments and are not explained by trade-offs with other components of fitness. Our results suggest that increased male brain size is favoured in less risky environments because of the fitness benefits associated with faster rates of learning and problem-solving behaviour.
A cloud-based workflow to quantify transcript-expression levels in public cancer compendia
Authors: Tatlow PJ , Piccolo Stephen R.
Published: July 2016

Public compendia of raw sequencing data are now measured in petabytes. Accordingly, it is becoming infeasible for individual researchers to transfer these data to local computers. Recently, the National Cancer Institute funded an initiative to explore opportunities and challenges of working with molecular data in cloud-computing environments. With data in the cloud, it becomes possible for scientists to take their tools to the data and thereby avoid large data transfers. It also becomes feasible to scale computing resources to the needs of a given analysis. To evaluate this concept, we quantified transcript-expression levels for 12,307 RNA-Sequencing samples from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia and The Cancer Genome Atlas. We used two cloud-based configurations to process the data and examined the performance and cost profiles of each configuration. Using “preemptible virtual machines”, we processed the samples for as little as $0.09 (USD) per sample. In total, we processed the TCGA samples (n=11,373) for only $1,065.49 and simultaneously processed thousands of samples at a time. As the samples were being processed, we collected detailed performance metrics, which helped us to track the duration of each processing step and to identify computational resources used at different stages of sample processing. Although the computational demands of reference alignment and expression quantification have decreased considerably, there remains a critical need for researchers to optimize preprocessing steps (e.g., sorting, converting, and trimming sequencing reads). We have created open-sourceDockercontainers that include all the software and scripts necessary to process such data in the cloud and to collect performance metrics. The processed data are available in tabular format and in Google's BigQuery database (seehttps://osf.io/gqrz9).
Phylogenetic scale in ecology and evolution
Authors: Graham Catherine H. , Storch David , Machac Antonin
Published: July 2016

Aim

Many important patterns and processes vary across the phylogeny and depend on phylogenetic scale. Yet, phylogenetic scale has never been formally conceptualized and its potential remains largely unexplored. Here, we formalize the concept of phylogenetic scale, review how phylogenetic scale has been considered across multiple fields, and provide practical guidelines for the use of phylogenetic scale to address a range of biological questions.

Methods

We summarize how phylogenetic scale has been treated in macroevolution, community ecology, biogeography, and macroecology, illustrating how it can inform, and possibly resolve, some of the longstanding controversies in these fields. To promote the concept empirically, we define phylogenetic grain and extent, scale-dependence, scaling, and the domains of phylogenetic scale. We illustrate how existing phylogenetic data and statistical tools can be employed to investigate the effects of scale on a variety of well-known patterns and processes, including diversification rates, community structure, niche conservatism, or species-abundance distributions.

Main conclusions

Explicit consideration of phylogenetic scale can provide new and more complete insight into many longstanding questions across multiple fields (macroevolution, community ecology, biogeography, macroevolution). Building on the existing resources and isolated efforts across fields, future research centered on phylogenetic scale might enrich our understanding of the processes that together, but over different scales, shape the diversity of life.
Interpretation of diffuse scattering in the high-Tcsuperconductor HgBa2CuO4+δ
Authors: Welberry T. R. , Goossens D. J.
Published: July 2016

Published diffuse X-ray scattering from the high-Tcsuperconductor HgBa2CuO4+δhas been reexamined with a view to developing a model that more satisfactorily accounts for the observed patterns. The present work agrees with the previous conclusion that the doping oxygen atoms form long and isolated interstitial chains that run in both tetragonal directions. However, a distinctly different model is proposed for the accompanying displacement patterns of the atoms surrounding these linear defects. In this new model it is proposed that it is the correlated shifts of the Ba atoms along the length of the defect chains that are the primary source of the observed scattering, and that the variations of intensity in the generated diffuse streaks of scattering originate from lateral shifts of both Hg and Ba atoms away from defects. The new model yields diffraction patterns that are in much more convincing agreement with the observations than the original model.
2.4 Å resolution crystal structure of human TRAP1NM, the Hsp90 paralog in the mitochondrial matrix
Authors: Sung Nuri , Lee Jungsoon , Kim Ji-Hyun , Chang Changsoo , Tsai Francis T. F. , Lee Sukyeong
Published: July 2016

TRAP1 is an organelle-specific Hsp90 paralog that is essential for neoplastic growth. As a member of the Hsp90 family, TRAP1 is presumed to be a general chaperone facilitating the late-stage folding of Hsp90 client proteins in the mitochondrial matrix. Interestingly, TRAP1 cannot replace cytosolic Hsp90 in protein folding, and none of the known Hsp90 co-chaperones are found in mitochondria. Thus, the three-dimensional structure of TRAP1 must feature regulatory elements that are essential to the ATPase activity and chaperone function of TRAP1. Here, the crystal structure of a human TRAP1NMdimer is presented, featuring an intact N-domain and M-domain structure, bound to adenosine 5′-β,γ-imidotriphosphate (ADPNP). The crystal structure together with epitope-mapping results shows that the TRAP1 M-domain loop 1 contacts the neighboring subunit and forms a previously unobserved third dimer interface that mediates the specific interaction with mitochondrial Hsp70.
Structural basis for the binding of succinate to succinyl-CoA synthetase
Authors: Huang Ji , Fraser Marie E.
Published: July 2016

Succinyl-CoA synthetase catalyzes the only step in the citric acid cycle that provides substrate-level phosphorylation. Although the binding sites for the substrates CoA, phosphate, and the nucleotides ADP and ATP or GDP and GTP have been identified, the binding site for succinate has not. To determine this binding site, pig GTP-specific succinyl-CoA synthetase was crystallized in the presence of succinate, magnesium ions and CoA, and the structure of the complex was determined by X-ray crystallography to 2.2 Å resolution. Succinate binds in the carboxy-terminal domain of the β-subunit. The succinate-binding site is near both the active-site histidine residue that is phosphorylated in the reaction and the free thiol of CoA. The carboxy-terminal domain rearranges when succinate binds, burying this active site. However, succinate is not in position for transfer of the phosphoryl group from phosphohistidine. Here, it is proposed that when the active-site histidine residue has been phosphorylated by GTP, the phosphohistidine displaces phosphate and triggers the movement of the carboxylate of succinate into position to be phosphorylated. The structure shows why succinyl-CoA synthetase is specific for succinate and does not react appreciably with citrate nor with the other C4-dicarboxylic acids of the citric acid cycle, fumarate and oxaloacetate, but shows some activity with L-malate.
Top management team (TMT) tenure diversity and firm performance
Authors: Tanikawa Tomohiko , Jung Yuhee
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the effect of top management team (TMT) tenure diversity and firm financial performance (return on equity [ROE], return on assets [ROA]), and, second, to examine the moderating effect of TMT average age between TMT tenure diversity and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presented results from a quantitative study of 744 TMTs in Japanese manufacturing firms. The multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that TMT tenure diversity had a negative and significant main effect on ROE but not ROA. Furthermore, the results also indicated that the negative relationship between TMT tenure diversity and firm performance was attenuated by having older TMTs.

Originality/value

First, this paper expands scope of research on TMT diversity, which has hitherto primarily on non-individualistic variables (such as industry setting) by examining the moderating role of an individualistic variable (TMT average age). Second, this paper extended the attempts to apply the age-related theory by considering the role from the viewpoint of group level, namely, TMT average age.
Proactive personality, organizational context, employee creativity and innovative capability
Authors: Tai Huynh Thao , Mai Nguyen Quynh
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically examine antecedents of innovative capability in different organization categories of multinational corporations (MNCs) and domestic firms by applying the integrative theory, linking both personal and contextual factors in explaining employee creativity.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework has been developed based on previous research investigating the relationship between proactive personality, organizational context (hierarchy, communication, atmosphere and risk-taking orientation), employee creativity and, ultimately, corporate innovative capability. More remarkably, by applying multiple group analysis, this research emphasizes on the identification of distinct organizational and contextual characteristics in MNCs and native corporations that respectively affect organizations’ capacity to innovate via employee creativity.

Findings

The analysis revealed that four dimensions, communication, atmosphere, risk-taking orientation and employees’ proactive personality, have significant impacts on employee creativity and ultimately organizational innovative capability, whereas the proposed negative effect of hierarchy on employee creativity did not exist. This research also highlights the identification of respective organizational characteristics in MNCs and native corporations that affect their capacity to innovate via employee creativity. Given that proactive personality is a critical antecedent of innovative capability regardless of organization types, communication and atmosphere are statistically confirmed to be more influential antecessors in the MNC context, whereas for domestic corporations, risk-taking orientation is dominant.

Originality/value

This research is original and of great value for several reasons. First, it provides suggestion on a single personality trait, proactive personality, that correlates remarkably with creativity. Second, it examines the association between various organizational aspects and employee creativity to appraise and advance the results of previous classic studies done in the field. Last, it incorporates both personal and organizational factors in the evaluation of creativity and innovative capability not only in the context of multinational but also in domestic corporations.
Culture and intellectual capital: towards a conceptual framework
Authors: Gupta Uma G. , Massa Nathaniel P. , Azzopardi Joseph
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to represent the findings from the first phase of an ongoing research project whose primary goal is to identify the most significant organizational internal and external cultural variables that leverage and enable a firm’s intellectual capital (IC) to make it more competitive in the marketplace.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors build on their earlier work in which Ulrich’s definition of IC as Competence × Commitment was expanded to include two additional dimensions, Creativity and Culture. The previous model explored the relationship between IC and the following five critical variables: Competence, Commitment, Control, Creativity and Culture. Here, the authors identify the most significant organizational internal and external cultural variables that leverage and enable a firm’s IC to make it more competitive in the marketplace.

Findings

This paper demonstrates the interplay between different cultural types and levels of business volatility on IC. The authors argue that the more volatile the industry is, the greater the need to secure and capitalize on IC, and the more critical it is for firms to adopt a flexible and adaptive organic culture that encourages the creation and leveraging of IC.

Originality/value

This framework is original and expands on Ulrich’s classical work on IC. It helps senior leaders and managers explore how to effectively and proactively capitalize on IC and leverage complex IC assets. The preliminary exploration into these convergent strands has provided a foundation to further develop and establish the interrelationships between organizational culture and IC.
Quality in construction management: an exploratory study
Authors: Jraisat Luai , Jreisat Lana , Hattar Christine
Published: July 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the relative importance of factors affecting quality. This is important where great expenditures of time, money, and resources are wasted each year due to inefficient or non-existent quality levels.

Design/methodology/approach

– An exploratory approach is employed. After a literature review, six interviews are initially conducted with construction experts and then a simple survey of 328 questionnaires was administrated through structured personal interviews among contractors and architects in the Jordanian housing sector.

Findings

– The findings suggest that contractors and architects combined agreed that the highest important factors affecting quality are: human resource management, customer satisfaction, and construction specific factors. The findings also suggest that strategic planning, continuous improvement, resources are the lowest important factors. A conceptual framework encompassing the key quality factors is also developed.

Research limitations/implications

– This research has important implications for different level managers at construction companies. By understanding the quality factors, managers can focus on the highest factors and catch up with their lowest important factors in order to maintain a balanced and integrated quality approach.

Originality/value

– This is one of few studies that investigate the importance of quality factors. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper providing empirical evidence of the quality factors in construction management in a developing country.
A revised FMEA with application to a blow moulding process
Authors: Lolli Francesco , Gamberini Rita , Rimini Bianca , Pulga Francesco
Published: July 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a modified failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) in order to make the assignment of the scores for the occurrence factor more robust, and to link the FMEA chart directly to the maintenance activities.

Design/methodology/approach

– A well-known clustering algorithm (i.e. K-means), along with a normalisation approach, are applied and compared for the assignment of the occurrence scores. Subsequently, the relationship between failures and maintenance operations is made explicit by a correlation matrix. Finally, the K-means algorithm is applied to the maintenance operations again in order to sort them into priority classes.

Findings

– It is found that this revised FMEA approach improves the standard one due to its more rigorous mathematical formulation and lean applicability in real operating environments.

Research limitations/implications

– The novel approach may be improved by a deeper statistical analysis and/or applying the fuzzy theory.

Practical implications

– A real case study is introduced in order to show the applicability of this approach to the quality control of a blow moulding process. It is found that this approach reveals a high potentiality for dealing with real issues.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a further step towards bridging the gap between theory and practical application of the FMEA approach.
Selective maintenance optimization under schedule and quality constraints
Authors: Tambe Pravin P , Kulkarni Makarand S
Published: July 2016

Purpose

– The traditional practice for maintenance, quality control and production scheduling is to plan independently irrespective of an interrelationship exist between them. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach for integrating maintenance, quality control and production scheduling. The objective is to investigate the benefits of the integrated effect in terms of the expected total cost of system operation of the three functions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed approach is based on the conditional reliability of the components. Cost model for integrating selective maintenance, quality control using sampling-based procedure and production scheduling is developed using the conditional reliability. An integrated approach is such that, first an optimal schedule for the batches to be processed is obtained independently while the maintenance and quality control decisions are optimized considering the optimal schedule on the machine. The expected total cost of conventional approach, i.e. “No integration” is calculated to compare the effectiveness of integrated approach.

Findings

– The integrated approach have shown a higher cost saving as compared to the independent planning approach. The approach is practical to implement as the results are obtained in a reasonable computational time.

Practical implications

– The approach presented in this paper is generic and can be applied at planned as well as unplanned opportunities. The proposed integrated approach is dynamic in nature, as during maintenance opportunities, it is possible to optimize the decision on maintenance, quality control and production scheduling considering the current age of components and production requirement.

Originality/value

– The originality of the paper is in the approach for integration of the three elements of shop floor operations that are usually treated separately and rarely touched upon by researchers in the literature.
The effect of entrepreneurial orientation, willingness to change, and development culture on new product exploration in small enterprises
Authors: Dayan Mumin , Zacca Robert , Husain Zafar , Di Benedetto Anthony , Ryan James C.
Published: July 2016

Purpose

This study aims to assess the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and development culture and the role of willingness-to-change in this relationship and analyzes their effect on new product exploration in small enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

A model based on structural equations with partial least squares (PLS) analysis is used to test the hypotheses. This model was tested on a sample of 250 respondents from 125 small enterprises, with less than 50 employees, located in all seven emirates of the UAE.

Findings

The results suggest that EO will induce organizational members’ willingness-to-change and will favor the advancement of a development culture in small enterprises; in addition, EO, willingness-to-change and development culture can lead to new product exploration in small enterprises.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings are subject to potential limitations. First, the research design for the quantitative study was cross-sectional and self-reported, which could cause problems of common method and inflation bias. Second, the conceptual model may not be completely representative of the perspective the authors aim to elucidate. Third, as this study is country-specific, further research investigation in other developing economies is recommended to further understand the possible influences of cultural or socioeconomic contexts on the relationships presented in the model.

Practical implications

The article includes several practical implications about the relationships between willingness-to-change and development culture. It sheds light on the controversial link between EO and new product exploration in small enterprises.

Originality/value

The present study expands current knowledge on the EO–new product exploration relationship by investigating some key mediating variables such as willingness-to-change and development culture in an under-researched context such as UAE.
Determinants of absorptive capacity: the value of technology and market orientation for external knowledge acquisition
Authors: Lichtenthaler Ulrich
Published: July 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to draw on a knowledge-based view to emphasize that internal technological and market knowledge is critical to developing absorptive capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper, which draws on recent transformations of management practices. Thus, the paper builds on prior academic contributions.

Findings

Firms increasingly establish innovation processes that involve an active acquisition of external technologies, often through alliances and licensing. To explain differences across firms in external knowledge acquisition, marketing and product innovation researchers have recently adopted a process perspective of absorptive capacity, which refers to a firm’s ability to explore, retain and exploit external knowledge. This paper develops a conceptual framework with propositions relating technology orientation, responsive market orientation and proactive market orientation to the three process stages of absorptive capacity under different conditions of environmental dynamism.

Originality/value

Beyond the relevance of technology and market orientation for fostering internal innovation, this paper points to their importance for successfully acquiring external technological knowledge. In light of increasingly open innovation processes, absorptive capacity is an essential complement to internal innovation in linking technology and market orientation to firm performance.
The role of suspicion in B2B customer entertainment
Authors: Oakley Jared , Bush Alan J.
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an exploratory study of potential business-to-business (B2B) customers that includes an empirical analysis that investigate the effect that customer entertainment has on customer suspicion toward the salesperson, and how those negative attitudes are influenced by the relationship stage and the perceived cost of the event.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an experimental design, data were collected from 105 potential customers working in a B2B environment that assessed their attitudes regarding offers of varying levels of customer entertainment across differing stages of the relationship.

Findings

Results demonstrate that B2B customers have important perceptions regarding the perceived cost of customer entertainment offers by salespeople. Those evaluations resulted in a positive relationship between customer attitudes of suspicion toward the salesperson and the perceived cost of the entertainment event. However, the stage of the relationship tended to ameliorate suspicious attitudes of customers, although not in a completely symmetrical manner.

Research limitations/implications

Additional testing with larger sample populations would better solidify the existence of the relationships.

Practical implications

This study provides a framework for practitioners that gives direction to the strategic use of customer entertainment such that it acts as a relationship catalyst, and not a relationship poison.

Originality/value

The paper uses a customer perspective to fill a need to better understand the instrumental role of customer entertainment in relationship marketing, and how it interacts with the perceived cost of the event and relationship stage to create differing customer attitudes.
Researching a segmented market: reflections on telephone interviewing
Authors: Lord Rhiannon , Bolton Nicola , Fleming Scott , Anderson Melissa
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to review the effectiveness of telephone interviewing for capturing data and to consider in particular the challenges faced by telephone interviewers when capturing information about market segments.

Design/methodology/approach

The platform for this methodological critique was a market segment analysis commissioned by Sport Wales which involved a series of 85 telephone interviews completed during 2010. Two focus groups involving the six interviewers involved in the study were convened to reflect on the researchers’ experiences and the implications for business and management research.

Findings

There are three principal sets of findings. First, although telephone interviewing is generally a cost-effective data collection method, it is important to consider both the actual costs (i.e. time spent planning and conducting interviews) as well as the opportunity costs (i.e. missed appointments, “chasing participants”). Second, researchers need to be sensitised to and sensitive to the demographic characteristics of telephone interviewees (insofar as these are knowable) because responses are influenced by them. Third, the anonymity of telephone interviews may be more conducive for discussing sensitive issues than face-to-face interactions.

Originality/value

The present study adds to this modest body of literature on the implementation of telephone interviewing as a research technique of business and management. It provides valuable methodological background detail about the intricate, personal experiences of researchers undertaking this method “at a distance” and without visual cues, and makes explicit the challenges of telephone interviewing for the purposes of data capture.
Exploring the linkages of cognitive style and individual innovativeness
Authors: Batra Safal , Vohra Neharika
Published: July 2016

Purpose

This study aims to explore a crucial but less-understood antecedent of individual innovativeness – cognitive style.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected using a survey questionnaire administered to 201 individuals with industry work experience. Kolb’s learning style inventory was utilized to classify individuals into different cognitive styles. One-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression were utilized to test the hypotheses.

Findings

This study reveals that individual differences in grasping and transforming experiences significantly influence their innovativeness. Individuals whose cognitive learning styles are characterized by abstract conceptualization and active experimentation are more likely to exhibit innovativeness as compared to individuals with cognitive learning styles characterized by concrete experiences and reflective observation. Consequently, convergers who combine both the favorable modes of experience grasping and transformation are most likely to be innovative.

Practical implications

Promoting individual innovativeness is crucial for successful organizational innovation. This study reveals that an understanding of the cognitive style of the employees can help managers allocate appropriate individuals to various tasks.

Originality/value

While it has been conceptually argued that cognition is an important antecedent of individual innovativeness, emphasis in this stream of research is predominantly on cognitive abilities. This study extends previous research by empirically testing the impact of cognitive style on individual innovativeness.