bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reorganization of the connectivity between elementary functions as a common mechanism of phenomenal consciousness and working memory: from functions to strategies
Authors: Mogensen Jesper , Overgaard Morten
Published: July 2018

In the present communication, phenomenal consciousness, access consciousness and the closely related concept of working memory are presented in the context of a neurocognitive model—the REF (reorganization of elementary functions) framework. The REF framework is based on connectionist networks within which the ‘units’ are advanced processing modules called elementary functions (EFs). In this framework, the focus is on dynamically changeable ‘strategies’—based on reorganizations of the connectivity between EFs—rather than on the more traditional ‘cognitive functions’. The background for the REF framework and especially how the neural correlate of consciousness is understood within these models is summarized. According to the REF framework, phenomenal consciousness cannot ‘overflow’ availability of information for action. Phenomenal consciousness may, however, overflow working memory because working memory in the present context is seen as a surface phenomenon reflecting underlying dynamic strategies—influenced by both experience and situational factors.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access'.
Conscious access in the near absence of attention: critical extensions on the dual-task paradigm
Authors: Matthews Julian , Schröder Pia , Kaunitz Lisandro , van Boxtel Jeroen J. A. , Tsuchiya Naotsugu
Published: July 2018

Whether conscious perception requires attention remains a topic of intense debate. While certain complex stimuli such as faces and animals can be discriminated outside the focus of spatial attention, many simpler stimuli cannot. Because such evidence was obtained in
dual-task paradigms
involving no measure of subjective insight, it remains unclear whether accurate discrimination of unattended complex stimuli is the product of automatic, unconscious processing, as in blindsight, or is accessible to consciousness. Furthermore, these paradigms typically require extensive training over many hours, bringing into question whether this phenomenon can be achieved in naive subjects. We developed a novel dual-task paradigm incorporating confidence ratings to calculate metacognition and adaptive staircase procedures to reduce training. With minimal training, subjects were able to discriminate face-gender in the near absence of top–down attentional amplification, while also displaying above-chance metacognitive accuracy. By contrast, the discrimination of simple coloured discs was significantly impaired and metacognitive accuracy dropped to chance-level, even in a partial-report condition. In a final experiment, we used blended face/disc stimuli and confirmed that face-gender but not colour orientation can be discriminated in the dual task. Our results show direct evidence for metacognitive conscious access in the near absence of attention for complex, but not simple, stimuli.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access'.
Downgraded phenomenology: how conscious overflow lost its richness
Authors: Ward Emily J.
Published: July 2018

Our in-the-moment experience of the world can feel vivid and rich, even when we cannot describe our experience due to limitations of attention, memory or other cognitive processes. But the nature of visual awareness is quite sparse, as suggested by the phenomena of failures of awareness, such as change blindness and inattentional blindness. I will argue that once failures of memory or failures of comparison are ruled out as explanations for these phenomena, they present strong evidence against rich awareness. To accommodate and explain these massive failures of awareness, any theory of phenomenal consciousness must downgrade phenomenology to a degree where it is functionless or, ironically, does not reflect what we experience.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access’.
Glutathione-S-transferase from the arsenic hyperaccumulator fernPteris vittatacan confer increased arsenate resistance inEscherichia coli
Authors: Khan Aftab A. , Ellis Danielle R. , Huang Xinyuan , Norton Gareth J. , Meharg Andrew A. , Salt David E. , Csonka Laszlo N.
Published: July 2018

Although arsenic is generally a toxic compound, there are a number of ferns in the genusPteristhat can tolerate large concentrations of this metalloid. In order to probe the mechanisms of arsenic hyperaccumulation, we expressed aPteris vittatacDNA library in anEscherichia coli ΔarsC(arsenate reductase) mutant. We obtained three independent clones that conferred increased arsenate resistance on this host. DNA sequence analysis indicated that these clones specify proteins that have a high sequence similarity to the phi class of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) of higher plants. Detoxification of arsenate by theP. vittataGSTs inE. coliwas abrogated by agshAmutation, which blocks the synthesis of glutathione, and by agormutation, which inactivates glutathione reductase. Direct measurements of the speciation of arsenic in culture media of theE. colistrains expressing theP. vittataGSTs indicated that these proteins facilitate the reduction of arsenate. Our observations suggest that the detoxification of arsenate by theP. vittataGSTs involves reduction of As(V) to As(III) by glutathione or a related sulfhydro compound.

Funding

The authors acknowledge support from the Indiana 21st Century Research and technology Fund (912010479) to DES and LNC, from the U.S. Department of Energy (grant no. DE-FG02-03ER63622) to DES, and from BBSRC-DFID (grant no. BBF0041841GJN) to AAM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There are no financial, personal, or professional interests that could be construed to have influenced the paper.
Strategies to improve photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency with no yield penalty: lessons from late-sown winter wheat
Authors: Yin Lijun , Xu Haicheng , Dong Shuxin , Chu Jinpeng , Dai Xinglong , He Mingrong
Published: July 2018

Highlight

Optimal N allocation at several integration levels accounts for improved canopy PNUE while maintaining high grain yield in winter wheat

Improving canopy photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE) may maintain or even increase yield with reduced N input. In this study, later-sown winter wheat was studied to reveal the mechanism underlying improved canopy PNUE while maintaining high yield. N allocation at several levels was optimised in late-sown wheat plants. N content per plant increased. Increased N was allocated to the flag leaf and second leaf, and to ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) in upper leaves. Constant or reduced N was allocated to leaf 3, leaf 4, and Rubisco in lower leaves. The specific green leaf area nitrogen (SLN) of upper leaves increased, while that of lower leaves remained unchanged or decreased. N allocation to the cell wall decreased in all leaves. As a result, the maximum carboxylation rate of upper leaves increased, and that of lower leaves remained constant or decreased. CO2 diffusion capacity was enhanced in all leaves. Outperformance by light-saturated net photosynthetic rate (Pmax) over SLN led to improved PNUE in upper leaves. Enhanced Pmax coupled with unchanged or decreased SLN resulted in improved PNUE in lower leaves. High yield was maintained because enhanced photosynthetic capacity at the leaf and whole plant levels compensated for reduced canopy leaf area.
RNAlater and flash freezing storage methods nonrandomly influence observed gene expression in RNAseq experiments
Authors: Passow Courtney N. , Kono Thomas J. Y. , Stahl Bethany A. , Jaggard James B. , Keene Alex C. , McGaugh Suzanne E.
Published: July 2018

RNA-sequencing is a popular next-generation sequencing technique for assaying genome-wide gene expression profiles. Nonetheless, it is susceptible to biases that are introduced by sample handling prior gene expression measurements. Two of the most common methods for preserving samples in both field-based and laboratory conditions are submersion in RNAlater and flash freezing in liquid nitrogen. Flash freezing in liquid nitrogen can be impractical, particularly for field collections. RNAlater is a solution for stabilizing tissue for longer-term storage as it rapidly permeates tissue to protect cellular RNA. In this study, we assessed genome-wide expression patterns in 30 day old fry collected from the same brood at the same time point that were flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80°C or submerged and stored in RNAlater at room temperature, simulating conditions of fieldwork. We show that sample storage is a significant factor influencing observed differential gene expression. In particular, genes with elevated GC content exhibit higher observed expression levels in liquid nitrogen flash-freezing relative to RNAlater-storage. Further, genes with higher expression in RNAlater relative to liquid nitrogen experience disproportionate enrichment for functional categories, many of which are involved in RNA processing. This suggests that RNAlater may elicit a physiological response that has the potential to bias biological interpretations of expression studies. The biases introduced to observed gene expression arising from mimicking many field-based studies are substantial and should not be ignored.
Performance of gene expression analyses usingde novoassembled transcripts in polyploid species
Authors: Chen Ling-Yun , Morales-Briones Diego F. , Passow Courtney N. , Yang Ya
Published: July 2018

Motivation

Quality of gene expression analyses usingde novoassembled transcripts in species experienced recent polyploidization is yet unexplored.

Results

Five plant species with various polyploidy history were used for differential gene expression (DGE) analyses. DGE analyses using putative genes inferred by Trinity performed similar to or better than Corset and Grouper in precision, but lower in sensitivity. In species that lack polyploidy event in the past few million years, DGE analyses usingde novoassembled transcriptome identified 50–76% of the differentially expressed genes recovered by mapping reads to the reference genes. However, in species with more recent polyploidy event, the percentage decreased to 7–30%. In addition, 7–89% of differentially expressed genes fromde novoassembly are contaminations. Gene co-expression network analyses usingde novoassemblies vs. mapping to the reference genes recovered the same module that significantly correlated with treatment in one of the five species tested.

Availability and Implementation

Commands and scripts used in this study are available athttps://bitbucket.org/lychen83/chen_et_al_2018_benchmark_dge/; Analysis files are available at Dryad doi: XXXXXX.

Contact

lychen83@qq.com

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available atBioinformaticsonline
Asymmetric Distribution of Glucose Transporter mRNA Provides Growth Advantage
Authors: Stahl Timo , Hümmer Stefan , Ehrenfeuchter Nikolaus , Fucile Geoffrey , Spang Anne
Published: July 2018

Asymmetric localization of mRNA is important for cell fate decisions in eukaryotes and provides the means for localized protein synthesis in a variety of cell types. Here we show that hexose transporter mRNAs are retained in the mother cell ofS. cerevisiaeuntil metaphase-anaphase transition (MAT) and then are released into the bud. The retained mRNA was translationally inactive but bound to ribosomes before MAT. Importantly, when cells were shifted from starvation to glucose-rich conditions,HXT2mRNA, but none of the otherHXTmRNAs, was enriched in the bud after MAT. This enrichment was dependent on the Ras/cAMP/PKA pathway, the APC ortholog Kar9 and nuclear segregation into the bud. Competition experiments between strains that only expressed one hexose transporter at a time revealed thatHXT2only cells grow faster than their counterparts when released from starvation. Therefore, asymmetric distribution ofHXT2mRNA provides a growth advantage for young daughters, who are better prepared for nutritional changes in the environment. Our data provide evidence that asymmetric mRNA localization is an important factor in determining cellular fitness.
MemBright: a Family of Fluorescent Membrane Probes for Advanced Cellular Imaging and Neuroscience
Authors: Collot Mayeul , Ashokkumar Pichandi , Anton Halina , Boutant Emmanuel , Faklaris Orestis , Galli Thierry , Mély Yves , Danglot Lydia , Klymchenko Andrey S.
Published: July 2018

The proper staining of the plasma membrane (PM) is critical in bioimaging as it delimits the cell. Herein, we developed MemBright: a family of six cyanine-based fluorescent turn-on PM probes that emit from orange to near-infrared when reaching the PM, and enable homogeneous and selective PM staining with excellent contrast in mono and two-photon microscopy. These probes are compatible with long-term live cell imaging and immunostaining. Moreover, MemBright label neurons in a brighter manner than surrounding cells allowing identification of neurons in acute brain tissue section and neuromuscular-junctions without any use of transfection or transgenic animals. At last, MemBright were used in super-resolution imaging to unravel the dendritic spines’ neck. 3D multicolor dSTORM in combination with immunostaining revealed en-passant synapse displaying endogenous glutamate receptors clustered at the axonal-dendritic contact site. MemBright probes thus constitute a universal toolkit for cell biology and neuroscience biomembrane imaging with a variety of microscopy techniques.
Mapping and Analysis of QTL for Early Maturity Trait in Tetraploid Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
Authors: Li Xingcui , Xu Jianfei , Duan Shaoguang , Zhang Jiaojiao , Bian Chunsong , Hu Jun , Li Guangcun , Jin Liping
Published: July 2018

Maturity is one of the important traits of potato. In order to get the genetic segment of potato early maturity trait, a tetraploid potato maturity segregation population of Zhongshu 19 × Zhongshu 3 was used for genetic analysis through the combination of high throughput simplified genome sequencing (2b-RAD) and bulked segregation analysis (BSA). A genetic segment related to the early maturity trait at the 3.7~4.2 Mb locus on the short arm of chromosome 5 was obtained and eight markers were developed based on this segment, while five of them were closely linked to the early maturity trait loci. Moreover, 42 SSR markers were developed based on the reference sequence of DM. Finally, a genetic map of chromosome 5 contained 50 markers was constructed using the Tetraploidmap software. The total map length was 172 cM with an average genetic distance of 3.44 cM. Combining with phenotypic data of the segregation population, we mapped the early maturity trait QTL with the contribution of 33.55% on the short arm of chromosome 5, located at 84cM between the flanking markers SSR5-85-1 and SCAR5-8 with the physical interval of 471kb. Gene annotation showed that there exist 34 genes in this region, 12 of them are unknown function. Among the other 22 annotated genes, E3 ubiquitin ligase gene PUB14 may be related to maturity and regulate tuber formation. Our fine mapping of the early maturity QTL made a solid foundation for cloning of the early maturity controlled gene or genes.

Key message

Early maturity site was mapped using a tetraploid potato segregation population derived from cv. Zhongshu 19 and Zhongshu 3. One major QTL with 33.55% contribution to early maturity was fine mapped in physical interval of 471kb on chromosome 5.
High resolution annotation of zebrafish transcriptome using long-read sequencing
Authors: Nudelman German , Frasca Antonio , Kent Brandon , Sadler Kirsten C. , Sealfon Stuart C. , Walsh Martin J. , Zaslavsky Elena
Published: July 2018

With the emergence of zebrafish as an important model organism, a concerted effort has been made to study its transcriptome. This effort is limited, however, by gaps in zebrafish annotation, which are especially pronounced concerning transcripts dynamically expressed during zygotic genome activation (ZGA). To date, short-read sequencing has been the principal technology for zebrafish transcriptome annotation. In part because these sequence reads are too short for assembly methods to resolve the full complexity of the transcriptome, the current annotation is rudimentary. By providing direct observation of full-length transcripts, recently refined long-read sequencing platforms can dramatically improve annotation coverage and accuracy. Here, we leveraged the SMRT platform to study the transcriptome of zebrafish embryos before and after ZGA. Our analysis revealed additional novelty and complexity in the zebrafish transcriptome, identifying 2539 high-confidence novel transcripts that originated from previously unannotated loci and 1835 high-confidence new isoforms in previously annotated genes. We validated these findings using a suite of computational approaches including structural prediction, sequence homology, and functional conservation analyses, as well as by confirmatory transcript quantification with short-read sequencing data. Our analyses provided insight into new homologs and paralogs of functionally important proteins and noncoding RNAs, isoform switching occurrences, and different classes of novel splicing events. Several novel isoforms representing distinct splicing events were validated through PCR experiments, including the discovery and validation of a novel 8-kb transcript spanning multiple mir-430 elements, an important driver of early development. Our study provides a significantly improved zebrafish transcriptome annotation resource.
Contracting, property rights and liberty
Authors: Oldroyd David , Tyson Thomas , Fleischman Richard
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the labour contract system (LCS) established by the Freedmen’s Bureau after the American Civil War to normalise relations between freed-slaves and their former masters and to uphold their rights as free citizens. In particular, it explains the lack of accountability of employers under the LCS and how this contributed to the system’s failure.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts an archive-based approach to develop and illustrate the labour contracting relationship between freed-persons and property owners and the role accounting played in sustaining this relationship in the immediate post-bellum period.

Findings

The paper finds that the LCS was coercive compared to contemporary business practice in the USA; did not conform to the high ideals of contracting as portrayed by the abolition movement; and was adopted by default rather than design. In the event, the reluctance of the federal government to infringe individual autonomy by imposing an over-arching system of regulation to hold employers to account for upholding their contractual obligations prevailed over the desire to defend the freed-people’s property rights.

Research limitations/implications

This research examines the relationship between labour contracting and property rights as well as the role of accounting in sustaining racial prejudice against freed-persons after the American Civil War. As in many archive-based studies, illustrations are selective and not randomised.

Originality/value

The paper examines the various accountings and accountabilities within the LCS in the context of the underlying ideological tensions and priorities in post-conflict US society.
Using information technology to achieve management innovation
Authors: Nieves Julia , Osorio Javier
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between information technology (IT) use and management innovation through the mediator role of knowledge-based resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents empirical evidence from a survey of 109 companies that run hotel establishments in the Spanish territory. A model of relationships is proposed and tested through a system of structural equations.

Findings

The use of IT favors the development of organizational knowledge and the ability to integrate this knowledge. Moreover, a positive and direct relationship was found between IT use and management innovation, and indirectly through organizational knowledge and knowledge integration capability.

Research limitations/implications

The designed questionnaire did not include any questions related to specific IT tools that could contribute to better knowledge management practices in hospitality organizations, but rather generic questions about IT use. The large number of IT tools that can potentially support knowledge management practices in hospitality companies would make the questionnaire unwieldy for its target respondents.

Originality/value

This paper sheds light on a topic that has hardly been studied in the services literature. Specifically, it addresses the way organizations can facilitate management innovation through the use of IT, while considering the mediator role of knowledge-based resources.
Gender and professional trajectories: management life stories
Authors: Selva Clara
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the gender aspects regarded as relevant in a woman’s career, as well as the situations or elements, which are narrated, as an experience of success or failure in their professional development.

Design/methodology/approach

Through an approach similar to life stories and a longitudinal phenomenological perspective analysis, the author identifies the experiences and feelings of nine women who, in 1998, occupied mid-level positions.

Findings

The stories offer a reading of the trajectory at three different levels: the working environment, the experience undergone and the principles of action developed through their careers. These stories show and demonstrate that gender and subjectivity are intertwined, enacted upon and reproduced in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

Despite having collected information on two occasions, allowing us to reconstruct their paths and isolate the gender issues from this set, this is not a purely longitudinal research as it includes a longitudinal phenomenological perspective.

Originality/value

The stories have helped to weave the experiences and feelings of more than a decade of professional development and have shown how subjectivity is committed to a world of prescriptions and proscriptions that confers differences applicable to both sexes, where being a woman explains some of the ways in which female roles are understood and interpreted in relation to themselves and their environment.
Distributional effect of the farmer pension program in Taiwan
Authors: Luh Yir-Hueih , Wei Min-Fang
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The Old Farmer Pension Program (OFPP) represents Taiwan’s long-standing efforts aiming at improving farm household income and well-being; however, how effective the pension program is in terms of achieving the policy agenda has remained unclear. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data drawn from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditure during 1999–2013, two identification strategies are used to examine the effect of OFPP. First the authors apply the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to address the concern if the program reaches the socially/economically disadvantaged farm households. The second identification strategy involves using the static and dynamic decomposition approaches to identify the major factors contributing to farm household income inequality and the redistribution role of the OFPP.

Findings

Results from the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition indicate that about 60 percent of the income gap can be eliminated if the pension recipients’ socio-economic characteristics are the same as the non-recipient group, suggesting it is the disadvantaged group that receives the old farmer pension. Moreover, the results suggest the significant contributions of household investments in health and human capital as well as diversification toward nonfarm activities, to income inequality among Taiwan’s farm households. Results from the dynamic decomposition suggest that the first-wave adjustment of the OFPP enlarges farm household income inequality, the following two waves of adjustment, however, plays an equalizing role.

Originality/value

This study adds to the literature by providing a methodological refinement promoting the view that it calls for the use of the dynamic (change) decomposition framework to investigate the inequality-enlarging or inequality-equalizing role each income determinant plays.
The role of organisational culture in the internationalisation of new ventures
Authors: Kumar Nishant , Sharma Dharam Deo
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisational culture affects the internationalisation proclivity of international new ventures (INVs).

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a resource advantage (R-A) framework is adopted to examine how organisational culture can be a resource for INVs to leverage efficiently and/or effectively in order to make up for their challenges in internationalisation and create value for their international customers. In doing so, this study makes use of examples of five INVs from India, which have successfully achieved international business prowess and superior performance immediately after their foundation.

Findings

The findings reveal that an organisational culture including continuous learning, creativity and innovation, collaboration and sharing, and customer-centricity as traits have a positive influence on INV internationalisation proclivity. Most importantly, fostering a culture of collaboration and sharing can help INVs address resource limitations and augment opportunity discovery in the international market. Furthermore, INVs can benefit more from the “learning advantages of newness” by nurturing continuous learning as part of their culture.

Research limitations/implications

A key limitation of this study is that all the firms selected here are from a single country, India, and it may have effects on the way firms leverage these cultural traits.

Practical implications

Founders of INVs should develop organisational arrangements that encourage openness, creativity, and allows employees to contribute freely and fearlessly through new ideas, process innovations, and so on, and firms should recognise such contributions regularly. INVs can adopt policies and develop mechanisms that encourage employees to share knowledge and resources freely with others in the organisation.

Social implications

Growth of INVs is closely linked to job creation and economic progress. Policy makers in emerging economies can benefit from this study by developing infrastructure and creating social conditions that support the survival and growth of INVs. Adopting the findings of this study could possibly help INVs succeed in international markets and avoid failures, and thus save societal resources.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the critical role of organisational culture in INVs’ internationalisation thrust. The paper develops testable propositions that delineate both the main effects as well as the other effects of organisational culture on INV internationalisation.
How can firms monitor the move toward optimal working capital?
Authors: Eldomiaty Tarek , Anwar Marwa , Ayman Ahmed
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefits of an optimal vs observed working capital; the latter being measured by cash conversion cycle (CCC). Optimal CCC is defined and measured as the CCC that maximizes sales in the last four quarters. The initial exploratory results show that optimal CCC has been shorter than the observed. In addition, shorter CCC is accompanied by higher return on investment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use various statistical tools to analyze the differences between determinants of observed and optimal CCC. These statistical tools include Johansen cointegration test, linearity, normality tests, cointegration regression and Granger causality. The authors also use the benefits of discriminant analysis in order to reach a Z-score model that can be used for monitoring the move from an observed to optimal working capital.

Findings

The results show that: significant association exists between volatility of sales and CCC; sales volatility and lagged growth of sales carry relatively the highest weights when a firm moves from observed to optimal CCC; shorter CCC is associated significantly with higher profitability; the observed CCC adjusts to an optimal level; as inflation rises causing potential rise in cost of goods sold, firms prefer staying away from optimal levels of working capital; as economic growth slows down, firms stay at the current level of observed working capital; the results are subject to industry and size effects; and the DJIA and NASDAQ listed firms adjust observed CCC to optimal level slowly.

Originality/value

This paper offers three advances in the literature. The first advance is that the paper determines an optimal level of working capital empirically. To the best of the authors’ knowledge up to the date of submission, other related studies did not include an empirical solution to determine optimal working capital. The second advance is that the paper develops an empirical discriminant model that can be used for monitoring firms’ move from an observed to optimal working capital. The third advance is that optimal working capital shows the empirical integration between short-term and long-term investments that results in an improvement to firm’s liquidity and profitability.
Community interventions in construction health and safety and the implications
Authors: Umeokafor Nnedinma
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the involvement of communities – geographical or geopolitical units, which identifies culture, interest and ethnicity – in construction health and safety (H&S) and the implications. This stems from the unexamined hence poorly understood roles of many stakeholders in the construction H&S management and regulatory regime in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with contractors and key informants and a survey of contractors were conducted. Descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis were used.

Findings

There is evidences of community interventions: negotiating with contractors on H&S issues; strongly stipulating that H&S measures are adopted and implemented; and enforcing H&S through both violent and non-violent means. These have no legal backing. There is a relationship between the locations of the projects, urban area and rural area, and six community intervention variables. The study also reveals that among the implications of community interventions in H&S are contractors contextualising H&S in these communities and the tension between parties in construction projects. Again, there is a relationship between the location of the projects and six of the implications including the tension between communities and contractors and between contractors and clients.

Practical implications

In adequately addressing construction safety, health and environment issues in Nigeria, geographic location and socio-cultural consideration are pertinent, a point for policymakers, communities and contractors.

Originality/value

The study draws attention to the geographic location and socio-cultural explanations for the differences in the H&S management, performance and attitudes of contractors in Nigeria. This is the first study that examines the involvement of communities in H&S and the implications.
The attributes of organizational change
Authors: Tang Jie , Mo Li , Liu Wen-Bin
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of person-organization (P-O) value congruence on employees’ coping with organizational change and to test the moderating effect of change event attributesvis-à-visvalue congruence and coping strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a four-dimensional design to examine relationships between P-O value congruence and employees’ coping strategies. It discusses moderating effects of change attributes based on an elaboration likelihood model. The sample includes 242 employees from 34 organizations in China. Data are analyzed by a structural equation model, dominance analysis and hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

This paper provides empirical evidence that the four dimensions of P-O value congruence have different impacts on employees’ coping strategies with change; and the effects are moderated by employees’ perceived scope of change.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should collect data at different time points during change processes to better understand the influence of value congruence on coping processes. To generalize robustly beyond this case-study requires research across a larger number of individuals and organizations.

Practical implications

According to this paper, value congruence between employees and organizations could be better ensured by considering it as an important factor in the recruitment and selection processes, which is more effective in the long run. This is particularly pertinent for those organizations which experience frequent changes.

Originality/value

First, this paper considers the influences of stable organizational factors and attributes of change events on employees’ coping abilities; these are both ignored in previous studies. Second, it develops a four-dimensional coping with change structure and a two-dimensional measure of change attributes in a Chinese context which are reliable and can thus be employed in future studies.
SOX vs C-SOX: which one works better?
Authors: Bhabra Harjeet , Hossain Ashrafee Tanvir
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the influence of the Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) Act of the USA and the Canadian SOX (C-SOX) through the comparison of corporate acquisitions in these two countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The final sample includes 1,187 merger and tender offers undertaken by publicly traded (TSX listed) Canadian firms between 1990 and 2016. The authors use standard event study methodology (Patell, 1976) and Berkovitch and Narayanan’s (1993) seminal method to examine announcement period performance and deal motive, respectively.

Findings

The findings support the pro-regulation hypothesis which states that stricter regulations are more useful. Cross-listed acquirers exposed to SOX regime performed much better (both short- and long-term) than non-cross-listed counterparts with only C-SOX exposure. These findings are both statistically and economically significant.

Research limitations/implications

This study has direct implications as it provides evidence to the legislatures of the provinces, as well as to the federal government, that stricter regulations are effective and Canada should enact additional corporate legislation. Canada may have fared well in the past, but dynamics are changing and may further change in the future, and therefore, timely and stricter corporate legislation are more appropriate.

Practical implications

This study has direct implications as it provides evidence to the legislatures of the provinces, as well as to the federal government, that stricter regulations are effective and Canada should enact additional corporate legislation. Canada may have fared well in the past, but dynamics are changing and may further change in the future, and therefore, timely and stricter corporate legislation are more appropriate.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the growing literature of SOX-related studies. This is the first study to investigate comprehensively the differences between the two laws enacted by these neighboring countries. As USA and Canada share largely integrated capital markets and are each other’s biggest trading partner, this genre of research has great value. It is a timely study as the Canadian Federal Government is looking into standardizing corporate legislation across provinces and territories.
Stock price crash risk and unexpected earnings thresholds
Authors: Yeung Wing Him , Lento Camillo
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine stock price crash risk (SPCR) as a function of meeting or missing three earnings thresholds – reporting a profit (earnings level), reporting an earnings increase (earnings change) and meeting analysts’ forecasts (earnings expectation).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors rely upon the research design of Herrmann et al. (2011) to identify the incremental impact of the earnings level and earnings change benchmarks on SPCR, after controlling for the effects of meeting or missing analysts’ expectations.

Findings

The authors find that meeting analysts’ expectations is negatively associated with SPCR, and this relationship strengthens with the magnitude of the unexpected earnings. However, the authors find little evidence of incremental threshold effects to suggest that earnings level and earnings change benchmarks are critical thresholds with respect to SPCR. Our results are robust after including a number of control variables.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature that investigates determinants of SPCR while simultaneously providing new evidence to conclusions that analysts’ earnings forecast is at the top of the earnings benchmark hierarchy.
Consumer engagement with eWOM on social media: the role of social capital
Authors: Gvili Yaniv , Levy Shalom
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The nature of digital media channels are important factors in explaining consumers’ behavior over the Web, and specifically on social network sites (SNS). The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework explaining consumer engagement with electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication via SNS, based on key attributes of this media channel.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the expectancy value theory (EVT), a conceptual framework is proposed to model the effect of eWOM channel attributes on eWOM engagement process. Consumer eWOM engagement is conceptualized as a second-order construct. A structural equation modeling procedure was employed to empirically test the model using data collected from two social media communication channels.

Findings

First, results suggest that engagement with eWOM can be conceptualized as a second-order construct based on user tendency to receive or share eWOM with other network members. Second, the path analysis model supports the employment of EVT and shows that two key attributes of eWOM channels, social capital and credibility, significantly affect consumer attitude toward eWOM via SNS. Attitude toward eWOM, in turn, affects eWOM engagement. Third, SNS channel type moderates the effect on attitude.

Practical implications

Marketing communication practitioners should note that the strength of social ties plays a key role in spreading eWOM on SNS effectively. This insight should be employed a part of social media marketing strategy.

Originality/value

This is first research that models the effect of social media attributes on eWOM engagement and demonstrates the moderating role of channel type. The model is highly valuable in light of the importance of the concept of engagement in internet research.
Density feedbacks mediate effects of environmental change on population dynamics of a semidesert rodent
Authors: Nater Chloé R. , van Benthem Koen J. , Canale Cindy I. , Schradin Carsten , Ozgul Arpat
Published: July 2018

Population dynamics are the result of an interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic environmental drivers. Predicting the effects of environmental change on wildlife populations therefore requires a thorough understanding of the mechanisms through which different environmental drivers interact to generate changes in population size and structure.

In this study, we disentangled the roles of temperature, food availability and population density in shaping short‐ and long‐term population dynamics of the African striped mouse, a small rodent inhabiting a semidesert with high intra‐ and interannual variation in environmental conditions.

We parameterized a female‐only stage‐structured matrix population model with vital rates depending on temperature, food availability and population density, using monthly mark–recapture data from 1609 mice trapped over 9 years (2005–2014). We then applied perturbation analyses to determine relative strengths and demographic pathways of these drivers in affecting population dynamics. Furthermore, we used stochastic population projections to gain insights into how three different climate change scenarios might affect size, structure and persistence of this population.

We identified food availability, acting through reproduction, as the main driver of changes in both short‐ and long‐term population dynamics. This mechanism was mediated by strong density feedbacks, which stabilized the population after high peaks and allowed it to recover from detrimental crashes. Density dependence thus buffered the population against environmental change, and even adverse climate change scenarios were predicted to have little effect on population persistence (extinction risk over 100 years <5%) despite leading to overall lower abundances.

Explicitly linking environment–demography relationships to population dynamics allowed us to accurately capture past population dynamics. It further enabled establishing the roles and relative importances of extrinsic and intrinsic environmental drivers, and we conclude that doing this is essential when investigating impacts of climate change on wildlife populations.
Pseudomonas syringaepv. tomato exploits light signals to optimize virulence and colonization of leaves
Authors: Santamaría‐Hernando Saray , Rodríguez‐Herva José J. , Martínez‐García Pedro M. , Río‐Álvarez Isabel , González‐Melendi Pablo , Zamorano Jaime , Tapia Carlos , Rodríguez‐Palenzuela Pablo , López‐Solanilla Emilia
Published: July 2018

Light is pervasive in the leaf environment, creating opportunities for both plants and pathogens to cue into light as a signal to regulate plant‐microbe interactions. Light enhances plant defences and regulates opening of stomata, an entry point for foliar bacterial pathogens such asPseudomonas syringaepv. tomato DC3000 (PsPto). The effect of light perception on gene expression and virulence was investigated inPsPto. Light induced genetic reprogramming inPsPtothat entailed significant changes in stress tolerance and virulence. Blue light‐mediated up‐regulation of type three secretion system genes and red light‐mediated down‐regulation of coronatine biosynthesis genes. Cells exposed to white light, blue light or darkness before inoculation were more virulent when inoculated at dawn than dusk probably due to an enhanced entry through open stomata. Exposure to red light repressed coronatine biosynthesis genes which could lead to a reduced stomatal re‐opening andPsPtoentry. Photoreceptor were required for the greater virulence of light‐treated and dark‐treatedPsPtoinoculated at dawn as compared to dusk, indicating that these proteins sense the absence of light and contribute to priming of virulence in the dark. These results support a model in whichPsPtoexploits light changes to maximize survival, entry and virulence on plants.
Long‐Term Vitamin Stabilization in Low Moisture Products for NASA: Techniques and Three‐Year Vitamin Retention, Sensory, and Texture Results
Authors: Barrett Ann H. , Richardson Michelle J. , Froio Danielle F. , Connor Lauren F. O' , Anderson Danielle J. , Ndou Tshinanne V.
Published: July 2018

Multiyear spaceflight will require innovative strategies to preserve vitamins in foods, in order to retain astronaut health and functionality long‐term. Furthermore, space foods must be low weight/volume to comply with cargo restrictions, and must retain sensory quality to ensure consumption. Low water activity products were developed, fortified with vitamins A, B1, B9, C, and E at twice their spaceflight requirements, stored for three years at 21 °C and one year at 38 °C, and analyzed annually for retained vitamin content and organoleptic quality. The vitamins were encapsulated in carbohydrate or lipid coatings and tested in relatively low and high fat versions of compressed bars and powdered drink mix formulations. Susceptibility to degradation at 21 °C followed the sequence B9 > A > B1 > C > E; degradation rates were fitted to first‐order kinetics. Vitamins A and C were more sensitive at the higher storage temperature. Vitamin retention was slightly higher in compressed bars verses powders. Effects of matrix lipid level on stability were vitamin dependent. Sensory characteristics for products stored three years at 21 °C remained mostly above 6.0 on a 9‐point hedonic scale, whereas those stored for one year at 38 °C remained mostly above 5.0. Compressed bars firmed significantly during storage. All vitamin levels after three years at 21 °C remained above the space flight requirements, demonstrating the suitability of the selected fortification schemes and food matrices for long‐term preservation.

Practical Application

Vitamins A, B1, B9, C, and E were retained at 70% to 95% levels for three years at 21 °C in carefully formulated, fortified low water activity products. Product compression and vacuum packaging slightly helped to further preserve vitamins. The sensory quality of these products was retained throughout storage.
Muscle‐Specific Mitochondrial Functionality and Its Influence on Fresh Beef Color Stability
Authors: Mancini Richard A. , Belskie Kaylin , Suman Surendranath P. , Ramanathan Ranjith
Published: July 2018

Fresh beef color stability is a muscle‐specific trait. Mitochondria remain biochemically active in postmortem beef muscles and influence meat color. Although several intrinsic factors governing muscle‐specific beef color have been studied extensively, the role of mitochondrial functionality in muscle‐dependent color stability is yet to be examined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR), mitochondrial metmyoglobin reducing activity (MMRA), and instrumental color attributes in beef Longissimus lumborum (LL) and Psoas major (PM) during retail display. Using a split‐plot design, six (n = 6) beef LL and PM muscles were fabricated into 2.54‐cm‐thick steaks, packaged in polyvinylchloride overwrap, and randomly assigned to instrumental color measurement for six days and mitochondrial isolation for days 0, 1, 3, or 5 of display at 4 °C. Mitochondria isolated from steaks were used to assess the effects of muscle and display time on OCR and MMRA. The PM steaks were less color‐stable (p < 0.05) during display compared with the LL counterparts. For both muscles, OCR decreased during display, albeit the decrease was more rapid in PM than in the LL. Similarly, MMRA decreased during display for the LL and PM. However, this decrease was less (p < 0.05) for mitochondria from LL steaks, which were more resistant to display‐mediated effects on OCR and MMRA. These results indicated that the muscle‐specific differences in mitochondrial activity may contribute partially to the variations in color stability of beef LL and PM muscles.

Practical Application

During retail display tenderloin steaks packaged in PVC overwrap discolor quicker than strip loin steaks. This research determines the basis for muscle‐specific differences in color stability. The results indicate that mitochondria present in tenderloin lose its functionality faster than strip loin mitochondria. Developing strategies to minimize muscle‐specific differences in mitochondrial changes can increase color stability and value of fresh beef.