bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does household engagement in concurrent business affect the farm size-technical efficiency relationship in grain production?
Authors: Zhong Min , Zhu Yuchun , Chen Qihui , Liu Tianjun , Cai Qihua
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how households’ engagement in concurrent business (CB), which is measured by the contribution of off-farm income to household income, affects the farm size–technical efficiency (TE) relationship in Northern China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper applies a stochastic frontier analysis method to analyze data on 1,006 rural households collected from four major wheat-producing provinces in Northern China, adopting a translog specification for the underlying production function.

Findings

The analysis yields three findings. First, the farm size–TE relationship is inverted U-shaped for all CB engagement levels higher than 5 percent, and the most technically efficient farm size increases with the level of household CB engagement. Second, how TE varies with the level of CB engagement depends on farm size: an inverted-U relationship for relatively small farms (<10μ), a positive relationship for middle-size farms (10–20μ), and a negative relationship for large farms (>20μ). Finally, the overall TE score, 0.88, suggests that wheat output can be increased by 12 percent in Northern China if technical inefficiency were eliminated.

Originality/value

Unlike most previous studies that examine the impacts of farm size and households’ off-farm business involvement separately, this paper examines how these two factors interact with each other.
The dynamics of vulnerabilities and capabilities in improving resilience within Malaysian construction supply chain
Authors: Zainal Abidin Nurul Afroze , Ingirige Bingunath
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The dynamics and effects of interconnected risks among construction organisations tend to be overlooked across the Malaysian public project supply chains, making them highly vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. This study aims to investigate this dynamism by assessing the supply chain’s critical vulnerabilities and capabilities that formulate the level of resilience in handling disruptive events in construction projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive questionnaire survey was conducted with 105 construction professionals from two groups of respondents, the public and private organisations that work in public projects to identify their current vulnerabilities and capabilities. Data were analysed and compared using the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests.

Findings

The findings revealed that the top five critical vulnerability factors of the supply chain include political or regulatory changes, market pressures, management, financial and strategic vulnerability. Further comparisons highlighted that the public organisations faced significantly higher political threats compared to the private organisations whilst the private organisations faced significant market pressures. The survey also shows that despite the private organisations’ high capability in financial strength, the public organisations’ financial vulnerability has destabilised the entire supply chain.

Originality/value

This study presents the construction supply chain’s vulnerabilities in a layered framework approach that can provide managers a new perspective on the dynamics of the cascading impacts of these vulnerabilities when observed through several layers of supply chains.
Empirical research on CBBE scale for medical tourism
Authors: Guha Roy Diya , Mukherjee Srabanti , Bhattacharya Sujoy
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The medical tourism market across the globe lacks a consolidated, standard customer-based brand equity (CBBE) scale till the present day. The purpose of this research is to theorize a scale with probable existing dimensions and based on prior literature adding culture and infrastructure/superstructure as new components for global comparison among BRICS and SAARC nations. This empirical research initiates laying the foundation of deriving a unified scale.

Design/methodology/approach

Extensive literature reviews from leading academic journals, books and web information were used to theoretically propose the scale. R (an open source coding language) was used for quantitative analysis.

Findings

Culture (environment index) and infrastructure/superstructure (industry/economic index) were found to be relevant in the context of CBBE scale for medical tourism. The other dimensions are brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality and loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

The research literature was fragmented because of international scopes of medical tourism destinations as well as a variety of medical services offered. The dynamic nature of this industry, which is dependent on several factors such as healthcare, cost, related services, tourism etc. made it difficult to access the real contribution of individual items.

Practical implications

This paper proposes the foundation to develop a CBBE scale for medical tourism in India, adding culture and infrastructure/superstructure as new dimensions. It opens doors for new research with scale refining, branding assessment and fine-tuning items for the new dimensions.

Originality/value

This research is the first of its kind to create a standard CBBE scale for developing countries. It has added a new set of literature and consolidated prior contextual works on culture and infrastructure in reference to medical tourism. The questionnaire is of practical value to hospitals. The interview transcript is novel in nature for future works.
Meeting the food waste challenge in higher education
Authors: Ahmed Selena , Byker Shanks Carmen , Lewis Martin , Leitch Alicia , Spencer Caitlin , Smith Erin M. , Hess Dani
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Food waste represents a major sustainability challenge with environmental, economic, social and health implications. Institutions of higher education contribute to generating food waste while serving as models in championing sustainability solutions. An experiential learning project was implemented as part of two university courses in a buffet-style university dining hall with the objective to reduce food waste while building student capacity to contribute to transformational food system change.

Design/methodology/approach

Partnerships were developed with university dining services. Students were trained to conduct a needs assessment in a university dining hall through food waste measurements. Students were facilitated through the process of applying baseline data on food waste to design, implement and evaluate a multi-component food waste intervention that consisted of offering reduced portion sizes, use of smaller serving utensils and educational messaging. Participant reflections were elicited to evaluate the effectiveness of the experiential learning experience.

Findings

The food waste intervention led to a 17 per cent reduction in total food waste, with a large portion of waste attributed to post-consumer plate waste. While the reduction in food waste was not statistically significant, it highlights the potential for food service operations to address food waste through reduction techniques while providing students an experiential opportunity that meets multiple learning objectives including systems thinking, collaboration and motivation for leading change in the food system.

Originality/value

This study highlights the opportunity of building student capacity to address sustainability challenges through an experiential learning model for reducing food waste in an institutional setting that other educators can adapt.
Sustainability and engagement: strange bedfellows in the undergraduate textbook
Authors: Larkins Michelle , Wright Wynne , Dann Shari
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the textual coverage of the topic of public engagement in leading English language sustainability textbooks.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors’ findings are based on a content analysis of 12 textbooks published between 2005 and 2015. The authors generated the sample through three sources: a review of the offerings of five major academic publishers, title searches of academic databases and an examination of the syllabi compiled by AASHE. Texts that displayed a high degree of disciplinarity or those that were narrowly focused were rejected. A list of a priori codes was established in which the authors expected to find in the indices of the texts. This resulted in 21 expected a priori codes for which the authors assessed the sample texts to gauge the place of engagement in these materials.

Findings

The authors find that only two textbooks contained ten or more references to engagement. Overall, very little attention was paid to the ways in which individuals, groups or institutions can engage in action for a sustainable society. The authors argue that substantive changes in the writing of textbooks are necessary to provide students with comprehensive training on why engagement is critical. More diverse writing teams, attention to cultural obstacles and mindfulness of the politics of difference are recommended.

Practical implications

Practical implications include pedagogical methods aimed at better-informed students knowledgeable of the importance of public engagement in the sustainability transition.

Social implications

Social implications include a more dynamic socially sustainable educational experience for students, which is aligned with cutting-edge scholarship.

Originality/value

The authors know of no other research devoted to the analysis of engagement in contemporary sustainability textbooks. The authors hope to encourage writers of sustainability textbooks and their editors to incorporate more robust social science scholarship on pivotal topics such as how social change and action intersects with sustainability. Second, the authors seek to broaden a conversation about the role of public engagement in sustainability-focused textbooks and curricula.
Time for “resilience”
Authors: Fisher Pamela , Buckner Lisa
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Since the 2008 financial crisis, state retrenchment has added to the harshness of life for marginalised groups globally. This UK study suggests community activism may promote human capacity and resilience in innovative ways. The purpose of this paper is to address the relationship between non-normative understandings of time and resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper is based on qualitative study of the work of a third sector organisation based in an urban area in the UK which provides training in mediation skills for community mediators (CMs). These CMs (often former “gang members”) work with young people in order to prevent conflict within and between groups of white British, South Asian and Roma heritage.

Findings

CMs are reflexively developing temporalities which replace hegemonic linear time with a situationally “open time” praxis. The time “anomalies” which characterise the CMs’ engagement appear related to aesthetic rationality, a form of rationality which opens up new ways of thinking about resilience. Whether CMs’ understandings and enactments of resilience can point to broader changes of approach in the delivery of social care is considered.

Practical implications

This paper contributes to critical understandings of resilience that challenge traditional service delivery by pointing to an alternative approach that focusses on processes and relationships over pre-defined outcomes.

Social implications

Hegemonic understandings of time (as a linear process) can delegitimise potentially valuable understandings of resilience developed by members of marginalised communities.

Originality/value

This paper is original in developing a critical analysis of the relationship between resilience and time.
Innovation in a globalized world
Authors: Eklinder-Frick Jens Ola , Perna Andrea , Waluszewski Alexandra
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Previous IMP research has shown that innovation benefits tend to gravitate across organisational, company and legal borders. However, OECD and EU policy assume that innovation investments will create benefits in close spatial relation to where these were made. The overall purpose of this paper is to consider how opportunities and obstacles of innovation appear from the perspective of: a national policy actor, its regional mediators and a policy supported and research-based firm engaged in innovation. A specific interest is directed to what interactive aspects that are considered by these actors; in the using, producing and developing settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Influenced by the research question and theoretical point of departure the authors investigate what type of interfaces our focal actors recognise in the using, producing and developing settings. A total of 41 face-to-face and phone interviews focusing on each actor’s approach were conducted; 23 interviews in order to investigate the “policy side” of innovation attempts, while 18 interviews have been performed in order to understand a single business actor’s innovation approach.

Findings

The study shows that both the national policy agency and the regional policy mediators primarily operate within a developing setting, and furthermore, applies a rather peculiar interpretation of proximity. As long as the developing setting of the innovation journey is in focus, with the task to transfer academic knowledge advances to commercial actors, the proximity aspect is rather easy to fulfil. However, as soon as the producing and using settings of the innovation is taken into consideration, the innovation, if it survives, will gravitate to a producing setting where it can contribute to investments in place.

Originality/value

The study investigates the opportunities and obstacles of innovation; the spatial aspects included, and how these are considered by: a national policy agency, a regional mediator and a policy-supported innovating firm, in order to juxtapose the policy doctrine with the experience of the business actors such policy wishes to support.
Technical solution or wicked problem?
Authors: Karanasios Konstantinos , Parker Paul
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the issues related to the deployment of renewable electricity technologies (RETs) in remote indigenous communities by examining the views of key informants in a remote northern Ontario community through the lens of a wicked problem approach, with the goal to identify policy direction and strategies for the further development of renewable electricity projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses semi-structured interviews with community key informants, informed discussions with community members and energy conference participants and literature reviews of academic, policy and utility documents as complementary data sources for triangulation of results.

Findings

According to informants, the complexity surrounding the deployment of RETs in remote Canadian indigenous communities is the result of different stakeholder perspectives on the issues that RETs are expected to address. Furthermore, institutional complexity of the electricity generation system and uncertainty over both the choice of off-grid renewable technology and the future of electricity generation systems structure and governance add to this complexity.

Research limitations/implications

Given the governments’ legal obligation to consult with indigenous people for projects within their territories, community perspectives provide insights for policy design to support both the deployment of RETs and address indigenous communities sustainability goals.

Originality/value

This paper offers views and opinions of community members from an off-grid Canadian indigenous community. Community members describe how they envision their electricity systems and the desired contribution of community owned renewable electricity generation to increase local control and economic development.
The relationship between manufacturing production and economic growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Almosabbeh Imadeddin Ahmed , Almoree Mohamad Abulkarem
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-term relationship between the performance of the manufacturing sector and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. It does so by testing Kaldor–Verdoorn and Thirlwall’s laws.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used data for the period 1980–2014 from databases of the World Bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the Penn World Table (PWT8) and the five-year plan of the Ministry of Planning and National Economy of Saudi Arabia. The authors used the bound test for the cointegration approach, which allowed them to test the two hypotheses in the long run, after examining the stability of the time series and ensuring the rank of its stability.

Findings

The results that emerged from the analysis show that Kaldor’s law is applicable to the data on the KSA, but with decreasing returns to scale, with coefficient equal 0.83. Verdoorn’s law is also applicable at both macro and sectoral levels with elasticity coefficient equal to 0.81 and 0.616, respectively, also with decreasing returns to scale. For Thirlwall’s model, the results show that the relationship was reverse, contrary to what expected, with a significant elasticity coefficient of 0.599.

Social implications

This study recommends that policy makers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia focus on the industrial sector because of its impact on productivity, social returns and other sectors of the economy.

Originality/value

One of the important aspects of this paper is that it tests both Kaldor–Verdoorn’s and Thirlwall’s laws in the case of countries that depend on oil exports for growth and where the contribution of industrial output to GDP, in Saudi Arabia, is relatively low, at about 13 percent, across the period 1970–2013, and about 16.8 percent between 2000 and 2013 (see Figure 1). Since there have been few studies on this subject, the authors used data from Saudi Arabia to provide evidence of the importance of diversifying the economy by increasing the contribution of manufacturing to GDP to ensure increased productivity and to promote economic growth.
Do infrastructure and quality of governance matter for manufacturing productivity? Empirical evidence from the Indian states
Authors: Khanna Rupika , Sharma Chandan
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of infrastructure and governance quality on the state-level productivity of Indian manufacturing for the period 2008–2011.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first rank Indian states on their quality of governance using benefit-of-the-doubt approach. Next, to explain state-level differences in total factor productivity (TFP), the authors assess the impact of a composite index of governance on industrial TFP of Indian states using alternate techniques and controlling for endogeneity. The authors also decompose the composite effect of governance in terms of economic, social and financial infrastructure and other key governance dimensions, which serves as another robustness check for the findings.

Findings

The authors find that TFP varies significantly across states, so does governance quality. Further, results suggest that TFP of Indian industries is sensitive toward public service deliveries of economic, social and financial infrastructure. However, the authors fail to find any impact of law and order indicators, for instance, rate of violent crimes, police strength and judicial service quality on the manufacturing productivity. The estimated coefficient of governance index is robust across alternate methodologies.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impact of regional governance factors on the manufacturing sector of India. The study has identified governance factors that impact manufacturing productivity in the Indian states. Findings suggest that an effective way to eliminate regional growth inequality in India is to ensure that the lagging states initiate reforms to improve the quality of institutions, regulation and governance. Findings of the study contribute to the limited literature on governance at the regional/sub-national level.
Evidence of excess volatility based on a new robust volatility ratio
Authors: Shaik Muneer , S. Maheswaran
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to propose a new robust volatility ratio (RVR) that compares the intraday high–low volatility with that of the intraday open–close volatility estimator; and second, to empirically test the proposed RVR on the cross-sectional (CS) average of the constituent stocks of India’s BSE Sensex and US’s Dow Jones Industrial Average index to find the evidence of “excess volatility.”

Design/methodology/approach

The authors model the proposed RVR by assuming the logarithm of the price process to follow the Brownian motion. The authors have theoretically shown that the RVR is unbiased in the case of zero drift parameter. Moreover, the RVR is found to be an even function of the non-zero drift parameter.

Findings

The empirical results show that the analysis based on the RVR supports the existence of “excess volatility” in the CS average of the constituent stocks of India’s BSE Sensex and US’s Dow Jones index. In particular, the authors have observed that the CS average of individual constituent stocks of BSE Sensex is found to be more excessively volatile than the US’s Dow Jones index during the period of the study from January 2008 to September 2016, based on multiple k-day time window analysis.

Practical implications

The study has implications for the policy makers and practitioners who would like to understand the volatility behavior in the asset returns based on the RVR of this study. In general, the proposed model can be used as a specification tool to find whether the stock prices follow the random walk behavior or excessively volatile.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the existing volatility literature in finance by proposing a new RVR based on extreme values of asset prices and absolute returns. The authors implement the bootstrap technique on RVR to find the estimates of mean and standard error for multiple k-day time windows. The RVR can capture the excess volatility by comparing two independent volatility estimators. This is possibly the first study to find the CS average of all the constituent stocks of BSE Sensex based on the RVR.
Shared capitalism, social capital, and intra-organizational dynamics
Authors: Lee Sangjoon
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore employee participation in ownership and control in a modern corporation and its impacts on intra-organizational social capital and workplace dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the National Bureau of Economic Research Shared Capitalism Survey, it explores the varieties of organizational governance and tests the effects of shared capitalist programs and policies via multivariate regression analyses.

Findings

It presents empirical support for the main working hypothesis that employee participation in ownership and control enhances worker trust for the firm, which in turn promotes commitment to performance and innovation at workplace.

Practical implications

The empirical findings here imply that scaling worker participation can enhance productivity potentials of a firm.

Originality/value

Above all, this paper takes a look at shared capitalism and workplace participation in decision making through the lens of social capital.
The emergence of cruise tourism in Iran
Authors: Khodadadi Masood
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Iran is a country with substantial tourism potential. Iran’s tourism industry, however, was side-lined for decades due to international sanctions. The election of President Hassan Rouhani and the subsequent deal on Iran’s nuclear programme (reached on 14 July 2015) has resulted in softening of nuclear-related international sanctions and brought much needed relief to a struggling tourism industry in Iran. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the emergence of cruise tourism—as an attractive option for both domestic and international markets—with the introduction of the Iran’s first cruise ship, named “Sunny”, since the 1979 revolution.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a short viewpoint piece based on the author’s interpretation of cruise tourism development in Iran and its future opportunities and challenges.

Findings

Following the nuclear deal, Iran has seen a substantial growth in inbound tourist numbers and attracted considerable investment in tourism-related infrastructure such as air transport and the hospitality sector. While cruise tourism is and remains an emerging phenomenon in Iran, it is evident that the country has a vested interest in developing this lucrative sector due to the country’s strong domestic market and potential to serve the international market.

Originality/value

This is an original topic which has never been investigated before. Cruise tourism is an emerging market in Iran and this study sheds new light on this new development. The paper focuses on the historical, current and future development of the tourism industry in Iran with a specific emphasis on cruise tourism.
Hypocholesterolemic effects of watermelon fruit rind on rats
Authors: Abu-Hiamed Hind
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) fruit and its rind are known to contain phytochemicals that may have health benefits. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential hypocholesterolemic effect of watermelon fruit rind (WR) using rats who are fed a high-cholesterol diet.

Design/methodology/approach

Rats were divided into six groups and fed diets for eight weeks containing normal control diet or normal control diet with either 1% cholesterol, 5% WR, 10% WR, 1% cholesterol + 5% WR or 1% cholesterol + 10% WR. Triglycerides, total cholesterol and lipoprotein levels in serum and liver samples were determined, and histopathological examination of liver tissues was carried out.

Findings

Diets containing 1% cholesterol led to hypercholesterolemia, characterized by increased levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins in rat serum and liver samples. Incorporation of 10% WR into the diet of the otherwise hypercholesterolemic rats led to significant reduction in serum levels of total cholesterol (from 266.2 to 222.7 mg/dL) and low-density lipoproteins (from 159.5 to 94.4 mg/dL). In addition, these rats also exhibited improvements in hepatic tissue structure compared to the hypercholesterolemic rats.

Originality/value

These results support the potential use of WR as a hypocholesterolemic agent. Further research is needed to ascertain the hypocholesterolemic effect of WR in human.
Stakeholders’ expectations on building information modelling (BIM) concept in Malaysia
Authors: Husain Afifuddin Husairi , Razali Muhammad Najib , Eni Sabariah
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the benefits that client organisations expect from building information modelling (BIM) investment in Malaysia. Furthermore, this paper investigates the outcomes that, from the stakeholders’ point of view, the BIM approach needs to present.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this aim, this research employed a series of structured interviews which were conducted with representatives from client construction organisations in Malaysia. A structured questionnaire, containing 34 items, was used to collect data from respondents.

Findings

This research’s findings indicated that increased project revenue is one of the most expected benefits of BIM investment. In addition, it has been revealed that the Malaysian construction industry has implemented the BIM approach to project management. Furthermore, the great deal of acceptance among industrial players has been significantly positive, and thereby it can be concluded that the implementation of BIM in Malaysia has lots of potential.

Originality/value

This paper’s finding offers great knowledge, policy, and academic contribution, acknowledging the development of BIM’s implementation within the Malaysian construction industry.
Outsourced property management: the regulations of the property manager
Authors: Palm Peter
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors on property management level for analysing incentives for an effective property management in an outsourced setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on an interview study of a set of three real estate-owning companies and their contracted facility management companies’ property management teams.

Findings

The study concludes that the property manager within the facility management company is highly controlled by the contract between the real estate owner and the facility management company. However, this contract does risk the individual property manager to prioritise the wrong work tasks as she/he has to know exactly what to prioritise in each contract and consider in whose interest she/he performs each task, the real estate owner, her/him employer or the tenants.

Research limitations/implications

The research in this paper is limited to Swedish commercial real estate sector.

Practical implications

The insight in the paper is regarding how real estate owners create incentives for the facility management companies’ property management organisation and how that are perceived by the individual property manager.

Originality/value

It provides an insight regarding how the commercial real estate industry prioritises different work tasks and how incentives are created to enable effort.
Gatekeeping information in the multi-owned property environment
Authors: Johnston Nicole R. , Leshinsky Rebecca
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which gatekeepers of information stymie due diligence investigations in the multi-owned property environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study reviewed and analysed the relevant state legislative provisions providing statutory protections for (pre)purchasers of lots within the multi-owned property context. Further, an exploratory survey questionnaire was distributed to owners corporation (OC) managers in Victoria to gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the extent to which OC managers are gatekeepers of information.

Findings

The study emphasises how relevant state governments, OC managers and sellers of multi-owned properties (MOPs) are involved in gatekeeping activities. The governments have created a legislative framework that appears to offer “protections” to pre(purchasers), however, discretion and exemptions within the legislation can hinder the undertaking of due diligence investigations. OC managers are, generally, protective about the information in their custody and contribute to the gatekeeping environment by stymieing the dissemination of information.

Originality/value

To date, there has been a paucity of scholarly attention directed to understanding the barriers faced by purchasers when buying into the MOP environment. This paper contributes to the wider body of knowledge relating to purchasing decisions within the multi-owned property context. More specifically, gatekeeping theory is used in this context to highlight the barriers that stymie a buyer’s right to discover information and decide on their purchase. The findings of this study are relatable to other countries using a similar MOP structure as Australia.
Deriving market prices for forestland properties from comparables
Authors: Eerikäinen Kalle , Venho Mika
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct a market price predictor (MPP) for forestland properties by applying a sales comparison approach (SCA) with several value-related characteristics obtainable from the property-specific sales line declarations.

Design/methodology/approach

An SCA-based predictor was designed for appraising and valuing forestland properties with varying quantitative features that impact their overall value. Using a two-stage classification procedure, representative reference sales (i.e. comparables) are objectively and commensurately selected for the subject using location and forest characteristics as classifiers.

Findings

The new SCA-based MPP is a stable and reliable tool applicable for pricing forestland properties in any location when data from comparables are available.

Research limitations/implications

A systematic and spatio-temporally continuous data collection procedure is a prerequisite for obtaining appropriate data for the SCA-based appraisal and valuation techniques, including the MPP model presented in this study.

Practical implications

The MPP model is suitable for the practical appraisal and valuation of forestland properties.

Social implications

It is expected that by applying the MPP model for the appraisal and valuation of forestland properties, positive societal contributions will be achieved through the intensification of the forestland property market.

Originality/value

The MPP model provides an objective alternative to the adding-value technique, which is the most commonly applied tool to appraise forestland properties in Finland. It is also offers an assumption-free alternative to the income approach.
Achieving business success through land banking and market analysis
Authors: Syed Abu Bakar Syed Putra , Jaafar Mastura
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of land banking strategy and market analysis towards the performance of Malaysian housing developers.

Design/methodology/approach

Through in-depth interviews, participants shared their opinions on success factors of housing development firms with a focus on land banking and market study. Content analysis was performed on the data, identifying the connection between both strategies and their superior performance.

Findings

The study presents interesting findings in that it lends support to the existing literature as such land banking and market analysis do affect the business competitiveness of housing developers. Albeit subjective in nature, the comments received from respondents are revelatory and have implications for the level of performance perceived by the organisations, as well as the experience of housing entrepreneurs in assembling the land bank and gauging the housing market.

Practical implications

Though not a substitute for quantitative problem solving, this piece of work serves as a corroborative evidence to improve the satisfaction of homebuyers, industry players and policymakers. The paper ends by recommending that the study be repeated in Malaysia, this time with the involvement of other stakeholders, to enrich the findings.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first research performed in the Malaysian context in which the strategies of private housing developers comprising land banking and market analysis were explored in relation to business success. Hence, the present study not only contributes to the existing property literature, but also makes an important contribution to the business performance and firm competitiveness in the lens of Malaysian entrepreneurs.
Synthesis of novel zinc porphyrins and their photocatalytic activity
Authors: Chen Shao Rui
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the spacer length of zinc porphyrin-TiO2 hybrids by photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution under visible light.

Design/methodology/approach

5-Mono-[4-hydroxyphenyl]-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin was synthesized using Alder method. A new series of porphyrins and their corresponding zinc complexes (ZnPp) were obtained from 5-mono-[4-hydroxyphenyl]-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin via nucleophilic substitution reaction. The ZnPp-TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared by loading ZnPp onto TiO2 and characterized by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Findings

The results indicated that zinc porphyrins were successfully loaded on the surface of TiO2 microsphere, which is crucial to enhance the activity of the catalytic composite under visible light. All the novel photocatalysts showed much enhanced photoactivity than bare TiO2. Among all the prepared ZnPp-TiO2, 5,10,15-triphenyl-20-[4-(4-naphthoxy)-butoxy]phenyl zinc porphyrin-TiO2 (4b) showed the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MO.

Research limitations/implications

Synthesis of these zinc porphyrins had never been reported previously.

Originality/value

Four novel zinc porphyrin-TiO2 photocatalysts which could response to visible light in degradation of MO were synthesized using Alder method. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of 5,10,15-triphenyl-20-[4-(4-naphthoxy)butoxy] phenyl zinc porphyrin- TiO2 is higher than others.
Constructing queer mother‐knowledge and negotiating medical authority in online lesbian pregnancy journals
Authors: Holland Sierra
Published: July 2018

Medical interactions around reproduction are increasingly extending beyond the physician's office and onto the Internet, where negotiation with medical authority occurs in complex and dynamic ways. Recently, scholars have noted the Internet's potential for creating spaces where women can dialogue with and reconstruct medical authority, yet this growing body of work is overwhelming heteronormative. This paper thus interrogates how lesbian women use the Internet to challenge, deploy, and rework medical authority around reproduction while navigating the transition to parenthood. I draw from 17 online journals authored by lesbian couples during the conception, pregnancy, and birth of their first child, each spanning between 18 months and 2 years, in order to understand how the transition process unfolds over time. I argue that lesbian couples engage with medical authority when seeking affirmation and normalisation yet discard and publicly reject the heteronormative assumptions that accompany reproductive medicine. Further, they chart a new process that I term ‘constructing queer mother‐knowledge’, in which they critique and balance knowledges from institutionalised medicine, their own bodies, and their queer communities. With this new concept, I complicate understandings of lesbian mothers‐to‐be and their interactions with medical authority as they build subversive families.
Recording body temperature in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): a comparison of techniques
Authors: Adam D , Beard L , Johnston SD , Nicolson V , Lisle A , McKinnon A , Larkin R , Theilemann P , Gillett A , Brackin K , FitzGibbon S , Barth B , Ellis W
Published: July 2018

Objective

Compare the use of four techniques to measure body temperature in koalas: intraperitoneal (thermal data logger and temperature sensitive radio transmitter), rectal (certified thermometer), tympanic (infrared thermometer), and hind foot (infrared camera).

Methods

The body temperature data collected concurrently from the intraperitoneal loggers were used as the benchmark in the analyses.

Results

The rectal, foot and tympanic methods consistently recorded lower body temperature when compared with the benchmark. There was a strong positive relationship (R2 = 0.79) between logger and rectal measurements, but no significant relationship between logger and foot or logger and tympanic measurements.

Conclusion

Rectal measurements can be used to record internal body temperature, with the caveat that such measurements will generally register a temperature approximately 0.25°C lower than the actual intraperitoneal temperature.
Measuring otoplasty outcome: Expanding the validity to caregivers' perspective and to Portuguese‐speaking children
Authors: Dias‐Vaz Marta , Morgado Hélder , Severo Milton , Estevão‐Costa José
Published: July 2018

Objective

The GBI (Glasgow Benefit Inventory) and the GCBI (Glasgow Children's Benefit Inventory) are used to evaluate patient‐reported Health‐Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) following otoplasty for prominent ears. The aim of this study was to validate them through patients' and caregivers' perspectives and in Portuguese language versions.

Study design

After translation to Portuguese, the GBI and the GCBI were applied to patients (n = 255) who underwent otoplasty throughout a five‐year span and to their caregivers, respectively. A second set of questionnaires (retest) was applied to assess reliability. Caregivers were subsequently contacted to evaluate aesthetic satisfaction, recommendation to others, postoperative complications and main motivation for surgery.

Setting

Paediatric Surgery Department of a tertiary hospital in Porto, Portugal.

Participants

134 patients (aged 10.9 ± 3.6 years, 61.2% males) and their caregivers (52.5% responders).

Main outcome measures

Impact on HRQoL using the Portuguese GBI and GCBI (global score, −100 to 100). Validity assessed by principal component factor analysis, Cronbach's α and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

Results

The GBI was 30.1 ± 25.7 and the GCBI was 22.6 ± 23.0. For the GBI, three subscales were identified, explaining 63.3% of variance. For the GCBI, two subscales were identified, accounting for 66.8% of variance. Both the GBI and the GCBI showed a high internal consistency (α = 0.92 and 0.94, respectively). 79% were satisfied and 92% recommended the surgery. Statistically significant higher scores were found in satisfied patients, in those who underwent surgery due to teasing, and in females.

Conclusions

The Portuguese GBI and GCBI proved to be valid and reliable to evaluate HRQoL following otoplasty in Portuguese‐speaking children. The outcome was very favourable; almost all patients would recommend the surgery.
Self‐report of pain in young people and adults with spastic cerebral palsy: interrater reliability of the revised Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (r‐FLACC) scale ratings
Authors: Fox Margaret A , Ayyangar Rita , Parten Rebecca , Haapala Heidi J , Schilling Stephen G , Kalpakjian Claire Z
Published: July 2018

Aim

People with cerebral palsy (CP) are often unable to express pain owing to cognitive or speech impairments. Reports that rely on observation can be inaccurate, because behaviours such as grimacing, common in people with spastic CP, resemble pain expressions. We examined preliminary validity and reliability of the revised Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (r‐FLACC) scale in people with spastic CP.

Method

Forty‐eight young people and adults (35 females, 13 males; mean [SD] age 29y 2mo [13y]) were video‐recorded during a standard examination, rating their pain (0–10) afterwards. Two raters completed the r‐FLACC using the video recordings. Interrater reliability was assessed with an unconditional cross‐classified random‐effects model and item response theory approach; Pearson correlations measured agreement between raters and participants.

Results

Mean (SD) participant (n=48) pain scores were 2.48 (2.5) and mean (SD) r‐FLACC scores were 1.46 (1.68). There was moderate agreement between raters (intraclass coefficient 0.41 and 0.57 respectively) but low agreement between participants and raters (r=0.26). There were no significant effects for raters (lay observers, nurses, physicians, and inexperienced raters).

Interpretation

Results provide mixed support for the interrater reliability of the r‐FLACC in people with spastic CP.

What this paper adds

The revised Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (r‐FLACC) scale can be reliably used by experts and lay raters for people with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).

Support is mixed for interrater reliability of the r‐FLACC scale used with people with spastic CP.
Long‐lived murine osteocytes are embodied by craniofacial skeleton in young and old animals whereas they decrease in number in postcranial skeletons at older ages
Authors: Stigler Robert G. , Becker Kathrin , Kloss Frank R. , Gassner Robert , Lepperdinger Günter
Published: July 2018

Background

Osteocytes are engaged in life‐enduring processes such as bone remodelling, fracture healing or osseointegration of implants. Over age, ossification processes and regenerative capacity can greatly differ in mandible and femur.

Objective

Mesenchymal stem cells from cranial and postcranial bones are of different embryologic origin. This may be the reason why the regenerative capacity differs between cranial and postcranial bones in old patients. It was hypothesised that different ageing patterns, reflected by osteocyte density, lacunar density and osteoid formation, exist between murine mandibles and femurs.

Material and methods

Mandible and femur of young (4 months) and old (34‐36 months old) male C57Bl/6 mice were histologically investigated to determine the number of lacunae occupied with osteocytes. Osteoid formation was revealed by Masson‐Goldner staining, and the spatial distribution of BMP‐2 synthesis was examined.

Results

Over lifetime, the number of lacunae occupied with osteocytes only showed a modest decrease in mandibular bone (old 85.63%/young 91.12%) while greatly diverging in the femur (old 55.99%/young 93.28%). In equal measure, old femur exhibited less osteoid formation and decreased BMP‐2 expression.

Conclusion

Tissue‐specific conduct of bone ageing is moulded by osteocytic activities, which was found to vary between postcranial and craniofacial skeleton. The latter harbours long‐lived osteocytes also in old animals which assures lifelong bone integrity. Preliminary concurring findings from a human cadaver, also presented in this contribution, provided a rationale for recommending the translatability to humans.
Prevalence of diagnosed HIV infection among persons with hepatitis C virus infection: England, 2008–2014
Authors: Ireland G , Delpech V , Kirwan P , Croxford S , Lattimore S , Sabin C , Porter K , Mandal S , Simmons R
Published: July 2018

Objectives

In persons with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, HIV coinfection leads to faster progression to advanced liver disease. The aim of our study was to estimate diagnosed HIV prevalence among people with evidence of current HCV infection (polymerase chain reaction positive) and examine predictors of coinfection.

Methods

Adults (≥ 15 years old) with a current HCV infection reported to the Public Health England (PHE) sentinel surveillance of blood‐borne viruses were linked to the PHE national HIV database using a deterministic methodology. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted.

Results

Between 2008 and 2014, 5.0% (999/20 088) of adults with a current HCV infection were diagnosed with HIV coinfection. The majority acquired HIV through sex between men (441; 64.9%), followed by injecting drug use (153; 22.5%) and heterosexual contact (84; 12.4%). Of persons who were coinfected, 65.5% had been diagnosed with HIV infection > 6 months before their HCV diagnosis, 41.4% of whom had a negative anti‐HCV test between their HIV and HCV diagnoses. In a multivariable model among persons with current HCV infection, an HIV diagnosis was more likely among men [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.60–4.16] and persons of black ethnicity (aOR 3.19; 95% CI 1.36–7.46), and less likely among older adults (aOR 0.85 per 10‐year increase; 95% CI 0.79–0.92) and persons of Asian ethnicity (aOR 0.59; 95% CI 0.41–0.86).

Conclusions

Our results indicate that the majority of diagnosed HIV and current HCV coinfections are among men who have sex with men. Safer sex campaigns should include awareness of transmission of HCV among MSM living with HIV.