bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“What will ‘they’ think?”
Authors: Dahlén Micael , Sjödin Henrik , Thorbjørnsen Helge , Hansen Håvard , Linander Johanna , Thunell Camilla
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate how marketing leakage to undesired audiences, a common phenomenon in today's globally connected world of consumers, impacts on the target audience, and how marketers can mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conduct three studies in line with research on the third-person effect (TPE). The studies feature experimental designs with participants from neighbouring countries.

Findings

– The first study finds that people in the intended target audience expect and overestimate a (negative) reaction in the undesired audience to marketing leakage, and this impacts negatively on their own reactions. The second study replicates and extends the findings, showing that explicit information that marketing has leaked to an undesired audience impacts negatively on both the attitudes and behaviors of the intended, target audience. The third study tests potential strategies to mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing and finds that the most important thing is to inform the intended target audience that the undesired audience has accepted the marketer's actions.

Research limitations/implications

– Extending the TPE to marketing, this is, to the authors' knowledge, a first investigation of the previously neglected phenomenon of marketing leakage and the impact of undesired audiences on marketing effectiveness. It hopes to stimulate further research on consequences of marketing leakage and enrich research on international advertising and crisis management.

Originality/value

– This is, to the authors' knowledge, the first inquiry into how and why marketing leakage to undesired audiences impacts on the intended target audience, and how negative effects can be mitigated. The original use of a third-person approach in this setting helps explain marketing effectiveness and assess managerial strategies.
Project-based learning in education: integrating business needs and student learning
Authors: Cho Yonjoo , Brown Catherine
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this case study was to investigate how project-based learning (PBL) is being practiced in Columbus Signature Academy (CSA), a high school located in Columbus, Indiana, USA.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors used the case study method to provide qualitative details about CSA ' s use of PBL that is being practiced in a natural education setting.

Findings

– The authors identified six emergent themes (community partners, dedicated facilitators, student group work, authentic projects, school culture, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focus) as the essential elements of the high school ' s PBL use. The authors also evaluated CSA ' s use of PBL using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and generated eight challenges that CSA should tackle to make it more sustainable.

Research limitations/implications

– This study is contextualized in a high school located in Columbus, Indiana, so the authors cannot generalize the results of this study to other contexts.

Practical implications

– This study showed that PBL holds outstanding potential to be an innovative approach to teaching and learning, and teacher professional development.

Originality/value

– Major strengths of CSA ' s use of PBL come from the integration of the workforce needs of local businesses and the broader educational needs of students. Active involvement of community partners to make a project authentic is an essential element of CSA ' s PBL that distinguishes it from problem-based learning.
Drivers and outcomes of scenario planning: a canonical correlation analysis
Authors: Chermack Thomas J. , Nimon Kim
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper
'
s aim is to report a research study on the mediator and outcome variable sets in scenario planning.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a cannonical correlation analysis (CCA)

Findings

– Twso sets of variables; one as a predictor set that explained a significant amount of variability in the second, or outcome set of variables were found.

Research limitations/implications

– The study did not involve random selection or assignment and used perception-based measures.

Practical implications

– The findings support scenario planning as a tool to reinforce certain decision styles and learning organization culture.

Originality/value

– A critical contribution to scenario planning research, this study brings some order to the variety of variables espoused to be involved in scenario work. Clear outcomes are a learning culture and intuitive/dependent decision styles. The study makes a real contribution to quantitative scenario studies.
Intergenerational learning in organizations
Authors: Ropes Donald
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of intergenerational learning as a way for organizations to deal with an ageing worker population in a positive and constructive way.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employs a thematic synthesis of qualitative literature and considers all types of sources including quantitative scientific reports, reports on case studies, practitioner reports, social program evaluations and White Papers.

Findings

– The paper points out that intergenerational learning is an effective way to organize learning at the workplace as it appeals to older worker motivations and learning styles, benefiting both worker and organization.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper leads to several testable hypotheses concerning intergenerational learning. There also needs to be more work on how cognitive differences might affect interactive processes in intergenerational learning groups.

Practical implications

– This paper can give managers ideas on organizing intergenerational learning as a strategy for dealing with an ageing worker population.

Originality/value

– This paper opens up new possibilities for both researchers and practitioners of workplace learning by using age and other concepts of diversity as a building block for organizing learning environments.
A model framework of output specifications for hospital PPP/PFI projects
Authors: JAVED Arshad Ali , Lam Patrick T.I. , Chan Albert P.C.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Social infrastructure projects such as hospitals are increasingly being procured through public private partnerships (PPP). Due to their complex nature and very high operational requirements, these healthcare projects need special attention in developing robust output specifications at the early procurement stage. The purpose of this paper is to present a model framework of output specifications for adoption by public sector clients in jurisdictions planning to develop hospital PPP/PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is based on an in-depth analysis of best practices from standard and sample project output specification documents used in Australia and the UK for completed hospital projects, reinforced by interviews with key stakeholders in the two countries.

Findings

– Drafting output specifications for hospital PPP projects is perceived to be a difficult and challenging task due to the complexity and changing needs brought about by evolving health policy, technology and medical advancement. The overarching target of preparing good output specification is to achieve value for money, innovation, risk transfer (including catering for changes), whole life asset performance and establishing performance criteria to link up with the payment mechanism.

Practical/implications

– The proposed framework is built up from public sector requirements on the physical asset, operational services provided by the private sector, with links to payment mechanism and performance evaluation. It also addresses change mechanism as well as conditions upon hand-over back to the public sector.

Originality/value

– Unlike traditional projects which are procured using prescriptive specifications, PPP/PFI projects are procured using performance based output specifications. This paper provides the foundation and a model framework for preparing comprehensive output specifications based on best practices in Australia and the UK, using hospital as the contextual background.
The future role of logistics for global wealth – scenarios and discontinuities until 2025
Authors: A. von der Gracht Heiko , Darkow Inga-Lena
Published: October 2013

Purpose

–The aim is to present research results on global logistics scenarios 2025 with focus on the future contribution the logistics industry can make to the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit.

Design/methodology/approach

–The research was conducted within the scope of an interdisciplinary foresight conference, where a group of 216 renowned persons from 16 countries in business, academia and politics discussed policies and strategies for the future role of logistics as an enabler and driver of global wealth. Attendants were asked to share their visions of the future via a real-time Delphi study. The results were further discussed in futures workshops according to World Café methodology for group dialog.

Findings

–Based on extensive desk research of scenario studies, expert workshops, and creative sessions, the authors developed 20 key Delphi projections for global logistics in 2025. Experts were asked to rate the projection's probability, impact, and desirability as well as to provide reasons for all answers via the Delphi online-portal. Key topics of the Delphi-based scenarios include global health care supply chains, resource logistics (urban mining), water transportation, energy supply, and education. Moreover, the authors analysed discontinuities in global logistics, such as pandemics, conflicts, and resource crises.

Originality/value

–The increasing impact of logistics on a nation's and company's success underlines the importance of future-oriented and sustainable planning in this field. With this research endeavor, the authors provide insights in action needed to be taken by industry, politics and academia in order to leverage the full potentials of logistics and support the economic development of the world.
Scenario planning with integrated quantification – managing uncertainty in corporate strategy building
Authors: Hirsch Sven , Burggraf Paul , Daheim Cornelia
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper makes a case for the benefits of quantified scenarios as a foresight tool for strategic planning. First it aims to set the context of quantification approaches for strategic planning in foresight. Within world models, qualitative scenarios allow for a contingency perspective of the future, however their potential to be linked to strategic planning in corporate foresight is limited. In contrast to complex world models, forecasts on key indicators are easily applied to strategy processes, but lack the necessary capability to recognise uncertainty and decision points. The paper seeks to argue for a new participative and pragmatic approach in order to bridge the gap between the opposing approaches and aims to show how this quantification approach can be integrated with scenario construction on an operational level.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors discuss a quantitative scenario process and argue for its suitability to corporate foresight. They then describe a range of leanings from various foresight projects that have successfully applied quantified scenarios to strategic planning.

Findings

– Quantified scenarios can increase the impact foresight thinking has on corporate strategic planning.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper outlines the methods and tools of quantified corporate foresight, it does not include empirical evidence or concrete case studies.

Practical implications

– The approach outlined here can be used in corporate foresight projects in order to improve the use of scenario planning for strategy.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first one to outline a process for scenario quantification within corporate foresight.
Gaps in female labor participation and pay equity: the impact of cultural variables
Authors: Munir Sidani Yusuf
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to address gender gaps in labor participation and earned income. The paper assesses the role of education and cultural dimensions in impacting female labor indicators. The paper tests two separate models predicting female labor participation as a percentage of male participation (FPM) and female earned income as a percentage of male earned income (FIM) across 59 nations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were taken from those published by World Bank and International Labor Organization, in addition to the GLOBE study. The paper relies on relationships among such data to assess the hypotheses under investigation.

Findings

– FPM was explained by institutional collectivism, gender egalitarianism, and education. FIM was explained by gender egalitarianism and institutional collectivism. Contrary to expectations, in-group collectivism was not found to be a predictor in this model. Based on earlier research and this study, the paper presents the “female labor indicators model”.

Research limitations/implications

– More data need to be collected about gender-related attitudes and behaviors from a larger number of countries. There is also a need to collect culture data at the individual level not only at the country level. The model that the paper presents – explaining gaps in female participation and pay – deserves additional research support.

Practical implications

– There is a need for practitioners to be conscious of hidden forces that work against women who aspire to work despite their high educational levels. Improving women's labor conditions requires a concerted effort from many parties including government and private sector.

Originality/value

– The link between GLOBE's cultural dimensions and female labor indicators has not been sufficiently addressed in prior research. The paper suggests that explaining deficits in female labor indicators requires looking past economic and demographic variables into institutional and cultural factors. The paper presents a comprehensive model that helps in explaining gender gaps in participation and pay.
Political connections and corporate overinvestment: evidence from China
Authors: Su Zhong-qin , Fung Hung-gay , Yau Jot
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Using panel data for the period 2004-2010, this study shows that political connections have a significant positive effect on corporate overinvestment in China while their interaction with related-party transactions has a negative effect. Results also indicate that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) controlled by the Chinese central government tend to have greater overinvestment than non-SOEs. However, their interaction with related-party transactions has an opposite effect on overinvestment, lending support to the conjecture that firm ownership structure plays a significant role in corporate overinvestment decisions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Panel data analysis and regression.

Findings

– This study shows that political connections have a significant positive effect on corporate overinvestment in China while their interaction with related-party transactions has a negative effect. Results also indicate that SOEs controlled by the Chinese central government tend to have greater overinvestment than non-SOEs.

Research limitations/implications

– The research shows some Chinese firms' behavior that indicates expropriation of minority stockholders. Policymakers should be aware of this issue as overinvestment is not good for the economy as a while. The limitation of the study is based on six-year data.

Practical implications

– Stockholders should monitor the firms to mitigate the overinvestment problems in Chinese firms.

Originality/value

– This is the first paper to examine the overinvestment issue along with related-party transactions and political connections.
Local creativity for adapting to climate change among rural farmers in the semi-arid region of Ghana
Authors: S. Arku Frank
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Climate change has emerged as an important theme in the current food security discourses, and although research on local people's adaptation to climate change is increasing, more research is needed to enable sharing of different coping strategies. This research can help policymakers in documenting effective coping strategies that helped to reduce negative impacts of climate change on farmers. The research therefore determined how farmers in rural Ghana use traditional knowledge to adapt to climate changes, and how well the local knowledge worked to enhance livelihoods. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study took place in three communities in Ghana. Sixty participants consisting 20 from each of the communities were recruited for the study. Data were collected through focus group discussions and semi-structured interview questions. SPSS software was used to analyse the data. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to rank the strategies in enhancing livelihoods.

Findings

– Men's and women's understanding of what constitute climate change are similar – change in the rainfall amount and distribution. The coping strategies are working as hired labourers, engaging in irrigated farming, practicing of professions learned, rearing of animals, and petty trading. While the importance of the strategies to men's and women's is different, the strategies they adopted appeared to meet their household requirements.

Originality/value

– The study reveals that local creativities can help in meeting rural farmers' needs during the periods of climate change. Consequently, this research has value for development organisations supporting farmers to effectively use their indigenous knowledge during the periods of climate change.
Application of Six Sigma methodology to a cataract surgery unit
Authors: Tolga Taner Mehmet
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The article's aim is to focus on the application of Six Sigma to minimise intraoperative and post-operative complications rates in a Turkish public hospital cataract surgery unit.

Design/methodology/approach

– Implementing define-measure-analyse-improve and control (DMAIC) involves process mapping, fishbone diagrams and rigorous data-collection. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), pareto diagrams, control charts and process capability analysis are applied to redress cataract surgery failure root causes.

Findings

– Inefficient skills of assistant surgeons and technicians, low quality of IOLs used, wrong IOL placement, unsystematic sterilisation of surgery rooms and devices, and the unprioritising network system are found to be the critical drivers of intraoperative-operative and post-operative complications. Sigma level was increased from 2.60 to 3.75 subsequent to extensive training of assistant surgeons, ophthalmologists and technicians, better quality IOLs, systematic sterilisation and air-filtering, and the implementation of a more sophisticated network system.

Practical implications

– This article shows that Six Sigma measurement and process improvement can become the impetus for cataract unit staff to rethink their process and reduce malpractices. Measuring, recording and reporting data regularly helps them to continuously monitor their overall process and deliver safer treatments.

Originality/value

– This is the first Six Sigma ophthalmology study in Turkey.
The PATH project in eight European countries: an evaluation
Authors: Henri Maurice Veillard Jeremy , Louise Schiøtz Michaela , Guisset Ann-Lise , Davidson Brown Adalsteinn , S. Klazinga Niek
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper's aim is to evaluate the perceived impact and the enabling factors and barriers experienced by hospital staff participating in an international hospital performance measurement project focused on internal quality improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

– Semi-structured interviews involving international hospital performance measurement project coordinators, including 140 hospitals from eight European countries (Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). Inductively analyzing the interview transcripts was carried out using the grounded theory approach.

Findings

– Even when public reporting is absent, the project was perceived as having stimulated performance measurement and quality improvement initiatives in participating hospitals. Attention should be paid to leadership/ownership, context, content (project intrinsic features) and processes supporting elements.

Research limitations/implications

– Generalizing the findings is limited by the study's small sample size. Possible implications for the WHO European Regional Office and for participating hospitals would be to assess hospital preparedness to participate in the PATH project, depending on context, process and structural elements; and enhance performance and practice benchmarking through suggested approaches.

Originality/value

– This research gathered rich and unique material related to an international performance measurement project. It derived actionable findings.
Using profit information for production management: evidence from Japanese factories
Authors: Arai Kohei , Kitada Hirotsugu , Oura Keisuke
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the relative weight of financial and non-financial performance measures used to evaluate production managers (such as shop floor managers or foremen) in a modern manufacturing setting.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using survey data from Japanese factories, the paper examines the association between the choice of profit, cost, and non-financial performance measures with two characteristics of manufacturing systems: interdependence and multi-tasking.

Findings

– The results indicate that interdependence has a significant and positive association with the importance of profit information, while multi-tasking is associated negatively with the importance of profit information, and positively with non-financial information for performance evaluation.

Originality/value

– In recent years, a significant shift has been observed in Japanese production management with many companies now focusing on profit information instead of cost information. For example, the past studies show that large Japanese manufacturing companies are now using micro-profit centres and include profit information when evaluating factories. However, little empirical evidence is available on performance measurement at the shop floor foreman level, and even less is known about the importance of profit information in the evaluation of these lower level managers.
Facets of DREaM
Authors: Cooke Louise , Hall Hazel
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to review the value of social network analysis (SNA) as a method appropriate to LIS research. SNA is used to investigate the effectiveness of a framework of methods adopted by the DREaM project to develop researcher-practitioner networks.

Design/methodology/approach

– Following a review of the literature on SNA, the paper reports longitudinal research from a whole population sample of the DREaM cadre of LIS researchers. Data were collected using a questionnaire at the start of the first DREaM project workshop, and at the final workshop. Data were analysed using Ucinet 6 software, and network diagrams were visualised using the Netdraw package.

Findings

– Findings demonstrate that the combination of linked workshops and use of social media throughout the DREaM project was successful in increasing the density of the researcher networks, forging new connections among participants. SNA was found to be a useful technique in investigating network development.

Research limitations/implications

– There is scope for further longitudinal research to investigate the sustainability and strength of the new network links forged.

Originality/value

– The use of SNA in the context of the development of researcher networks is novel in LIS research. The findings from this project indicate the potential of the DREaM methodology as a replicable framework for developing further research networks in other contexts. This paper represents a unique contribution in demonstrating through the use of SNA the extent of the extension of research networks afforded by the DREaM methodology.
National intellectual capital assessment models: a literature review
Authors: Labra Romilio , Paloma Sánchez M.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on national intellectual capital (NIC) in order to identify and compare the main models to measure and report IC at the country level and to examine the differences from and similarities to the IC approach for firms.

Design/methodology/approach

– A systematic literature review was carried out using three scientific databases and the five most important journals. Additional information was also reviewed. The search covered the period from January 2000 to December 2012. The models to measure intangibles were analyzed and compared using qualitative and quantitative techniques.

Findings

– The literature review shows that although such literature is still nascent and relatively scarce, there is growing interest in measuring, reporting, and managing IC for countries as a whole. NIC studies have been published in a small number of journals and more theoretical work is required. There are two main types of methods to assess and report on NIC. Despite the differences among models, their findings tend to converge.

Practical implications

– The information obtained contributes to the selection of models. This selection can be based on pragmatic considerations, such as the availability of data.

Originality/value

– There are several models to evaluate intangibles at the country level and different ways to measure them. The paper offers comparative information about the models to aid in selection for managing intangibles at the country level.
Ethical paradigms as potential foundations of diversity management initiatives in business organizations
Authors: Gotsis George , Kortezi Zoe
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the elaboration of a comprehensive moral framework for designing and implementing diversity practices. In so doing, it employs distinct ethical theories that not only elevate respect for differences to an end, but also provide a set of principles, virtues or values conducive to the formation of an inclusive work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review, in particular contributions critical to current implementations of diversity management, may provide the basis of a non-instrumental approach to diversity issues, allowing for an inclusive and participative workplace. The paper suggests that such an endeavor can be founded on the concepts of organizational virtue, care or human dignity alternatively. In this respect, a theoretical context demonstrating the very way these concepts influence and inform diversity issues, is elaborated, analyzed and properly discussed.

Findings

– Three distinct theoretical frameworks capturing the importance of major ethical traditions based on dignity, organizational virtue and care, for reconceptualizing diversity issues, are introduced. It is proposed that non-utilitarian philosophical ethics (and more specifically, Kantian deontology, Aristotelian virtue ethics or ethics of care) is in a position to provide a rationale for diversity policies that affirm the diverse other as a valued end.

Practical implications

– The authors argue that a corporation is in a position to develop ethically-informed diversity initiatives that may effectively combine performance with an affirmation of the value of the diverse other.

Social implications

– The authors argue that a corporation is in a position to develop ethically-informed diversity initiatives that may effectively combine performance with an affirmation of the value of the diverse other.

Originality value

– The paper offers certain insights into the particular conditions that may help organizations design and implement a diversity strategy facilitating thriving and fulfillment of diverse others, grounded on the priority of dignity, virtue or care respectively. Such a perspective, permeating vision, culture and leadership, is invested with a potential that overcomes the managerial instrumentality, so strongly denounced by the majority of critical diversity scholars.
Life restoration degree following minimal repair and its application for maintenance decision optimization
Authors: Jiang Renyan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to address the issues whether or not minimal repair is effective for a repairable item with a known life distribution and when the minimal repair process should be stopped.

Design/methodology/approach

– The life restoration degree (LRD) following minimal repair is defined and related to the shape parameter of the distribution so that a choice between minimal and perfect repairs can be made based on the shape parameter. Three replacement policies with minimal repair are considered and the corresponding decision rules are derived to determine when the minimal repair process should be stopped.

Findings

– Main findings are: first, the LRD of minimal repair is inversely or approximately inversely proportional to the shape parameter, second, the effectiveness of minimal repair increases as the cost ratio of perfect and minimal repairs increases and the shape parameter decreases, and third, the unconditional mean residual life equal the mean time between the first and second failures.

Originality/value

– The results can be easily used for maintenance strategy selection and maintenance decision optimization of repairable items.
Conservation, invention, distribution
Authors: Goudeaux Annie , Poizat Germain
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on the professional activity development of prop makers. These professionals are responsible for creating a huge variety of objects for the stage, ranging from furniture and soft furnishings to weapons, statues, jewelry and animated models. A feature of the work is to create objects that are new almost every time. In Western Switzerland, there is neither initial training nor continuing education for the profession of prop maker. Therefore the aim of this study is to better understand the professional practices and informal learning of prop makers at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Design/methodology/approach

– Given their interest in the details of how work is learned and carried out, the authors used ethnographic methods to study the prop makers' working practices. These methods place an emphasis on the detailed observation of practices through intensive, long-term involvement. The fieldwork began in November 2005 and ended in May 2007. This period was organized into three phases articulating direct observation and participant observation. The data were processed according to the methodology of grounded theory. Theoretical sensitivity came from a number of sources; however, French-speaking ergonomics, and particularly the course-of-action theoretical framework, have largely determined our conception of activity and workplace learning.

Findings

– The results allowed the authors to identify the core of a substantive theory of prop makers' activity and self-construction. Three components formed the core of this theory: conservation, invention, and distribution (CID). These three components are essential to understanding how prop makers are able to achieve, maintain and develop professional expertise both individually and collectively in the near total absence of initial and ongoing training and in a context of constant demand for high technical performance.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite the limitations of this study and the need for caution, the study seems to have two main implications. First, it leads to the reaxamination of the concept of informal learning and to assume the self-constructive dimension of activity. Second, it encourages studies to question the triple developmental process: technical, individual, and collective. Further studies are needed to better understand the triple process of individuation (technical, individual and collective) that operates in work situations and to test the heuristic power of this notion to account for learning and development in the workplace.

Originality/value

– The originality of this work is to address the issue of professional development in relation to the work of Simondon Gilbert on technical invention and his theory of individuation.
Unobservable effects and firm's capital structure determinants
Authors: Matemilola B.T. , Bany-Ariffin A.N. , B. McGowan Carl
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects on a capital structure model.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employs the restricted least squares method to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects in a fixed effects model that includes unobservable effects against a pooled ordinary least squares model that excludes unobservable effects.

Findings

– The empirical findings indicate that models that include unobservable firm-specific effects are correctly specified.

Research limitations/implications

– The limitation of this study comes from lack of data to measure unobservable effects such as managerial ability or managerial skills. Future research can develop index measures of managerial ability or managerial skills and borrow from management theory to explain the connection between managerial ability or managerial skills and firms' capital structure.

Practical implications

– The findings imply that a capital structure model that excludes firm-specific effects could be mis-specified because such a model does not control for unobservable firm-specific factors such as managerial ability or managerial skills which have significant effects on firms' capital structure decisions.

Originality/value

– The findings are important because the paper applies the restricted least squares method to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects. This technique has not been applied previously. The paper contributes to capital structure research in the fast growing South Africa.
Safety and urban design – the role of CPTED in the design process
Authors: Knapp Jonathan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Urban design, in conjunction with the older, more established disciplines of architecture and town planning, is increasingly important in shaping the built environment. Urban designers are required to consider a broad array of issues, crime and safety being among them. For various practical and project-related reasons, crime and safety issues can be given cursory attention.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is an invited opinion piece and comment based upon the specialist knowledge and expertise of the author working within the field of urban design.

Findings

– Learning from environmental sustainability and the manner in which such issues are now routinely embedded into urban design processes, the paper argues that a combination of regulation (i.e. legislation, policies and design guidelines) and ongoing professional development for built environment professionals are required to ensure that crime and safety issues are given due consideration.

Originality/value

– Practical examples will be used to illustrate this argument, including reference to a design guideline operating in New South Wales (Australia) and lessons learned (and challenges experienced) from a mixed-used development project in inner-Sydney.
More than words: how leadership can build trust at a practical level
Authors: Sparrow Jane
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this article is to show how leaders build and maintain high levels of trust in organizations by applying regular, simple but highly impactful actions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article discusses the role of trust when it comes to building high-performance cultures, characterized by motivated and engaged employees. It outlines a four-element model of trust that the author has researched, developed and applied during her work with organizations including Discovery and Solar Century. The elements are investment in relationships, honesty, humility, and consistency. Each element is supported with the author's observations of managers, leaders and HR practitioners who have significantly impacted the performance of their organizations by embracing the model.

Findings

– Although there is high awareness among leaders and managers for the need for trust and trusting behavior, there is often little practical support available to them to ensure trust is systematically invested in as a leadership behavior. The author argues that it is only by consciously applying specific behaviors across the four elements that trust becomes something real and tangible. The model is substantiated with case study examples taken from a cross-section of different sized organizations and sectors.

Originality/value

– The article is based on the author's personal experience and knowledge of organizations that excel in the four elements of the trust model.
Mitochondrial DNA: more than an evolutionary bystander
Authors: Ballard J. William O. , Pichaud Nicolas
Published: October 2013

The vast majority of studies employing mtDNA in evolutionary biology and ecology have used it as a means to infer demographic and historical patterns without pondering the underlying functional implications. In contrast, the biochemical and medical communities often aim to understand the influence of specific mtDNA mutations on mitochondrial functions, but rarely consider the evolutionary and ecological implications.

Ongoing research has shown that mtDNA mutations can profoundly affect mitochondrial function in humans and other animals. If the mutation (or set of mutations) is pathogenic, mitochondrial malfunction may be detected from early age. In nature, however, most mutations are not highly deleterious and may exist at intermediate frequency in populations.

In this review, we suggest that knowledge of the underlying biochemistry and functions of mitochondria can facilitate a more complete determination of the evolutionary dynamics of mtDNA and its influence on the life‐history traits of organisms. With this approach, it is possible to use biochemistry to link the genotype with the phenotype.

After reviewing the literature, we conclude that there can be physiological and evolutionary trade‐offs in the way that mitochondrial mutations can affect age classes and/or fitness components and that these effects may depend on the environment. Through these trade‐offs, it may be possible for specific mtDNA mutations to have unequal fitness in different nuclear genetic backgrounds and also in different environments.
Aphid honeydew alters plant defence responses
Authors: Schwartzberg Ezra G. , Tumlinson James H.
Published: October 2013

Plants respond to insect herbivory by ramping up the production of defence‐related jasmonic acid (JA). The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, is able to avoid triggering JA as it feeds. The aim of our study was to examine whether or not aphids simply avoid triggering plant defence signalling or whether they are able to manipulate plant signalling in a way to alter effectual plant defences.

To resolve this, we tested the ability of pea aphids to suppress the accumulation of damage‐induced JA. We then tested exogenous application of aphid honeydew as a possible mechanism for JA suppression.

While broad bean plants, Vicia faba, accumulated JA in response to artificial damage, the presence of concurrent aphid feeding suppressed JA accumulation. Furthermore, exogenous application of aphid honeydew induced salicylic acid (SA) and suppressed JA accumulation. We also report the presence of SA within honeydew itself.

We conclude that both aphid feeding and exogenous honeydew deposition suppress JA accumulation in response to damage. We demonstrate that honeydew application results in an increased accumulation of SA within plant tissue and find that levels of SA present within honeydew do not fully account for this increase. This finding demonstrates, for the first time, that aphid honeydew suppresses induced plant defence.
Multicultural Desires? Parental Negotiation of Multiculture and Difference in Choosing Secondary Schools for their Children
Authors: Byrne Bridget , Tona Carla De
Published: October 2013

This paper considers the ways in which parents talk about choosing secondary schools in three areas of Greater Manchester. It argues that this can be a moment when parents are considering their own attitudes to, and shaping their children's experiences of, multiculture. Multiculture is taken as the everyday experience of living with difference. The paper argues that multiculture needs to be understood as shaped not only by racialized, ethnic or religious difference (as it is commonly understood) but also by other differences which parents may consider important, particularly class and approaches to parenting. We stress the need to examine what parents say about schooling in the context in which they are talking, which is shaped by local areas and the experiences of their children in primary schools. Based on interviews with an ethnically mixed groups of parents from different schools, we show how perceptions of the racialized and class demographics of schools can influence parents' choice of secondary schools. The paper also argues that attention needs to be paid to the ways in which terms such as ‘multicultural’ and ‘mix’ are applied uniformly to very different contexts, be they particular schools or local areas, suggesting there is a paucity of language in Britain when talking about multiculture.
Aggregate Earnings and Corporate Bond Markets
Authors: GKOUGKOUSI XANTHI
Published: October 2013

I examine the previously unexplored relation between aggregate earnings changes and corporate bond market returns. I find that aggregate earnings changes have a negative relation to investment‐grade corporate bond market returns and a positive relation to high‐yield corporate bond market returns. The aggregate earnings‐returns relation is lower (i.e., less positive or more negative) for bonds with higher credit ratings and longer maturities. Further, I show that the aggregate earnings‐returns relation is driven by both the expected and the news component of aggregate earnings changes. The expected component is negatively related to expected returns, and the news component is positively related to cash flow news and changes in nominal interest rates, and negatively related to changes in default premia. My results contribute to the understanding of the role of earnings in corporate bond markets as well as the macroeconomic role of accounting information.
Plant‐parasitic nematodes as invasive species: characteristics, uncertainty and biosecurity implications
Authors: Singh S. K. , Hodda M. , Ash G. J. , Banks N. C.
Published: October 2013

Few species of plant‐parasitic nematodes (PPN) are currently recognised as invasive but this is largely because of insufficient investigation and recognition. We compared the characteristics of PPN with those of invasive species generally, using the propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic factors (PAB) framework. Most PPN had many of the characteristics of invasive species and hence have the potential to become invasive. The most common characteristics included: adaptations for human mediated dispersal; multiple entry pathways; microscopic size; large number of propagules; high fecundity; many or cosmopolitan hosts; short lifecycle; ability to survive harsh or unfavourable conditions; ability to vary sex ratios; and ability to overcome host plant resistance. Information is lacking for many characteristics of many species and their impacts remain unquantified, which leaves some important unanswered questions and challenges for assessing PPN as invasive species. However many economically important PPN species have not been recognised as invasive, even when most of the known characteristics and data suggests they should be.
Colorectal adenocarcinoma cancer in New Zealand in those under 25 years of age (1997–2007)
Authors: Plunkett Michael , Murray Melissa , Frizelle Frank , Teague Lochie , Hinder Victoria , Findlay Michael
Published: October 2013

Introduction

Colorectal cancer is common and primarily a disease of older people. Colorectal cancer in patients aged 25 years and under is infrequent and may represent a unique subgroup of patients. This study aimed to describe the population of young people in New Zealand diagnosed with colorectal cancer, their tumour characteristics, management and outcomes.

Methods

A retrospective clinical study was conducted via review of medical records for all patients 25 years of age and under, diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma in New Zealand between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2007.

Results

Fifty patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma were identified from the New Zealand Cancer Registry. Seven had a positive family history of colorectal cancer, while eight had predisposing factors (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, regional enteritis). The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain and weight loss. Twenty‐eight cases presented acutely. Eighteen presented with stage IV disease at diagnosis. Eighteen were referred to a genetics service. Five‐year overall survival was 49%.

Discussion

Those aged 25 years and under that develop colorectal cancer tend to present acutely and move through the secondary care pathway swiftly, being diagnosed at a more advanced stage, and have a poorer prognosis than their adult counterparts. Familial cancers form a more significant component of youth colorectal cancers compared to the older population and input from genetic service should be considered.
Outcomes after pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal cancer
Authors: Perera Nisal K. , Knight Simon R.
Published: October 2013

Background

Surgical resection offers the greatest likelihood of cure for appropriately selected patients with pulmonary colorectal carcinoma metastases. We hereby report our experience over the last 19 years at the Austin Hospital, Thoracic Surgery Unit.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients with pulmonary colorectal cancer metastases. From 1994 to 2012, 66 patients underwent 83 pulmonary metastasectomies for colorectal cancer at the Austin Hospital.

Results

Seventy per cent of patients were operated on for single pulmonary metastases. The most common procedure performed was a video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery wedge resection. Median follow‐up duration was 25 months. Three‐, five‐, seven‐ and ten‐year survival was 53.4, 39.6, 34.6 and 23.1%, respectively.

Conclusion

Pulmonary metastasectomy for metastatic colorectal carcinoma continues to offer the greatest survival advantage for appropriately selected patients.
Meeting the ‘organs’: the tacit dilemma of field research in authoritarian states
Authors: Gentile Michael
Published: October 2013

To the regret of many scholars, science and politics often overlap, and nowhere as clearly as inside countries ruled by authoritarian governments, where research tends to attract the surveillance of repressive authorities and, more specifically, of the secret services (known as the ‘organ’ within post‐communist space). While such surveillance places significant ethical and methodological challenges on field research, it is rarely discussed in the literature. This paper discusses what may happen when the organ takes interest in fieldwork. Based on the author's experiences in a range of post‐communist countries, the aim is to present and discuss the related risks, and to show how these may materialise in relation to the organ's (c)overt activities.