bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low estimates – high stakes: underestimation of costs at the front-end of projects
Authors: Andersen Bjorn , Samset Knut , Welde Morten
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to adopt an in-depth perspective on cost estimation, from the development of the initial idea until the budget is agreed, to obtain new insights into issues of underestimation at the front-end.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses a small sample of projects with exceptional increases in cost estimates during the front-end phase. The authors analyzed the magnitude of cost increases and possible reasons for them.

Findings

– The paper concludes that underestimation in the front-end phase was significant in the sample and poses a serious problem in that suboptimal projects are approved. The causes of underestimation include underestimating risk, overestimating opportunities, inadequate estimation methods and skills, reliance on weak information, and strategic/deliberate scope creep and division of projects.

Research limitations/implications

– The study builds on a small sample, and hence further studies should be undertaken to verify whether the findings are generalizable.

Practical implications

– The sample shows that the projects with the most unrealistic early estimates have disputable relevance. The paper suggests a number of recommendations that might help to counter the problem of unrealistic early cost estimates, which in turn, might allow suboptimal projects to be funded.

Originality/value

– The underestimation of costs at the front-end is grossly neglected in the literature compared with whether costs comply with the budget. While cost overruns are an indication of failure in terms of the project’s tactical performance, the contention is that the up-front underestimation of costs might result in an inferior project being selected and thus affect the strategic performance of the project.
Why local governments rarely use PPPs in their road development projects
Authors: Janssen Rick , Graaf Robin de , Smit Marnix , Voordijk Hans
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers that prevent local governments from applying PPPs in their road development projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on insights from a literature review, interviews were held with relevant staff to identify barriers. These were verified and their relative significance was determined through the use of a questionnaire, before being reflected upon and compared with literature findings.

Findings

– The research identified 37 barriers to local governments using PPPs in road development projects and showed that four barriers consistently stand out. First, the application of PPPs requires local governments to adapt their current working methods, which amounts to a large impediment to local governments applying PPPs. Second, local government employees believe that applying PPPs might effectively exclude local contractors from involvement in projects. Finally, local governments experience the whole PPP approach (the third barrier) and the PPP contract (the fourth) as overly complicated.

Practical implications

– To increase the use of PPPs for infrastructure provision at the local level, one has to focus on removing dominant local barriers as identified in this research.

Originality/value

– Although local-level PPPs have seen increasing interest, this is one of the first studies paying attention to the barriers to using PPPs for local road development projects.
Communication barriers in an interorganizational ERP-project
Authors: Andersson Annika
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze communication patterns and bridging activities to be able to describe communication barriers in an interorganizational enterprise resource planning (ERP) project and some ways to overcome those.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical arena was an interorganizational ERP-project, which implemented an On-Premise ERP-system. The goal for the team, assembled from both the buyer and supplier, was to implement an ERP-system, with a fixed price calculated from the expected resources and time needed, half a year. Participant observations, complementary interviews and documentation studies were accomplished, to be able to find and describe communication barriers for organizational development.

Findings

– Communication barriers were found, such as technnological concerns, micro-level discussions, limited bridging activities and openness to change.

Research limitations/implications

– The present study, concerning one single, interorganizational ERP-project provides a starting point for further research concerning communication barriers in ERP-projects. Further research could look at the implications communication barriers could have for the buyer and supplier organization in a long term.

Practical implications

– In managerial implications, some ways to overcome those barriers are discussed.

Originality/value

– Communication barriers found, and their impact on knowledge development within interorganizational ERP-projects, is described. The paper offers a starting point for future research concerning communication barriers. Results could be used of managers to understand communication barriers and their implications for knowledge development and organizational change.
Procurement strategy formation: (re-)designing rail infrastructure project alliances
Authors: Plantinga Henrico , Dorée André
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the reasoning behind the development of new procurement approaches by public sector clients.

Design/methodology/approach

– A case study approach focuses on a procurement development process by a public sector client. It investigates the reasoning behind various applications of the project alliancing concept in rail infrastructure projects over a period of 15 years. Alliancing applications are singled out and mapped against a number of criteria derived from literature on alliancing. The reasoning behind these applications and their differences are reconstructed from contextual documentation. Theories and concepts from the fields of strategic management and knowledge management literature are used to analyse the results.

Findings

– The development process seems to be evolutionary rather than deliberately planned. The uncovered variations in alliancing applications can only to a very limited extent be explained by the reconstructed reasoning. This suggests that the applied designs are mostly based on implicit reasoning by individual project teams. From a strategic management perspective, the development pattern resembles the emergent type of strategy formation.

Originality/value

– This study offers an initial insight into the reasoning processes behind the (re-)design of procurement approaches within a public sector client organization. A unique feature of this study is that these reasoning processes are explored from the strategy formation perspective that conceptually links the design of new procurement approaches to strategic management theory.
Antecedents of team turnover intentions in temporary organizations
Authors: Nuhn Helge F.R. , Wald Andreas
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the antecedents of team turnover intentions in temporary organizations such as projects, programs, or temporary teams.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors systematically combine the findings from the literature on the antecedents of turnover intentions in permanent organizations (PO) with the characteristics of temporary organizations (TO) and develop a research model comprising personal factors, job-related factors, and organization-related factors.

Findings

– A research model consisting of testable propositions that the authors derived from both specificities of TO and the antecedents of turnover intentions in PO.

Originality/value

– The authors contribute to literature by identifying potential antecedents of turnover intentions that are specific to TOs and those that also exist in POs but are adapted to a temporary context. The research model allows future empirical research on turnover in TO to be conducted in a systematic way and supports the development of theory.
Benefits and risks associated with time choice of innovating in retail settings
Authors: Pantano Eleonora
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The innovation success requires a deep understanding of risks and benefits of the process, as well as of the best moment for innovating. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current retailers’ choice of innovating in terms of being the first innovator imitating competitors’ innovations, by declining the benefits and risks associated with the both strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Building on qualitative data from retail industry, with emphasis on fashion (including clothes, jewelry, and accessories), the investigation provides an empirical contribution to the emerging area on innovation management in retailing through its in-depth investigation of the strategies of eight case retailers who introduced technological innovations in the last three years, and by mapping the patterns between strategy and outcomes.

Findings

– The analysis revealed how pioneers and followers acted their strategies for achieving benefits and reducing the encountered risks. In particular, findings identify to what extend pioneers act according the technology push and followers according to the demand pull.

Originality/value

– The research starts from the definition of the time choice of innovating, and the subsequent choice of being the first innovation adopter or the imitator. The insights support scholarly exploration of innovation management by offering a new marketing management perspective, and providing practitioners with a better understanding on the time choice for innovating in retailing and also in broader empirical settings.
The role of salespeople in developing life insurance customer loyalty
Authors: Yu Tsu-Wei , Tseng Lu-Ming
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to closely investigate the antecedents affecting relationship quality and its consequences between life insurers and their customers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from the customers of life insurers’ customer relationship management centres and were analysed using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. A structural equation modelling approach is employed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– The findings are generally consistent with the literature. This study supports all hypotheses. Finally, the findings of this study confirm that relationship quality mediates the effects of salesperson characteristics and relational selling behaviour on customer loyalty.

Originality/value

– To the authors knowledge, there is little published research that examines antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in life insurance industry in Taiwan. Therefore, in addition to developing high-quality services, life insurers need to establish and maintain long-term relationships with customers in order to create corporate innovation value.
The cross-shopping behaviour: patterns of store format mobility in the apparel sector
Authors: Luceri Beatrice , Latusi Sabrina
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The study investigates the cross-format shopping behaviour in the apparel sector. The purpose of this paper is to relate the number of store formats patronized to a set of consumer characteristics under a unifying theoretical framework emphasising cost-benefit analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research involved questionnaire telephone surveys from a sample of 1,722 apparel shoppers in a European region.

Findings

– Among shoppers’ socio-demographic characteristics, age, gender, employment status and citizenship were found to have an impact on multi-store format patronage patterns for apparel purchases. Moreover, the store format preference and the sale proneness proved to be additional determinants of cross-format mobility.

Practical implications

– The findings provide retail managers with valuable insights for effective marketing strategies aimed to exploit customer loyalty potential.

Originality/value

– Despite consumers’ regular use of various alternative store formats for apparel purchases, literature on the determinants of cross-format mobility is scarce. Addressing the inter-type cross-shopping behaviour of consumers from a cost-benefit viewpoint, this study makes a new contribution in the area of customer loyalty and the complementarity and substitutability of store formats.
Public library managers’ descriptions of political attention
Authors: Michnik Katarina
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Public library issues are often described as being of low political priority. Yet circumstances differ for different communities; public library issues may receive varying political attention. The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish public library managers describe local politicians’ attention to public library issues and to identify which municipal circumstances, such as political organization, population, and finances, seem to matter for how local politicians’ attention is described.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical data were collected through a web-based questionnaire sent to all public library managers in Sweden. To identify the described political attention, a content analysis was done. A multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the municipal circumstances that seem to matter for how political attention is described.

Findings

– A small majority of public library managers described the local political attention as strong or quite strong. Three factors seem to matter for how the attention is described: political organization, existence of a library plan, and population size. In the discussion personal factors, such as the politicians’ personal interest and public library managers’ experience, are brought up as possibly being of considerable importance.

Originality/value

– Several studies have been conducted on how politicians perceive public libraries; in these studies, the politicians are mainly treated as a unified group. This paper shows that the political approach to public library issues is described as different in different municipal circumstances.
Commons consent
Authors: Storey Colin
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Constructing academic library learning spaces involves ad hoc groups of agents often with fuzzy inter-relationships. Librarians and their user communities are initially hailed within these groups as prime-movers in realizing projects. Librarians bring to the table contagious ideas generated from their own profession in the hope of securing appropriate funding and planning pre-requisites. All other agents, be they internal community representatives or external architects, assist them in making sense of each other’s standpoints to co-create dynamic learning spaces in “commons consent”. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using the community culture in The Chinese University of Hong Kong as existed in 2012 as a case study, this paper examines the reality of this process in terms of a new library for learning, teaching and research.

Findings

– Can librarians hold sway over the priorities of other individual agents, particularly architects, to gain consent to build their initial concept of the commons which they are vigorously promoting as professionally valid and educationally potent? In the co-creation of a building, individual preferences and organizational power structures in ad hoc groups drawn from the university’s distinct cultural environment fuel compromise and even tension around the librarians’ and architects’ original visions.

Research limitations/implications

– Many other case studies of library building learning commons projects would be useful to add to these findings in sensemaking, co-creation and community cultures.

Practical implications

– Assists library managers in their management of large buildings projects.

Originality/value

– An original case study of a major Asian academic library learning commons project which involves sensemaking, co-creation and community cultures ideas imported from construction science.
Reducing library space can promote the shift from storage of print-collections towards a learning-centre without limiting the access to information
Authors: Haapanen Mia , Kultamaa Pirkko , Ovaska Tuulevi , Salmi Kirsi
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Libraries have changed due to many things, one of them being the shift from printed to electronic resources. Libraries become learning centres, providing more space for customers and less for stacks. Though information seeking habits have changed, especially students need places for studying and group work. In the case of Kuopio University Hospital Medical Library the shift has been influenced by space requirements for other hospital functions. The reduction of current physical space has led to revised collection policy that is now taking its final steps when the library is preparing to move to a new space. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– First, a 650 m2 library space was remodelled to a 450 m2 without major negative effects on services. Second, the hospital has assigned the medical library a new location where a new library space and learning centre will be renovated. Less space for print collections means that reliable delivery from print resources is crucial.

Findings

– Due to the merger of two universities’ collections to one multi-campus collection and to quick delivery service from the National Repository Library as well as good logistic services the authors are able to provide the customers with a possibility to use wide collections even if the own print-collections are small.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper describes the collection policy and the service model of one library.

Originality/value

– Small visible collections can be a challenge as the shelves are few. Creating awareness through marketing is essential. Campaigns, QR codes, big screens, user education, social media and everyday individual guidance are among the tools of creating wider awareness.
Factors affecting empowerment of female librarians, views of female managers of Tehran public libraries
Authors: Nakhoda Maryam , Rahimian Samaneh
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study promoting and inhibiting factors in empowerment of female librarians in the opinion of female managers. It is necessary that library managers identify and monitor influential factors in empowering librarians, and attempt to eliminate factors with negative effects.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study is conducted in a phenomenological approach, which relies on in-depth interviews among nine female managers of top public library in Tehran. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis method was used for analysis of data.

Findings

– Interviews analysis revealed that job skills, participation and teamwork, role resolution, access to information, motivation, role modeling, recognition, and appreciation were among the effective factors in empowerment of female librarians. On the other hand, poor organizational communication system, negative attitudes toward staff, and instructional management style were among the inhibiting factors in empowerment of female librarians in the opinion of female public library managers.

Originality/value

– Results of the present study can help managers of public libraries to identify factors affecting empowerment of female librarians’. Also the findings can be used in managers’ planning and decision-making process.
Library spaces in the 21st century
Authors: Seal Robert A
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Libraries and library professionals face multiple challenges in meeting user needs in the second decade of the new millennium. This is particularly true in academic libraries where students and faculty demand and expect fast, easy, and seamless access to information as well as flexible, comfortable places to work alone as well as collaboratively with colleagues, friends, classmates, and instructors. These same patrons often require the assistance of information specialists to navigate a library’s increasingly large array of online resources. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper provides historical context and reviews recent trends in the area in the area of learning and study spaces in academic libraries. It also cites the successful information commons at the author’s home institution, Loyola University Chicago, examining its first six years of operation and projecting changes in its next half decade.

Findings

– The past 15 plus years have seen a major shift in philosophy in the USA and in other parts of the globe in terms of the importance of “library as space” in enhancing the role of the college and university library. As a result, academic institutions, at the urging of librarians, have created spaces known as information commons, learning commons, research commons, etc. in response to user needs for access to technology, group work, social interaction, and knowledge creation.

Originality/value

– The information commons in all its forms has not been static, indeed it has matured, adapting over time to changing technologies, patron needs, and pedagogies.
Alkaline phosphatases are involved in the response of Aedes aegypti larvae to intoxication with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Cry toxins
Authors: Stalinski Renaud , Laporte Frédéric , Després Laurence , Tetreau Guillaume
Published: December 2015

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is a natural pathogen of dipterans widely used as a biological insecticide for mosquito control. To characterize the response of mosquitoes to intoxication with Bti, the transcriptome profile of Bti‐exposed susceptible Aedes aegypti larvae was analysed using Illumina RNA‐seq. Gene expression of 11 alkaline phosphatases (ALPs) was further investigated by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and ALP activity was measured in the susceptible strain and in four strains resistant to a single Bti Cry toxin or to Bti. These strains were unexposed or exposed to their toxin of selection. Although all resistant strains constitutively exhibited a higher level of transcription of ALP genes than the susceptible strain, they showed a lower total ALP activity. The intoxication with different individual Cry toxins triggered a global pattern of ALP gene under‐transcription in all the one‐toxin‐resistant strains but involving different specific sets of ALPs in each resistant phenotype. Most of the ALPs involved are not known Cry‐binding proteins. RNA interference experiment demonstrated that reducing ALP expression conferred increased the survival of larvae exposed to Cry4Aa, confirming the involvement of ALP in Cry4Aa toxicity.
How to capture the ‘wow’: R.R. Marett's notion of awe and the study of religion⋆
Authors: Meyer Birgit
Published: December 2015

Current scholarship in the social sciences and humanities, including the study of religion, shows a marked appraisal of bodily sensations, emotions, and experiences as eminently social and politico‐aesthetic phenomena (rather than reducing them to a matter of mere individual psychology). How to grasp the genesis of shared perceptions and feelings, and even some kind of ‘wow’ effect, in relation to a posited ‘beyond’ has become a central issue for scholars of religion today. Placed against the horizon of the material turn in the study of religion, R.R. Marett's approach to religion as an ‘organic complex of thought, emotion, and behaviour’ and his concept of awe gain renewed topicality. Engaging with Marett's ideas in the context of broader debates about religious experience, in this article (which is based on my 2014 Marett lecture) I call attention to the surplus generated in the interplay of religious things and bodily sensations and explore its role in politics and aesthetics of religious world‐making. My central point is that Marett's work offers valuable resources for an approach to religion that neither takes for granted the existence of a god or transcendental force (as in ontological approaches), nor invests in unmasking it as an illusion (as in critiques of religion as irrational), but instead undertakes a close study of the standardized methods that yield the fabrication of some kind of excess that points to a ‘beyond’ and yet is grounded in the here and now.
Third trimester screening for alloimmunisation in Rhc‐negative pregnant women: evaluation of the Dutch national screening programme
Authors: Slootweg YM , Koelewijn JM , van Kamp IL , van der Bom JG , Oepkes D , de Haas M
Published: December 2015

Objective

To evaluate the effect of red blood cell (RBC) antibody screening in the 27th week of pregnancy in Rhc‐negative women, on detection of alloimmunisation, undetected at first trimester screening (‘late’ alloimmunisation), and subsequent haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN), to assess risk factors for late alloimmunisation.

Design

Prospective cohort and nested case–control study.

Setting

The Netherlands.

Population

Two‐year nationwide cohort.

Methods

Prospective inclusion of Rhc‐negative women with negative first trimester screening and of screen‐negative controls. Assessment of incidence and numbers needed to screen (NNS) of late alloimmunisation and HDFN; logistic regression analysis to establish risk factors for late alloimmunisation.

Main outcome measures

Late alloimmunisation, HDFN.

Results

Late alloimmunisation occurred in 99 of 62 096 (0.159%) Rhc‐negative women; 90% had c/E antibodies and 10% non‐Rhesus antibodies. Severe HDFN (fetal/neonatal transfusion) occurred in two of 62 096 (0.003%) of Rhc‐negative women and 2% of late alloimmunisations; moderate HDFN (phototherapy) occurred in 20 children [22.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 13.8–31.1%]. Perinatal survival was 100%. The NNS to detect one HDFN case was 2823 (31 048 for severe, 3105 for moderate HDFN). Significant risk factors were former blood transfusion [odds ratio (OR), 10.4; 95% CI, 1.14–94.9], parity (P−1: OR, 11.8; 95% CI, 3.00–46.5; P > 1: OR, 7.77; 95% CI, 1.70–35.4) and amniocentesis/chorionic villus sampling during current pregnancy (OR, 9.20; 95% CI, 1.16–72.9).

Conclusions

Additional screening of Rhc‐negative women improved the detection of late alloimmunisation and HDFN, facilitating timely treatment, with a NNS of 2823. Independent risk factors for late alloimmunisation were blood transfusion, parity and chorionic villus sampling/amniocentesis in the current pregnancy. The occurrence of most factors before the current pregnancy suggests a secondary immune response explaining most late alloimmunisations.

Tweetable abstract

Third trimester screening for alloimmunisation in Rhc‐neg women improves detection and treatment of severe HDFN.
Genetic structure of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) population: Are tigers in Sikhote‐Alin and southwest Primorye truly isolated?
Authors: SOROKIN Pavel A. , ROZHNOV Vyatcheslav V. , KRASNENKO Anna U. , LUKAREVSKIY Victor S. , NAIDENKO Sergey V. , HERNANDEZ‐BLANCO Jose A.
Published: December 2015

We used molecular genetic analyses to noninvasively identify individual Amur tigers and define subpopulations of tigers in the Russian Far East. We identified 63 individuals after genotyping 256 feces, 7 hair and 11 blood samples collected within southern, central and northern Sikhote‐Alin, as well as Southwest Primorye. Analysis of nuclear DNA at 9 microsatellite loci demonstrated greater genetic similarity between animals from southern and northern Sikhote‐Alin (some 500 km apart) than between animals from Ussuriskii State Nature Reserve and Southwest Primorye (less than 10 km apart at their nearest point), suggesting that a true barrier exists preventing movements of tigers between Southwest Primorye and the southern Sikhote‐Alin Mountains.
Noninvasive genetics provides insights into the population size and genetic diversity of an Amur tiger population in China
Authors: WANG Dan , HU Yibo , MA Tianxiao , NIE Yonggang , XIE Yan , WEI Fuwen
Published: December 2015

Understanding population size and genetic diversity is critical for effective conservation of endangered species. The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is the largest felid and a flagship species for wildlife conservation. Due to habitat loss and human activities, available habitat and population size are continuously shrinking. However, little is known about the true population size and genetic diversity of wild tiger populations in China. In this study, we collected 55 fecal samples and 1 hair sample to investigate the population size and genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers in Hunchun National Nature Reserve, Jilin Province, China. From the samples, we determined that 23 fecal samples and 1 hair sample were from 7 Amur tigers: 2 males, 4 females and 1 individual of unknown sex. Interestingly, 2 fecal samples that were presumed to be from tigers were from Amur leopards, highlighting the significant advantages of noninvasive genetics over traditional methods in studying rare and elusive animals. Analyses from this sample suggested that the genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers is much lower than that of Bengal tigers, consistent with previous findings. Furthermore, the genetic diversity of this Hunchun population in China was lower than that of the adjoining subpopulation in southwest Primorye Russia, likely due to sampling bias. Considering the small population size and relatively low genetic diversity, it is urgent to protect this endangered local subpopulation in China.
Exfoliation syndrome: assembling the puzzle pieces
Authors: Pasquale Louis R. , Borrás Terete , Fingert John H. , Wiggs Janey L. , Ritch Robert
Published: December 2015

Purpose

To summarize various topics and the cutting edge approaches to refineXFSpathogenesis that were discussed at the 21st annual Glaucoma Foundation Think Tank meeting in New York City, Sept. 19–20, 2014.

Methods

The highlights of three categories of talks on cutting edge research in the field were summarized.

Results

Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a systemic disorder with a substantial ocular burden, including high rates of cataract, cataract surgery complications, glaucoma and retinal vein occlusion. New information aboutXFSis akin to puzzle pieces that do not quite join together to reveal a clear picture regarding how exfoliation material (XFM) forms.

Conclusion

Meeting participants concluded that it is unclear how the mild homocysteinemia seen inXFSmight contribute to the disarrayed extracellular aggregates characteristic of this syndrome. Lysyl oxidase‐like 1 (LOXL1) variants are unequivocally genetic risk factors forXFSbut exactly how these variants contribute to the assembly of exfoliation material (XFM) remains unclear. Variants in a new genomic region,CACNA1Aassociated withXFS, may alter calcium concentrations at the cell surface and facilitateXFMformation but much more work is needed before we can place this new finding in proper context. It is hoped that various animal model andex vivosystems will emerge that will allow for proper assembly of the puzzle pieces into a coherent picture ofXFSpathogenesis. A clear understanding ofXFSpathogenesis may lead to ‘upstream solutions’ to reduce the ocular morbidity produced byXFS.
Workplace Conditions and Employer Relationships as Predictors of Economic Well‐Being: Female Domestic Workers in India
Authors: Gurtoo Anjula
Published: December 2015

This article explores the intersectional role played by the various categories of workplace dynamics of female domestic workers in India. It models crucial aspects of a range of workplace conditions and employee‐employer relationship and empowerment factors, as predictors of the economic well‐being of domestic workers. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey of 487 domestic workers in two cities of the Indian state of Karnataka, conducted July–December 2014. The prediction models reveal intersectionality: female domestic workers are disadvantaged by inequalities caused by two unique aspects of their work, namely, the feminization of this work as naturalized labor that women do because of their innate caring characteristics, and the employer‐employee relationship where the focus of work is the intimate private space of the employer. Empowerment factors, therefore, become additionally significant for their protection from exploitation and abuse. This paper highlights the conflicting role played by empowerment and concludes by discussing implications for legislation and policy.
Assessing epistemic sophistication by considering domain‐specific absolute and multiplicistic beliefs separately
Authors: Peter Johannes , Rosman Tom , Mayer Anne‐Kathrin , Leichner Nikolas , Krampen Günter
Published: December 2015

Background

Particularly in higher education, not only a view of science as a means of finding absolute truths (absolutism), but also a view of science as generally tentative (multiplicism) can be unsophisticated and obstructive for learning. Most quantitative epistemic belief inventories neglect this and understand epistemic sophistication as disagreement with absolute statements.

Aims

This article suggests considering absolutism and multiplicism as separate dimensions. Following our understanding of epistemic sophistication as a cautious and reluctant endorsement of both positions, we assume evaluativism (a contextually adaptive view of knowledge as personally constructed and evidence‐based) to be reflected by low agreement with both generalized absolute and generalized multiplicistic statements.

Samples

Three studies with a total sample size of N = 416 psychology students were conducted.

Methods

A domain‐specific inventory containing both absolute and multiplicistic statements was developed. Expectations were tested by exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlational analyses.

Results

Results revealed a two‐factor solution with an absolute and a multiplicistic factor. Criterion validity of both factors was confirmed. Cross‐sectional analyses revealed that agreement to generalized multiplicistic statements decreases with study progress. Moreover, consistent with our understanding of epistemic sophistication as a reluctant attitude towards generalized epistemic statements, evidence for a negative relationship between epistemic sophistication and need for cognitive closure was found.

Conclusions

We recommend including multiplicistic statements into epistemic belief questionnaires and considering them as a separate dimension, especially when investigating individuals in later stages of epistemic development (i.e., in higher education).
Kids just wanna have fun: Children's experiences of a weight management programme
Authors: Watson Libby A. , Baker Martyn C. , Chadwick Paul M.
Published: December 2015

Objectives

To explore children's accounts of their experiences of the UK‘s largest childhood obesity programme, MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!) (See www.mendprogramme.org).

Design

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with children who had completed the MEND obesity programme. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Method

Fourteen children spanning diverse areas of London comprised this study (eight male, six female), aged between 11 and 14 years and in secondary school. Participants were interviewed a year after completing one of the London‐based MEND obesity programmes.

Results

This article focuses on the most common and striking theme to emerge from the original dataset (The complete analysis may be found in L. Watson, Unpublished doctoral thesis): Fun. Subthemes were: ‘going with the flow’; active participation in activities that led to new experiences (‘actually doing it’ – seeing the fun side); the importance of others in the experience of fun (‘you do games in unity’ – ‘it's not as fun on your own’).

Conclusion

Children have fun when engaged in interactive and varied activities with opportunity for individual feedback and improvement. When designing childhood obesity programmes, conditions that optimise children's experience of fun should be emphasised over didactic and risk‐heavy information pertaining to childhood obesity.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Continued growth in childhood obesity and its associated health problems, psychological effects, and economic burden make tackling childhood obesity a public health priority.

Multicomponent lifestyle interventions to treat childhood obesity within the community have been shown to reduce overweight and obesity from pre‐ to post‐treatment, increase self‐esteem, and are found to be acceptable by parents.

MEND is the most widely disseminated evidence‐based programme of this kind in the United Kingdom.

What does this study add?

This study is the first qualitative study to explore the child's experience of attending MEND.

The post‐treatment maintenance period, where most behaviour change is consolidated (or not), is also captured in this study, with children interviewed at least 1 year post‐treatment.

Findings unearthed an unexpected and strong theme – that of ‘fun’ – integral to their experience during their time at MEND. Optimizing conditions for fun is imperative to children's (and adults’?) engagement with, and maintenance of, healthy lifestyle activities.
The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2015/16: G protein‐coupled receptors
Authors: Alexander Stephen PH , Davenport Anthony P , Kelly Eamonn , Marrion Neil , Peters John A , Benson Helen E , Faccenda Elena , Pawson Adam J , Sharman Joanna L , Southan Christopher , Davies Jamie A ,   CGTP Collaborators
Published: December 2015

The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2015/16 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 1750 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found athttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.13348/full. G protein‐coupled receptors are one of the eight major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: ligand‐gated ion channels, voltage‐gated ion channels, other ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. The Concise Guide is published in landscape format in order to facilitate comparison of related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2015, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the websitewww.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in the previous Guides to Receptors & Channels and the Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14. It is produced in conjunction with NC‐IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR‐DB and GRAC and provides a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record that will survive database updates.
Different Executive Functions Support Different Kinds of Cognitive Flexibility: Evidence From 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐Year‐Olds
Authors: Blakey Emma , Visser Ingmar , Carroll Daniel J.
Published: December 2015

Improvements in cognitive flexibility during the preschool years have been linked to developments in both working memory and inhibitory control, though the precise contribution of each remains unclear. In the current study, one hundred and twenty 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐year‐olds completed two rule‐switching tasks. In one version, children switched rules in the presence of conflicting information, and in the other version, children switched rules in the presence of distracting information. Switching in the presence of conflict improved rapidly between the ages of 3 and 3.5 years, and was associated with better working memory. Conversely, switching in the presence of distraction developed significantly between the ages of 2 and 3 years, and was associated with better inhibitory control.
Obesity services: how best to develop a coherent way forward
Authors: Barth Julian H. , O'Kane Mary
Published: December 2015

Obesity now affects 25% of the UK population. This volume of patients cannot be managed by current NHS services. It really needs a public health approach which encourages an environment where it is easier for the public to take healthy rather than unhealthy actions. However, there remain substantial numbers of patients who will benefit from medical intervention. This needs a joined‐up service which extends from a healthy environment, linking gyms, weight loss groups, community cooking lessons, etc. with pathways connecting primary and secondary healthcare. To date, the National Health Service has not managed to develop a coherent policy that addresses obesity as a major cause of health and social care expenditure. The most important step in primary care is probably to identify the presence of obesity. The medical steps should be in the identification and management of comorbidities. The purpose of treating obesity is not weight loss alone but improving health, so the narrative needs to change from weight to blood pressure, glucose tolerance, physical fitness, etc. Many physicians believe that weight loss is an unwinnable battle but there are several well conducted studies in which primary care, supported by specialists, can deliver successful clinical weight loss. Specialist medical and surgical care for obesity will be required for complex cases and is essential for overseeing long‐term postsurgical follow‐up to prevent and treat nutritional and metabolic complications. Obesity management suffers from a lack of coherent national public health policies, fragmentation of care and a lack of knowledge of what successful treatment entails. Health benefits do not require a return to a healthy BMI.
What are the reasons for improved survival following spine fusion for severe scoliosis in Rett syndrome?
Authors: Humphreys Peter
Published: December 2015

This commentary is on the original article by Downs et al. on pages 632–638 of this issue.
Apparent subadditivity of the efficacy of initial combination treatments for type 2 diabetes is largely explained by the impact of baseline HbA1c on efficacy
Authors: Polidori D. , Capuano G. , Qiu R.
Published: December 2015

Aim

To explain the subadditive efficacy typically observed with initial combination treatments for type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Individual subject data from 1186 patients with type 2 diabetes [mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) = 8.8%] treated with metformin, canagliflozin or canagliflozin + metformin were used. The baseline HbA1c versus ΔHbA1c relationships for monotherapy arms were determined using analysis of covariance and then used to predict efficacy in the combination arms by modelling how applying one treatment lowers the ‘effective baseline HbA1c’ for a second treatment. The model was further tested using data from several published combination studies.

Results

The mean ΔHbA1c levels were −1.25, −1.33, −1.37, −1.77 and −1.81% with metformin, canagliflozin 100 mg, canagliflozin 300 mg, canagliflozin 100 mg/metformin and canagliflozin 300 mg/metformin, respectively. Using the monotherapy results, the predicted efficacy for the canagliflozin/metformin arms was within 10% of the observed values using the new model, whereas assuming simple additivity overpredicted efficacy in the combination arms by nearly 50%. For 10 other published initial combination studies, predictions from the new model [mean (standard error) predicted ΔHbA1c = 1.67% (0.14)] were much more consistent with observed values [ΔHbA1c = 1.72% (0.12)] than predictions based on assuming additivity [predicted ΔHbA1c = 2.19% (0.21)].

Conclusions

The less‐than‐additive efficacy commonly seen with initial combination treatments for type 2 diabetes can be largely explained by the impact of baseline HbA1c on the efficacy of individual treatments. Novel formulas have been developed for predicting the efficacy of combination treatments based on the efficacy of individual treatments and the baseline HbA1c of the target patients.
New insulin glargine 300 U/ml versus glargine 100 U/ml in Japanese people with type 2 diabetes using basal insulin and oral antihyperglycaemic drugs: glucose control and hypoglycaemia in a randomized controlled trial (EDITION JP 2)
Authors: Terauchi Y. , Koyama M. , Cheng X. , Takahashi Y. , Riddle M. C. , Bolli G. B. , Hirose T.
Published: December 2015

Aims

To compare the efficacy and safety of insulin glargine 300 U/ml (Gla‐300) with glargine 100 U/ml (Gla‐100) in Japanese people with type 2 diabetes using basal insulin plus oral antihyperglycaemic drug(s) [OAD(s)].

Methods

The EDITION JP 2 study (NCT01689142) was a 6‐month, multicentre, open‐label, phase III study. Participants (n = 241, male 61%, mean diabetes duration 14 years, mean weight 67 kg, mean body mass index 25 kg/m2, mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 8.02 %, mean basal insulin dose 0.24 U/kg/day) were randomized to Gla‐300 or Gla‐100, while continuing OAD(s). Basal insulin was titrated to target fasting self‐monitored plasma glucose 4.4−5.6 mmol/l. The primary efficacy endpoint was HbA1c change over 6 months. Safety endpoints included hypoglycaemia and weight change.

Results

Gla‐300 was non‐inferior to Gla‐100 for HbA1c reduction [least squares (LS) mean difference 0.10 (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.08, 0.27) %]. The mean HbA1c at month 6 was 7.56 and 7.52 % with Gla‐300 and Gla‐100, respectively. Nocturnal confirmed (≤3.9 mmol/l) or severe hypoglycaemia risk was 38% lower with Gla‐300 versus Gla‐100 [relative risk 0.62 (95% CI 0.44, 0.88)]; annualized rates were 55% lower at night [rate ratio 0.45 (95% CI 0.21, 0.96)] and 36% lower at any time [24 h; rate ratio 0.64 (95% CI 0.43, 0.96)]. Severe hypoglycaemia was infrequent. A significant between‐treatment difference in weight change favoured Gla‐300 [LS mean difference −1.0 (95% CI −1.5, −0.5) kg; p = 0.0003]. Adverse event rates were comparable between groups.

Conclusions

Japanese people with type 2 diabetes using basal insulin plus OAD(s) experienced less hypoglycaemia with Gla‐300 than with Gla‐100, while glycaemic control did not differ.