bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Restoring Segmental Biomechanics Through Nucleus Augmentation
Authors: Pelletier Matthew H. , Cohen Charles S. , Ducheyne Paul , Walsh William R.
Published: October 2013

Study Design:

In vitro biomechanical laboratory study.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a mechanical treatment to create a degenerative motion segment and the ability of nucleus augmentation to restore biomechanics.

Summary of Background:

In cases with an intact annulus fibrosus, the replacement or augmentation of the nucleus pulposus alone may provide a less invasive option to restore normal biomechanics and disk height when compared with spinal fusion or total disk replacement. Laboratory testing allows these changes to be fully characterized. However, without preexisting pathology, nucleus augmentation therapies are difficult to evaluate in vitro.

Methods:

The present study evaluated pure moment bending and compressive biomechanics in 3 states (n=6): (1) intact, (2) after creep loading and nucleus disruption to induce degenerative biomechanical changes, and (3) after nucleus augmentation through an injectable polymer (DiscCell).

Results:

Neutral zone and ROM were increased in all modes of bending after the degenerative treatment. The most sensitive mode of bending was lateral bending, with intact ROM (20.0±2.9 degrees) increased to 22.3±2.6 degrees after degenerative treatment and reduced to 18.4±1.6 degrees after injection of the polymer. All bending ROM and NZ changes induced by the degenerative treatment were reversed by nucleus augmentation.

Conclusions:

This material was shown to be effective at altering motion segment biomechanics and restoring disk height during time zero tests. This technique may provide a model to examine the time zero performance of a nucleus augmentation device/material.
Feasibility of Percutaneous Posterolateral Spinal Fusion With Recombinant Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (rhBMP-2)
Authors: Chan Chris Yin Wei , Kwan Mun Keong , Saw Lim Beng , Paisal Hussin
Published: October 2013

Background Context:

The clinical application of recombinant bone morphogenetic protein in spinal surgery has been shown to be safe and effective. However, its use in minimally invasive spine surgery has been limited to anterior interbody fusion procedures. To date, no study has evaluated the feasibility of percutaneous posterolateral fusion in the spine utilizing recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2).

Purpose:

To evaluate the feasibility of percutaneous posterolateral fusion in the spine utilizing rhBMP-2.

Study Design:

Animal study.

Methods:

This is an animal research model involving 32 New Zealand white rabbits stratified into 4 study groups: control, autogenous iliac crest bone graft (ICBG), demineralized bone matrix (DBM), and rhBMP-2 groups, with 8 study subjects per group. The rhBMP-2 group was subdivided into the open technique (right side) and the percutaneous technique groups (left side). Fusion was graded at 6 weeks and 3 months after plain radiography, computed tomography, and clinical assessment with the following grading system: grade A, no bone formation; grade B, non-bridging bone formation; grade C, fusion; and grade D, fusion with ectopic bone formation.

Results:

No fusion was noted in the placebo and the DBM groups. However, in the DBM group, bone formation occurred in 37.5% of the subjects. The rhBMP-2 group had a higher fusion rate compared with the ICBG group at 6 weeks and 3 months. The fusion rate for the ICBG, the rhBMP-2 (open), and the rhBMP-2 (percutaneous) groups were 37.5%, 87.5%, and 50.0% at 6 weeks and 50.0%, 100.0%, and 62.5% at 3 months, respectively. Ectopic bone formation occurred in 12.5% of the cases in the rhBMP-2 (percutaneous) group and in 25.0% of the cases in the rhBMP-2 (open) group.

Conclusions:

Usage of rhBMP-2 is feasible for percutaneous posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine in this animal model. However, a more precise delivery system might improve the fusion rate when the percutaneous technique is used. A significant rate of ectopic bone formation occurred when rhBMP-2 was used.
Development and Validation of a Pediatric IBD Knowledge Inventory Device
Authors: Haaland Derek , Day Andrew S. , Otley Anthony
Published: October 2013

Objectives:

Questionnaires exist to assess inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)–related knowledge of adults. Owing to wording and content concerns, these were believed to be inappropriate for use in pediatric patients. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess disease‐related knowledge of pediatric patients with IBD and their parents.

Methods:

Following a formal process of item generation and reduction, the IBD‐Knowledge Inventory Device was developed and pilot tested. It was administered to 10‐ to 17‐year‐old patients with IBD, and to 1 of each of their parents. To evaluate its discriminatory validity, pediatric residents, nurses, and ward clerks completed the questionnaire.

Results:

A total of 99 patients (mean 42, Crohn disease 46, age 14(±2) years) and 99 parents completed the IBD‐Knowledge Inventory Device. Parent knowledge scores, 15(±4), were higher than those of patients, 11(±4), P < 0.001. Patient and parent knowledge scores were strongly correlated (r = 0.62, P < 0.001). Patient knowledge score was significantly related to disease type (Crohn disease scored higher than ulcerative colitis, P = 0.004) and to perceived knowledge level (P < 0.001) by regression analysis. Similarly, parent knowledge score was significantly related to sex (girls scored higher, P = 0.014), postsecondary education (P < 0.001), and perceived knowledge level (P = 0.002). The questionnaire scores of 23 were 19, 16, and 10, respectively, for residents, nurses, and ward clerks. Both residents and nurses scored significantly higher than ward clerks (P = 0.001 for both).

Conclusions:

A valid IBD‐related knowledge assessment questionnaire was developed for use in older children and adolescents with IBD and their parents.
Long-term exercise is needed to enhance synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus
Authors: Patten Anna R. , Sickmann Helle , Hryciw Brett N. , Kucharsky Tessa , Parton Roberta , Kernick Aimee , Christie Brian R.
Published: October 2013

Exercise can have many benefits for the body, but it also benefits the brain by increasing neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and performance on learning and memory tasks. The period of exercise needed to realize the structural and functional benefits for the brain have not been well delineated, and previous studies have used periods of exercise exposure that range from as little as 3 d to up to 6 mo. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effects of differential running periods (3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 d) on both structural (cell proliferation and maturation) and functional (in vivo LTP) changes in the dentate gyrus of adult male Sprague–Dawley rats. We found that voluntary access to a running wheel for both short- and long-term periods can increase cell proliferation in the adult DG; however, increases in neurogenesis required longer term exposure to exercise. Increases in immature neurons were not observed until animals had been running for a minimum of 14 d. Similarly, short-term periods of wheel running did not facilitate LTP in the DG of adult animals, and reliable increases in LTP were only observed with 56 d of running. These results provide us with a greater understanding of the time course of wheel running access needed to enhance DG function. Furthermore, the results indicate that the new neurons produced in response to exercise in rats do not contribute significantly to synaptic plasticity until they mature.
Sex differences in the generalization of fear as a function of retention intervals
Authors: Lynch Joseph , Cullen Patrick K. , Jasnow Aaron M. , Riccio David C.
Published: October 2013

In previous studies using male rodents, context change disrupted a fear response at a short, but not a long, retention interval. Here, we examined the effects of context changes on fear responses as a function of time in male and female rats. Males displayed context discrimination at all intervals, whereas females exhibited generalization by 5 d. Ovariectomized females with no hormone replacement displayed context discrimination at 5 d, whereas those receiving 17β-estradiol generalized their fear response to a neutral context. These results demonstrate that fear generalization for contextual cues occurs faster in female rats and is mediated, in part, by estrogens.
Mitigation of stress corrosion cracking of carbon steel exposed to CO-CO2-H2O environments through inhibitor addition
Authors: Du Toit Madeleine , Willem Van der Merwe Josias
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This investigation aims to find the degree of passivation required to completely inhibit the stress corrosion cracking of carbon steel exposed to CO-CO2-H2O environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– A516 pressure vessel steel was exposed to distilled water with 25 per cent CO and 75 per cent CO2 at an overall pressure of 800 kPa with the introduction of potassium bichromate as an additional inhibitor. Slow strain-rate tests were performed to evaluate the steel for sensitivity to cracking. Electrochemical characteristics were investigated in parallel in order to determine the extent of passivation required with the addition of the inhibitor.

Findings

– Slow strain-rate tests showed that between 100 and 1,000 ppm potassium bichromate was required to completely mitigate cracking with a significant reduction in passivation current densities.

Research limitations/implications

– The chosen inhibitor is not ideal for practical applications as an inhibitor, but gave an indication of the passivation required.

Practical implications

– The results showed that the added inhibitor might even cause increased sensitivity to cracking in this environment, with significant passivation required for resistance to cracking.

Originality/value

– The degree of passivation required for complete resistance of carbon steel in 25 per cent CO-75 per cent CO2-H2O.
“Woman” on the move: mobile subjectivities after intersectionality
Authors: B. Calás Marta , Ou Han , Smircich Linda
Published: October 2013

Purpose

–The paper originated in challenges trying to theorize and research practices and processes of actors engaged in transnational activities for business and everyday life. Key concern was the assumption that actors’ identities remain the same regardless of time/space. While intersectional analysis once seemed a reasonable analytical approach the authors wondered about starting from identity-based categorical schemes in a world where mobility may be ever more the ontological status of everyday experiences and social structuring. Thus, the paper addresses limitations of intersectional analysis in such situations and advances its recasting via mobile conceptualizations, redressing its analytical purchase for contemporary subject formation.

Design/methodology/approach

– Discusses emergence of intersectionality at a particular point in time, its success and proliferation, and more recent critiques of these ideas. Develops alternative conceptualization – mobile subjectivities – via literatures on mobilities in the context of globalization. Illustrates the value of these arguments with ethnographic examples from a multi-sited ethnographic project and analyses. Concludes by examining implications for new feminist theorizations under neoliberalism and globalization.

Findings

– Observing the constitution of a “mobile selfhood” in actual transnational business activities is a step toward making sense of complex processes in contemporary subject formation under globalized market neoliberalism.

Research limitations/implications

– “Mobile subjectivities” suggest that analyses of oppression and subordination must be ongoing, no matter which “new subjectivities” may appear under “the latest regime.”

Originality/value

– Theoretical and empirical analyses facilitated a reconceptualization of intersectionality as a mobile, precarious, and transitory accomplishment of selfhood temporarily fixed by the neoliberal rhetoric of “choice” and “self-empowerment.” This is of particular value for understanding transnational practices and processes of contemporary organizational actors.
What explains the high capital intensity of Indian manufacturing?
Authors: Hasan Rana , Mitra Devashish , Sundaram Asha
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to focus on the role of labor regulation and credit market imperfections, in addition to that of factor endowments, in determining capital intensities in Indian manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper considers an alternative approach to identifying the effects of India ' s labor regulations on industrial performance. In particular, the paper uses a measure of the stringency of labor regulations across countries – one that is completely independent of the India-specific measures used by earlier studies – and examines its relationship with capital intensities across manufacturing industries. Additionally, since labor regulations are unlikely to be the only reason for imperfections in factor markets, the paper also examines whether and to what extent capital market imperfections affect capital intensities across manufacturing industries. The paper then presents a case study that seeks to ascertain whether actual capital intensities prevailing in Indian manufacturing in major industry groups from 1989 to 1996 were larger than predicted capital intensities for these industry groups based on relative factor demand functions estimated for the USA (a country with relatively less restrictive labor laws and a more developed financial system) evaluated at Indian wages. Finally, the paper uses a recently available dataset to compare capital intensities in Indian and Chinese manufacturing to investigate the behavior of these two emerging Asian economies since 1980, when they started out with relatively similar socio-economic conditions.

Findings

– The paper finds that India uses more capital-intensive techniques of production in manufacturing than countries at similar levels of development (and similar factor endowments), including China. For a majority of manufacturing industries, labor freedom and capital market development are, in addition to factor endowments, important determinants of capital intensity of production techniques used. Results reveal that, controlling for factor prices, India specializes in more capital-intensive varieties within broad industry groups relative to the USA, a more capital-abundant economy.

Originality/value

– To the best of the authors ' knowledge, such a study has not been done for any other country. The paper sheds light on the important issue regarding the use of capital-intensive techniques in manufacturing in India, which is a labor-abundant country. The role of labor regulation has been extensively debated and the paper also investigates its role along with the role played by credit market imperfections.
An analysis of price interventions in an era of reform reversal
Authors: Banerjee Priyodorshi
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– To analyse the implications of signs of reform modification, stoppage or reversal, such as price controls, that have emerged in many developing economies, it is necessary to understand their efficiency consequences. This paper aims to study the effect of price interventions in imperfectly competitive product markets, to investigate whether reforms reversals are necessarily harmful.

Design/methodology/approach

– The model assumes firm set prices and face sunk costs of entry.

Findings

– The paper shows that a minimum price can induce a Pareto improvement, by preventing price wars and encouraging entry. The result is supported by empirical evidence from some developed economies, holds when sunk cost vanishes, and is robust to some extensions. A fixed price may be optimal in the environment investigated.

Originality/value

– The results may be of interest to theorists and policy-makers interested in imperfectly competitive markets.
Laying the path: governance in early internet design
Authors: Braman Sandra
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This article aims to present an analysis of ideas and practices regarding governance of and by the network design process by participants in the technical design process during the first decade (1969-1979) as recorded in the technical document series that provides both the medium for and the history of that design process, the Internet RFCs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research was conducted via a comprehensive inductive and adductive reading of all of the publicly available documents in the series from its launch in October of 1969 through the close of 1979.

Findings

– The findings show that internet designers were well aware that the infrastructure they were building was social as well as technical in nature. They were concerned about both governmental constraints on the design process (governance of) and about how protocol compliance could be achieved (governance by the network design process). As do informational states, network designers developed governance tools that affected the identity, structure, borders, and change in social, informational, and technological systems. The dual faces of network governance reveal tensions between the network political and the geopolitical.

Originality/value

– This work contributes to our understanding of the interactions between the social and the technical in the course of the internet design process as it was expressed in concerns about governance by others and of others brought up in the course of resolving technical design problems. Methodologically, the research provides a model of one approach to analyzing the development of governance mechanisms and specific policies along sociotechnical boundaries.
A challenging model: CEFAM's transatlantic BBA
Authors: Kissane Dylan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This article aims to explore the challenges a small but successful business school in France has faced in designing and developing a multi-partner, degree-granting international BBA program.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article draws on interviews and discussions with faculty and administrative staff responsible for designing, developing and implementing the international BBA over the quarter century it has been in place.

Findings

– The article identifies three key challenges faced by CEFAM in delivering the international BBA, offers examples of each, and explains how these challenges were overcome or the risks mitigated. In addition, the article exposes two future challenges to the success of the international BBA.

Practical implications

– The article allows directors of international partnerships or those considering undertaking international degree-granting partnerships to identify challenges and plan for risks associated with those challenges. The article also identifies a significant challenge to future transatlantic collaboration by the proposed EU-US Free Trade Agreement.

Originality/value

– The paper is the first focused on the long-term degree-granting partnership between a private French business school and US AACSB accredited schools. It will be of value to administrators and directors in or considering comparable partnerships in Europe, the USA, and elsewhere internationally.
Researching SME/entrepreneurial research
Authors: Gilmore Audrey , McAuley Andrew , Gallagher Damian , Massiera Philippe , Gamble Jordan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to focus on how SMEs have been researched in the first 12 years of the new millennium and published inJRMEbetween 2000 and 2011. There have been many studies on how SME owner/managers do business, their decision-making processes and ways of delivering marketing activities, and many different methodologies have been used.

Design/methodology/approach

– All of the papers published inJRMEfrom 2000 to 2011 were analysed using content analysis with Nvivo 9 in relation to the SME definitions used, methodology employed, geographical coverage and the business sectors covered.

Findings

– Within the context of a wider study of 14 international journals on small business and entrepreneurship, this paper presents the findings that have emerged from theJRMEjournal according to the SME definitions used, methodology employed, geographical coverage and the business sectors' covered.

Originality/value

– This study provides some findings in relation to the variety of studies carried out and the research presented in theJRMEover a 12-year period.
Idealism is not enough: designing peace into medical education
Authors: Dunne David , Geppert Amanda , Ann Courneya Carol
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Physicians' uniquely privileged social status gives them influence to help prevent conflict in addition to treating its victims. Yet the peacebuilding role of physicians has received little attention in medical education. In this paper, the authors tackle both and provide some concrete guidance to medical schools interested in taking it on.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using Qualitative Description, a review of literature and expert interviews in violence prevention, peacebuilding, medicine and medical education, three statements are posited: improved healthcare may enhance the prospects for peace; there are mechanisms by which healthcare may potentially enhance peacebuilding; and medical education can be designed to support these mechanisms. A “peace audit” is developed against which to evaluate the efforts of medical schools towards peacebuilding. This audit is used to assess a medical school in Nepal that is invested in peacebuilding.

Findings

– Medicine has a role, both in resolving conflict, and in preventing its occurrence. The experts believe that physicians have a responsibility to go further than treating the wounded and address the root cause of conflict: the structural violence of poverty and economic disparity.

Originality/value

– This paper considers the mechanisms by which medicine supports peacebuilding, and the consequences of this for medical education. The literature to date has not dealt with this issue.
Waste savings in patient transportation inside large hospitals using lean thinking tools and logistic solutions
Authors: Chiarini Andrea
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper deals with the issue of patient transportation inside large public hospitals and its costs. This cost is often related to transportation within departments, wards and outpatient clinics. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate through a qualitative case study how particular tools derived from Lean Thinking such as spaghetti chart, value stream mapping and activity worksheet can help to reduce costs related to patient transportation and other kinds of wastes. In particular the case study analyses the patient path in case of trauma with suspected fractures from the emergency department to patient discharge or hospitalisation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a qualitative case study. Although the case study has been carried out in a large Italian public hospital, the results can be generalised to all hospitals that are trying to reduce the cost of patient transportation and other kinds of wastes. Indeed, the Lean Thinking tools used here are suitable for all healthcare industries.

Findings

– The paper demonstrates how tools that were typically derived from the manufacturing sector can also be suitable for the healthcare sector. The results achieved have reduced the average lead time of the patient from the emergency department to hospitalisation or discharge. Considering that the patient paths are made with a stretcher or with a wheelchair pushed by a nurse, the reduced lead time leads to an interesting cost reduction.

Practical implications

– This paper is particularly helpful for healthcare practitioners. Managers and practitioners inside healthcare organisations could apply the same logistic solutions and the same tools to analyse the cost of many processes and specifically those in patient path and transportation.

Originality/value

– The paper addresses the literature gap regarding the use of specific tools such as spaghetti chart and activity worksheet in the large hospitals.
Ethics training for accountants: does it add up?
Authors: Taylor Adriaan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to investigate the effectiveness of an International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)-aligned business ethics course in relation to its ability to positively influence the ethical sensitivity of accounting students.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a quantitative, quasi-experimental design, senior accounting students were subjected to a pre- and post-test, measuring ethical sensitivity, with an IFAC-aligned business ethics course as the intervention. Multivariate analysis also focused on the interrelation of demographic characteristics with ethical sensitivity.

Findings

– The results indicate that the business ethics course was indeed effective in increasing the ethical sensitivity of accounting students. Students' demographic characteristics, in terms of accounting specialisation area and years of work experience, did play a role in the extent of their changes in ethical sensitivity. However, gender and previous ethics education as influencing factor in ethical sensitivity was negated.

Research limitations/implications

– The study focused on the first component (ethical sensitivity) of Rest's four-component model that predicts ethical behaviour. Additional research is therefore needed into the other components in Rest's model and their respective interrelations. The current study also used a small convenience sample rather than one that was randomly selected. The findings in this study do, however, add to the limited body of evidence on ethical sensitivity in accounting education world-wide.

Practical implications

– The results can assist accounting professional bodies, associated higher education institutions and accounting firms in implementing specific educational interventions to develop greater ethical sensitivity in prospective and current accountants.

Originality/value

– The audit failures at the start of this century placed a renewed focus on the ethical behaviour of accountants. Consequently, ethics training was included in the curriculum of aspiring accountants. The research that informed this article attempted to gauge the effectiveness of this response, given the current knowledge gap, specifically in the South African context. Professional accounting bodies, associated higher education institutions and accounting firms could use the curriculum design presented in this study to implement a similar intervention. Such interventions could enhance the ethical behaviour of both prospective and current accountants, and this, in turn, should aid in lessening ethical crises, thus protecting the social stature of the accounting profession.
Analysis of factors influencing delamination in milling process of glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials
Authors: Mugundhu Jenarthanan , Jeyapaul R. , Neeli Naresh
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for delamination through response surface methodology (RSM) and analyse the influences of the entire individual input machining parameters (cutting speed, depth of cut and feed rate) on the responses in milling of glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP) composites with solid carbide end mill cutter coated with polycrystalline diamond (PCD).

Design/methodology/approach

– Three factors, three levels face-centered central composite design matrix in RSM is employed to carry out the experimental investigation. Shop microscope is used to examine the delamination of GFRP composites. The “Design Expert 8.0” software was used for regression and graphical analysis of the data collected. Analysis of variance is used to check the validity of the model and for finding the significant parameters.

Findings

– The developed second-order response surface model is used to calculate the delamination of the machined surfaces at different cutting conditions with the chosen range of 95 per cent confidence intervals. Analysis of the influences of the entire individual input machining parameters on the delamination has been carried out using RSM.

Originality/value

– Influence of solid carbide end mill coated with PCD on delamination of bi-directional GFRP composite during milling has not been analysed yet using RSM.
Effects of geometric and material properties on electrical power harvested from a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam
Authors: Chandrasekharan Nataraj , Ju Jaehyung , Thompson Lonny
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model is developed to design a vibrating bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam with lead zirconate titanate (PZT-5H) for energy harvesting. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A parametric study of electric power generated as a function of the dielectric constant, transverse piezoelectric strain constant, length and thickness of the piezoelectric material, is conducted for a time-harmonic surface pressure load. Transversely isotropic elastic and piezoelectric properties are assigned to the bimorph layers with brass chosen as the substrate material in the three-dimensional FE model. Using design of experiments, a study was conducted to determine the sensitivity of power with respect to the geometric and material variables.

Findings

– The numerical analysis shows that a uniform decrease in thickness and length coverage of the piezoelectric layers results in a nonlinear reduction in power amplitude, which suggests optimal values. The piezoelectric strain coefficient, d31 and the thickness of PZT-5H, tp, are the most important design parameters to generate high electric energy for bimorph vibration harvesting device.

Originality/value

– The work demonstrates that, through a sensitivity analysis, the electro-mechanical piezoelectric coupling coefficient (d31) and the thickness of the piezoelectric strips (tp) are the most important parameters which have a significant effect on power harvested.
An empirical examination of service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior
Authors: Yung Chou Shih , Lopez-Rodriguez Erlinda
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we explore the relationship between organizational justice and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (SOCB). In particular, we focus on perceived distributive and procedural justice. Second, we examine the moderating effect of the need for achievement and need for affiliation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employed an online cross-sectional survey approach and distributed questionnaires to service employees at a large service organization. Data were analyzed with a two-step structural equation modeling technique using LISREL 8.7.

Findings

– Perceived procedural justice significantly predicts SOCB. Additionally, the need for affiliation positively moderates the relationship between perceived procedural justice and SOCB, whereas the need for achievement positively moderates the relationship between perceived distributive justice and SOCB.

Practical implications

– Results confirm the importance of establishing and implementing transparent formal organizational processes and procedures for evaluating outcomes of service employees. We recommend service organizations to communicate proactively with employees about how formal organizational systems are implemented, and provide employees with examples and cases that illustrate how performance appraisals are performed. Moreover, supervisors in service organizations need to establish and maintain high quality of social exchange relationships with employees by providing personal coaching and counseling. Furthermore, service organizations need to establish a positive and friendly performance appraisal environment and offer trainings on how to satisfy unpredictable customer demand to employees.

Originality/value

– Given the growth of commercial services in the USA and the limited existing knowledge on SOCB, this study provides scholars and practitioner with suggestions and recommendations on how SOCB can be encouraged in service settings.
Polypyrrole in water borne epoxy coating
Authors: Mahanwar Prakash , Sathyanarayana Abhijit , Bambole Vaishali , Sabharwal Sunil
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper aims to discuss the evaluation of anti-corrosive efficiency of conducting polymer, polypyrrole in water borne epoxy-polyamine coatings.

Design/methodology/approach

– Polypyrrole (PPy) is synthesised by chemical oxidative polymerisation. The synthesised PPy is characterised by employing FT-IR, XRD, SEM and EDX analysis. The coatings are formulated using water borne epoxy cross-linked with aliphatic polyamine adduct and the effect of PPy on corrosion prevention is studied. PPy was used as anti-corrosive pigment in concentration varying from 1 to 5 wt.%. In addition to anti-corrosive property; mechanical properties, chemical resistance and weathering properties of the coatings containing PPy are studied, thereby obtaining a wholesome data about the quality and performance of these coatings.

Findings

– The result obtained through various tests showed that the coating with 1 and 2% PPy exhibited excellent weathering resistance, mechanical properties and improved chemical resistance. Higher percentage loading of PPy (beyond 3 per cent) proves to be disastrous, as extended percolation networks are formed which results in rapid intense corrosion leading to fast coating breakdown.

Research limitations/implications

– The anti-corrosion property of the coating can be tested by means of atmospheric exposure such as Florida test which produces a real time evaluation of the anti-corrosive nature of the coating at natural condition rather than accelerated weathering, thereby providing more reliable performance data for intended application purpose.

Practical implications

– The results find application in anti-corrosive/performance paints for industrial application.

Originality/value

– This research paper presents the results of anti-corrosion behaviour of PPy in water borne epoxy-polyamide coating. Based on this result, a highly effective anti-corrosive coating can be formulated by the addition of small percentage of PPy in combination with other conventional pigments, thereby enhancing corrosion protection. But care must be taken so as to avoid formation of extended percolation network of PPy which leads to rapid coating breakdown.
The optimal and decreasing growth rate of the Islamic banking industry
Authors: Ismal Rifki , Haryati Rice
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The Indonesian Islamic banking industry is very promising, but there has been no analysis of the optimal and decreasing growth rate of the industry. Information regarding these is essential for policy makers, Islamic bankers and all related parties to guide the future development of the industry and sets up proper plans and strategies. The paper aims to explore the optimal and decreasing growth rates of the industry and in so doing contribute to the current literature on the Indonesian Islamic banking industry.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper first reports on the performance of the Indonesian Islamic banking industry, before explaining conditions where the Islamic banking industry is believed to be still immature. Third, in order to identify the optimal and decreasing growth rates, the paper estimates the future performance of the industry by using ARIMA models to identify periods where the growth rate is at optimal and decreasing points. Then, on the basis of a number of assumptions and statistical simulations, the analysis broadens to become qualitative in nature by determining the optimal numbers of Islamic banks to be established in the future.

Findings

– The paper generates some important findings. First, the optimum growth rate of the market share (0.12 percent) is predicted to occur in December 2012; the market share in that month is estimated to be 5.75 percent. Second, although the market share keeps growing, the paper finds the rate of increase to be slow, and in October 2018, it becomes negative, at 0.004 percent. The estimated market share in that time is 11.63 percent. Finally, the optimal number of Islamic banks in December 2012 is shown to be 23 and in October 2018, 24.

Research limitations/implications

– Qualitative information on the months of the optimal and decreasing growth rates and quantitative information on the optimal number of Islamic banks to be established are significant information for policy makers, Islamic bankers and other related parties. The information is likely to be important in relation to their efforts to develop the Islamic banking industry, to anticipate decreasing growth in the industry and to establish new Islamic banks. More generally, the paper helps the related parties to direct and guide the future development of the industry.

Originality/value

– To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that attempts to establish optimal and decreasing growth rates in the Indonesian Islamic banking industry, or the optimal numbers of Islamic banks to be established in the future.
Does employment influence the success of ethics training?
Authors: Gillespie Finney Treena , Zachary Finney R.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The study aims to understand how university students' work experiences influence their perceptions of university ethics training. In the past, researchers have focused on the content of university ethics programs, but have ignored the influence of students' employment.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors surveyed 953 students at a medium-sized university in the Southeastern USA.

Findings

– Students' views of work and experiences on the job predicted both their views of college ethics training and their ability to identify ethical issues from a set of scenarios. Students' perceptions of their degrees as valuable credentials and their feelings that ethical behavior is the “norm” in business were the strongest predictors in both instances.

Research limitations/implications

– While the regression analyses were significant, they explained relatively little of the variance.

Practical implications

– In designing programs to promote ethical behaviors among future managers, university personnel should bear in mind that students' experiences on the job help to determine the manner in which they view university ethics training.

Originality/value

– To date, most researchers have not considered that the response to university ethics training is influenced – in part – by the fact that students are often employed.
Female body condition affects foetal growth in a capital breeding mysticete
Authors: Christiansen Fredrik , Víkingsson Gísli A. , Rasmussen Marianne H. , Lusseau David
Published: October 2013

Understanding how female body condition (FBC) influences foetal development, and hence offspring production, is fundamental for our understanding of species reproductive physiology and life history.

We investigated the effects of FBC on foetus growth in common minke whales. Pregnant minke whales were sampled around Iceland during the summer feeding seasons between 2003 and 2007 and the length and weight of their foetuses were measured. FBC was modelled as the relative difference between measured blubber volume and the average expected blubber volume of individual whales. Generalized linear models were used to test the effect of FBC on foetus length, while accounting for the daily growth in foetus size through gestation, as well as other covariates.

Foetus length increased curvilinearly through the study period at an average rate of 0·964 cm day−1 (SE = 0·138). The effect of FBC on foetal length was nonlinear, showing an almost linear positive relationship for females in poorer body condition (FBC < 0), which levelled off at better body conditions (FBC > 0).

The curvilinear relationship between FBC and foetus growth was confirmed by fitting a generalized additive model and by running separate analyses on two subsets of data separating females in poorer and better condition.

Our findings suggest that females that are in poorer body condition reduce their energetic investment in their foetus proportionately to their condition, most likely to help maintain a high survival probability. That foetus length did not increase for females in better body condition suggests that females have an upper limit on the amount of energy they will or can invest in their foetus. Reducing the size at birth by reducing the gestation period is also unlikely, because the reproductive cycle of balaenopterids is strongly linked to their seasonal migration between feeding grounds and breeding grounds. This study is the first to demonstrate that FBC can affect foetus growth in a capital breeding mysticete.
Impact of plant invasions on local arthropod communities: a meta‐analysis
Authors: van Hengstum Thomas , Hooftman Danny A. P. , Oostermeijer J. Gerard B. , van Tienderen Peter H.
Published: October 2013

Invasive plants can have a major impact on local plant and animal communities. However, effects of plant invasions on arthropod communities and the potential drivers have rarely been studied.

We present a meta‐analysis of 56 studies on the impact of plant invasions on abundance and richness of local arthropod communities. Moreover, we study the role of five invader and habitat attributes to assess their influence on the direction and magnitude of effect on arthropod communities: the time since introduction; woody vs. herbaceous invaders; presence of native congeners; canopy cover of the invader; and single vs. multiple invaders.

We found that overall invaded habitats had a 29% lower arthropod abundance and a 17% lower taxonomic richness compared with non‐invaded habitats. Woody invaders had a stronger negative impact on arthropod communities than herbaceous invaders, reducing abundance and richness by as much as 55% and 21%, respectively.

Synthesis. Our study demonstrates that arthropod communities are negatively affected by plant invasions, which may have substantial effects on other ecosystem features, such as pollination, food web dynamics, decomposition as well as habitat heterogeneity. Loss of arthropod diversity is generally directly associated with loss of plant species richness. Therefore, the reduction we see could be causally connected to the effect of the invader on the habitat. The physical dominance of woody invaders compared with herbaceous invaders could be a main driver for this effect.
Tax Auditing as a Public Good Game: An Experimental Study on Punishment and Compliance
Authors: Hsu Li‐Chen
Published: October 2013

Prior experimental studies on tax evasion generally assume that the budget and the probability of audit are exogenously given, and ignore taxpayers' incentives to detect evasion and their compliance behaviour under such incentives. The experimental evidence of the present paper shows that, on average, subjects are willing to spend 20 to 30% of their tax revenue on auditing. Compliance is also greatly improved if subjects can determine the budget and, hence, the probability of audit. These findings suggest that taking taxpayers' incentives to detect evasion into consideration is important for the design of compliance‐improvement audit schemes.
The Behaviour of Real Exchange Rates: The Case of Japan
Authors: Chang Ming‐Jen , Lin Chang‐Ching , Yin Shou‐Yung
Published: October 2013

This study examines the convergence rate of mean reversion by estimating the half‐lives of sectoral real exchange rates using an extensive product price panel for Japan (with the USA as the numéraire). We find that the half‐lives of sectoral real exchange rates are remarkably distorted when the grouped half‐life is measured inappropriately and the cross‐sectional dependence and potential trend breaks are ignored. After taking account of these problems, the bias‐corrected half‐life for all goods is as low as 3.00 years, close to the bottom of the consensus view of 3 to 5 years. Moreover, the bias‐corrected half‐life of mean reversion is 2.40 years for traded goods, and only approximately half that for non‐traded goods. Finally, our findings also support the view that small‐sample bias correction is critical for half‐life estimations.
Investigating Preferences for the Local Delivery of Agri‐environment Benefits
Authors: Garrod Guy , Ruto Eric , Willis Ken , Powe Neil
Published: October 2013

Since 2005, Environmental Stewardship (ES) has been the principal agri‐environment scheme for England and is the key instrument for the delivery of increased environmental benefits from agricultural landscapes. The main objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that individuals have greater relative preferences for the environmental benefits associated with agri‐environment schemes when they are delivered within those landscapes closest to where they live. A choice experiment approach based on a national survey provides the data and a mixed logit approach is used to model relative preferences for the environmental benefits of ES across five generic landscape types. Results show that most respondents have a preference for benefits delivered in those areas closest and most accessible to where they live.
The Contingent Nature of Democracy Promotion
Authors: Walker Scott
Published: October 2013

The set of works reviewed here suggest that the problems inherent in post-Cold War democracy promotion cannot be explained solely by policy failures. Attempts to push for democracy have been met with resistance, whether in response to the imposition of democracy or to ‘softer’ approaches. Collectively, the research in these volumes suggests that if democratization efforts are to succeed, those who hope to promote them must be more reflective about their own role in the process and cognizant of the fact that democracy promotion efforts are subject to political forces at the domestic, global and intermestic levels.
HIV‐1 and Alcohol: Interactions in the Central Nervous System
Authors: Silverstein Peter S. , Kumar Anil
Published: October 2013

The use of alcohol has been associated with both an increased risk of acquisition of HIV‐1 infection and an increased rate of disease progression among those already infected by the virus. The potential for alcohol to exacerbate the effects of HIV infection is especially important in the central nervous system (CNS) because this area is vulnerable to the combined effects of alcohol and HIV infection. The effects of alcohol on glial cells are mediated through receptors such as Toll‐like receptor 4 and N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor. This causes the activation of signaling molecules such as interleukin‐1 receptor‐associated kinase and various members of the P38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase family and subsequent activation of transcription factors such as nuclear factor‐kappa beta and activator protein 1. The eventual outcome is an increase in pro‐inflammatory cytokine production by glial cells. Alcohol also induces higher levels of NADPH oxidase in glial cells, which leads to an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Viral invasion of the CNS occurs early after infection, and HIV proteins have also been demonstrated to increase levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and ROS in glial cells through activation of some of the same pathways activated by alcohol. Both cell culture systems and animal models have demonstrated that concomitant exposure to alcohol and HIV/HIV proteins results in increased levels of expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin‐1 beta and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha, along with increased levels of oxidative stress. Clinical studies also suggest that alcohol exacerbates the CNS effects of HIV‐1 infection. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which alcohol causes increased CNS damage in HIV‐1 infection.