bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Muslim values and market value: a sociological perspective
Authors: Dean Jason
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to study the consequences of the development of Islamic marketing on the social construction of Muslim religious identities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses Max Weber's ideal-type methodology to analyze actors and strategies in Islamic marketing, as represented by their self-presentation on French-, English- and Arabic-language web sites.

Findings

– First, the paper argues that by conflating values and preferences, rational choice theory fails to recognize an essential function of values, which govern the relationship between the personal and the social. Second, it describes the emergence of brand markets within traditional Muslim commodity economies. Third, it uses these distinctions, between the personal and the social and between commodity and brand economies, to construct four ideal types of Muslim economic actors: “collectivists”, “differentialists”, “integrationists”, and “entrepreneurs”.

Research limitations/implications

– The choice of web sites to survey Muslim economic and religious actors favors producers over consumers, religious specialists over laypeople. Future research should include protocols designed to test ways in which Muslims negotiate the conflicting demands of religion, society and economics in their daily lives.

Originality/value

– In contradistinction to studies that emphasize the influence of Muslim consumer demand on the development of goods and services, this paper shows that economic conditions, notably globalization and market segmentation, affect the way Muslims construct their religious identities.
On corporate social responsibility and Islamic marketing
Authors: Sergius Koku Paul , Savas Selen
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and explore its connection to Islamic marketing with the view of providing the basis for an integrated framework of the two which corporations could use to market worldwide and not only to Islamic consumers. Furthermore, the study explores the connection between CSR and Islamic marketing using the tenets of theQur'an.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study critically reviews the literature on CSR and links it to the Qur'anic teachings.

Findings

– The study concludes that Islamic marketing will be richer in scholarship and practice if dialogue is established, and areas of commonality between Islamic marketing and CSR are explored.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a theoretical paper that needs to be empirically validated in further studies.

Practical implications

– The study has several practical implications on how corporations, entrepreneurs and the marketing practitioner could conduct transactions that are consistent with the principles of CSR and theQur'an.

Originality/value

– The study is creative and uses original arguments based on the review of the literature and theQur'an.
Influence of religiosity on retail salespeople's ethical perceptions: the case in Iran
Authors: Karami Masoud , Olfati Omid , J. Dubinsky Alan
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The main purpose of this research was to investigate whether there is a relationship between religiosity and ethical behavior of salespeople.

Design/methodology/approach

– To investigate this association, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used; also, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were undertaken to examine a scale measuring salespeople's ethical behaviors. The context in which the study was conducted was in Iranian retail specialty stores.

Findings

– The results revealed for the first time the impact of religiosity on ethical behavior of the seller, a key entity in the buyer-seller dyad, that had been virtually ignored in extant empirical work.

Research limitations/implications

– The study focused solely on retail salespeople in Iran. Future research should examine the religiosity-ethical behavior nexus using other kinds of sales personnel and those practicing other kinds of religion than the Shia Muslim faith investigated here. The investigation examined the association between religiosity and ethical behavior. Future work could include additional measures of religion (e.g. religious orientation) as well other individual, cultural, and organizational factors that may have an influence on salespeople's ethical conduct.

Practical implications

– Sales managers should try to convince salespeople to behave ethically. Also, sales managers should not establish unachievable sales objectives for salespeople and try to employ more religious individuals as salespeople. Multinational corporations (MNCs) should treat Shia Muslim salespersons with the utmost of respect, relying on their word. Similarly, MNCs should incorporate ethical guidelines into their training classes in order to be able to communicate conveniently with local salespeople and persuade them to act more ethically.

Originality/value

– The authors believe that this research can arouse managers in retail stores to set specific plans for evaluating their ethical behaviors. This research also has managerial and research implications for designing and formulating operations strategy in providing ethical standards for sales force.
Dreams, visions, and values in fundamental business education
Authors: Eugene McManus Thomas
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of a pedagogy of aspiration – a focus on dreams, visions, and values in fundamental business education. The paper focusses on issues of motivation and creativity in a global and multi-cultural milieu. Business education is often viewed as fundamentally about rational and analytical thinking, but creativity and innovation are also central. Due to information technology and globalization, they may be even more fundamental to business success than ever before. Both educators and managers can benefit from thinking about creativity and innovation in this context, since both are responding to the same business trends, and developing the same people.

Design/methodology/approach

– Since business fundamentals should reflect business realities, global trends in information and communications technology and mass migration brought on by information and communications technology are explored, and their relevance to the imagination and creativity is developed. Educational innovations in motivation and aspirational capacity are explained, and their relevance to fundamental business education is postulated.

Findings

– Tapping into the imagination is a source of motivation and creativity. What would appear to be very minimal social-psychological interventions have had significant positive effects on educational achievement. Those same techniques may be useful in teaching the fundamentals of business, and may have the added benefit instilling of a holistic and ethical perspective on the part of students.

Originality/value

– The paper brings together threads of research in globalization, information and communications technology, the imagination and creativity, and motivation from a psychological and anthropological standpoint, and suggests applying that research in teaching the fundamentals of business and business ethics.
A strategy of innovation through the development of a portfolio of innovation capabilities
Authors: Holtzman Yair
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce the value in developing a portfolio of capabilities to fuel innovation. The author's experience suggests that a disciplined focus developing a portfolio of innovation capabilities is critical in the global competitive landscape. Traditionally, the business world has always been focussed on developing sustainable competitive advantage. This is optimal, but we find more and more situations where this notion of building a sustainable competitive advantage is no longer possible. In 2013 it is rare for a company to maintain a truly lasting advantage. Many times, the very success of the initiative drives competition, which in turn weakens the advantage. Innovation as a portfolio of capabilities that can continuously morph based on the traditional forces of the market can prove much more powerful. This paper discusses what is needed in developing a strategy for developing a portfolio of capabilities and the challenges that companies face in undertaking this goal.

Design/methodology/approach

– General viewpoint based upon over 20 years of consulting work experience by an expert in the field of innovation, new product development, and research and development.

Findings

– The relevance and importance of a novel approach to thinking about innovation is very creative and valuable to companies that are constantly struggling with the development of new products.

Practical implications

– This is a novel approach to thinking about developing new products, capabilities, or services within an organization.

Originality/value

– The paper is extremely valuable in that it highlights a new way to think about developing innovation and new product capabilities, new product features, in a competitive global environment.
A multifaceted intervention to improve mental health literacy in employees of a multi-campus university: a cluster randomised trial
Authors: J. Reavley Nicola , V. McCann Terence , Cvetkovski Stefan , F. Jorm Anthony
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study was to assess whether a multifaceted intervention could improve mental health literacy, facilitate help seeking and reduce psychological distress and alcohol misuse in staff of a multi-campus university in Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this cluster randomised trial (ACTRN12610001027000), nine campuses were paired, with one of each pair randomly assigned to either intervention or control. Interventions (which were whole-of-campus) included e-mails, posters, campus events, factsheets/booklets and mental health first aid training courses. A monitoring sample of staff were recruited from each campus. Participants had a 20-minute computer-assisted telephone interview at baseline, and at the end of academic years 1 and 2. The interview assessed mental health literacy, help seeking for mental health problems, psychological distress and alcohol use. The primary outcomes were depression and anxiety levels and alcohol use and pertained to the individual level. Six campuses were randomised to intervention and three to control and all campuses were included in the analysis.

Findings

– There were no effects on depression and anxiety levels and alcohol use. Recall of intervention elements was greater in the intervention group at the end of the two-year assessment period. Staff in the intervention group showed better recognition of depression, greater knowledge of the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for safe levels of drinking and a greater intention to seek help for alcohol misuse from a general practitioner.

Originality/value

– Future interventions should involve more focused interventions that include consideration of working conditions and their influence on mental health, as well as addressing mental illness among employees, regardless of cause.
Schoolchildren's perspectives on the meaning of mental health
Authors: Svirydzenka Nadzeya , Bone Claire , Dogra Nisha
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Mental health of children and young people is often discussed in terms of mental illness, however, such an approach is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore young people's views of what mental health is and how to stay mentally healthy.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper investigated young people's views on these two issues through a series of workshops. In total 218, 13-year-old schoolchildren produced posters with their impressions of the issues. Themes that young people identified were then discussed with them in terms of the existing Bright Futures definition of mental health. Poster responses were subsequently transcribed and thematically analysed.

Findings

– The paper identified a number of themes for each question. Mental health was viewed in terms of personal attributes of an individual, illness, ability for personal management and establishing social relations. Young people saw mental health maintained through a combination of lifestyle choices, personal attributes, management of self and environment, social support and relationships, as well as treatment of illness. These themes corresponded to the ones identified by the Bright Futures.

Research limitations/implications

– This study highlights the complexity of young people's views on the meaning of mental health. They were also more positive, open and competent in discussing mental health than previously suggested. However, a more systematic investigation of views and attitudes is necessary, including younger children. Additionally, health care professionals are likely to benefit from young people's engagement in planning and implementing strategies for better mental health.

Originality/value

– This paper is one of the few to investigate the positive meaning of mental health with young people.
Parents' communication to primary school-aged children about mental health and ill-health: a grounded theory study
Authors: Mueller Joanne , M. Callanan Margie , Greenwood Kathryn
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Stigma around mental health problems is known to emerge in middle childhood and persist into adulthood, yet almost nothing is known about the role of parents in this process. This paper aims to develop a model of parental communication to primary school-aged children around mental health and ill-health, to increase understanding about how stigma develops.

Design/methodology/approach

– Semi-structured interviews were performed with ten UK-based parents of children aged 7-11 years. Analysis followed an exploratory grounded theory approach, incorporating quality assurance checks.

Findings

– Parents’ communications are governed by the extent to which they view a particular issue as related to “Them” (mental ill-health) or to “Us” (mental health). In contrast to communication about “Us”, parental communication about mental “illness” is characterized by avoidance and contradiction, and driven by largely unconscious processes of taboo and stigma.

Originality/value

– This study was the first to explore parents’ communications to their 7-11 year old children about mental health and mental illness, and proposes a preliminary theoretical model that may offer insight into the development of stigma in childhood and the intergenerational transmission of stigmatized attitudes.
Line planning in emergencies for railway networks
Authors: Meng Xuelei , Cui Bingmou , Jia Limin
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to generate line plan in emergencies for railway networks to complete the passenger transportation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors first build a mathematical model, focusing on the frequency setting and stops setting. Then, considering the OD passenger flow data, the authors first propose the method to solve the train frequency setting problem of different types. Genetic algorithm is designed to solve the stops setting problem. The approach is tested with the data from Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and its neighbour existing railway.

Findings

– The authors find that the model is suitable to generate line plan in emergencies for railway networks and the algorithm has good calculating performance.

Originality/value

– The new algorithms to generate line plan proposed in this paper can be embedded in the decision support system for railway operators.
Personality, pathology and mindsets: part 3 – pathologies and corruption
Authors: Yolles Maurice , Fink Gerhard
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Context and cultural condition given, cybernetic agency theory enables the anticipation of patterns of behaviour. However, this only occurs under “normal” conditions. Abnormal conditions occur when pathologies develop in the agency, especially within its Piagetian intelligences. An understanding of these pathologies, therefore, constitutes an appreciation of how abnormal behaviour develops. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Different classifications of pathology are considered: autopathic and sociopathic, transitive and lateral pathologies, epistemological and ontological pathologies, within a system and outside system effects of pathologies. The effects of pathologies are inefficacy, loss of cohesion within a system, emerging neurosis, and not least corruption.

Findings

– Within Agency Mindset Theory, four types of pathologies are identified: being detached from the cultural system, behaviour does not conform to extant values; an inhibited figurative intelligence is disturbing self-reference and resulting in incapability to learn cognitively; the operative system does not respond to strategic intentions: operative decision making is not anchored in ethical, ideological or strategic specifications of the social system; action and behaviour of the organisation are driven by outside interests.

Research limitations/implications

– This part of the research could only provide a framework for theoretically identifying the systemic roots of pathologies within social systems, but not provide an in-depth analysis of the shifts in values and practices, which accompany the emergence of pathologies.

Practical implications

– The research is indicating that emergent pathologies and moves towards corruption could be either identified through underlying shifts in values and practices, but also through reduced functions (inefficacies) of the indispensable internal processes of an organisation (a social system), be it action-oriented or learning-oriented processes.

Originality/value

– The paper draws on earlier work undertaken in the last few years by the same authors, who in a new way are pursuing new directions and extensions of that earlier research.
Designing and using research questionnaires
Authors: Rowley Jenny
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to draw on experience in supervising new researchers, and the advice of other writers to offer novice researchers such as those engaged in study for a thesis, or in another small-scale research project, a pragmatic introduction to designing and using research questionnaires.

Design/methodology/approach

– After a brief introduction, this article is organized into three main sections: designing questionnaires, distributing questionnaires, and analysing and presenting questionnaire data. Within these sections, ten questions often asked by novice researchers are posed and answered.

Findings

– This article is designed to give novice researchers advice and support to help them to design good questionnaires, to maximise their response rate, and to undertake appropriate data analysis.

Originality/value

– Other research methods texts offer advice on questionnaire design and use, but their advice is not specifically tailored to new researchers. They tend to offer options, but provide limited guidance on making crucial decisions in questionnaire design, distribution and data analysis and presentation.
Effects of design characteristics on corporate blog acceptance
Authors: Koenig Nils , Schlaegel Christopher
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to identify corporate blog design characteristics that positively influence the view of actual and potential corporate blog users. Moreover, based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), the paper examines the specific mechanism through which corporate blog design characteristics influence the acceptance of corporate blogs and assess the cross-country applicability of the developed framework.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on primary data of 992 individuals in three countries (Germany, Russia, and the USA), the paper tests the identified design characteristics and the proposed framework using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results show the applicability of the TAM in the context of corporate blogs. Blog management and usability were found to be key determinants of perceived ease of use. Entertainment value as well as content value and interaction positively affect perceived enjoyment. Content value as well as blog management and usability are the key determinants of perceived usefulness of corporate blogs. Mediation tests revealed a partial mediation of the distal corporate blog design characteristics on attitude and usage intention by the proximal TAM elements.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample was self-selected from internet users and a limited number of countries. Associations with and understanding of the term “corporate blog” might vary between internet users as well as between the three focus countries.

Practical implications

– Based on the research, companies are better able to adapt corporate blogs to target group characteristics and thus can better reach communication goals. The research can be used both for the establishment of new corporate blogs as well as for the adaptation of existing corporate blogs.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the existing literature by identifying and examining design characteristics that affect individuals' perceptions of corporate blogs. Furthermore, this is the first large-scale cross-country study in this research context that identifies the mechanism through which firms can actively influence the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment of corporate blogs, which is important to better understand individuals' acceptance of corporate blogs in different national contexts.
Anticipating and managing the cutaneous side effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors
Authors: Sinclair Rod
Published: February 2014

Aims

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRi) therapy for tumor suppression produces significant cutaneous toxicity that may necessitate dose reduction or treatment cessation. This manuscript aims to describe the skin toxicity associated with these agents and equip oncologists with the tools to best manage these patients.

Methods

A literature review of skin toxicity associated with EGFRi was conducted by a clinical dermatologist experienced in the management of these patients and a management strategy developed for EGFRi skin toxicity

Results

The sequence of development of EGFRi cutaneous toxicity is predictable. Many skin side effects can be ameliorated by prophylactic therapy. Management of established skin toxicity is complex and needs to be continued throughout the period of EGFRi drug treatment.

Conclusion

Early referral to a dermatologist experienced in the management of these patients is recommended.
Correct placement of the most distant source of the Amazon River in the Mantaro River drainage
Authors: Contos James , Tripcevich Nicholas
Published: February 2014

The Amazon River (‘Río de las Amazonas’) has the highest discharge of any river in the world and is also the longest or second longest. Its source has therefore intrigued scholars and explorers for centuries. A river's source is often defined as the most distant upstream point in the drainage basin. For the past several decades, the longest upstream extension of the Amazon River has been held to be the Nevado Mismi area of the Río Apurímac drainage. We overturn this longstanding view by employing topographic maps, satellite imagery, digital hydrographic datasets and GPS tracking data to show that the Cordillera Rumi Cruz (10.7320°S, 76.6480°W; elevation ∼5220 m) in the Río Mantaro drainage lies 75–92 km further upstream than Nevado Mismi. We compare various methods for measuring each of the Río Apurímac and Río Mantaro lengths, and show that high‐resolution satellite imagery and GPS tracking most closely follow the path of the water. Our results reposition the ‘most distant source’ of the Amazon to a more tropical location, change the uppermost ∼800 km of river to this point, and add 75–92 km to the river's maximal length.
Computational Inhibition Studies of the Human Proteasome by Argyrin‐Based Analogues with Subunit Specificity
Authors: Loizidou Eriketi Z. , Zeinalipour‐Yazdi Constantinos D.
Published: February 2014

A computational procedure was developed to study the subunit‐specific interactions of the proteasome inhibitors argyrin A and F, with the aim of indentifying the determinants of subunit selectivity. Three‐dimensional models of humanized proteasome active sites β1, β2 and β5 were developed and subsequently used in molecular docking simulations with the argyrin analogues. The subunit selectivity exhibited by each analogue could be explained based on the site‐specific interactions and a probability‐based specificity parameter derived in this study. A rational approach that involved maximizing site‐specific interactions was followed to guide the design of new argyrin analogues as specific inhibitors of the caspase‐like (β1 site) activity.
Counterfactual Reasoning: Sharpening Conceptual Distinctions in Developmental Studies
Authors: Rafetseder Eva , Perner Josef
Published: February 2014

Counterfactual reasoning (CFR)—mentally representing what the world would be like now if things had been different in the past—is an important aspect of human cognition and the focus of research in areas such as philosophy, social psychology, and clinical psychology. More recently, it has also gained broad interest in cognitive developmental psychology, mainly focusing on the question of how this kind of reasoning can be characterized. Studies have been inconsistent in identifying when children can use CFR. In this article, we present theoretical positions that may account for this inconsistency and evaluate them in the light of research on counterfactual emotions.
A Change–Resistance Account of Children's Difficulties Understanding Mathematical Equivalence
Authors: McNeil Nicole M.
Published: February 2014

Most elementary school children in the United States have difficulties understanding mathematical equivalence in symbolic form (e.g., 3 + 4 = 5 + 2, 7 = 7). This is troubling because a formal understanding of mathematical equivalence is necessary for success in algebra and all higher level mathematics. Historically, children's difficulties with mathematical equivalence have been attributed to something that children lack relative to adults (e.g., domain‐general logical structures, working memory capacity, proficiency with basic arithmetic facts). However, a change–resistance account suggests that children's difficulties are due to inappropriate generalization of knowledge constructed from overly narrow experience with arithmetic. This account has not only enhanced our understanding of the nature of children's difficulties with mathematical equivalence but also helped us identify some of the malleable factors that can be changed to improve children's understanding of this concept.
Detecting Extinction Risk from Climate Change by IUCN Red List Criteria
Authors: KEITH DAVID A. , MAHONY MICHAEL , HINES HARRY , ELITH JANE , REGAN TRACEY J. , BAUMGARTNER JOHN B. , HUNTER DAVID , HEARD GEOFFREY W. , MITCHELL NICOLA J. , PARRIS KIRSTEN M. , PENMAN TRENT , SCHEELE BEN , SIMPSON CHRISTOPHER C. , TINGLEY REID , TRACY CHRISTOPHER R. , WEST MATT , AKÇAKAYA H. RESIT
Published: February 2014

Anthropogenic climate change is a key threat to global biodiversity. To inform strategic actions aimed at conserving biodiversity as climate changes, conservation planners need early warning of the risks faced by different species. The IUCN Red List criteria for threatened species are widely acknowledged as useful risk assessment tools for informing conservation under constraints imposed by limited data. However, doubts have been expressed about the ability of the criteria to detect risks imposed by potentially slow‐acting threats such as climate change, particularly because criteria addressing rates of population decline are assessed over time scales as short as 10 years. We used spatially explicit stochastic population models and dynamic species distribution models projected to future climates to determine how long before extinction a species would become eligible for listing as threatened based on the IUCN Red List criteria. We focused on a short‐lived frog species (Assa darlingtoni) chosen specifically to represent potential weaknesses in the criteria to allow detailed consideration of the analytical issues and to develop an approach for wider application. The criteria were more sensitive to climate change than previously anticipated; lead times between initial listing in a threatened category and predicted extinction varied from 40 to 80 years, depending on data availability. We attributed this sensitivity primarily to the ensemble properties of the criteria that assess contrasting symptoms of extinction risk. Nevertheless, we recommend the robustness of the criteria warrants further investigation across species with contrasting life histories and patterns of decline. The adequacy of these lead times for early warning depends on practicalities of environmental policy and management, bureaucratic or political inertia, and the anticipated species response times to management actions.

Detección del Riesgo de Extinción a partir del Cambio Climático por medio del Criterio de la Lista Roja de la UICNKeith et al.
The changes in the expression levels of follicular markers in keratoacanthoma depend on the stage: keratoacanthoma is a follicular neoplasm exhibiting infundibular/isthmic differentiation without expression of CK15
Authors: Misago Noriyuki , Takai Toshihiro , Toda Shuji , Narisawa Yutaka
Published: February 2014

Background

Although the precise etiology of keratoacanthoma (KA) is unknown, KA is generally assumed to differentiate toward hair follicles based on previous studies of experimental carcinogenesis.

Methods

We performed a comprehensive immunohistochemical study of various follicular markers in all stages of KA. A total of 67 tumors, including 16 early or proliferative stage lesions, 43 well‐developed stage lesions, five regressing stage lesions and three regressed stage lesions, were subjected to the analysis.

Results

CK15 (clone C8/144B), CK19 and CD34 were not expressed at any stage. CK1, CK10, CK16, CK17, CK15 (clone LHK15) and calretinin showed dynamic changes in their expression in KA depending on the stage.

Conclusions

KA is a follicular neoplasm with infundibular/isthmic (upper segmental region of hair follicles) differentiation. It is considered that early or proliferative stage tumors show keratin‐filled invaginations with infundibular differentiation and gradual isthmic differentiation. Well‐developed examples of KA generally show isthmic differentiation in the whole lesions. The regressed stage KAs lose the features of this type of follicular differentiation and show epidermal characteristics. No expression of CK15 (clone C8/144B) was observed in KAs, although this finding is insufficient to completely rule out the correlation between the regression of KA and the hair follicle cycle.
Single‐name Credit Risk, Portfolio Risk and Credit Rationing
Authors: Arnold Lutz G. , Reeder Johannes , Trepl Stefanie
Published: February 2014

In the Stiglitz–Weiss (1981) adverse selection model, pure credit rationing cannot arise in equilibrium. We show that this is due to the fact that single‐name risks are independent and a well‐diversified portfolio contains no risk. We introduce non‐diversifiable macroeconomic risk to the model and show that risk‐averse lenders possibly ration credit. Welfare analysis shows that an interest rate ceiling is potentially welfare enhancing and that equilibrium overinvestment can occur.
What Do Energy Prices Tell Us About UK Inflation?
Authors: Rafiq Sohrab
Published: February 2014

We investigate the effect of oil price shocks on UK inflation using a time‐varying vector autoregression with stochastic volatility. The estimates show that the oil price–inflation pass‐through declined from the early 1980s until the mid/late 1990s. Post‐2003, however, the importance of oil price shocks for UK inflation rose significantly. The rise in the pass‐through coincided with a significant increase in the size of oil price shocks. This paper shows that allowing for time variation in the stochastic volatilities better captures time variation between oil prices and UK inflation.
Age‐biased Technical and Organizational Change, Training and Employment Prospects of Older Workers
Authors: Behaghel Luc , Caroli Eve , Roger Muriel
Published: February 2014

We analyse the role of training in mitigating the negative impact of technical and organizational changes on the employment prospects of older workers. Using a panel of French firms in the late 1990s, we first estimate wage bill share equations for different age groups. As a second step, we estimate the impact of ICT, innovative work practices and training on employment flows by age group in the next period. Training appears to have a positive impact on the employability of older workers, but it offers limited prospects to dampen the age bias associated with new technologies and innovative work practices.
Transplantation tolerance and its outcome during infections and inflammation
Authors: Chong Anita S. , Alegre Maria‐Luisa
Published: February 2014

Much progress has been made toward understanding the mechanistic basis of transplantation tolerance in experimental models, which implicates clonal deletion of alloreactive T and B cells, induction of cell‐intrinsic hyporesponsiveness, and dominant regulatory cells mediating infectious tolerance and linked suppression. Despite encouraging success in the laboratory, achieving tolerance in the clinic remains challenging, although the basis for these challenges is beginning to be understood. Heterologous memory alloreactive T cells generated by infections prior to transplantation have been shown to be a critical barrier to tolerance induction. Furthermore, infections at the time of transplantation and tolerance induction provide a pro‐inflammatory milieu that alters the stability and function of regulatory T cells as well as the activation requirements and differentiation of effector T cells. Thus, infections can result in enhanced alloreactivity, resistance to tolerance induction, and destabilization of the established tolerance state. We speculate that these experimental findings have relevance to the clinic, where infections have been associated with allograft rejection and may be a causal event precipitating the loss of grafts after long periods of stable operational tolerance. Understanding the mechanisms by which infections prevent and destabilize tolerance can lead to therapies that promote stable life‐long tolerance in transplant recipients.
Tissue‐resident T cells, in situ immunity and transplantation
Authors: Turner Damian L. , Gordon Claire L. , Farber Donna L.
Published: February 2014

T cells coordinate rejection of transplanted allografts and are key targets for depletion, immunosuppression, and tolerance induction to promote long‐term graft survival. Studies in mouse models and humans generally focus on circulating T cells or those from lymphoid sites; however, vast numbers of T cells reside in multiple peripheral tissue sites including lungs, intestines, liver, and skin as non‐circulating, tissue‐resident memory T cells (Trm cells). In this review, we define the basic properties of Trm cells, the emerging evidence of their importance for protective immunity, and the potential role of resident versus circulating T cells in transplant rejection and in providing protection to prevalent infections posttransplantation. We also discuss potential susceptibilities and/or resistance of protective Trm to immunosuppression therapies, and how consideration of Trm, their compartmentalization, and specificity can enable improved therapies for targeted inhibition of pathogenic and preservation of protective T‐cell subsets.
Innate allorecognition
Authors: Oberbarnscheidt Martin H. , Lakkis Fadi G.
Published: February 2014

Vertebrates mount strong adaptive immune responses to transplanted organs (allografts), but the mechanisms by which the innate immune system initiates this response are not completely understood. In anti‐microbial immunity, non‐self molecules associated with pathogens but not present in the host induce the maturation of innate antigen‐presenting cells (APCs) by binding to germ‐line‐encoded receptors. Mature APCs then initiate the adaptive immune response by presenting microbial antigen and providing costimulatory signals to T cells. How allografts activate APCs, however, is less clear, because allografts are presumably sterile. A widely accepted view is that inflammatory or ‘danger’ molecules released by dying graft cells at the time of transplantation trigger APC maturation and the T‐cell response that follows. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the introduction of microbial products during the surgical procedure could also alert the innate immune system to the presence of the transplanted organ. Here, we review why these hypotheses fail to fully explain how the alloimmune response is initiated after transplantation and summarize evidence that recognition of allogeneic non‐self by monocytes is a key event in triggering alloimmunity and graft rejection.
The biology of NK cells and their receptors affects clinical outcomes after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT)
Authors: Foley Bree , Felices Martin , Cichocki Frank , Cooley Sarah , Verneris Michael R. , Miller Jeffrey S.
Published: February 2014

Natural killer (NK) cells were first identified for their capacity to reject bone marrow allografts in lethally irradiated mice without prior sensitization. Subsequently, human NK cells were detected and defined by their non‐major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐restricted cytotoxicity toward transformed or virally infected target cells. Karre et al. later proposed ‘the missing self hypothesis’ to explain the mechanism by which self‐tolerant cells could kill targets that had lost self MHC class I. Subsequently, the receptors that recognize MHC class I to mediate tolerance in the host were identified on NK cells. These class I‐recognizing receptors contribute to the acquisition of function by a dynamic process known as NK cell education or licensing. In the past, NK cells were assumed to be short lived, but more recently NK cells have been shown to mediate immunologic memory to secondary exposures to cytomegalovirus infection. Because of their ability to lyse tumors with aberrant MHC class I expression and to produce cytokines and chemokines upon activation, NK cells may be primed by many stimuli, including viruses and inflammation, to contribute to a graft‐versus‐tumor effect. In addition, interactions with other immune cells support the therapeutic potential of NK cells to eradicate tumor and to enhance outcomes after hematopoietic cell transplantation.
Urinary cell mRNA profiles predictive of human kidney allograft status
Authors: Lee John R. , Muthukumar Thangamani , Dadhania Darshana , Ding Ruchuang , Sharma Vijay K. , Schwartz Joseph E. , Suthanthiran Manikkam
Published: February 2014

Kidney allograft status is currently characterized using the invasive percutaneous needle core biopsy procedure. The procedure has become safer over the years, but challenges and complications still exist including sampling error, interobserver variability, bleeding, arteriovenous fistula, graft loss, and even death. Because the most common type of acute rejection is distinguished by inflammatory cells exiting the intravascular compartment and gaining access to the renal tubular space, we reasoned that a kidney allograft may function as an in vivo flow cytometer and sort cells involved in rejection into urine. To test this idea, we developed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for absolute quantification of mRNA and pre‐amplification protocols to overcome the low RNA yield from urine. Here, we review our single center urinary cell mRNA profiling studies that led to the multicenter Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation (CTOT‐04) study and the discovery and validation of a 3‐gene signature of 18S rRNA‐normalized measures of CD3ε mRNA and IP‐10 mRNA and 18S rRNA that is diagnostic and predictive of acute cellular rejection in the kidney allograft. We also review our development of a 4‐gene signature of mRNAs for vimentin, NKCC2, E‐cadherin, and 18S rRNA diagnostic of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IF/TA).
Palauans who chew betel nut: social impact of oral disease
Authors: Quinn Griffin M.T. , Mott M. , Burrell P.M. , Fitzpatrick J.J.
Published: February 2014

Background

Chewing betel nut is a tradition extending fromSoutheastAsia to thePacific. Globally, betel nut is the fourth main psychotropic substance containing a stimulant, arecoline, that has a similar effect to nicotine. InPalau, there is broad acceptance of betel nut chewing. One of the largest immigrant groups inHawaii is thePalauans. Chewing betel nut has significant social implications that make it difficult for those who engage in this practice to separate potential oral disease from the social importance. However, little is known about the social impact of oral disease from chewing betel nut onPalauans inHawaii.

Aim

The study aimed to describe the perceptions of betel‐chewingPalauans inHawaii regarding betel nut and to determine the social impact of oral disease among these individuals.

Methods

Descriptive study conducted on the island ofOahu,Hawaii with 30 adultPalauans. Data were collected using theOralHealthImpactProfile‐14 to measure perceptions of social impact of oral disease on well‐being. Demographic and general health information was collected.

Results

Participants perceived little negative social impact of oral disease on well‐being.

Discussion

Families, peers and society exert a strong influence on the decision to chew betel nut, a known carcinogen. Participants in this study showed little concern on the impact of betel nut chewing on their oral health. They continue the habit in spite of the awareness of potential for oral disease.

Implications for nursing and health policy

Nurses face challenges in educatingPalauans about the negative aspects of bethel nut, particularly those related to oral health especially when they do not perceive problems. Nurses must be involved in the development of health policies to design and implement strategies to promote behavioural change, and to ensure clinical services that are culturally sensitive to bethel nut chewers.
Session 1: Big Data/Ethnography or Big Data Ethnography
Authors: DE PAULA ROGERIO ABREU
Published: February 2014

The first session explores the many ways and forms Data shape our lives. What are new roles, forms of research, methodologies and practices that contribute to the on‐going exploration of boundaries between “big data” and ethnography.

“Is Data the new oil?” This has become a proverbial question that many organizations and research institutions have been asking themselves when they face the ever increasing proliferation of data (and data discourses, thereof). This is an enticing postulate, but not one without controversies. But, if data is the new oil, what does it mean for our ethnographic praxis? What roles will ethnography play? What forms of research methods and practices will spring up? In fact, what do we mean by data? These are some of the questions that lie at the heart of EPIC's on‐going methodological and practical pursuits. All papers in this session thus contribute to this on‐going debate by exploring the boundaries (epistemological, methodological, and practical) between “big data” and ethnography. From describing the use of mixed‐methods for investigating mobile money to exploring the emergence of analytic technology tools to help ethnographers collect and explore data to investigating the ‘meanings’ of data in data‐intensive social settings, such as, health and wellness communities, this session will offer a broad perspective on the subject, asking us to reflect not only on our own research practices but on the future of our field.
Big Data or ‘Big Ethnographic Data’? Positioning Big Data within the ethnographic space
Authors: CURRAN JOHN
Published: February 2014

This paper offers a cultural analysis of the different narratives that currently frame the concept of Big Data. With specific attention to how the ethnographic community has approached Big Data, I will make the point that the ethnographic community needs to rethink what its offer is within the business world. Instead of trying to position ethnography as a discipline that provides deep insights to human behaviour (which we often call ‘the why’), while Big Data offers broad accounts based on large data collection, I make the case that both approaches should be seen as being positioned within an ethnographic space. This is because both ethnography and Big Data are interested in human behaviour and the cultural field and both are interested in generating insights. We should therefore situate Big Data and ethnography as a relationship that exists in a new epistemological field, a field that is both interpretative and data driven. This field I call ‘Big Ethnographic Data.
From street to satellite: Mixing methods to understand mobile money users
Authors: TAYLOR ERIN B. , HORST HEATHER A.
Published: February 2014

How do users incorporate mobile money into their existing practices and adapt it to their needs? The answers can be surprising. Simultaneously a commodity, a store of value, and a social good, mobile money combines a large array of applications within the one platform. This is why mobile money has been touted for its potential for socioeconomic development, as a profitable commercial enterprise, and even as a tool for strengthening governance. The fact that customers rarely use it for just one purpose can also make it difficult to untangle customers’ motives and behaviors. In this paper we compare our own research with other studies to demonstrate how deploying a full suite of ethnographic methods (qualitative and quantitative) can provide significant insights into users. We present three key insights relating to time, trust, and traces / trajectories, and make suggestions for the future of mobile money research.
Move me: On stories, rituals, and building brand communities
Authors: SIECK KATE
Published: February 2014

This paper takes on the challenge of understanding behaviour change through the lens of anthropology. In the field of market research, the goal is to find the leverage points of emotional connection that will inspire a desired behaviour. But traditional approaches to research have relied on methods that neither capture these triggers of change, nor inspire connection. Alternatively, an approach to research based on rituals induces transformational experiences that by their very definition are grounded in emotional connection. This paper details a framework for ritual‐based research, and provides case studies of how and when rituals might be used for gathering market insights. We conclude with recommendations for extending the approach into engagement opportunities and creative executions.
Ethnographic findings in the organizational theatre
Authors: BUUR JACOB , TORGUET ROSA
Published: February 2014

In the quest for engaging ethnographic insight in organizations on a more fundamental level than mere ‘innovation drivers’, theatre offers ways of triggering a change in conversations through emotional engagement. This paper discusses the impact of using theatre with professional actors to convey the outcome of ethnographic ‘user studies’ to industry and academia. In a project on indoor climate control with five company partners, the field studies brought about controversial findings, like ‘Indoor comfort is what people make’– as opposed to something fully controlled by technology and ‘provided’ to inhabitants. We explore how theatre improvisation can convey such findings and thus support the provoking role that ethnography may play in organizations. Based on the study of two theatre sessions, we will articulate the importance of balance between playful and serious, of explorative discussion, and of supportive event planning and space layout to achieve audience engagement.