bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Usefulness of Fenestrated Intravenous Catheters Compared With Nonfenestrated Catheter for Cardiac Multidetector Computed Tomography
Authors: Kim JeongJae , Kim Eun Jeong , Hur Jee Hye , Ham Jin Ok , Kim Yeo Koon , Choi Sang Il
Published: May 2019

Purpose

To compare the fenestrated intravenous (IV) catheter and nonfenestrated conventional IV catheter in terms of contrast enhancement and injection pressure for coronary computed tomography angiography.

Methods

Three hundred patients were prospectively and consecutively enrolled to either the 20-gauge nonfenestrated conventional (group 1) IV catheter group or the 20-gauge fenestrated (group 2) or 22-gauge fenestrated (group 3) IV catheter groups. We analyzed mean vascular attenuations in the ascending aorta, left main coronary artery, left ventricular (LV) cavity, and descending aorta. Injection pressure using pound-force per square inch (PSI) and extravasation of contrast media were recorded.

Results

Mean attenuations of the left main coronary artery, LV cavity, and descending aorta were significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1 (P ≤ 0.001, P ≤ 0.001, P ≤ 0.001, respectively). Moreover, injection pressure was significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 (208.3 vs 216.9 PSI, P = 0.006). Mean vascular attenuations of the left main coronary artery, LV cavity, and descending aorta were significantly higher in group 3 than in group 1 (P = 0.016, P = 0.029, P = 0.001, respectively). However, injection pressure was not statistically significant between group 3 and group 1 (213.6 vs 216.9 PSI, P = 0.355). No extravasation occurred in any patient groups during the study.

Conclusions

We suggest that fenestrated IV catheter is useful in terms of higher vascular attenuation and lower injection pressure for coronary computed tomography angiography. It has a potential merit in patients with fragile and small veins.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Lateral Rectus Muscle in Duane Retraction Syndrome
Authors: Abdel Razek Ahmed Abdel Khalek , Helmy Eman Mohamed , Maher Hala , Kasem Manal Ali
Published: May 2019

Aim

This study aimed to assess metrics of diffusion tensor imaging in evaluating microstructural abnormalities of the lateral rectus muscle in Duane retraction syndrome (DRS).

Patient and methods

A prospective study was conducted on 27 patients with DRS and 16 age- and sex-matched controls who underwent diffusion tensor imaging of orbit and forced duction test (FDT). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of the lateral rectus were calculated by 2 observers.

Results

Fractional anisotropy of the lateral rectus in patients (0.62 ± 0.07 and 0.59 ± 0.06) was significantly higher (P = 0.001) than that in controls (0.49 ± 0.06 and 0.51 ± 0.06). Selection values of 0.53 and 0.52 as cutoff points of FA of the lateral rectus to differentiate patients from controls revealed areas under the curve of 0.92 and 0.86 and accuracy values of 84.8% and 80.4% by both observers, respectively. Mean diffusivity of the lateral rectus by both observers in patients (1.19 ± 0.13 and 1.23 ± 0.19 × 10–3 mm2/s) was significantly lower (P = 0.001) than that in controls (1.54 ± 0.18 and 1.49 ± 0.16 × 10–3 mm2/s). Selection values of 1.35 and 1.40 × 10–3 mm2/s as cutoff points of MD of the lateral rectus to differentiate patients from the control groups revealed areas under the curve of 0.93 and 0.85 and accuracy values of 91.3% and 80.4% by both observers, respectively. Interobserver agreement for MD and FA of the lateral rectus by both observers were excellent (r = 0.870 and, 0.959). Diffusion tensor imaging metrics of the lateral rectus muscle did not differ significantly between patients with unilateral and bilateral disease (P = 0.05) and patients with DRS type I and type III (P = 0.05). Diffusion tensor imaging metrics of the lateral rectus muscle differed significantly between FDT grades I and II versus grades III and IV, and these metrics were well correlated with the degree of FDT.

Conclusion

Diffusion tensor imaging metrics are valuable noninvasive tools in evaluating the microstructural abnormalities of the lateral rectus in DRS and are well correlated with degree of FDT.
Computed Tomography Cinematic Rendering in the Evaluation of Colonic Pathology: Technique and Clinical Applications
Authors: Rowe Steven P. , Chu Linda C. , Fishman Elliot K.
Published: May 2019

Three-dimensional (3D) visualizations of computed tomography (CT) data have found use in the display of complex anatomy and pathology. A new method of 3D CT image creation known as cinematic rendering (CR) makes use of a global lighting model to produce photorealistic images. Cinematic rendering images contain high levels of detail with shadowing and depth that are not available from traditional 3D CT techniques. As yet, the role of CR in evaluating colonic pathology has not been investigated. However, given the breadth of pathologic processes that affect the colon, including inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, neoplastic conditions, herniation, and gastrointestinal bleeding, we undertook a survey of recent cases at our institution to demonstrate colon pathology as visualized with CR. The following review discusses the role of 3D CT visualizations for colonic pathology with an emphasis on CR example images.
Intra-articular Osteotomy for Malunited Proximal Interphalangeal Joint Fracture
Authors: Yang Chaoqun , Wei Jingchao , Xu Jianguang , Xu Lei , Lu Jiuzhou
Published: May 2019

Background

Intra-articular malunion of the proximal interphalangeal joint is challenging. Multiple treatment options vary from arthrodesis to different types of osteotomy procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intra-articular osteotomy in treating malunited proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint fractures.

Materials and Methods

Fifty-nine consecutive patients with chronic PIP joint fractures were presented to us from May 2007 to December 2017. Sixteen joints of 15 patients were malunited PIP fracture without severe cartilage damage and underwent intra-articular osteotomy. The average interval from injury to operation was 4 (1–48) months. The mean duration of follow-up was 9 (2–43) months. Radiographic evidence of bone healing, joint alignment, range of motion of PIP, and distal interphalangeal joints were documented and assessed.

Result

Fifteen patients underwent intra-articular osteotomy. The average age was 32 (15–54) years. Fourteen of them were males. Fractures affect 9 middle phalangeal bases and 7 proximal phalangeal heads. Bony union was obtained in all patients by 6 to 10 weeks after surgery. Pain was relieved in 14 patients and the deformity was corrected in 12 joints of 11 patients. The average arc of motion for involved PIP joints was improved from 30.3 (10.0–39.1) degrees to 68.4 (7.2–75.6) degrees. One patient arose painful degenerative arthritis after surgery. Ten patients were satisfied or very satisfied.

Conclusions

For malunited PIP joint fracture without severe cartilage damage, intra-articular osteotomy provides predictable functional recovery and minimal donor site sacrifice.
Surgical Outcomes of Implant-based Breast Reconstruction Using TiLoop Bra Mesh Combined With Pectoralis Major Disconnection
Authors: Chen Guanglei , Zhang Yixiao , Xue Jinqi , Zhu Xudong , Liu Chao , Sun Lisha , Gu Xi , Zhang Hao , Liu Caigang
Published: May 2019

Objective

This study aimed to compare breast symmetry and patient satisfaction with breast appearance between implant-based breast reconstruction using TiLoop Bra mesh combined with pectoralis major disconnection (IMR) and conventional implant reconstruction (IR), and to analyze differences in complications.

Methods

This retrospective study included 59 patients administered IMR or IR in 2016 to 2018. Three-dimensional scanning was performed to objectively evaluate breast symmetry. The BREAST-Q scale was used to survey satisfaction with breast appearance, social psychosocial health, physical health, and sexual well-being.

Results

There were no significant differences in age, TNM stage, and chemotherapy between the 2 groups (all P > 0.05). In 3-dimensional scanning data, patients who underwent IMR had better bilateral breast symmetry compared with those administered IR (all P < 0.001). Based on the BREAST-Q survey, the satisfaction rate was significantly higher for IMR compared with IR (P = 0.0368), whereas psychosocial health, physical health, and sexual well-being showed no significant differences between the 2 groups (all P > 0.05). The IMR model showed no obvious advantages in common complications, including hematoma, incision site infection, skin flap necrosis, and prosthesis exposure and rupture compared with IR; loss of skin and nipple sensations was evident in both groups. The IMR model was associated with reduced incidence of fibrous capsule contracture compared with IR (0% vs 18.75%, P = 0.0267). The incidence rates of pectoralis major disconnection syndrome after IMR and IR were 18.50% and 0%, respectively (P = 0.0161).

Conclusions

Patients administered IMR have better breast symmetry and greater satisfaction with breast appearance compared with those treated by IR; however, IMR has unique complications, including pectoralis major disconnection syndrome.
Uniportal Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Pulmonary Aspergilloma: A Report of 5 Cases
Authors: Ocakcioglu Ilhan , Ermerak Nezih O. , Yildizeli Bedrettin
Published: May 2019

Pulmonary aspergilloma is an uncommon pulmonary disease that complicated with many other respiratory disorders. Despite advances in medication, surgical treatment continues to form the basis of aspergilloma treatment. However, the use of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is extremely limited in pulmonary aspergilloma. In this report, 5 patients who underwent anatomic pulmonary resection safely with uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery technique without requiring a traditional thoracotomy were presented.
The Complexity of the Retropubic Midurethral Sling: A Cognitive Task Analysis
Authors: Ackenbom Mary F. , Littleton Eliza B. , Mahmud Fizza , Sutkin Gary
Published: May 2019

Objective

The primary aim of this study was to use cognitive task analysis to expand the retropubic midurethral sling into smaller steps, reflecting a surgeon’s internal thought processes during the surgery.

Methods

Two surgeons and a cognitive psychologist collaborated with expert urogynecologic surgeons in structured discussions and semistructured interviews, iteratively creating a list of clinical steps for the midurethral sling. They primarily considered 2 questions: (1) what action does the expert perform for this step, and (2) what information does the expert need to complete the step? We defined each additional piece of detail within a step as a microstep. The cognitive task analysis list was further reviewed by 4 external expert urogynecologic surgeons to obtain further detail. The process was repeated for every step until the maximum level of detail was reached. We used multiple methods to explore the relationship between microsteps and the cognitive load associated with various portions of the surgery.

Results

Cognitive task analysis expanded the midurethral sling from 23 to 197 microsteps. Steps with the greatest number of microsteps included retropubic advancement with the trocar (19 microsteps) and ventral advancement of the trocar through the skin (17 microsteps).

Conclusions

The retropubic midurethral sling is a complex surgery with multiple microsteps embedded within in each step. Identification of these steps can lead to strategies to minimize cognitive load encouraging both efficacy and safety. Surgical training interventions and competency assessment can be developed based on this content.
Chronotherapeutics: Recognizing the Importance of Timing Factors in the Treatment of Disease and Sleep Disorders
Authors: Zaki Nevin F. W. , Yousif Maha , BaHammam Ahmed S. , Spence David Warren , Bharti Vijay K. , Subramanian Perumal , Pandi-Perumal Seithikurippu R.
Published: May 2019

This review describes the characteristics of a number of pathologies, which are considered from the point of view of chronobiology, that is, the way in which biological processes are expressed throughout the 24-hour day. This perspective is a relatively new way of thinking about disease and additionally about how to treat diseases. It has called attention to the importance of not only the quantity of a drug that is administered but also when it is administered. In addition, the review presents an overview of the emerging clinical strategies known as chronotherapeutics, that is, the effects of the daily scheduling of drug administration and the consequences of the activity and efficacy of therapies that are applied in this manner. This article also reviews innovative ways in which physicians are applying time-specified drug treatment (chronopharmacology) for sleep disorders. Here, we present a systematic description of chronopharmacology as well as definitions of key terms that, we believe, will be helpful for newcomers to the field. It is hoped that greater awareness of this new perspective on pharmacology will promote its adoption by researchers and clinicians.
Definition and Characteristics of Chronic Tissue Injury
Authors: Mahoney Mary F. , Rozenboom Barbara J.
Published: May 2019

BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence related to a unique phenomenon of purple-maroon discoloration of the buttocks found in homecare patients and to recommend a label for this phenomenon.

CASES:

Initially, we searched the literature to identify and retrieve any evidence related to this unique form of purple-maroon discoloration of the buttocks. No evidence was found. To illustrate the condition, we compared 4 cases of what we have labeled chronic tissue injury to 6 patients with purple-maroon discoloration of the buttocks from different causes.

CONCLUSION:

Chronic tissue injury is characterized by a persistent purple-maroon discoloration located on the fleshy portion of the buttocks that does not improve or deteriorate. Unlike other causes of purple discoloration such as deep tissue pressure injury, there is minimal change in the discoloration over time. Additional research is needed to further our understanding of the histopathology of this phenomenon.
The Connectivity Index: An Effective Metric for Grading Epileptogenicity
Authors: Yan Qi , Gaspard Nicolas , Zaveri Hitten P , Blumenfeld Hal , Hirsch Lawrence J. , Spencer Dennis D. , Alkawadri Rafeed
Published: May 2019

Objective

To investigate the performance of a metric of functional connectivity to classify and grade the excitability of brain regions based on evoked potentials to single pulse electrical stimulation (SPES).

Methods

Patients who received 1-Hz frequency stimulation between 2003 and 2014 at Yale at prospectively selected contacts were included. The stimulated contacts were classified as seizure onset zone (SOZ), highly irritative zone (IZp) or control. Response contacts were classified as seizure onset zone (SOZ), active interictal (IZp), quiet or other. The normalized number of responses was defined as the number of contacts with any evoked responses divided by the total number of recorded contacts, and the normalized distance is the ratio of the average distance between the site of stimulation and sites of evoked responses to the average distances between the site of stimulation and all other recording contacts. A new metric we labeled the connectivity index (CI) is defined as the product of the two values.

Results

57 stimulation-sessions in 22-patients were analyzed. The connectivity index (CI) of the SOZ was higher than control (median CI of 0.74 vs. 0.16, p = 0.0002). The evoked responses after stimulation of SOZ were seen at further distance compared to control (median normalized distance 0.96 vs. 0.62, p = 0.0005). It was 1.8 times more likely to record a response at SOZ than in non-epileptic contacts after stimulation of a control site. Habitual seizures were triggered in 27% of patients and 35 % of SOZ contacts (median stimulation intensity 4 mA) but in none of the control or IZpcontacts. Non-SOZ contacts in multifocal or poor surgical outcome cases had a higher CI than non-SOZ contacts in those with localizable onsets (medians CI of 0.5 vs. 0.12, p = 0.04). There was a correlation between the stimulation current intensity and the normalized number of evoked responses (r = + 0.49, p 0.01) but not with distance (r = + 0.1, p 0.64)

Conclusions

We found enhanced connectivity when stimulating the SOZ compared to stimulating control contacts; responses were more distant as well. Habitual auras and seizures provoked by SPES were highly predictive of brain sites involved in seizure generation.
Spectrum: Fast density-aware spectral clustering for single and multi-omic data
Authors: John Christopher R. , Watson David , Barnes Michael , Pitzalis Costantino , Lewis Myles J.
Published: May 2019

Clustering of single or multi-omic data is key to developing personalised medicine and identifying new cell types. We present Spectrum, a fast spectral clustering method for single and multi-omic expression data. Spectrum is flexible and performs well on single-cell RNA-seq data. The method uses a new density-aware kernel that adapts to data scale and density. It uses a tensor product graph data integration and diffusion technique to reveal underlying structures and reduce noise. We developed a powerful method of eigenvector analysis to determine the number of clusters. Benchmarking Spectrum on 21 datasets demonstrated improvements in runtime and performance relative to other state-of-the-art methods.

Contact:christopher.john@qmul.ac.uk
Motor effort and adaptive sampling in perceptual decision-making
Authors: Zhu Tianyao
Published: May 2019

People usually switch their attention between the options when trying to make a decision. In our experiments, we bound motor effort to such switching behavior during a two-alternative perceptual decision-making task and recorded the sampling patterns by computer mouse cursor tracking. We found that the time and motor cost to make the decision positively correlated with the number of switches between the stimuli and increased with the difficulty of the task. Specifically, the first and last sampled items were chosen in an attempt to minimize the overall motor effort during the task and were manipulable by biasing the relevant motor cost. Moreover, we observed the last-sampling bias that the last sampled item was more likely to be chosen by the subjects. We listed all possible Bayesian Network models for different hypotheses regarding the causal relationship behind the last-sampling bias, and only the model assuming bidirectional dependency between attention and decision successfully predicted the empirical results. Meanwhile, denying that the current decision variable can feedback into the attention switching patterns during sampling, the conventional attentional drift-diffusion model (aDDM) was inadequate to explain the size of the last-sampling bias in our experimental conditions. We concluded that the sampling behavior during perceptual decision-making actively adapted to the motor effort in the specific task settings, as well as the temporary decision.
Active learning for the promotion of students’ creativity and critical thinking
Authors: Sgambi Luca , Kubiak Lylian , Basso Noemi , Garavaglia Elsa
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, it highlights the importance of the presence of active teaching experiences in architecture courses. Such experiences can lead to an improvement in the teaching of technical disciplines, such as structural engineering. Second, it purports to demonstrate the relation and interaction between the active teaching strategy here presented and the learning outcomes required by the study programme.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports an active didactic experience (addressed to students of architecture and performed at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium), from its conception to its development in the classroom with the students. The experience is reported by discussing the three main steps of which an active didactic experience should be composed: the stimulus, the practice and the discussion.

Findings

The experience seeks to find innovative methods to stimulate the study of structural engineering by students of architecture. Through this experience, based on the study of a square silicon pot mat, students are able to learn concepts related to the mechanics of structures. In addition, students find in their experience direct connections with structures of considerable architectural importance, such as the structure of the New National Gallery by Mies van der Rohe.

Originality/value

This experience is original in two aspects. First of all, the introduction of an active didactic experience to improve courses that are generally structured in a passive way. Second, in an era where the importance of numerical technology is growing, this experience goes in a different direction by choosing a low-tech but no less interesting approach.
Signaling value of top management team
Authors: Amin Muhammad , Wu Jianfeng , Tu Rungting
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the upper echelon theory with signaling theory and examine the impact of top management team (TMT) on the initial public offering (IPO) performance of Chinese firms in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used Security Data Corporation (SDC) that is a central database for foreign IPOs in the USA. The authors identified 142 Chinese firms that issued stocks on the US markets between 2003 and 2014. This study used firm’s final prospectuses to collect data manually.

Findings

This study finds that the TMT characteristics such as functional heterogeneity and international exposure convey the positive signal of firm’s legitimacy to the US investors and increase the IPO performance.

Originality/value

This study extends the upper echelon perspective that has previously overlooked the signaling value of TMT characteristics in the foreign IPO studies. The top management plays an important role to the firm’s successful foreign market listing. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, a large number of Chinese firms have started IPOs in the USA, but there is a dearth of research on these firms. This study aims to contribute to the study of international business and management and describes that the TMT functional heterogeneity and international exposure have a significant role in the success of Chinese foreign IPOs.
Use and reuse of visual resources in student papers and presentations
Authors: Matusiak Krystyna K. , Harper Anna , Heinbach Chelsea
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how undergraduate and graduate students use visual resources in their papers and presentations and what role images play in their academic work. It also focused on analyzing the types of image use/reuse in academic work.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was designed using an exploratory, qualitative approach. In all, 15 participants were recruited. Multiple sources of data were collected, including visual evidence, questionnaires and interviews. It adopted consensual qualitative research for data analysis.

Findings

This study finds a prevalent reuse of images in student presentations but limited use and reuse in papers. Images in presentations were primarily reused as objects for engaging and esthetic purposes. Reuse of images as a source of information was not common and in some cases problematic when students were missing context. The type of use/reuse of images in the papers was more varied with examples of creative use and transformative reuse.

Practical implications

This paper contributes to a better understanding of how students use and reuse images for academic papers and presentations. Results have important implications for teaching visual literacy and re-purposing images in higher education.

Originality/value

This paper analyses educational use/reuse of images along the data/object spectrum and distinguishes between different types of image use and reuse.
Fabric retrieval system for apparel e-commerce considering Kansei information
Authors: Takatera Masayuki , Yoshida Ran , Peiffer Julie , Yamazaki Moe , Yashima Kenya , Kim KyoungOk , Miyatake Keiko
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to create a fabric retrieval system for designers that is based on a database that includes designers’ criteria and Kansei (sense and feeling) information, designed for the selection of a fabric from a wide range in e-commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The database included sensory expressions for each type of fabric taken from fashion journals and values of smoothness, softness, luster and thinness (referred to as Kansei values) for each fabric. The Kansei values were determined by a Japanese expert designer using standard fabric samples of a fabric type. The system uses two search methods to find the desired type of fabric: a category search method and a free word search method. After finding appropriate types of fabric, the user further narrows down the fabrics of the selected type to more suitable fabrics using the Kansei values. The validity of the Kansei values and the effectiveness of the system were verified by 11 professional designers from Japan and Sweden.

Findings

The Japanese and Swedish designers were satisfied with the fabrics retrieved for specific items and found that the system was effective. The Kansei values were similar among fashion designers and shown to be effective for fabric retrieval.

Originality/value

The system will allow designers to find appropriate types of fabric and to narrow their search for fabrics among selected types to find candidate fabrics easily and quickly with their Kansei values and experience without technical knowledge of fabrics.
A study of knowledge management systems processes and technology in open and distance education institutions in higher education
Authors: Altınay Fahriye , Altınay Mehmet , Dagli Gokmen , Altınay Zehra
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation and evaluation of knowledge management and e-transformation strategies of higher educational institutions in distance education. After an evaluation of higher educational practices in different countries, distance education was considered a different strategy and was emphasized as an advantage in competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The study reflects a case study in the context of qualitative research. A written view report was conducted to evaluate the awareness of digital efficiency and roles of the teachers in learning environments and evaluation processes in the organizational structure. The qualitative data were evaluated through Nvivo qualitative data analysis. When the literature is overviewed, it can be observed that there are limited studies in this field.

Findings

As a result, distance education contributes a lot to providing equal opportunities in education. It is of great importance that individuals are aware of their roles in the process of accessibility, institutional support, technological infrastructure, support provided for students, learning-teaching environments and evaluation of distance education programs based on equality and life-long learning. In applications of different countries evaluated by Salmon et al. (2014) based on Carpe Diem Model, it is argued that knowledge management and sharing, the role of teachers and digital capability in distance education applications are crucial.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to 35 research participants.

Practical implications

Internationalization has become an important issue in higher educational activities.

Social implications

Diffusion of the uses of knowledge management practice in distance education is important.

Originality/value

The study has a great value on the use of international perspectives and the Carpe Diem Model for the evaluation.
Learning analytics made in France: the METAL project
Authors: Brun Armelle , Bonnin Geoffray , Castagnos Sylvain , Roussanaly Azim , Boyer Anne
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the METAL project, a French open learning analytics (LA) project for secondary school, that aims at improving the quality of teaching. The originality of METAL is that it relies on research through exploratory activities and focuses on all the aspects of a learning analytics environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This work introduces the different concerns of the project: collection and storage of multi-source data owned by a variety of stakeholders, selection and promotion of standards, design of an open-source LRS, conception of dashboards with their final users, trust, usability, design of explainable multi-source data-mining algorithms.

Findings

All the dimensions of METAL are presented, as well as the way they are approached: data sources, data storage, through the implementation of an LRS, design of dashboards for secondary school, based on co-design sessions data mining algorithms and experiments, in line with privacy and ethics concerns.

Originality/value

The issue of a global dissemination of LA at an institution level or at a broader level such as a territory or a study level is still a hot topic in the literature, and is one of the focus and originality of this paper, associated with the large spectrum of different concerns.
How the blockchain enables and constrains supply chain performance
Authors: Hald Kim Sundtoft , Kinra Aseem
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the enabling and constraining roles of blockchain technology (BCT) in managerial work practices and conceptualise the technology–performance relationship in supply chain management (SCM).

Design/methodology/approach

A structured literature review and a theory-driven approach are used. A set of propositions are developed, suggesting how the use of BCT in supply chains can be understood to simultaneously enable and constrain SCM and performance.

Findings

The analysis identifies four enabling and three constraining blockchain identities to explain how the technology either “facilitates” or “impedes” SCM and supply chain performance. Traceability, which emanates from its ability to provide data immutability, ranks highly as a core innovation of the technology. The blockchain is mainly seen as an opportunity to exploit existing supply chain resources and competencies.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of the research is its conceptual nature. Future research should test the developed propositions empirically. Further research should focus on BCT as an opportunity to explore and as a relationship-building technology. More research is also needed focussing on the complex and simultaneous enabling and constraining effects of BCT in supply chains.

Originality/value

The paper shows the important and complex Janus-faced implications of embedding BCT in supply chains and demonstrates how organisational theory can be applied to explore the relationship between blockchain and SCM.
Security capability and logistics service provider selection: an adaptive choice study
Authors: Williams Zachary , Garver Michael S. , Richey Jr Robert Glenn
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The influence of security practices is increasingly common in the supply chain management and logistics literature. However, an under-researched area exists within the logistics service provider (LSP) selection process. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a security capability into the LSP selection process. Specifically, this research seeks to understand partner willingness to compensate and collaborate with service providers that possess a security capability.

Design/methodology/approach

Adaptive choice modeling is adopted to assess the influence of a security capability in the LSP selection process. This study represents the first use of this method in supply chain management and logistics research. Cluster analysis is also performed to uncover specific buyer segments along with traditional regression-based significance testing and counting analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that security can have an important influence on the LSP selection process. In particular, the findings note a willingness to pay for a security capability in LSP selection. Applying segmentation techniques to the findings, three LSP buying segments are determined, each placing different importance and value on LSP capabilities.

Practical implications

This research notes an ongoing provider deficiency in security offerings. Partner firms sometimes maintain a cost focus, but others show a willingness to pay higher prices for access to partners with a security capability. Key practitioner findings include the need to include security with other traditional selection variables. The study walks the researcher and manager through the development of segments based on LSP capabilities.

Originality/value

This manuscript investigates logistic service provider selection. The authors detail an advanced form of conjoint analysis, adaptive conjoint modeling, for first time consideration. Additionally, this is the first study to integrate security into the LSP selection process. This is also the first study to identify a willingness to pay for a security capability.
Strategic scenario analysis combining dynamic balanced scorecards and statistics
Authors: Supino Enrico , Barnabè Federico , Giorgino Maria Cleofe , Busco Cristiano
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the way in which system dynamics (SD) can enhance some key success factors of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model and support decision-makers, specifically in analyzing and evaluating the results of hypothetical scenarios. Moreover, the paper aims to emphasize the role played by statistics not only in validating the SD-based BSC, but also in increasing managers’ confidence in the model reliability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a case study, developed according to an action research perspective, in which a three-step approach to the BSC implementation was followed. Specifically, the first step requires the development and implementation of a “traditional” BSC, which is refined and transformed into a simulation SD model in the second step. Last, the SD-based BSC is combined with statistics to develop policy making and scenario analysis.

Findings

The integration of BSC and SD modeling enables the development of a comprehensive approach to strategy formulation and implementation and, more importantly, provides a more reliable basis upon which to build and test sound cause-and-effect relationships, within a specific BSC. This paper exemplifies how an SD-based BSC can be used – and perceived reliable – to evaluate different scenarios and mutually exclusive policy effects in a multidimensional approach. In particular, this study illustrates how to forecast and depict trends for financial and non-financial indicators over the simulation period, with reference to three different scenarios.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the BSC by exploring whether a combination of SD and statistics may enhance the BSC system’s advantages and facilitate its implementation process and use for decision-making and scenario analysis.
The influence of ERP system usage on agile capabilities
Authors: Almahamid Soud
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Synthesising theories of enterprise resource planning (ERP), psychological empowerment and agile capabilities, the purpose of this paper is to build and test a novel theoretical model linking ERP system usage with agile capabilities via users’ psychological empowerment in Jordanian commercial banks.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed to collect the relevant data based on the extant literature. The population of this study consisted of all ERP system users working at Jordanian commercial banks in Amman City. The questionnaire was circulated to a purposive sample of actual users of ERP systems for two reasons. First, it was not possible to obtain a list of actual ERP users in each bank, for security and privacy reasons. Second, actual users of ERP systems are the most relevant source of information.

Findings

The results revealed that ERP system usage has a significant positive impact on both agile capabilities and users’ psychological empowerment. The results also showed that users’ psychological empowerment has a significant positive impact on agile capabilities. In addition, the results provide empirical evidence that users’ psychological empowerment plays a mediating role between ERP system usage and all agile capabilities except responsiveness. Furthermore, by adding users’ psychological empowerment to the original research model, the study demonstrates a good predictive relevance for agile capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

The study only focuses on Jordanian commercial banks; it is a cross-sectional study; and the study data were subjective, reflecting respondents’ opinion on specific time.

Practical implications

Practitioners struggle to ensure high levels of ERP usage by target users, to achieve implementation success and to achieve expected benefits. More often, practitioners have focused on the ERP system project team, vendors and technical issues, but have ignored the human side of the implementation process. Hence, they have failed to acknowledge the role of psychological empowerment in ERP system acceptance and success. Practitioners are advised to promote the ERP system as a facilitation and empowerment tool for users rather than a means of surveillance and control. Moreover, practitioners can avoid high rates of ERP failure in the adoption and post-adoption stages by changing the aim of the ERP system introduction from increasing efficiency and visibility to enhancing users’ psychological empowerment. Practitioners can leverage agile capabilities to respond to changes in the business environment by ensuring healthy psychological empowerment for all ERP users to use the system to its full capacity and to exchange information between functional units in real time. Practitioners must ensure users’ psychological readiness to use the system before the system goes live.

Originality/value

The study developed and tested a new research model using the SmartPLS approach in a novel context.
The role of relational norms in linking inter-partner learning and IT co-sourcing performance
Authors: Hsu Shu-Mei , Chou Tzu-Chuan , Lee Gwo-Guang , Kuo Ren Zong
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedent factors that foster and sustain the development of relational norms from a social exchange process perspective and articulates the mediating effect of relational norms on the relationship between inter-partner learning (IL) and IT co-sourcing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 197 usable questionnaires were returned from 1,000 Taiwan enterprises. Results from a partial least squares method supported the hypothesis that relational norms serve as dependent variable (to IL) and independent (mediating) variable (to IT co-sourcing performance).

Findings

The empirical results show that IL positively effects partnership identity and collaboration, while both significantly mediate the effects of IL on IT co-sourcing performance.

Research limitations/implications

The research implications confirm that the relational norms which IT co-sourcing parties must include both attitudes and behavior simultaneously, and that IT co-sourcing will not produce good performance without both parties developing shared attitudes and collaborative behavior.

Practical implications

Relational norms can play a critical mediation role to help ensure that both parties reach their common goals successfully and prevent the risk of their effort to cooperate together falling apart. Therefore, project managers have to take account of the importance of relational norms on inter-organizational cooperation or strategic alliances.

Originality/value

This study creates opportunities for further cross-disciplinary studies of inter-firm co-sourcing project especially with regard to relational norms and knowledge sharing.
Adoption, adaptation, and use of mobiles by university students: a Central American example
Authors: Aguirre Juan , Chaves Sindy , Burban Karen
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the actual uses of smartphones for university students while they are in the university, whether in the classroom or outside, to facilitate the use of mobile technologies in the university and in classroom activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The site was the main campus of a university with a population of 10,000 undergraduate students; a convenience sample of 370 students was estimated for 246 usable surveys, with 95% confidence interval and 6.12 percent error. The proposed conceptual framework is based on the unified theory of technology acceptance. The instrument was developed on the basis of the literature and it was validated through a qualitative–quantitative process. The data were collected fact-to-face and the analysis consisted of the estimation of a general profile, mean and standard deviation and the development of the ordinal logistic regression model to test the hypothesis. Minitab 16 was the program used for the calculations.

Findings

The instrument was found to be acceptable with a 0.90 α. The uses associated with the academic activities are: p8_1 search what I do not understand in the class, p5_1 read digital books, pdf and other documents, p9_1 study, p11_1 share course information and p2_1 take photos of class blackboard and another type of materials. For non-academic uses, the uses were: p14 calendar, p4 listening to music, p9 telephone calls and p7 interacting with new students. The adaptation of mobiles to university education has to harmonize students’ use, professors’ objections and institutional concerns; therefore, four elements are needed before a decision is made: professors’ training, teaching material development, infrastructure adaptation and a sound plan.

Research limitations/implications

The selection of students was a convenience sample; therefore, the results cannot be extrapolated beyond the sample.

Practical implications

The study clarifies the traditional idea popular in the area, that is, students use the mobile only for entertainment, and suggests ways to managerially deal with the issue in an orderly fashion, by investing in human capital, infrastructure and electronic teaching tools.

Originality/value

The value is that the findings provide some ideas regarding the uses of smartphones for university students while they are in the university; such information can be used to orient strategies to develop educational uses of the smartphone.
Twofold relationship dynamics of supplier’s knowledge sharing
Authors: Suh Taewon , Jung Jae C. , Zank Gail M. , Arend Richard J.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Assuming that supplier knowledge can either strengthen the partnership by nurturing the commitment and trust between partners or allow the buyer to be more calculative, this study aims to propose two types of knowledge sharing in supplier relationship – a type benefiting the partnership and another privately benefiting only one partner.

Design/methodology/approach

Using structural equation modeling and a surveyed dataset from 352 buyer–supplier partnerships, this study tested the research model of dual mechanism, where two types of knowledge sharing co-exist and have opposite effects on partnership longevity.

Findings

This study found that the two types of knowledge sharing create divergent effects on partnership continuation. For a buyer firm developing supplier knowledge, its supplier firm reciprocates by sharing knowledge with the buyer. While relation-specific knowledge promotes partnership longevity through developing trust, institutionalized knowledge hampers partnership longevity.

Research limitations/implications

Findings overall indicate that knowledge plays a more instrumental role in sharing knowledge in a buyer–supplier relationship, and alternative forces simultaneously work in the partnership. Although this study explicates two mediating mechanisms for the effect of supplier knowledge, there remain many unknown aspects of the effect.

Practical implications

From the buyer’s perspective, it is possible its institutionalized knowledge can facilitate its relationship with a current supply chain partner so that it can gain more benefits from the relationship. From the supplier’s perspective, caution should be exercised in selecting the type of knowledge to share.

Social implications

This study may have a broad impact on public policy by theorizing and testing why some partnerships last longer/shorter than others in association with the dynamics of the relationship initiated by one’s relational knowledge and the other’s knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

What this study contributes to involves the theorizing and testing the effects of the dual mechanism of knowledge sharing on partnership longevity. This study provides an example of a private investment in knowledge that is reciprocated with each type of knowledge – benefiting the partner and also benefiting the focal buyer firm.
Follower emotional intelligence
Authors: Rajesh J. Irudhaya , Prikshat Verma , Shum Paul , Suganthi L.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of transformational leadership (TL) on follower emotional intelligence (EI) and examine the potential mediation role played by follower EI in the relationship between TL and follower outcomes (i.e. growth satisfaction in the job and job stress (JS)).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained through survey using questionnaire collected from 908 employees who worked across six different sectors, i.e. manufacturing, IT, healthcare, hospitality, educational and public services in Southern India. The mediation model proposed in this study was tested using structural equation modelling and bootstrapping method.

Findings

The relationship between TL and Follower EI was significant. Follower EI was found to partially mediate the relationship between TL and followers’ growth satisfaction in job. Contrary to expectations, the follower EI did not significantly predict JS in this study and hence the follower EI did not mediate in the proposed model. However, follower EI and growth satisfaction in the job jointly mediated the relationship between TL and follower JS fully.

Research limitations/implications

Self-report bias about supervisors’ TL behaviours and followers’ own EI assessment and collection of data from the mono-source (subordinate self-report) might have impacted the results of this study. Moreover, some items were negatively worded and reverse coded as cognitive speed bumps to restrain the respondent’s tendency to rush through answering the survey questionnaire.

Practical implications

This study established a partial and joint mediation of follower EI on the relationship between TL and follower outcomes. Basing on these findings, this study highlights the need for the practitioners to better understand the importance of EI training for the leaders in the organisations for obtaining better outcomes in the followers.

Social implications

The study establishes the fact that the attunement of transformational leaders’ EI and follower EI help leaders as well as followers to guide their behaviour towards positive outcomes.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to examine the impact of TL on follower EI and the potential mediation of follower EI between TL and follower outcomes. From a theoretical perspective, this study is one step closer to fully understand the intervening process between TL and follower outcomes.