bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting hospitality firm failure: mixed sample modelling
Authors: Li Hui , Xu Yu-Hui , Yu Lean
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Available information for evaluating the possibility of hospitality firm failure in emerging countries is often deficient. Oversampling can compensate for this but can also yield mixed samples, which limit prediction models’ effectiveness. This research aims to provide a feasible approach to handle possible mixed information caused by oversampling.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses mixed sample modelling (MSM) when evaluating the possibility of firm failure on enlarged hospitality firms. The mixed sample is filtered out with a mixed sample index through control of the noisy parameter and outliner parameter and meta-models are used to build MSM models for hospitality firm failure prediction, with performances compared to traditional models.

Findings

The proposed models are helpful in predicting hospitality firm failure in the mixed information situation caused by oversampling, whereas MSM significantly improves the performance of traditional models. Meanwhile, only partial mixed hospitality samples matter in predicting firm failure in both rich- and poor-information situations.

Practical implications

This research is helpful for managers, investors, employees and customers to reduce their hospitality-related risk in the emerging Chinese market. The two-dimensional sample collection strategies, three-step prediction process and five MSM modelling principles are helpful for practice of hospitality firm failure prediction.

Originality/value

This research provides a means of processing mixed hospitality firm samples through the early definition and proposal of MSM, which addresses the ranking information within samples in deficient information environments and improves forecasting accuracy of traditional models. Moreover, it provides empirical evidence for the validation of sample selection and sample pairing strategy in evaluating the possibility of hospitality firm failure.
Examine destination loyalty of first-time and repeat visitors at all-inclusive resorts
Authors: Yolal Medet , Chi Christina Geng-Qing , Pesämaa Ossi
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that are likely to influence the loyalty behavior of first-time and repeat visitors to all-inclusive resorts.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from first-time and repeat Russian tourists to Antalya, Turkey, utilizing a self-administered survey questionnaire. A total of 339 usable responses were obtained. A structural equation modeling approach was used to test the proposed model on the first-time and repeat visitors’ samples.

Findings

This study suggests that the effects of cognitive evaluation of the resort (service quality) channel through affective evaluation of the visitor experience (visitor satisfaction) before bolstering visitor loyalty. This study also shows that differences exist between the two groups of visitors – first time visitors value cognitive attributes more and rely more on cognitive evaluation.

Practical implications

Destination marketers and managers need to promote all aspects and attributes of a destination among all-inclusive vacationers by creating innovative and comprehensive marketing campaign. Due to the differences between first-time and repeat visitors, it is critical to differentiate the two groups in designing targeted marketing campaign and providing targeted service/product.

Originality value

All-inclusive resorts have attained substantial global presence and popularity over the past 40 years. However, guest satisfaction/loyalty studies in this particular context have not often been approached with the kind of statistical breadth and rigor presented herein. This study adds new information for the understanding of and marketing to the all-inclusive resort guest.
Country-of-operation and brand images: evidence from the Chinese hotel industry
Authors: Lee Seonjeong (Ally) , Oh Haemoon , Hsu Cathy H.C.
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Building upon previous research on country-of-origin. This study aims to investigate whether the effects of country-of-origin extend to the hotel industry, based on associative network and signaling theories.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a self-administered survey with tourists in China, this paper investigates antecedents and outcomes of hotel brand image and the moderating role of a hotel’s brand origin.

Findings

Results reveal country, city and industry images positively influence hotel brand image. Hotel brand image then influences price perception, quality perception and overall satisfaction.

Practical implications

Country-of-operation image remains a relevant, powerful predictor of brand image; thus, hotels need to carefully manage country-of-operation image.

Originality/value

This paper incorporates and establishes the role of country-of-operation image on hotel brand image.
Moderating and mediating roles of environmental concern and ecotourism experience for revisit intention
Authors: Huang Yung-Chuan , Liu Chih-Hsing Sam
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to provide novel insights via a joint investigation of the mediating role of environmental concern and ecotourism experiences. It further explores environmental concern and image as moderators of the association between tourists’ ecotourism experience and revisit intention.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a three-way framework which provided novelty ways of combined moderation-mediation tests on a sample of 474 foreign tourists.

Findings

Results show that environmental concern and ecotourism experience mediated the relationships between motivation and revisit intention. The moderating test shows that foreign tourists’ revisit intention and ecotourism experience are highest when environmental concern and image are high.

Practical implications

Results of this study suggest that it may be beneficial to relate resources of tourism’s organization to prepare for potential sustainable requirements and/or to assist tourists to develop positive pro-environment attitudes (such as inspire tourists’ sense of social responsibility to improve environmental quality), which could possibly improve the feelings about the natural environment as serving the public good and may raise concern about environmental protection reasonability for tourists.

Originality/value

This research is the first comprehensive examination of foreign tourists’ pro-environment attitudes and conducts three-way interaction between tourists’ ecotourism experience, image and environmental concern, which may provide a benchmark for future studies.
A special feature of corporate income taxation in Portugal: the autonomous taxation of expenses
Authors: Dinis Ana , Martins António , Lopes Cidália Maria
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the following research questions: Is the Portuguese corporate income tax (CIT) losing its internal consistency by extending the autonomous taxation of expenses (ATE)? Are receipts derived from autonomous taxes so relevant that what began as an exception is gradually becoming a permanent feature of the income tax? Given the constitutional principle that corporate taxation should be fundamentally based on income, is the taxation of expenses unconstitutional? Is Portugal an international outlier, in applying this type of taxation to corporate expenses?

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used in the paper is a blend of legal research method and case study analysis. The interpretation of legal texts and the ratio legis discussion (hermeneutical side), the evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of autonomous taxes (argumentative approach) and the use of aggregate data to gauge an impression of autonomous taxes’ impact on global tax receipts (empirical side) will, jointly, be used to analyse the topic. Autonomous taxation is a case study on how a (albeit distortive) solution is being applied in an European Union (EU) country to significantly enhance corporate-related tax revenue.

Findings

The authors conclude that autonomous taxation is a relevant source of revenue and its elimination is not foreseeable, at least in the medium term. Moreover, the extension of the tax base is gradually transforming CIT in a kind of dual tax, by charging profits and some expenses. The Constitutional Court, stressing the equity principle, has not ruled autonomous taxation unconstitutional, invoking usefulness against tax evasion. Finally, with the exception of some Portuguese-speaking countries, no other comparable international experience is observed.

Practical implications

The autonomous taxes (ATE) and its progressive enlargement imply, on the one hand, that the CIT has been slowly, but inexorably, losing its sole purpose of taxing profits, and imposing a tax penalty on an increasing set of accounting expenses. On the other hand, the growing number of expenses subjected to taxation leads some authors to ponder if the Portuguese tax regime is losing attractiveness. By increasing ATE’s scope, the effective rate tends to move upwards, countering reductions in the statutory rate. Finally, tax law will increasingly influence managers’ daily decisions, given the set of expenses targeted by autonomous taxes.

Originality/value

Taking into account the aim of this study, the discussion of a Portuguese particular feature of corporate taxation can highlight useful policy points to a broader audience. Many Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries face a dire situation in public finances. Therefore, given the pressure to increase tax receipts, the ATE can be a case study on how a (albeit distortive) solution is being applied in an EU country to significantly enhance corporate-related tax revenue.
Trust-building mechanisms in a coopetition relationship: a case study design
Authors: de Araujo Diana von Borell , Franco Mário
Published: May 2017

Purpose

From social network theory, this study aims to understand how trust is built in a coopetition relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of a qualitative nature was carried out using several semi-structured interviews with managers of two Brazilian firms involved in a dyadic coopetition relationship.

Findings

Based on the empirical evidence, five categories/themes resulted for understanding trust-building mechanisms: mutual dependence, previous experience and reputation, awareness of the risks of opportunistic behaviour, contractual agreement and dynamic process. The juridical sphere, contractual agreement, was the only one identified in the study where firm representatives presented discordant positions, referring specifically to contractual relations of the terms of the agreement.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide some suggestions for managers. First, before beginning interaction in a coopetition relationship, it is necessary to assess whether the coopetition relation meets the required conditions for interaction to take place. Second, the results suggest that firms should make provision against members of both organizations making the relationship vulnerable to acts of opportunism.

Originality/value

This case study is innovative because it reveals manifestations that could help to enhance knowledge of how organizations build trust in dyadic coopetition relationships.
Designing calm and non-intrusive ambient assisted living system for monitoring nighttime wanderings
Authors: Radziszewski Robert , Ngankam Hubert Kenfack , Grégoire Vincent , Lorrain Dominique , Pigot Hélène , Giroux Sylvain
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Assistive living technologies provide support for specific activities, transforming a home into a smart home. The purpose of this paper is to present how to design, implement, deploy and install a personalized ambient support system for the elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and nighttime wandering.

Design/methodology/approach

The intervention presented in this paper proceeds in two phases. During the monitoring phase, the system determines the profile of the person with AD, based on nighttime routines. Data are gathered from sensors dispatched in the smart home, coupled with physiological data obtained from sensors worn by the person. Data are then classified to determine engine rules that will provide assistance to the resident to satisfy their needs. During the second phase, smart assistance is provided to the person via environmental cues by triggering rules based on the person’s habits and the activities occurring during night.

Findings

The paper develops the architecture of a non-intrusive system that integrates heterogeneous technologies to provide a calm environment during night and limit wandering periods.

Practical implications

The goal is to help people age well at home as long as possible and recover a regular circadian cycle while providing more comfort to the caregiver.

Originality/value

The system presented in this paper offers a calm and personalized environment with music and visual icons to soothe persons with AD and encourage them to go back to bed. It is installed at the patient’s home using wireless technologies.
Automatic fight detection in surveillance videos
Authors: Fu Eugene Yujun , Leong Hong Va , Ngai Grace , Chan Stephen C.F.
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Social signal processing under affective computing aims at recognizing and extracting useful human social interaction patterns. Fight is a common social interaction in real life. A fight detection system finds wide applications. This paper aims to detect fights in a natural and low-cost manner.

Design/methodology/approach

Research works on fight detection are often based on visual features, demanding substantive computation and good video quality. In this paper, the authors propose an approach to detect fight events through motion analysis. Most existing works evaluated their algorithms on public data sets manifesting simulated fights, where the fights are acted out by actors. To evaluate real fights, the authors collected videos involving real fights to form a data set. Based on the two types of data sets, the authors evaluated the performance of their motion signal analysis algorithm, which was then compared with the state-of-the-art approach based on MoSIFT descriptors with Bag-of-Words mechanism, and basic motion signal analysis with Bag-of-Words.

Findings

The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach accurately detects fights in real scenarios and performs better than the MoSIFT approach.

Originality/value

By collecting and annotating real surveillance videos containing real fight events and augmenting with well-known data sets, the authors proposed, implemented and evaluated a low computation approach, comparing it with the state-of-the-art approach. The authors uncovered some fundamental differences between real and simulated fights and initiated a new study in discriminating real against simulated fight events, with very good performance.
A passive method for privacy protection in the perceptual layer of IoTs
Authors: Li Xiaoyu , Yoshie Osamu , Huang Daoping
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to detect the existence of unknown wireless devices which could result negative means to the privacy. The perceptual layer of internet of things (IoTs) suffers the most significant privacy disclosing because of limited hardware resources, huge quantity and wide varieties of sensing equipment. Determining whether there are unknown wireless devices in the communicating environment is an effective method to implement the privacy protection for the perceptual layer of IoTs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use horizontal hierarchy slicing (HHS) algorithm to extract the morphology feature of signals. Meanwhile, partitioning around medoids algorithm is used to cluster the HHS curves and agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm is utilized to distinguish final results. Link quality indicator (LQI) data are chosen as the network parameters in this research.

Findings

Nowadays data encryption and anonymization are the most common methods to protect private information for the perceptual layer of IoTs. However, these efforts are ineffective to avoid privacy disclosure if the communication environment exists unknown wireless nodes which could be malicious devices. How to detect these unknown wireless devices in the communication environment is a valuable topic in the further research.

Originality/value

The authors derive an innovative and passive unknown wireless devices detection method based on the mathematical morphology and machine learning algorithms to detect the existence of unknown wireless devices which could result negative means to the privacy. The simulation results show their effectiveness in privacy protection.
Finance managers in family firms: an upper-echelons view
Authors: Hiebl Martin R.W.
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Informed by upper echelons theory, the purpose of this paper is to synthesize the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms and to suggest valuable future research avenues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is organized as a theory-informed literature review. Based on a keyword search in electronic databases, 17 journal articles that deal with finance managers in family firms were identified. In light of upper echelons theory, the results of these articles were analyzed and future research needs were identified.

Findings

Overall, the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms is scant and fragmented. At the same time, this paper’s review findings indicate that finance managers can play decisive roles in family firms, which is why we need further research on their roles. Upper echelons theory is suggested in this paper as a theoretical framework that is well suited to guide such further research.

Originality/value

This is the first review of the academic literature on finance managers in family firms. Its main value lies in providing a theory-informed synthesis of current research on this topic and highlighting fruitful future research avenues.
Centres for Leadership: a strategy for academic integration
Authors: King Gillian , Parker Kathryn , Peacocke Sean , Curran C.J. , McPherson Amy C. , Chau Tom , Widgett Elaine , Fehlings Darcy , Milo-Manson Golda
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how an Academic Health Science Centre, providing pediatric rehabilitation services, research, and education, developed a Centres for Leadership (CfL) initiative to integrate its academic functions and embrace the goal of being a learning organization.

Design/methodology/approach

Historical documents, tracked output information, and staff members’ insights were used to describe the ten-year evolution of the initiative, its benefits, and transformational learnings for the organization.

Findings

The evolutions concerned development of a series of CfLs, and changes over time in leadership and management structure, as well as in operations and targeted activities. Benefits included enhanced clinician engagement in research, practice-based research, and impacts on clinical practice. Transformational learnings concerned the importance of supporting stakeholder engagement, fostering a spirit of inquiry, and fostering leaderful practice. These learnings contributed to three related emergent outcomes reflecting “way stations” on the journey to enhanced evidence-informed decision making and clinical excellence: enhancements in authentic partnerships, greater innovation capacity, and greater understanding and actualization of leadership values.

Practical implications

Practical information is provided for other organizations interested in understanding how this initiative evolved, its tangible value, and its wider benefits for organizational collaboration, innovation, and leadership values. Challenges encountered and main messages for other organizations are also considered.

Originality/value

A strategy map is used to present the structures, processes, and outcomes arising from the initiative, with the goal of informing the operations of other organizations desiring to be learning organizations.
Examining the interrelatedness between ontologies and Linked Data
Authors: Dutta Biswanath
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Ontology and Linked Data (LD) are the two prominent web technologies that have emerged in the recent past. Both of them are at the center of Semantic Web and its applications. Researchers and developers from both academia and business are actively working in these areas. The increasing interest in these technologies promoted the growth of LD sets and ontologies on the web. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible relationships between them. The effort is to investigate the possible roles that ontologies may play in further empowering the LD. In a similar fashion, the author also studies the possible roles that LD may play to empower ontologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The work is mainly carried out by exploring the ontology- and LD-based real-world systems, and by reviewing the existing literature.

Findings

The current work reveals, in general, that both the technologies are interdependent and have lots to offer to each other for their faster growth and meaningful development. Specifically, anything that we can do with LD, we can do more by adding an ontology to it.

Practical implications

The author envisions that the current work, in the one hand, will help in boosting the successful implementation and the delivery of semantic applications; on the other hand, it will also become a food for the future researchers in further investigating the relationships between the ontologies and LD.

Originality/value

So far, as per the author’s knowledge, there are very little works that have attempted in exploring the relationships between the ontologies and LD. In this work, the author illustrates the real-world systems that are based on ontology and LD, discusses the issues and challenges and finally illustrates their interdependency discussing some of the ongoing research works.
Hedonic value and crowdfunding project performance: a propensity score matching-based analysis
Authors: Zhao Liang , Vinig Tsvi
Published: May 2017

Purpose

In the existing literature on crowdfunding project performance, previous studies have given little attention to the impact of investors’ hedonic value and utilitarian value on project results. In a crowdfunding setting, utilitarian value is somehow hard to satisfy due to information asymmetry and adverse selection problem. Therefore, the projects with more hedonic value can be more attractive for potential investors. Lucky draw is a method to increase consumer hedonic value, and it can influence investors’ behavior as a result. The authors hypothesize that projects with hedonic treatment (lucky draw) may have higher probability to win their campaign than others. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A unique self-extracted two-year Chinese crowdfunding platform real data set has been applied as the analysis sample. The authors first employ propensity score matching methods to control for the endogeneity of hedonic treatment adoption (lucky draw). The authors then run OLS regression and probit regression in order to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The analysis suggests a significant positive relationship not only between project lottery adoption and project results but also between project lottery adoption and project popularity.

Originality/value

The results suggest that an often ignored factor – hedonic treatment (lucky draw) – can play an important role in crowdfunding project performance.
Control and involvement HR practices in Indian call centres: still searching for answers
Authors: Ananthram Subramaniam , Teo Stephen TT , Connell Julia , Bish Adelle
Published: May 2017

Call centres were established primarily to reduce organizational costs while simultaneously providing high‐quality customer service. To support this ‘twin constraints’ strategy, a range of human resource (HR) practices tends to be used in call centres that focus simultaneously on both control and involvement. To date, there has been a lack of empirical evidence concerning the outcome of such HR practices on call centre frontline staff (call centre representatives – CCRs). Consequently, this paper attempts to bridge this gap using a sample of 250 CCRs from Indian call centres. The findings show that, while the simultaneous use of involvement‐and control‐oriented HR practices had a positive impact on CCR job satisfaction, it also resulted in employee exhaustion and disengagement. These findings suggest that while involvement‐oriented HR practices enhance CCR job satisfaction, they come at a cost which is potentially a key factor leading to high CCR turnover.
Quality and impact of eviQ Cancer Treatments Online (www.eviq.org.au): the medical oncologist's perspective
Authors: Loke Lydia P. Y. , Chen Tina Y. T. , Lewis Craig R. , Ward Robyn L. , Rushton Shelley A. , Shapiro Jeremy D.
Published: May 2017

Introduction

eviQ Cancer Treatments Online is a free, web‐based resource providing access to over 600 evidence‐based treatment protocols in medical oncology, radiation oncology, hematology and cancer genetics. With over 60 000 registrants from 148 countries, eviQ is widely used by cancer clinicians globally. The aim of this study was to examine the perceived quality of eviQ by Australian medical oncologists, the impact it had on their knowledge and practice, and the effect it had on their patients.

Methods

A web‐based survey was administered to members of the Medical Oncology Group of Australia by email. Two reminders emails were sent to encourage participation.

Results

Of the 97 respondents (15%), all but one, were practicing in Australia, with varying years of oncology experience (<2 years: 25%, 2–10 years: 36%, >10 years: 39%). eviQ was most frequently used as a source for providing patient information sheets on chemotherapy side effects, with 57% of respondents using eviQ for this purpose. Other uses included accessing side effect information (27%), checking drug doses (26%) and guiding dose adjustments (22%). The majority of respondents rated eviQ as current, accurate and relevant with over 90% agreeing that eviQ was of a high quality. Most of the respondents reported that they provided better care with enhanced patient experiences as a result of using eviQ.

Conclusions

eviQ was highly regarded by Australian medical oncologists who responded to our survey. The results suggested that usage of eviQ had a positive impact on individual knowledge, practice and promoted better patient‐centered care.
The cost‐effectiveness of patient‐controlled analgesia vs. standard care in patients presenting to the Emergency Department in pain, who are subsequently admitted to hospital
Authors: Pritchard C. , Smith J. E. , Creanor S. , Squire R. , Barton A. , Benger J. , Cocking L. , Ewings P. , Rockett M. ,   the PASTIES writing group
Published: May 2017

The clinical effectiveness of patient‐controlled analgesia has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. However, patient‐controlled analgesia is rarely utilised in the Emergency Department. The aim of this study was to compare the cost‐effectiveness of patient‐controlled analgesia vs. standard care in participants admitted to hospital from the Emergency Department with pain due to traumatic injury or non‐traumatic abdominal pain. Pain scores were measured hourly for 12 h using a visual analogue scale. Cost‐effectiveness was measured as the additional cost per hour in moderate to severe pain avoided by using patient‐controlled analgesia rather than standard care (the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio). Sampling variation was estimated using bootstrap methods and the effects of parameter uncertainty explored in a sensitivity analysis. The cost per hour in moderate or severe pain averted was estimated as £24.77 (€29.05, US$30.80) (bootstrap estimated 95%CI £8.72 to £89.17) for participants suffering pain from traumatic injuries and £15.17 (€17.79, US$18.86) (bootstrap estimate 95%CI £9.03 to £46.00) for participants with non‐traumatic abdominal pain. Overall costs were higher with patient‐controlled analgesia than standard care in both groups: pain from traumatic injuries incurred an additional £18.58 (€21.79 US$23.10) (95%CI £15.81 to £21.35) per 12 h; and non‐traumatic abdominal pain an additional £20.18 (€23.67 US$25.09) (95%CI £19.45 to £20.84) per 12 h.
Demographic and socioeconomic influences on Helicobacter pylori gastritis and its pre‐neoplastic lesions amongst US residents
Authors: Genta R. M. , Turner K. O. , Sonnenberg A.
Published: May 2017

Background

Gastric infection with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) can lead to chronic inactive gastritis, atrophy and intestinal metaplasia.

Aims

To investigate in a cross‐sectional study these changes among different socioeconomic and ethnic groups within the USA.

Methods

We used the Miraca Life Sciences database, an electronic depository of clinicopathological records from patients distributed throughout the USA, to extract data from 487 587 patients who underwent oesophago‐gastro‐duodenoscopy with biopsy between 1/2008 and 12/2014. We then classified patients into ethnic and socioeconomic categories using previously validated algorithms, as well as ZIP code‐based information derived from the 2011‐2012 US Census.

Results

The prevalence of Hp increased significantly until the age‐group 40‐49, before it leveled off and started a gradual decrease. The prevalence of chronic inactive gastritis, atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia increased significantly with age. The prevalence of Hp, chronic inactive gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and atrophy decreased significantly with the percentage of Whites per ZIP code. The prevalence of all four diagnoses also decreased significantly with rising levels of income or college education. Hp, chronic inactive gastritis, atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were more common among Hispanics and the influence of income or college education less pronounced than in the entire population. Hp, chronic inactive gastritis, atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia were also more common among East‐Asians, Hp and atrophy decreasing with rising income but remaining unaffected by levels of college education.

Conclusion

Ethnicity and socioeconomic factors influence the occurrence of Hp gastritis, and its progression to chronic inactive gastritis, atrophy or intestinal metaplasia.
The effect of crate height on the behavior of female turkeys during commercial pre‐slaughter transportation
Authors: Di Martino Guido , Capello Katia , Stefani Anna Lisa , Tripepi Luca , Garbo Angelica , Speri Marina , Trolese Matteo , Brichese Michele , Marangon Stefano , Bonfanti Lebana
Published: May 2017

Limited information is available on suitable height of transport crates for turkeys. We compared behaviors and physiological indicators of four groups of 10 female turkeys each confined in either conventional (38.5 cm height) or experimental (77 cm height) crates during six commercial pre‐slaughter transportations for 86 km (76 ± 4 min) along two tracts with one‐lane streets, crossroads, bends, roundabouts (S1 and S2) and a highway tract (H) between S1 and S2. Only 36% of birds in the higher crates maintained a standing position. In conventional versus experimental crates, the frequency of rising attempts was five/bird/hour versus less than one/bird/hour, while wing flapping was seven/bird/hour versus 20/bird/hour, and balance loss was one versus four/bird/hour. The behaviors of both groups differed significantly according to the route tract, with a lower frequency of stress‐related behaviors at H. No scratches, fractures or hematomas were detected in any birds after transportation. Crate height had no significant effect on hemato‐biochemical markers. These results suggest that crates enabling a standing position may increase potentially dangerous behaviors. Moreover, busy and curvy routes should be avoided, as they may contribute to increasing the frequency of stress‐related behaviors.
More efficient parameter estimates for factor analysis of ordinal variables by ridge generalized least squares
Authors: Yuan Ke‐Hai , Jiang Ge , Cheng Ying
Published: May 2017

Data in psychology are often collected using Likert‐type scales, and it has been shown that factor analysis of Likert‐type data is better performed on the polychoric correlation matrix than on the product‐moment covariance matrix, especially when the distributions of the observed variables are skewed. In theory, factor analysis of the polychoric correlation matrix is best conducted using generalized least squares with an asymptotically correct weight matrix (AGLS). However, simulation studies showed that both least squares (LS) and diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) perform better than AGLS, and thus LS or DWLS is routinely used in practice. In either LS or DWLS, the associations among the polychoric correlation coefficients are completely ignored. To mend such a gap between statistical theory and empirical work, this paper proposes new methods, called ridge GLS, for factor analysis of ordinal data. Monte Carlo results show that, for a wide range of sample sizes, ridge GLS methods yield uniformly more accurate parameter estimates than existing methods (LS, DWLS, AGLS). A real‐data example indicates that estimates by ridge GLS are 9–20% more efficient than those by existing methods. Rescaled and adjusted test statistics as well as sandwich‐type standard errors following the ridge GLS methods also perform reasonably well.
Avian brains: Insights from development, behaviors and evolution
Authors: Nomura Tadashi , Izawa Ei‐Ichi
Published: May 2017

Birds are an extensively specialized animal group with unique anatomical, physiological and ecological characteristics. Sophisticated social behaviors and remarkable cognitive abilities are present in several avian lineages, driven by their enlarged brains and intricate neural networks. These unique traits could be a result of adaptive evolution under the wide range of environmental constraints; however, the intrinsic mechanisms of avian brain development and evolution remain unclear. Here, we introduce recent findings regarding developmental aspects of avian brain organization and neuronal networks for specific avian behaviors, which provide an insight into the link between the evolution of brain development and complex cognitive functions.
Education and process change to improve skin health in a residential aged care facility
Authors: Price Kay , Kennedy Kate J , Rando Tabatha L , Dyer Anthony R , Boylan Jo
Published: May 2017

We report on an intervention and evaluation in relation to changes in staff knowledge, time spent on healing and wound prevention and proportion of wounds in the facilities before and after. A rapid review of recent peer‐reviewed literature (2006–2016) found 14 education‐based intervention articles and provided the background and context for this intervention. A cohort of 164 nurses and personal care workers and 261 residents at two aged care‐approved facilities contributed to this intervention on the effect of education, mentoring and practice change on staff knowledge and wound prevalence between 2015 and 2016. There was a significant decrease in pressure injury prevalence and an increase in the early identification of potential wounds between phase 1 and 3 across the two facilities. Overall, registered nurses and enrolled nurses showed significant increase in mean knowledge scores. There was a reorganisation of time spent on various wound care and prevention strategies that better represented education and knowledge. Wound management or prevention education alone is not enough; this study, using an educational intervention in conjunction with resident engagement, practice change, mentorship, onsite champions for healthy skin and product choice suggestions, supported by an organisation that focuses on a healthy ageing approach, showed improvement across two residential sites.
Role of single‐source‐precursor structure on microstructure and electromagnetic properties of CNTs‐SiCN nanocomposites
Authors: Liu Xingmin , Yu Zhaoju , Chen Lingqi , Xu Binbin , Li Shuang , Yin Xiaowei , Riedel Ralf
Published: May 2017

Novel single‐source‐precursors (SSPs), namely carbon nanotube modified poly (methylvinyl) silazane (CNTs‐HTT 1800), were synthesized via amidation reaction of poly (methylvinyl) silazane (HTT 1800) with carboxylic acid functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs‐COOH) at the assistance of ZnCl2 catalyst, which was confirmed by means of Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Besides, the TEM results unambiguously show the homogeneous distribution of the CNTs in the matrix of SSPs while serious aggregation of the CNTs in the matrix of physically‐blended‐precursor. Crack‐free monolithic silicon carbonitride modified by carbon nanotubes ceramic nanocomposites (CNTs‐SiCN) were prepared through pyrolysis of the obtained SSP green bodies at 1000°C. Due to the strong influence of polymer structure on the microstructure of final ceramics, the SSP‐derived CNTs‐SiCN nanocomposites clearly show the homogeneous distribution of the CNTs in the SiCN matrix while the physically‐blended‐precursor derived CNTs‐SiCN nanocomposites exhibit serious aggregation and entangling of the CNTs in the SiCN matrix. With the same CNT content in the feed, the SSP‐derived CNTs‐SiCN nanocomposites possess significant improvements of electromagnetic (EM) absorbing properties compared to those from physically‐blended‐precursors, due to the quality of the dispersion of CNTs in the ceramic matrices.
Experimental and computational analysis of thermo‐oxidative‐structural stability of ZrB2–SiC–Ti during arc‐jet testing
Authors: Purwar Anupam , Thiruvenkatam Venkateswaran , Basu Bikramjit
Published: May 2017

The development of new ultra‐high temperature ceramics for thermal protection system (TPS) of hypersonic cruise and re‐entry vehicles requires performance‐qualification testing under simulated flight conditions. The present work, encompassing experiments and computational analysis, critically analyzes the thermo‐oxidative‐structural stability of flat surface disks of spark plasma sintered ZrB2–18SiC–xTi composites (x=0, 10, 20; composition in wt%) under arc jet flow with heat flux of 2.5 MW/m2 for 30 seconds. Such testing conditions effectively simulate the aero‐thermal environment in ground facility, as experienced by hypersonic vehicles. Based on the extensive XRD, SEM‐EDS and electron probe microanalyzer based analysis of the surface/sub‐surface of arc jet exposed ceramics, the oxidation mechanisms are qualitatively discussed. Importantly, thick oxide layers (~400‐950 μm) were found to be adherent, thereby providing good structural stability of such ceramics for reusable TPS. The careful finite element (FE) analysis with high quality structural elements, being generated using HyperMesh, was conducted to understand the underlying reasons for observed oxidation. Such analysis allows us to determine the temporal evolution of through‐thickness temperature distribution. FE‐based calculations were subsequently validated using experimentally measured backwall temperatures. The thermodynamic feasibility of competing oxidation reactions at the analytically computed front wall temperatures was thereafter realistically assessed to support the oxidation mechanisms. Taken together, the present work provides guidelines for better understanding of the thermo‐oxidative‐structural stability of ceramics under arc jet testing and also establishes the good stability of ZrB2–18SiC–20Ti composites for potential application in TPS of hypersonic space vehicles.
Social Support and Academic Engagement Among Reconnected Youth: Adverse Life Experiences as a Moderator
Authors: Pan Jingtong , Zaff Jonathan F. , Donlan Alice E.
Published: May 2017

Using motivational theories of engagement and adopting a multidimensional perspective of academic engagement, the authors investigate the associations among teacher and parent support, students’ academic self‐efficacy, and academic engagement among a sample of reconnected youth who have returned to academic pursuit after dropping out (N = 938, mean age = 16.50, SD = 1.78). In addition, they examine how youth's adverse life experiences moderate the pathways in this model, an analysis notably missing from much of the academic engagement literature. They find that students’ academic self‐efficacy mediates parent and teacher support and youth academic engagement. Moreover, participants’ adverse life experiences moderate the connections among perceived support from parents, academic self‐efficacy, and academic engagement. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed.
Machine learning algorithms improve the power of phytolith analysis: A case study of the tribe Oryzeae (Poaceae)
Authors: Cai Zhe , Ge Song
Published: May 2017

Phytoliths, as one of the important sources of microfossils, have been widely used in paleobotany‐related studies, especially in the grass family (Poaceae) where abundant phytoliths are found. Despite great efforts, several challenges remain when phytoliths are used in various studies, including the accurate description of phytolith morphology and the effective utilization of phytolith traits in taxon identification or discrimination. In this study, we analyzed over 1000 phytolith samples from 18 taxa representing seven main genera in the tribe Oryzeae (subfamily Ehrhartoideae) and five taxa in the subfamilies Bambusoideae and Pooideae. By focusing on Oryzeae, which has been extensively investigated in terms of taxonomy and phylogeny, we were able to evaluate the discrimination power of phytoliths at lower taxonomic levels in grasses. With the help of morphometric analysis and by introducing several machine learning algorithms, we found that 87.7% of the phytolith samples could be classified correctly at the genus level. In spite of slightly different performances, all four machine learning algorithms significantly increased the resolving power of phytolith evidence in taxon identification and discrimination compared with the traditional phytolith analysis. Therefore, we propose a pipeline of phytolith analyses based on machine learning algorithms, including data collection, morphometric analysis, model building, and taxon discrimination. The methodology and pipeline presented here should be applied to various studies across different groups of plants. This study provides new insights into the utilization of phytoliths in evolutionary and ecology studies involving grasses and plants in general.
Evolution and developmental genetics of floral display—A review of progress
Authors: Ma Qing , Zhang Wenheng , (Jenny) Xiang Qiu‐Yun
Published: May 2017

Angiosperms evolved a great diversity of ways to display their flowers for reproductive success by variation in floral color, size, shape, scent, arrangements, and flowering time. The various innovations in floral forms and the aggregation of flowers into different kinds of inflorescences can drive new ecological adaptations, speciation, and angiosperm diversification. Evolutionary developmental biology (evo‐devo) seeks to uncover the developmental and genetic basis underlying morphological diversification. Advances in the developmental genetics of floral display have provided a foundation for insights into the genetic basis of floral and inflorescence evolution. A number of regulatory genes controlling floral and inflorescence development have been identified in model plants (e.g.,Arabidopsis thaliana,Antirrhinum majus) using forward genetics and conserved functions of many of these genes across diverse non‐model species have been revealed by reverse genetics. Gene‐regulatory networks that mediated the developmental progresses of floral and inflorescence development have also been established in some plant species. Meanwhile, phylogeny‐based comparative analysis of morphological and genetic character has enabled the identification of key evolutionary events that lead to morphological complexity and diversification. Here we review the recent progress on evo‐devo studies of floral display including floral symmetry, petal fusion, floral color, floral scent, and inflorescences. We also review the molecular genetic approaches applied to plant evo‐devo studies and highlight the future directions of evo‐devo.
Modern observations of floccule ripples: Petitcodiac River estuary, New Brunswick, Canada
Authors: Shchepetkina Alina , Gingras Murray K. , Pemberton S. George
Published: May 2017

Mud floccule ripples, small mud rip‐up clasts, erosional scars and tool marks are reported for the first time from the macrotidal Petitcodiac River estuary, New Brunswick, Canada. The ripples occur on the intertidal flats and are ebb‐oriented. Observations have been conducted during the spring low tide at high‐river and low‐river discharge. Floccule ripples forming during the high‐river flow are characterized by increased silt fraction, low relief and sinuous to lunate form. The ripples forming during the low flow are clay‐dominated, have very low relief and are characterized by narrow straight ridges and patchy distribution. The preserved mud floccule ripples manifest in interbedded silt‐rich and clay‐rich deposits with parallel, wavy, lenticular and current‐ripple lamination. Presented floccule ripples are current‐generated, non‐episodic in nature and are sedimentologically characterized. The ripple origin is constrained by morphometric and grain‐size analyses, and observed hydraulic processes. It is confirmed that mud floccule ripples originate under a similar range of hydraulic parameters as documented in previous flume studies. This study confirms application of work conducted in recent decades on mud‐dominated marginal‐marine environments and helps with understanding of properties and distribution of fine‐grained sediments in tidally influenced settings.
Conditional assessment of the impact of a Hausman pretest on confidence intervals
Authors: Kabaila Paul , Mainzer Rheanna , Farchione Davide
Published: May 2017

In the analysis of clustered and longitudinal data, which includes a covariate that varies both between and within clusters, a Hausman pretest is commonly used to decide whether subsequent inference is made using the linear random intercept model or the fixed effects model. We assess the effect of this pretest on the coverage probability and expected length of a confidence interval for the slope, conditional on the observed values of the covariate. This assessment has the advantages that it (i) relates to the values of this covariate at hand, (ii) is valid irrespective of how this covariate is generated, (iii) uses exact finite sample results, and (iv) results in an assessment that is determined by the values of this covariate and only two unknown parameters. For two real data sets, our conditional analysis shows that the confidence interval constructed after a Hausman pretest should not be used.