bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular signatures for the class

Coriobacteriia

and its different clades; proposal for division of the class

Coriobacteriia

into the emended order

Coriobacteriales

, containing the emended family

Coriobacteriaceae

and Atopobiaceae fam. nov., and Eggerthellales ord. nov., containing the family Eggerthellaceae fam. nov.
Authors: Gupta Radhey S. , Chen Wan Jun , Adeolu Mobolaji , Chai Yujuan
Published: March 2013

The species of the class

Coriobacteriia

are currently distinguished from other bacteria primarily on the basis of their branching in the 16S rRNA gene trees. No reliable molecular marker is known that distinguishes the bacteria of this class from other organisms. We report here the results of detailed phylogenetic and comparative analyses on 22 sequenced genomes from members of the class

Coriobacteriia

. Detailed comparative analyses on protein sequences from these genomes, reported here, have identified 66 conserved signature inserts or deletions (i.e. indels) (CSIs) in widely distributed proteins that are specific for a number of different clades of the class

Coriobacteriia

at multiple phylogenetic levels, which are also supported by phylogenetic analyses. A set of 24 CSIs in different proteins are specific for all sequenced members of the class

Coriobacteriia

, providing novel molecular markers distinguishing and delimiting this class. One additional CSI is uniquely present in all members of the class

Coriobacteriia

and the phylum

Actinobacteria

supporting their placement within this bacterial phylum. A set of 16 CSIs in divergent proteins are uniquely found in the genomes of all species for which sequences are available from the glucose-fermenting genera

Coriobacterium

,

Collinsella

,

Atopobium

and

Olsenella

, but they are not present in any other bacteria. The species from these genera also form a strongly supported clade (Clade I) in the phylogenetic trees based upon concatenated protein sequences and the 16S rRNA. An additional 10 CSIs in different proteins are specifically present in all members of the asaccharolytic genera

Eggerthella

,

Cryptobacterium

,

Slackia

and

Gordonibacter

for which sequence data is available. A clade consisting of these genera (Clade II) is also supported by our phylogenetic analyses. Within Clade I, two smaller clades, one consisting of the genera

Coriobacterium

and

Collinsella

and the other containing the genera

Atopobium

and

Olsenella

, are independently supported by multiple CSIs (eight and seven respectively) and our phylogenetic analyses. Based upon the results of phylogenetic studies and the identified molecular markers, which clearly distinguish and demarcate the above indicated clades of the class

Coriobacteriia

at different phylogenetic depths, we propose division of the class

Coriobacteriia

into two orders (viz.

Coriobacteriales

and Eggerthellales ord. nov.) and three families (viz.

Coriobacteriaceae

, Atopobiaceae fam. nov. and Eggerthellaceae fam. nov.). Additionally, descriptions of the class

Coriobacteriia

, the order

Coriobacteriales

and the family Coriobacteriaceea are also emended.
Global Warming Can Negate the Expected CO2 Stimulation in Photosynthesis and Productivity for Soybean Grown in the Midwestern United States
Authors: Ruiz-Vera Ursula M. , Siebers Matthew , Gray Sharon B. , Drag David W. , Rosenthal David M. , Kimball Bruce A. , Ort Donald R. , Bernacchi Carl J.
Published: March 2013

Extensive evidence shows that increasing carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) stimulates, and increasing temperature decreases, both net photosynthetic carbon assimilation (A) and biomass production for C3 plants. However the [CO2]-induced stimulation in A is projected to increase further with warmer temperature. While the influence of increasing temperature and [CO2], independent of each other, on A and biomass production have been widely investigated, the interaction between these two major global changes has not been tested on field-grown crops. Here, the interactive effect of both elevated [CO2] (approximately 585 μmol mol−1) and temperature (+3.5°C) on soybean (Glycine max) A, biomass, and yield were tested over two growing seasons in the Temperature by Free-Air CO2 Enrichment experiment at the Soybean Free Air CO2 Enrichment facility. Measurements of A, stomatal conductance, and intercellular [CO2] were collected along with meteorological, water potential, and growth data. Elevated temperatures caused lower A, which was largely attributed to declines in stomatal conductance and intercellular [CO2] and led in turn to lower yields. Increasing both [CO2] and temperature stimulated A relative to elevated [CO2] alone on only two sampling days during 2009 and on no days in 2011. In 2011, the warmer of the two years, there were no observed increases in yield in the elevated temperature plots regardless of whether [CO2] was elevated. All treatments lowered the harvest index for soybean, although the effect of elevated [CO2] in 2011 was not statistically significant. These results provide a better understanding of the physiological responses of soybean to future climate change conditions and suggest that the potential is limited for elevated [CO2] to mitigate the influence of rising temperatures on photosynthesis, growth, and yields of C3 crops.
Identification of Cytokinin-Responsive Genes Using Microarray Meta-Analysis and RNA-Seq in Arabidopsis
Authors: Bhargava Apurva , Clabaugh Ivory , To Jenn P. , Maxwell Bridey B. , Chiang Yi-Hsuan , Schaller G. Eric , Loraine Ann , Kieber Joseph J.
Published: March 2013

Cytokinins are N  6-substituted adenine derivatives that play diverse roles in plant growth and development. We sought to define a robust set of genes regulated by cytokinin as well as to query the response of genes not represented on microarrays. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis of microarray data from a variety of cytokinin-treated samples and used RNA-seq to examine cytokinin-regulated gene expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Microarray meta-analysis using 13 microarray experiments combined with empirically defined filtering criteria identified a set of 226 genes differentially regulated by cytokinin, a subset of which has previously been validated by other methods. RNA-seq validated about 73% of the up-regulated genes identified by this meta-analysis. In silico promoter analysis indicated an overrepresentation of type-B Arabidopsis response regulator binding elements, consistent with the role of type-B Arabidopsis response regulators as primary mediators of cytokinin-responsive gene expression. RNA-seq analysis identified 73 cytokinin-regulated genes that were not represented on the ATH1 microarray. Representative genes were verified using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and NanoString analysis. Analysis of the genes identified reveals a substantial effect of cytokinin on genes encoding proteins involved in secondary metabolism, particularly those acting in flavonoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, as well as in the regulation of redox state of the cell, particularly a set of glutaredoxin genes. Novel splicing events were found in members of some gene families that are known to play a role in cytokinin signaling or metabolism. The genes identified in this analysis represent a robust set of cytokinin-responsive genes that are useful in the analysis of cytokinin function in plants.
International entrepreneurship education
Authors: Rae David , Woodier‐Harris Naomi
Published: March 2013

Purpose

International postgraduate education in business‐related subjects has grown substantially in the UK. Both MBA and specialist Masters’ programmes increasingly offer entrepreneurship as a core or option. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in meeting the expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors explored four questions through a survey of international students participating in entrepreneurship courses in two Business Schools: What is the typical profile of the international students’ prior education and work experience? What do students expect from studying an entrepreneurship PG course in the UK? What are their experiences of, and learning outcomes from, the entrepreneurship course? What benefits regarding their skills and knowledge do they perceive result from participation?

Findings

The results confirm that career development is a major motivator for international study in the UK. Entrepreneurship can help to address cultural tensions between postgraduate students’ expectations and their experiences of UK business education.

Practical implications

Suggestions are offered for educators on the effective design and delivery of entrepreneurship for international students in the rapidly changing and competitive postgraduate market.

Social implications

Cultural integration, learning effectiveness and linguistic capability need to be addressed in designing learning programmes for international students.

Originality/value

The paper contributes new evidence to the debate on meeting the career expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students participating in entrepreneurship education, especially in the light of new curricular guidance and UK government regulation.
Journalling and public health education: thinking about reflecting…
Authors: Sendall Marguerite C. , Domocol Michelle L.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to understand reflective journalling in a first year Public Health practice unit.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses pure phenomenography to interpret students’ descriptions of reflective journalling. Data were collected from 32 students enrolled in PUB215 Public Health Practice in the School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology. Participants completed a brief open‐ended questionnaire to evaluate the first assessment item in this unit, a reflective journal. Questionnaire responses were analysed through Dahlgren and Fallsberg's seven phases of data analysis.

Findings

The reflective journal required students to reflect on lecture content from five of seven guest speakers. Participants’ responses were categorised into four conceptions: engagement in learning, depth of knowledge, understanding the process and doing the task. Participants describe reflective journalling as a conduit to think critically about the content of the guest speakers’ presentations. Other participants think journalling is a vehicle to think deeply about their potential career pathways. Some define journalling as a pragmatic operation where practical issues are difficult to navigate. The reflective journal successfully: engaged students’ learning, increased students’ depth of knowledge and deepened students’ understanding of the journalling process.

Originality/value

This research gives an insight into how first year public health students understand reflective journalling, supports educators in reflective journalling assessments and confirms a reflective journal assessment can move student reflection towards higher order thinking about practice.
At risk policy and early intervention programmes for underperforming students
Authors: Dobele Angela R. , Gangemi Michael , Kopanidis Foula , Thomas Stuart
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine a University's at risk program and ask is the intervention strategy working? The program seeks to assist at risk students who may be experiencing difficulties transitioning, for example from school into university. The program also seeks to identify problems and suggest remediation strategies before attrition.

Design/methodology/approach

The effectiveness of the at risk programs is investigated across a population of at risk students from 2006 to 2010. Effectiveness is judged on the basis of outcomes in subsequent semesters where the University's preferred outcome is these students are not identified as at risk again.

Findings

The authors have found that the program has some success in assisting students to improve their academic performance; though simply engaging in the process is not enough to ensure improvement. Other variables are at work. At risk students located in Melbourne appear to be far more likely to be at risk again than those in Singapore.

Research limitations/implications

The at risk program is intended to be part of the University's total system of pastoral care. As such it is designed to assist struggling students to successfully complete their studies. With this in mind, this paper has investigated the influence of student engagement in the at risk program on future academic performance.

Practical implications

This research assists Universities’ implementation of pastoral care programs and notes the roles of student characteristics in “success” at University.

Originality/value

To the authors’ understanding no other research of this kind has been conducted. Much of the previous research focuses on attrition, students already lost to a program. This research focuses on those not yet lost to a program, but at risk.
Systematic and practical measurement of organizational knowledge creation
Authors: Hoon Song Ji , Won Yoon Seung , Uhm Daiho
Published: March 2013

Purpose

This study developed a systematic measurement scale for the organizational knowledge creation practices. The authors used five knowledge creation phases – sharing tacit knowledge, creating concepts, justifying concepts, building prototypes, and cross‐leveling knowledge – from Nonakaet al.'s knowledge conversion theory as the theoretical foundation.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 914 survey responses collected from 14 for‐profit Korean business organizations representing the country's leading businesses were used to examine the factor structure of those five phases, using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Findings

Results confirmed that the current version of knowledge creation practice measurement, which has five sub‐dimensions along with ten items, is valid and applicable specifically in the Korean for‐profit business context in terms of the psychometric properties of the measurement and measurement factor structure.

Research limitations/implications

The generalization issue still remains one of the research limitations because all data sets were collected from Korean business organizations. More sample diversity needs to be considered for further research in terms of cross‐cultural comparison research, which could strengthen the validity of the current developed measurement.

Practical implications

From the practical standpoint, organizations can utilize this measurement to diagnose their status of knowledge creation, at team and organization levels.

Originality/value

This measurement could promote more dynamic research on areas of knowledge creation in terms of valid and economic size of measurement. From the practical standpoint, organizations can utilize this measurement to diagnose their status of knowledge creation at team and organization levels.
Identification work in the construction industry
Authors: Styhre Alexander
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Organizations are sites where identities are constructed and maintained and a substantial literature points at identity work as being of central importance for managerial practice. Identities are often fragile and contingent constructs, shifting over time and as the actor moves between assignments, being bound up with professional and occupational ideologies, norm and beliefs. The purpose of this paper is to report a study of how construction workers build their occupational identities on the basis of a combination of identification with their work and the quality they deliver benefitting the end‐user and what Elsbach and Bhattacharya call disidentification, i.e. a critique of the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A study of identity work in the construction industry suggests that identities are based on three interrelated processes, the enactment of normative beliefs of ideal selves, the recognition of the accomplishments in the present construction project work, and the disidentification with the construction industry articulated in storytelling practices.

Findings

Construction workers’ identities are thus a patchwork, stitching together a variety of heterogeneous resources. This makes identity work an ongoing social process influenced by both the material conditions of the actual work and norms, beliefs, and aspirations.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the identity literature by emphasizing that identities are irreducible to either material conditions, norm and beliefs, or narrative accounts but are simultaneously drawing on all these resources.
Toward better theory on the relationship between commitment, participation and leadership in unions
Authors: Gall Gregor , Fiorito Jack
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to give a critique of the extant literature on union commitment and participation in order to develop remedies to identified weaknesses

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a critical assessment of extant literature.

Findings

A number of critical deficiencies exist in the literature to which remedies are proposed.

Research limitations/implications

The remedies need testing through empirical research.

Practical implications

Future research needs to have different research foci and questions.

Social implications

With a reorientation of future research on union commitment, participation and leadership, unions may be better able to benefit from academic research in the area.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that a reorientation of future research on union commitment, participation and leadership will allow more incisive and more robust contributions to be made to understanding unions as complex social organisms.
Leader derailment: the impact of self‐defeating behaviors
Authors: Irani Williams Feruzan , Campbell Constance , McCartney William , Gooding Carl
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether self‐defeating behaviors are correlated with leader derailment, and to compare self‐defeating behaviors to the previously identified derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

Design/methodology/approach

Deans at AACSB International‐accredited business schools were surveyed about “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships” and self‐defeating behaviors (SDBs) that one to two of their derailed direct reports may have portrayed. SDBs were analyzed for their strength of association with derailment and compared to the derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships.”

Findings

Results indicated that SDBs are multi‐dimensional and those behaviors that involve interaction with others were significantly associated with leader derailment. Further, the results suggest that SDBs were significantly more indicative of derailment than were “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

Research limitations/implications

The small sample size may limit the ability to generalize the results of the study. Further, the lack of a comparison group of non‐derailed leaders does not rule out the possibility that they may also exhibit SDBs.

Practical implications

As the baby‐boomer generation leaves the workforce over the coming years, the demand for competent leadership will increase dramatically. Companies need to understand the underlying causes of derailment and take appropriate steps to minimize its impact.

Originality/value

Previous research on self‐defeating behaviors has focused on an individual's potential to derail. This study is unique in that it links SDBs to practicing leaders and relies on supervisor ratings (rather than self‐reports) of SDBs.
Organizational commitment in an intense competition environment
Authors: Kuo Yen‐Ku
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of market orientation (MO) on organizational performance (OP) through organizational commitment (OC) in the intensely competitive environment of high‐tech industrial clusters. The relationships among MO, OC, and OP are also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the questionnaires completed by employees of 91 high‐tech enterprises (n=335) located in the four science parks in northern, central, and southern Taiwan.

Findings

The results indicate that MO and OC have positive and direct effects on OP. The effect of MO on OP is significantly increased by enhanced OC.

Practical implications

This study provides corporate managers with valuable knowledge, which can enhance OC and OP. That is, successful organizations must combine the strengths and motivations of internal employees and respond to external changes and demands promptly to demonstrate the organization's value.

Social implications

Regardless how the industrial environment becomes increasingly complex and diverse, OC of employees is still crucial. Only long‐term retention of human capital can sustain operations and enhance OP.

Originality/value

The most valuable contribution of this study is the understanding of OC as a mediator of MO and OP. This indicates that the only factors that guarantee OP are the talents who are willing to commit to the organization. Faced with increasingly severe challenges in the future, the results of this study contribute to existing literature by demonstrating that MO can sustain competitive advantages.
Revenue maximizing itemset construction for online shopping services
Authors: Kim Kwanho , Chung Beom‐Suk , Jung Jae‐Yoon , Park Jonghun
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Revenue maximization through improving click‐throughs is of great importance for price comparison shopping services (PCSSs) whose revenues directly depend on the number of click‐throughs of items in their itemsets. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach aiming to maximize the revenue of a PCSS by proposing effective itemset construction methods that can maximize the click‐throughs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors suggest three itemset construction methods, namely naïve method (NM), exhaustive method (EM), and local update method (LM). Specifically, NM searches for the best itemset for an item in terms of textual similarity between an item and an itemset, while EM produces the best itemset for each item for maximizing click‐throughs by considering all the possible memberships of the item. Finally, through combining NM and EM, the authors propose an LM that attempts to improve click‐throughs by locally updating the memberships of items according to their ranks in each itemset.

Findings

Through evaluation of the proposed methods based on a real‐world dataset, it has been found that improvement of click‐throughs is small when itemsets are constructed by using the textual similarity alone. However, significant improvement in the number of click‐throughs was achieved when considering items' membership updates dynamically.

Originality/value

Unlike the previous studies that mainly focus on the textual similarity, the authors attempt to maximize the revenue through constructing itemsets that can result in more click‐throughs. By using the proposed methods, it is expected that PCSSs will be able to automatically construct itemsets that can maximize their revenues without the need for manual task.
Hybrid modeling and simulation for innovation deployment strategies
Authors: Wang Bochao , Moon Young B.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a simulation model for assessing innovation deployment strategies by evaluating and comparing their outcomes using a hybrid modeling and simulation of agent‐based modelling and simulation (ABMS) and system dynamics (SD). Since successful deployment of innovations in any organization is as important as the innovations themselves, how to choose a suitable deployment strategy and assess its effectiveness before actual implementation is a critical task.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a hybrid modeling and simulation approach combining the advantages of agent‐based modeling and system dynamics to study the activities and strategies involved in innovation deployment. The developed model was verified and validated with the data from GM's OnStar project.

Findings

The research demonstrates that evaluating various deployment strategies for desirable results through hybrid modeling and simulation is possible and useful by finding critical factors and making appropriate forecast, which would aid managers in assessment of innovation deployment strategies and deployment decision‐making processes.

Research limitations/implications

The hybrid modeling and simulation approach provides a powerful tool in various study fields, not only in industries, but also suitable to evaluate the system outputs in both macroscopic and microscopic point of view for many strategy‐making or consulting firms. The presented work is meant for proof‐of‐concept, so numerous expansions are necessary for use in different projects.

Practical implications

For the case evaluated in this paper, it is found that a customer‐oriented strategy outperforms a cost‐oriented strategy in market share as well as customer satisfaction and profit. Cooperation and R&D are essential innovation drivers, but from the study, customer satisfaction does not solely depend on technical advantages. Alliance is a key factor to reduce the cost and risk of uncertainties. The structure and approach of the presented hybrid simulation model can be adopted for other cases to derive conclusions.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies in the way of adopting a hybrid modeling and simulation approach to study the effects of innovation deployment strategies. The model can be modified and used in a wide range of organizations to evaluate different strategies and aid decision‐making processes.
Transactive memory system and TQM: exploring knowledge capacities
Authors: Cabeza Pullés Dainelis , Gutiérrez Gutiérrez Leopoldo J. , Lloréns‐Montes F. Javier
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how transactive memory systems (TMS) facilitate the transfer and absorption of knowledge in the presence of quality management (QM) within a university research and development (R&D) environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The data come from a simple random sampling of 257 Spanish university R&D groups in nine different areas of knowledge. To verify the hypotheses, the authors used multiple linear regression analysis with a moderating effect.

Findings

The conclusions show that the relationship between knowledge transfer (KT) and TMS is significant when QM practices are included as a moderating variable but that this is not the case for knowledge absorption (KA), which does not show any effect.

Research limitations/implications

The effects described were found in a sample composed of various R&D sectors taken from a single country and not distributed equally. Further, the perception analyzed represents the judgment of a single manager.

Practical implications

It is interesting to study this interaction in university R&D because of the important role R&D plays in the development of regions. Improving the internal processes of this research helps to make its results more competitive. This study contributes information on non‐business management and introduces university R&D to the use of QM practices.

Originality/value

The authors found no studies that test empirically the moderating effect of QM practices on the relationships studied in university R&D. The paper's results contribute information to help fill this gap and demonstrate once again that QM practices can be applied to any environment.
Functional analysis model for selecting leading industry under grey information
Authors: Fang Zhigeng , Wang Qunfeng , Wei Hengwu
Published: March 2013

Purpose

This paper attempts to select the leading industry concerning uncertain information and grey interval numbers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper combines grey system theory and the input‐output method, which describe uncertain information as interval numbers in the input‐output table. Additionally, in transforming the grey interval numbers to functions with time, the original input‐output table can be considered as a function of functions, in which functional analysis can be employed to determine important parameters. Neumann series is utilized to reverse the Leontief matrix having grey interval numbers. Based on the result, one can calculate the influence and induced coefficients of industries, which can help the decision maker to select the leading industry by comparing the overall effects of industries. A case in Wuxi city is conducted to show the feasibility of the above method.

Findings

The results of this paper show that selecting the leading industry is not only based on regional the input‐output table, but also depends on the algorithm dealing with and comparing uncertain values.

Practical implications

The method proposed in the paper can help people to choose the leading industry under uncertain information, which provides a novel approach for analyzing local economy development.

Originality/value

The paper is shows a functional analysis perspective and contributes to regional economy development by solving selecting the leading industry without exact input‐output tables.
Research on irrational bubbles in the stock market based on the perspective of generalized virtual economy
Authors: Liu Hongqi , Jia Tianbing , Yuan Chaoqing , Zhang Yifan
Published: March 2013

Purpose

This paper attempts to provide novel approaches and tools for the analysis and measurement of stock bubbles.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the perspective of a generalized virtual economy and the circulation process of accumulation strengthening and exclusion in the stock noise and is based on the symmetric chain model of the evolutionary game of combination of stock markets. Based on the stable ratio of the rational and irrational investors and the asymptotically stable strategy of the model in the two cases, the paper uses the improved classic model of noise trading (DSSW) to calculate the irrational bubbles on the Shanghai stock market.

Findings

The paper shows that the more irrational investors are, the higher the irrational bubbles are.

Practical implications

The method exposed in the paper can be used to study the formation mechanism of the stock market bubble, to analyze the impact of investors' behaviours, to measure the size of irrational bubbles and to put forward some reasonable policy recommendations and preventive measures.

Originality/value

The paper succeeds in pointing out a new stock market's irrational bubble calculation model on the basis of evolutionary game chain structure, and thus measures the size of the Shanghai stock market bubble and makes some tentative research and discussion about the evolution law of the stock market's irrational bubble.
Modeling and simulation of stranded passengers' transferring decision‐making on the basis of herd behaviors
Authors: Shen Yang , Liu Sifeng , Fang Zhigeng , Hu Mingli
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the pattern of passengers' transferring on occasion of a large crowd being stranded at transportation hubs (such as a bus station, railway station, airport, etc.) in climate disasters, and then propose the proper policy recommendations for the government to evacuate stranded passengers.

Design/methodology/approach

A model is established based on Bayesian network and influence diagram to catch the features of a passenger's decision‐making process, and the transition probabilities of passengers are revised on the basis of the theory of herd behaviors in information to describe the influence of group behaviors on passenger individuals. Subsequently, a multi‐agent model is developed in Repast platform in Java language, and simulation and analysis are also made.

Findings

The results of simulation show that it is possible to apply the theory of herd behaviors and the multi‐agent method in analyzing the effectiveness of government policies on evacuating stranded passengers in climate disasters.

Originality/value

The research of this paper has important practical significance for the government to developing policies to evacuating stranded passengers in climate disasters, and is a useful exploration to open up new methodologies for emergency management.
Inventory control model for fresh agricultural products on Weibull distribution under inflation and delay in payment
Authors: Li‐juan Wang , Hong‐wei Wang , Xi‐chao Sun
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to research the influence of inflation and delay in payment on the inventory model on Weibull distribution and present a new method of inventory control model for fresh agricultural products.

Design/methodology/approach

The previous researches deal with the inventory problems. However, these researches are based on deteriorating industrial products, so that the method for inventory model of agricultural products should be employed. According to agricultural products characteristics, the model assumes that deterioration is defined as fixed and demand is taken as Weibull distribution. An optimal order quantity and the minimum inventory total cost are formulated and solved under inflation and delay in payment.

Findings

The minimum inventory total cost and the optimal ordering quantity are convex with the length of the period with positive stock. When the delay period is longer than the length of the period with positive stock, the minimum inventory total cost and the optimal ordering quantity increase with permissible delay in payment increase and decrease with inflation rate increase, changing steeply with inflation rate and increasing permissible delay.

Research limitations/implications

The market demand of fresh agricultural products is on two‐parameter Weibull distribution.

Practical implications

The paper gives useful advice for agricultural supply chain managers.

Originality/value

The paper presents a new method of inventory control for fresh agricultural products.
Organizational learning and the complexity of strategic human resource management
Authors: Ci‐sheng Wu , Shu‐ming Zhao
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the complicated characteristics of the environment, the relationship between complicated organization and organizational transformation, and the coupling domino effect between the complication of external environment and organizational complexity by making conceptual systematic analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The relative stability and certainty of the organizational structure are being replaced by uncertainty and complexity. Organizational learning and its reform are becoming all the more important to gain organizational competitive advantage. This paper designs the system analysis method to discuss the complexity of organizational environment, the relationship between organizational complexity and organizational structure reform, and also the coupling effect of the complexity of external environment and that of the organization.

Findings

It is found that organizational learning, the ways of strategic reform, and the focal point must remain consistent under the complicated environment.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation is how to construct the mathematical models describing complicated characteristics of the environment.

Practical implications

The paper contains very useful advice for human resource managers.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on the selection of learning patterns and strategic management of different organizational learning and the reform of organizational structure.
Analysis and evaluation of net‐centric command and control decision processes
Authors: Bing Xiao , Yan Jiang , Hongbin Jin
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach which can evaluate the ability that successfully achieves command and control, both in qualitative and quantitative modes, to improve decision accuracy and speed, as well as construct an executable architecture for analyzing and verifying different decision projects.

Design/methodology/approach

By defining command and control (C2) decision architecture and decomposing C2 decision processes into measurable subfunctions, measures and metrics will be associated with each of the lowest level decomposed functions, and will be used to provide support for performance evaluation. Both Markov decision process analysis and conditional probability (CP) logic are used for modeling the decision‐making process of course of action (COA). Meanwhile, an executable architecture constructed by Petri net is applied to logic structural verification and performance evaluation.

Findings

The paper presents an idea and methodology for net‐centric command and control decision‐making process analysis.

Research limitations/implications

The paper describes and decomposes C2 decision processes for complex missions in uncertain environments.

Practical implications

The paper could be an important reference of analysis and application in net‐centric command and control of decision making.

Originality/value

The paper combines methodology with qualitative methods (decision process decomposition), quantitative method (Markov decision process analysis and CP logic), as well as structural verification and performance evaluation.
Multifractal features of metal futures market based on multifractal detrended cross‐correlation analysis
Authors: Guo Yaoqi , Huang Jianbo , Cheng Hui
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Recently, many scholars have been paying more attention to studying the existence and application of multifractality. However, most researches concentrate on studying multifractal features of returns or volume separately, and ignore the correlation between them. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to give an empirical test on multifractal features of price‐volume correlation in China metal futures market and then to conduct a comparative analysis from time and space dimensions, in order to better understand metals futures market behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper gives an empirical test by means of multifractal detrended cross‐correlation analysis (MF‐DCCA) approach, which is a technique employed in statistical physics to detect multifractal features of two cross‐correlated nonstationary time series.

Findings

Empirical results show that the price‐volume correlation in China metal futures market is multifractal and that long range correlation and non‐Gaussian probability distribution are the main reasons for the existence of multifractality. Also, a comparative analysis is conducted and it is found that although China metal futures market is becoming more and more effective, the effectiveness is lower than that in mature LME metal futures markets. The futures market still needs further development.

Originality/value

The paper's conclusions would help to understand the nonlinear dependency relationship and potential dynamics mechanism in price‐volume correlation.
Data output from Javascript
Authors: Andrew Alex M.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the advantages of the Javascript programming language for demonstration programs. A major disadvantage is the difficulty of exporting data from such programs, felt particularly when graphical output is wanted. The paper describes and compares two ways of overcoming the difficulty.

Design/methodology/approach

One of the methods depends on transferring data from the screen display via the “clipboard”; the other involves transfer of data into e‐mail messages.

Findings

The “clipboard” method is the simpler and more intuitive of the two and was used by the author to produce graphs, but the e‐mail method could be advantageous where larger amounts of data have to be transferred.

Practical implications

Both of the methods are extremely tedious in use, and where data has to be transferred repeatedly, for instance in studies where repeated inspection of results in graphical form is needed, the solution would almost certainly be to choose a programming language other than Javascript.

Originality/value

The paper discusses what is believed to be a novel method of transfer of data using e‐mail.
An introduction to alysidal algebra (III)
Authors: Nescolarde‐Selva J. , Usó‐Doménech J.L.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Deontical impure systems are systems whose object set is formed by an s‐impure set, whose elements are perceptuales significances (relative beings) of material and/or energetic objects (absolute beings) and whose relational set is freeways of relations, formed by sheaves of relations going in two‐way directions and at least one of its relations has deontical properties such as permission, prohibition, obligation and faculty.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper looks at the mathematical and logical development of human society structure.

Findings

Existence of relations with positive imperative modality (obligation) would constitute the skeleton of the system. Negative imperative modality (prohibition) would be the immunological system of protection of the system. Modality permission the muscular system, that gives the necessary flexibility to the system, in as much to the modality faculty its neurocerebral system, because it allows him to make decisions. Transactions of energy, money, merchandise, population, etc. would be the equivalent one to the sanguineous system. These economic transactions and inferential relations, depend, as well, of the existence of a legislative body with their obligations, prohibitions and permissions that regulate them. A Social System Σ may be considered like an alysidal set with an only alysidal element. The authors consider two theories: Enlarged theory and Reduced theory.

Originality/value

This paper is a continuation of two previous papers – Part I published in Kybernetes, Vol. 41 No. 1/2 and Part II published in Vol. 41 No. 5/6 – and develops the theory of deontical impure systems.
A new method for mining area ecological environment assessment based on credibility measure
Authors: Chen Jiqiang , Ma Litao , Zhang Hong
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a more objective evaluation method for a mining area ecological environment. It proposes the weight of indices with respect to the total goal, and provides a new evaluation method which generalizes the weighted‐average method.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors describe the evaluation grades by fuzzy variables in credibility space, and the degree of an index belonging to a grade is transformed to be the credibility measure of a fuzzy event by the credibility inversion theorem. Second, a new algorithm which generalizes the weighted‐average method is proposed to realize the transformation from the credibility degree of the underlying indices to the credibility degree of the total target.

Findings

The method proposed in this paper can obtain the correct results illustrated with a numerical evaluation example. The comparison with two other methods shows that the proposed method has stronger classification ability.

Originality/value

The new method presented in this paper generalizes the weighted‐average method, and provides methods for other evaluation systems with a hierarchical structure.
A two‐layer scheme for membership and classification querying
Authors: Ma Heng , Cheng Hung‐Yu
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to effectively deal with querying of classification with membership.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a scheme comprising a layer of Bloom filter for membership checking and a second layer based on neural network for dealing with the classification requirement.

Findings

Not only could false positives be dramatically decreased, but also classification could be achieved with the proposed scheme.

Research limitations/implications

The experimental data were randomly generated instead of real‐world ones.

Practical implications

It is difficult to implement this scheme in a real‐world environment, such as the internet. Second, the neural network requires time to converge to a satisfactory level.

Social implications

Internet ethic might be compromised by hackers once they find a way around the filtering mechanism.

Originality/value

The neural network was moditified and utilized for the first time to be suitable for our purpose. Second, the two‐layer design shows effectiveness.
The complexity of measuring complexity
Authors: Iván Tarride Mario
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a reflection that can contribute to the discussion of the possibility, or not, of measuring the complexity of any given system.

Design/methodology/approach

The reflection takes place considering three aspects: the first one, of an etymological character, with the purpose to specify the semantics of complexity. The second, epistemological, refers to the forms of complexity measuring in different domains. And the third, of an ontological character, refers to the essential in the complexity of reality, which contains to the observer who observes and that is observes himself.

Findings

It is proposed to reserve the word complex to refer to systems that are treated as an undecomposed and irreducible totality and the act of measuring does not take place; while the expression complicated may be used when the act of reduction takes place by measuring the system.

Research limitations/implications

The statement made claims to be revised, criticized, questioned, confronted … , with the aim to enrich it and accept it, or else to reject it and discard it.

Originality/value

There is some degree of originality, with respect to other works, that deals with the measurement of complexity, but which does not refer to the distinction that it is possible to establish between complexity and complication, with its epistemological implications and in particular with the challenge of its quantification.
Elements of a cybernetic epistemology: complex anticipatory systems
Authors: Nechansky Helmut
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the main differences in the cybernetic structures necessary for elementary anticipation, understood as anticipation of the repetition of one known pattern, and complex anticipation, understood as anticipation of the repetition of known sequences of patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

A functional cybernetic approach is used to develop the necessary additions to an elementary anticipatory system, so that it can provide standards for anticipated sequences containing seven single patterns or “chunks”.

Findings

A subsystem for the anticipation of sequences is developed that is able to: identify the beginning of known sequences; search for different known sequences containing that beginning; and decide to use later patterns of such a sequence as standards for anticipated patterns. Deciding to actually use such patterns for anticipation requires an additional subsystem to switch between the feedback pattern recognition and the feedforward anticipation mode.

Practical implications

The paper shows how complex anticipation can be developed from elementary forms by adding highly parallel structures that apply the same underlying principles; and it emphasizes epistemological demands for the structure and the data organization that have to be fulfilled, so that anticipation of the repetition of sequences becomes possible.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates the complexity of the anticipation of sequences and it provides the base to analyze more complex forms of specifically human thinking.