bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigating the conformational dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 NSP6 protein with emphasis on non-transmembrane 91-112 & 231-290 regions
Authors: Kumar Amit , Kumar Prateek , Saumya Kumar Udit , Giri Rajanish
Published: July 2021

The NSP6 protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a transmembrane protein, with some regions lying outside the membrane. Besides, a brief role of NSP6 in autophagosome formation, this is not studied significantly. Also, there is no structural information available till date. Based on the prediction by TMHMM server for transmembrane prediction, it is found that the N-terminal residues (1-11), middle region residues (91-112) and C-terminal residues (231-290) lies outside the membrane. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations showed that NSP6 consisting of helical structures, whereas membrane outside lying region (91-112) showed partial helicity, which further used as model and obtain disordered type conformation after 1.5 microsecond. Whereas, the residues 231-290 has both helical and beta sheet conformations in its structure model. A 200ns simulations resulted in the loss of beta sheet structures, while helical regions remained intact. Further, we have characterized the residue 91-112 by using reductionist approaches. The NSP6 (91-112) was found disordered like in isolation, which gain helical conformation in different biological mimic environmental conditions. These studies can be helpful to study NSP6 (91-112) interactions with host proteins, where different protein conformation might play significant role. The present study adds up more information about NSP6 protein aspect, which could be exploited for its host protein interaction and pathogenesis.

Graphical Abstract

The schematic representation of NSP6 membrane topology and conformational dynamics of residue 91-112. The N-terminal and C-terminal are shown in cytoplasmic side based on the experimental evidence on coronaviruses reported by Oostra et al., 2008. The membrane anchoring domain are shown based on the TMHMM server prediction.
Traip Mitotic Function Controls Brain Size
Authors: O’Neill Ryan S. , Rusan Nasser M.
Published: July 2021

Microcephaly is a developmental failure to achieve proper brain size and neuron number. Mutations in diverse genes are linked to microcephaly, including several with DNA damage repair (DDR) functions; however, it is not well understood how these DDR gene mutations limit brain size. One such gene is TRAIP, which has multiple known functions in DDR. We characterized the Drosophila ortholog Traip, finding that loss of Traip causes a brain-specific defect in the Mushroom Body (MB). Traip mutant (traip-) MBs had reduced size and fewer neurons, but no neurodegeneration, consistent with human primary microcephaly disorders. Reduced neuron numbers in traip- were explained by premature caspase-dependent cell death of MB neuroblasts (MB-NBs). Many traip- MB-NBs had prominent chromosome bridges in anaphase, along with polyploidy, aneuploidy, or micronuclei. We found no evidence for an interphase DNA repair role for Traip in MB-NBs; instead, proper MB development requires Traip function during mitosis, where Traip localizes to centrosomes and mitotic spindles. Our results suggest that proper brain size is ensured by the recently described role for TRAIP in unloading stalled replication forks in mitosis, which suppresses DNA bridges and neural stem cell death to promote proper neuron number. Further, the mitotic nature of traip- MB-NB defects and Traip localization suggest a closer etiological link between DDR microcephaly genes like Traip and the centrosome/spindle-related genes more commonly associated with microcephaly.
Robot navigation based on improved A* algorithm in dynamic environment
Authors: Zhang Lin , Zhang Yingjie , Zeng Manni , Li Yangfan
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to put forward a path planning method in complex environments containing dynamic obstacles, which improves the performance of the traditional A* algorithm, this method can plan the optimal path in a short running time.

Design/methodology/approach

To plan an optimal path in a complex environment with dynamic and static obstacles, a novel improved A* algorithm is proposed. First, obstacles are identified by GoogLeNet and classified into static obstacles and dynamic obstacles. Second, the ray tracing algorithm is used for static obstacle avoidance, and a dynamic obstacle avoidance waiting rule based on dilate principle is proposed. Third, the proposed improved A* algorithm includes adaptive step size adjustment, evaluation function improvement and path planning with quadratic B-spline smoothing. Finally, the proposed improved A* algorithm is simulated and validated in real-world environments, and it was compared with traditional A* and improved A* algorithms.

Findings

The experimental results show that the proposed improved A* algorithm is optimal and takes less execution time compared with traditional A* and improved A* algorithms in a complex dynamic environment.

Originality/value

This paper presents a waiting rule for dynamic obstacle avoidance based on dilate principle. In addition, the proposed improved A* algorithm includes adaptive step adjustment, evaluation function improvement and path smoothing operation with quadratic B-spline. The experimental results show that the proposed improved A* algorithm can get a shorter path length and less running time.
Accounting for biosecurity in Italy under COVID-19 lockdown
Authors: Antonelli Valerio , Bigoni Michele , Funnell Warwick , Cafaro Emanuela Mattia
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The paper examines how accounting and accounting experts provided important contributions to the Italian government's strategy to address the COVID-19 emergency in 2020, especially in terms of implementing new rules of conduct and providing justification for penetrating interventions in the life of individuals.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach by drawing upon Agamben's concepts of the state of exception, bare life and biosecurity to understand the purposes of the decrees issued by the Italian government and data provided to the citizens in the “daily bulletin” on the crisis by the Civil Protection Department.

Findings

Accounting data provided essential contributions to the government's strategy that sought to spread disquiet and uncertainty in the population to ensure compliance with the strict rules in place, thereby sustaining the management of the country under a state of exception.

Social implications

The study draws attention to the way in which accounting provides justification for measures that are promoted as provisional but which have enduring effects, most importantly the ability of governments in the future to suspend the rights of individuals. It shows how accounting can influence people's behaviour and contribute to the development of a permanent state of exception that significantly increases government prerogatives.

Originality/value

The work contributes to the literature on accounting and emergencies by studying the use of accounting information as a subtle means to ensure support for extreme government actions and ultimately as a political tool that promotes biosecurity as a new government paradigm.
Does personality affect the individual's perceptions of organizational justice? The mediating role of organizational politics
Authors: Aggarwal Arun , Nobi Kamrunnisha , Mittal Amit , Rastogi Sanjay
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The personality of an individual plays a vital role in the way an individual perceives organizational politics and justice in the workplace. However, there is meager research on how an individual's personality affects the perceptions of organizational politics and justice. This study endeavors to fill this gap by analyzing the mediating role of organizational politics perceptions on the relationship between Big Five personality dimensions and organizational justice by controlling various demographic variables. The study also proposes a benchmarking model that the policymakers can use to create positive organizational justice perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

In this cross-sectional research, the data were collected through a multi-stage random sampling technique from 493 faculty members working in four public universities of Punjab, India. Out of 493 employees, 76.9% of the employees were assistant professors, 12.0% were associate professors and 11.2% were assistant professors. 51.5% of the employees were female, and 48.5% of the employees were male. To test the proposed hypothesized relationships, a structural equation modeling technique was used.

Findings

Results of the structural equation modeling showed that openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion have a negative relationship with perceptions of organizational politics. However, their relationship with perceptions of organizational justice is positive. Neuroticism has a positive relationship with perceptions of organizational politics, whereas it has a negative relationship with perceptions of organizational justice. Results also showed that high perceptions of organizational politics have a negative effect on employee's perceptions regarding organizational justice. The mediation analysis results showed that perceptions of organizational politics mediate the relationship between an individual's personality and perceptions of organizational justice.

Originality/value

There is a scant amount of research available that considers Big Five personality dimensions and organizational politics as the antecedents of organizational justice. Hence, the current study tries to fill this research gap by proposing a research model on antecedents and consequences of perceptions of organizational politics based on the cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS).
Determinants of commercial bank loan and advance disbursement: the case of private Ethiopian commercial banks
Authors: Birhanu Tekeste , Bosho Deressa Sewunet , Azadi Hossein , Viira Ants-Hannes , Van Passel Steven , Witlox Frank
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This paper aimed to investigate the determinants of loans and advances from commercial banks in the case of Ethiopian private commercial banks.

Design/methodology/approach

The study randomly selected seven commercial banks to represent the population stratified on their asset, deposit and paid-up capital amounts. The study utilized an unbalanced panel data model as each bank started operation at a different period of time and considered the period 1995–2016 for secondary details.

Findings

The findings showed that the deposit size, credit risk, portfolio investment, average lending rate, real gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation rate had significant and optimistic effects on the lending and advancement of private commercial banks. On the contrary, liquidity ratio had significant and negative effects on private commercial bank loans and advances. Finally, the study forwarded a feasible recommendation for concerned organs to focus on deposit size, credit risk, portfolio investment, average lending rate, real GDP, inflation rate and liquidity ratio. The results of this study will help banking industry policymakers and planners understand how to minimize inflation and unemployment by improving development and sustainable economic growth.

Originality/value

The findings of this study can also affect the general attitudes of a society by increasing knowledge and improve the quality of life for the general public.
Indigenous knowledge of mud architecture: experiences of surviving against multiple natural hazards
Authors: Chowdhooree Imon , Das Kanu Kumar
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Mud architecture as one of the expressions of vernacular architecture illustrates the success of indigenous knowledge of traditional communities. Due to the pressure of industrialization, urbanization and globalization, the trend of using non-traditional measures guided by the Western-Euro-centric knowledge and technologies considers the traditional practices as expressions of backward past, under-development and poverty. Though mud as a building material is usually assumed as a fragile and ephemeral material that cannot survive against natural hazards, the surviving traditional mud buildings are needed to be investigated to know their performances during and after different types of natural hazard incidents.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper intends to study the available cases of mud architecture of Chattogram, Bangladesh to trace the history of their survival despite of experiencing multiple natural hazards and to understand their status and prospect of resisting hazards. Three individual homesteads are chosen as cases for conducting physical survey as well as engaging inhabitants and local masons of the locality in semi-structured interviews in a story telling mode to know the construction process and histories of experiencing natural hazards. Available literatures are reviewed, and experts are interviewed to understand the causes of their performances and possible ways to improve the quality.

Findings

Collected information on mud architecture demonstrates their quality of surviving against many natural challenges and this hazard-resilient quality can be enhanced through using contemporary building technologies and materials, promising to co-exist with the global trend.

Originality/value

This study as an attempt to reinvent the vernacular architectural heritage endorses the need of appreciating indigenous knowledge for enhancing community resilience against natural hazards.
Exploring the gendered entrepreneurial identity gap: implications for entrepreneurship education
Authors: Elliott Catherine , Mantler Janet , Huggins Joie
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Women are underrepresented in most university entrepreneurship education (EE) programmes and less likely than men to pursue business venturing as a career. One reason may be the “entrepreneurial identity gap”, whereby female students do not see themselves as successful entrepreneurs. This paper aims to explore the nature of this identity gap and its relationship to entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurship education.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of contemporary, gender-inclusive entrepreneurial attributes was developed using entrepreneurial subject matter experts and tested with 591 university students to explore the nature of the gendered entrepreneurial identity gap.

Findings

While masculine stereotypes persist and the entrepreneurial identity gap is larger for female students, results suggest that a more gender-inclusive vocabulary of entrepreneurship is emerging among the student population and an androgynous perception of the idealized entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship education had a positive influence on entrepreneurial intent.

Research limitations/implications

Study findings advance the conversation about entrepreneurial identity, the nature of the gendered identity gap and the role of education in closing that gap. The questionnaire and set of gender-inclusive attributes should continue to be tested beyond student samples.

Practical implications

Based on this study, entrepreneurship education could benefit from more gender-inclusive instructional practices and vocabulary and a broadened definition of what it means to be entrepreneurial. More students – both men and women – will see themselves as entrepreneurs and be inspired to participate in the innovation economy.

Originality/value

This study takes a novel approach to the study of entrepreneurial identity, developing a new set of attributes and contemporary vocabulary around business venturing.
“Unforgotten” informal communities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Sitio San Roque under Metro Manila’s lockdown
Authors: Collantes Christianne France
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to offer Sitio San Roque, an informal settlement in the Philippines as a case study to explore long-term "forgetful" urban development planning in the Philippines, and the renewed visibility of the urban poor under COVID-19 lockdown. It connects scholarship on informality to issues of housing and political rights in Metro Manila to further investigate how vulnerable communities in the Global South are faring in the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an exploration of Sitio San Roque, an informal settler community in Metropolitan "Metro" Manila, Philippines. This paper refers to recent journalistic reports pertaining to the community's ongoing evictions and arrests while under Metro Manila's "enhanced community quarantine." Furthermore, it converses with literature from disciplines including health-care policy, urban studies and recent studies on COVID-19 and vulnerable communities to critically discuss the plight of the urban poor in the pandemic-stricken Metro Manila.

Findings

The urban poor and members of informal communities such as Sitio San Roque are especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 because of precarious livelihoods and housing instability. The creation of informality in Metro Manila can be traced to political tensions, economic agendas and development planning since the time of Marcos' administration and also to global restructuring during the 1990s. However, also important to note is that under Metro Manila's lockdown, informal settlers are further disenfranchised and stigmatized via ongoing demolitions and evictions, as well as by processes of policing and criminalization by the state. The use of military and police personnel as a way to enforce lockdown in the metropolis further impedes on the rights of informal settlers and the urban poor.

Originality/value

Recent scholarship and reports discuss the challenges for informal communities and the urban poor in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to their housing conditions and loss of economic stability. This paper contributes to a critical understanding of these issues by adding the dimensions of political and housing rights. It refers to the case study of members of Sitio San Roque, who have experienced continuous threats of demolitions and arrests by state police for protesting the lack of government aid under lockdown. Both military approaches of governance and housing informality work in tandem to expose the vulnerabilities of the urban poor in Metro Manila's pandemic. Finally, this paper extends on urban studies scholar Gavin Shatkin's concept of “forgetful planning” (2004) by applying his discussions to the current context. Informal settlers have long been “forgotten” by the state's development plans, but are now remembered and deemed more visible in Metro Manila's ECQ.
Nonlinear linkages between bank asset quality and profitability: evidence from dynamic and quantile approaches using a global sample
Authors: Alqahtani Faisal , Hamdi Besma , Skully Michael
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the relationship between asset quality and profitability is linear or nonlinear, using a global dataset containing 2,943 banks from advanced and emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the U-shape test to investigate the existence of a nonlinear relationship between asset quality and profitability. In addition, the dynamic panel generalised method of moments (GMM) and quantile regression are used to examine the nonlinear effect of profitability on nonperforming loans (NPLs).

Findings

After controlling for macroeconomic and bank internal factors, the authors find empirical evidence supporting the existence of a nonlinear relationship in the form of a U-shape. This is also confirmed through the three-stage U test procedure. After distinguishing between advanced and emerging economies, the authors also find that, in advanced markets, the credit policy responds more rapidly to changes in credit market conditions than in emerging markets, providing insights into credit market dynamics.

Research limitations/implications

Further research can check the robustness of this study’s findings in different markets and investigate the existence of nonlinearity in other bank variables.

Practical implications

In a nutshell, the results demonstrate potential implications for policymakers who need to carefully monitor banks' lending behaviour to ensure that banks do not lower lending standards. In addition, banking regulators and supervisors should consider the possible nonlinear relationship in their risk assessments and macrostress tests. Further, these results are important for bank managers, who should monitor the performance of their loan portfolios to ensure that their credit officers do not lower credit standards. Likewise, for banks located in an emerging economy, investing in human capital and advanced technologies can enable them to respond more effectively to changes in the credit market.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is considered the first to provide empirical evidence for the nonlinear relationship between asset quality and profitability.
Sharing experiential information in online discussion: the case of coping with the COVID-19 epidemic
Authors: Savolainen Reijo
Published: July 2021

Purpose

To specify the nature of experiential information by examining how such information is articulated and shared in online discussion.

Design/methodology/approach

Experiential information is approached by identifying two constitutive aspects: (1) sensory information that an individual obtains from noticeable events lived through by means of human senses such as sight and touch and (2) cognitive–affective information that is indicative of how the individual interprets such events by means of cognitive operations like comparison and evaluation, as well as appraises the affective valence of such events. To examine the nature of experiential information, an empirical study was made by analysing how people articulate sensory and cognitive–affective information in online discussion about the COVID-19 epidemic. To this end, a sample of 1773 messages posted to the online forum hosted by the Canadian Broadcasting Company was scrutinized by means of descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

Findings

Experiential information was mainly articulated in the depiction of visual observations of lived-through events, as well as in their comparison and evaluation. Experiential information was often articulated in conjunction with information of other types, most notably topic-related opinions, neutral descriptions of COVID-19 related issues and suggestions offered to fellow participants.

Research limitations/implications

As the study concentrated on the sharing of experiential information about the COVID-19 epidemic in an online discussion forum, the findings cannot be extended to concern the exchange of experiential information in other contexts.

Originality/value

The study is among the first to characterize empirically the nature of experiential information by examining the articulations of online discussants.
On being Sharīʿah compliant in equity investments: impact of investment horizon andmarket volatility
Authors: Lubza Nihar Khaliq , Modekurti Kameshwar Rao Venkata Surya
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to undertake a comprehensive comparative analysis of Sharīʿah-compliant equity investments (SCEIs) and their non-Sharīʿah counterparts, in India, conditioning for investment horizon and market volatility. Indirectly, it also investigates for time varying performance of SCEIs, and explicitly analyses the unsystematic risk and related adequacy of returns.

Design/methodology/approach

Testing for statistical significance of differences in risks and returns; analysing portfolio performance using conventional metrics, information ratio, and Jensen's Alpha; Estimating returns due to stock selection and market timing using Fama’s Net Selectivity and Treynor and Mazuy’s Models.

Findings

SCEIs in India do not significantly differ in their total risks and returns compared to their conventional counterparts. While their risk is lower in the monthly and quarterly investment horizons, their Jensen’s Alphas are positive only in the annual investment horizons. These findings hold, when market volatility is low. Market timing wipes out the superior returns that exist due to stock selection in SCEIs.

Research limitations/implications

Being Sharīʿah-compliant is beneficial only in longer investment horizons. Asset selection, not co-movement with the market, is key to excess returns to compensate for risks due to inadequate diversification. However, only cautious market timing can conserve them.

Practical implications

Though investors are not better-off in choosing ethical investments, they are not worse-off either. Being Sharīʿah-compliant is rewarding during less volatile markets.

Originality/value

This paper extends international literature on SCEIs, with evidence on the impact of investment horizon and market volatility on their returns and risks. Further, this paper is also a comprehensive analysis of Indian SCEIs, broadening the empirical evidence on a significant, non-Islamic and emerging market.
A dual model of coping with and commitment to organizational change: the role of appraisals and resources
Authors: Mukerjee Jinia , Montani Francesco , Vandenberghe Christian
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Organizational change is usually stressful and destabilizing for employees, for whom coping with the induced stress is primordial to commit to the change. This paper aims to unravel how and when change recipients can enact different coping strategies and, ultimately, manifest different forms of commitment to change.

Design/methodology/approach

We propose a theoretical model that identifies challenge appraisal and hindrance appraisal as two primary appraisals of organizational change that fuel, respectively, proactive and preventive coping strategies and, indirectly, affective and normative forms of commitment to change. Moreover, this framework suggests that coping strategies and commitment are influenced by the secondary appraisal of two vital resources – resilience and POS – allowing individuals to react effectively to primary change-related appraisals. Finally, the relationship between coping strategies and the components of commitment to change is proposed to be moderated by employees' regulatory focus.

Findings

Using appraisal theory and conservation of resources theory as guiding frameworks, our integrated model describes the antecedents, processes and boundary conditions associated with coping with the stress of organizational change and how they ultimately influence commitment to it.

Originality/value

This is the first theoretical paper to identify a conditional dual path to disclose the different reactions that change recipients can manifest in response to the stressful aspects of organizational change.
Teachers’ informal learning and organizational learning in Spain
Authors: Gairín Sallán Joaquín , Diaz-Vicario Anna , Barrera-Corominas Aleix , Duran-Bellonch Mar
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to focus on the informal learning (IL) processes of teachers in primary and secondary schools in Spain. Its objective is to study the strategies currently used by teachers to generate IL, identifying the factors that condition such learning and the changes that must be introduced to enhance it.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is qualitative, with information from interviews with school principals (n = 21) and teachers (n = 60) from 22 primary and secondary schools in Spain and from 3 discussion groups with experts (n = 17). The topics used refer to strategies to generate and promote IL and its conditioning factors.

Findings

The findings suggest that, regardless of the stage (primary/secondary) and ownership of the centre (state/private), the teaching staff use IL strategies that, beyond individual actions, involve meeting, sharing and reflecting with other teachers. The challenge is that IL facilitates both professional development and the development and improvement of the organizations. School principals play a central role in achieving this relationship and promoting the institutionalization of changes and educational administration in facilitating the right conditions for their development and recognition.

Research limitations/implications

Given that the participation of schools in the research was voluntary, as was that of the teachers who agreed to be interviewed, some bias may exist. To refine the analyses it would also have been interesting to contrast with the people interviewed some of the assessments which appeared in the focus groups. Finally, future work might focus on analysing in greater detail the effect of different management styles on IL.

Practical implications

The results presented point to the need for decisive support from school leadership teams for collaborative work processes and joint reflection, which are one of the basic conditions for facilitating IL and, at the same time, for encouraging organizational learning. Furthermore, in the Spanish context, there is the challenge of combining the participation of teachers in formal training actions with the recognition of IL generated in the development of daily professional activity.

Originality/value

The data provided complements and reaffirms the findings of research carried out in other types of organizations, at the same time highlighting the importance of horizontal relationships among education professionals and the difficulty of creating a solid foundation for organizational changes. Improvements are, on the other hand, highly conditioned by the role adopted by school principals.
How learning orientation drives the international performance of INVs: the roles of entrepreneurial bricolage and degree of internationalization
Authors: Ding Zhenkuo , Ye Guangyu , Huang Sheng , Hu Man
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Despite extensive research into the effect of organizational learning processes on firm performance, it remains unclear how and when learning orientation influences the international performance of international new ventures (INVs). Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning orientation drives the international performance of INVs.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling is used to test the research model with questionnaire data from mainland Chinese INVs.

Findings

Results show that: learning orientation positively influences entrepreneurial bricolage; entrepreneurial bricolage positively influences the international performance of INVs; entrepreneurial bricolage plays a mediating role between learning orientation and international performance; degree of internationalization (DOI) weakens the effect of entrepreneurial bricolage on international performance.

Originality/value

This study makes a useful supplement to the INV literature by revealing that entrepreneurial bricolage plays a mediating role in the relationship between learning orientation and the international performance of INVs. It also contributes to the entrepreneurial bricolage literature by introducing entrepreneurial bricolage into the empirical research of INVs and identifying the learning orientation antecedents and performance consequences of entrepreneurial bricolage. In addition, this paper enriches the understanding of the boundary conditions for how entrepreneurial bricolage affects international performance showing that DOI has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and international performance.
Rethinking survival, renewal, and growth strategies of SMEs in Bangladesh: the role of spiritual leadership in crisis situation
Authors: Islam Ariful , Zawawi Nur Fadiah Mohd , Wahab Sazali Abd
Published: July 2021

Purpose

For Bangladeshi small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the COVID-19 economic shock is remarkable in both its complexity and intensity. SMEs need systemic inspiration to solve the crisis, aligned with a moral and authentic approach that serves both the leader and the follower’s interests. This study aims to conceptualize the innovation-focused success method of SMEs before and after the pandemic to manage the crisis by establishing spiritual leadership based on Islamic perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

To discuss the impact of spiritual leadership on innovation-focused SME performance configuration through the lens of a crisis, a comprehensive literature study has been carried out in which over 360 articles are read and reviewed by the authors. It has also established the reliability and validity of literature analysis. Also, a qualitative investigation has been used to support the direction of the study.

Findings

For a subsequent process of scientific deployment and evaluation of its execution, a new applied strategic innovation-focused SME success configuration through spiritual leadership development is made available. The primary value of this paradigm is the potential to calculate and treat the aspects of spiritual leadership obtained from Islamic ideas.

Research limitations/implications

Prior analytical or empirical attempts from multiple viewpoints are subsequently needed to inquire about the proposed conceptualization.

Practical implications

Among the realistic consequences of this analysis is that while a number of leadership paradigms have been embraced by a broad body of leadership studies, the findings indicate that this paper should pay heed to the influential spiritual style of leadership, taking into account Islamic perspectives on the context of crisis. Therefore, Bangladeshi SMEs need to develop and run leadership training programs focused on the Islamic viewpoint of spirituality to encourage the actions of leaders during and after crises.

Social implications

The legal and moral values of the society would ultimately be upgraded from this conceptualization. Moreover, less corruption in corporate activities would improve the economic prosperity of a nation. It would also contribute to the cross-cultural portrayal of the positive picture of Islam.

Originality/value

This holistic conceptualization describes the mediating role of strategic innovation practices based on theoretical foundations, which have seldom been done in previous research, between the Islamic model of spiritual leadership and SME success during and after a crisis.
A perfect storm: how high levels of risk and weak internal controls resulted in violations of the foreign corrupt practices act
Authors: Franz Diana
Published: July 2021

Theoretical basis

This case is based on Weatherford International’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Both the SEC and the DOJ were critical of Weatherford for its violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and for its “inadequate internal controls.” This case explores the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations and issues related to internal controls.

Research methodology

Case study.

Case overview/synopsis

This case is based on Weatherford International’s settlement with the SEC and the Department of Justice. Weatherford provided equipment and services in the oil and gas industry. Because international markets were growing faster than domestic markets, Weatherford made a strategic decision to pursue growth in international markets. The oil and gas industry has high levels of operating risk as did the countries that Weatherford decided to pursue operations in. However, despite the decision to take on additional risk, Weatherford failed to implement adequate systems of internal controls. The title of the case “A Perfect Storm” refers to Weatherford’s trifecta of operating in an industry with high levels of corruption risk, countries with high levels of corruption risk and failing to implement adequate internal controls despite those high operating risks (Department of Justice, 2013). Weatherford was ultimately assessed a $152m penalty for its violations of the FCPA that included bribery, volume discounts, improper payments and kickbacks.

Complexity academic level

Undergraduate and graduate auditing classes.
Exploring continuance usage intention toward open government data technologies: an integrated approach
Authors: Islam Mohammad Tariqul , Talukder Md. Shamim , Khayer Abul , Islam A.K.M. Najmul
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Open government data (OGD) is a comparatively new field in e-government and the factors influencing its continuance use by citizens have not been extensively explored. A better understanding of these factors can help the government to articulate strategies and policies that can advance the acceptance and use of OGD technologies. Thus, this paper aims to empirically determine the predictors influencing the continuance usage intention of OGD technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Following an empirical investigation among 370 respondents in Bangladesh, a developing country, the paper applied path analysis using the structural equation modeling approach. The unified theory of acceptance and use of the technology model is integrated with the information system continuance model to investigate the continuance usage intention of OGD technologies.

Findings

The outcomes of this study reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions (FC) directly affect users’ satisfaction (SAT). In addition, SAT and FC were found statistically significant toward continuance usage intention of OGD technologies.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest policymaker and OGD providers to formulate or modify their strategies to retain the existing OGD users and stimulate persistence usage.

Social implications

Facilitating long-term use by citizens would increase their engagement and they might derive value from the OGD platforms. Concurrently, the government’s objective of ensuring increased future use of OGD technologies would be better realized.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it addresses a previously overlooked area of open data research, namely, the acceptance and use of open data technologies and ways to stimulate it. This study has contributed to the existing but limited literature on continuance usage intention of OGD technologies in the context of a developing country.
Burden of illness, medication adherence, and unmet medical needs in Japanese patients with atopic dermatitis: A retrospective analysis of a cross‐sectional questionnaire survey
Authors: Kamei Kazumasa , Hirose Tomohiro , Yoshii Noritoshi , Tanaka Akio
Published: July 2021

Atopic dermatitis (AD) negatively affects patients’ daily lives. Poor medication adherence is a major barrier to treatment success. However, factors causing patients’ poor adherence are unclear. This study aimed to identify factors associated with improvement of medication adherence in Japanese patients with AD and to evaluate illness burden and unmet medical needs for AD. We retrospectively analyzed Web‐based questionnaire surveys conducted in 2018 in patients with AD aged 15 years and above who had been in‐ or outpatients within the past year from the survey. Quality of life using the EuroQol 5‐Dimension (EQ‐5D), and work productivity and activity impairment using Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI) were compared between patients and matched controls who had not visited a hospital for any disease within the past year. Subpopulation analysis was performed to explore factors affecting medication adherence. Unmet medical needs in AD treatment were identified by the percentage of patients who rated issues on the questionnaire as important but who were unsatisfied with them. In this study, we identified 1739 patients with AD. The scores of EQ‐5D and WPAI showed that patients had statistically lower quality of life and higher impairment of work and activities than controls. High medication adherence scores were seen in patients with high health literacy levels and those who were well satisfied with communication with health‐care providers, information received from them, or explanations of AD. Current unmet medical needs for AD were medical treatment costs, ease of hospital visits and explanations about disease prognosis. Patients tended to put a higher priority on communication with physicians than on that with nurses and pharmacists. In conclusion, we have identified patients’ higher health literacy levels and satisfaction with the communication with their health‐care provider as potential factors to improve medication adherence.
Decorative sterile flowers in nine Japanese species ofViburnum(Adoxaceae) and their influence on pollinator visits
Authors: Wong Sato Akira Armando , Kato Makoto
Published: July 2021

Framed inflorescences are unique arrangements in which a cluster of small fertile flowers is surrounded by several larger, decorative sterile flowers.Viburnum(Adoxaceae) species vary in their inflorescence arrangements; some species exhibit framed inflorescences, whereas others do not. We hypothesize that the decorative flowers increase the pollinator‐attracting functions of the inflorescences; as proved by previous studies, they additionally function as landing‐sites for pollinators. To test our hypotheses, field manipulation experiments were carried out for nineViburnumspecies, three with inherently framed inflorescences and six without them: sterile flowers were removed and mounted on species with and without framed inflorescences, respectively. Results show that inflorescences with decorative flowers had higher visit rates than inflorescences without them, and that insect flower visitors did not show landing preference for either flower type. These results suggest that decorative flowers appeared only in a subset ofViburnumspecies to increase their pollination chances by, mainly, enhancing the attractiveness of the inflorescence. It is likely that species without framed inflorescences use other attraction‐enhancing mechanisms, such as a high flowering synchrony within a single cluster of fertile flowers, a trait found in most studied species without decorative flowers.
Azole‐resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is highly prevalent in the environment of Vietnam, with marked variability by land use type
Authors: Duong Tra‐My N. , Le Thanh‐Van , Tran Khanh‐Linh H. , Nguyen Phuong‐Tuyen , Nguyen Bich‐Phuong T. , Nguyen Thu‐Anh , Nguyen Huong‐Lan P. , Nguyen Bich‐Ngoc T. , Fisher Matthew C. , Rhodes Johanna , Marks Guy , Fox Greg J. , Chen Sharon C.‐A. , Walsh Michael G. , Barrs Vanessa R. , Talbot Jessica , Halliday Catriona L. , Sorrell Tania C. , Day Jeremy N. , Beardsley Justin
Published: July 2021

Azole‐resistant environmental Aspergillus fumigatus presents a threat to public health but the extent of this threat in Southeast Asia is poorly described. We conducted environmental surveillance in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, collecting air and ground samples across key land‐use types, and determined antifungal susceptibilities of Aspergillus section Fumigati (ASF) isolates and azole concentrations in soils. Of 119 ASF isolates, 55% were resistant (or non‐wild type) to itraconazole, 65% to posaconazole and 50% to voriconazole. Azole resistance was more frequent in A. fumigatus sensu stricto isolates (95%) than other ASF species (32%). Resistant isolates and agricultural azole residues were overrepresented in samples from cultivated land. cyp51A gene sequence analysis showed 38/56 resistant A. fumigatus sensu stricto isolates carried known resistance mutations, with TR34/L98H most frequent (34/38).
Brazil: hate and intolerance in times of pandemic in a mixed‐race country
Authors: Gadotti Claudia Morelli , Valente Vera Lucia Colson
Published: July 2021

This paper intends to analyse the current political and social situation in Brazil and show how this context has influenced the management of the public health crisis generated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. To this end, the authors conducted an investigation into Brazil’s historical roots, which have not only engendered deep class differences but, also, social psychopathologies such as dissociation and perversion. Finally, this paper presents a symbolic analysis of social exclusion and how the mythical figure of Sophia can inspire a renewed movement of inclusion and tolerance.
Essential anxiety: COVID‐19 in analytic practice
Authors: Schellinski Kristina
Published: July 2021

This paper explores the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on my relationship with analysands and my inner world. I reflect on the role of the archetypal Self during times of existential anxiety that may lead to an experience of ‘essential anxiety’. This term refers to a meeting by a fearful ego with an inward recognition of the Self, when faced with threat. The efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic changed our ways of life, while the virus itself threatened our existence in debilitating or outright destructive ways. But what also came into view, in sessions of analysis and supervision, was the creative instinct, and a celebration of life. The soul‐to‐soul relationship, and the connection with images of the archetypal Self, made the experience of existential anxiety at times an essential experience that facilitated psychological growth. I discuss some advantages of on‐line Jungian analysis where, despite distance and partial view, the body still serves as container to hold important psychological material, conferring a sense of wholeness for analyst and analysand. The COVID‐19 crisis is terrible and terrifying but it also provides an opportunity for self‐regulation and individuation.
Intersections of personal vs. collective trauma during the COVID‐19 pandemic: the hijacking of the human imagination
Authors: Kalsched Donald
Published: July 2021

This paper explores how the deadly shadow of COVID‐19 passing over the Earth constitutes a collective trauma that frequently opens up or ‘triggers’ un‐remembered personal trauma, and it provides clinical examples of these intersections. The paper further explores how the human imagination, which we normally utilize to make meaning out of traumatic experience, can be hijacked by fear – leading to avoidance of suffering and to illusory formulations and alternative realities such as conspiracy theories. Alternatively, the imagination can be employed in more realistic and creative ways – leading through conscious suffering to healing and wholeness. Which path the imagination takes is shown to depend on the capacity of individuals to feel the full reality of the human condition in general and the exquisite vulnerability of our existence as fragile human beings at this moment in history. Ernest Becker’s analysis of our ‘denial of death’ and his urgency to embrace our common human vulnerability is explored in relation to Jung’s early tendency to deny the body. The author proposes that the more creative uses of the imagination, connected to a more humble and realistic apprehension of our common destiny, may be seen in the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement that swept the world in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 outbreak.