bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gluten‐Free Diet and Lipid Profile in Children With Celiac Disease
Authors: Forchielli M. Luisa , Fernicola Paola , Diani Lucia , Scrivo Barbara , Salfi Nunzio C. , Pessina Achille C. , Lima Mario , Conti Veronica , Pession Andrea
Published: March 2015

Objectives:

A gluten‐free diet (GFD) may carry high energy and fat load. We verified lipid profile and dietary indicators cross‐sectionally and prospectively in patients with celiac disease (CD).

Methods:

In any consecutive child receiving a GFD (group 1) or newly diagnosed as having CD (group 2), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure (BP), anthropometric data, physical activity, and a 24‐hour food diary were collected during follow‐up visits (yearly in group 1 and during the first year of GFD in group 2).

Results:

In group 1 (132 girls, 73 boys, 10.7 ± 4.2 years), TC (P = 0.006), TG (P = 0.014), and HDL (P = 0.019) were significantly higher in girls than in boys. Compared with the general pediatric population, group 1 girls had higher TC, TG, HDL, and low‐density lipoprotein; group 1 boys had lower TC, TG, and low‐density lipoprotein and higher HDL. TC was significantly and positively affected by age, sex, and time receiving GFD, whereas HDL was significantly and positively affected by body mass index, diastolic BP, and sex; TG was negatively affected by diastolic BP. Compared with recommendations, group 1 children introduced less calories, iron, and calcium; one‐third more sodium; similar amounts of fiber; and twice as many proteins. In group 2 (20 girls, 10 boys, 8.6 ± 3.55 years), TC did not change over time and TG diminished, whereas HDL, blood glucose, and body mass index increased; saturated fats and caloric intake were below recommendations, whereas proteins were excessively introduced. Fibers were optimal. HDL was inversely correlated to calories and saturated fat (R2 = 80, P = 0.011).

Conclusions:

Lipid profiles of children with CD differ across sexes and from reference population. GFD, being unexpectedly appropriate in fibers and fat proportion, may be a contributor.
Plasmodiuminfection brings forward mosquito oviposition
Authors: Vézilier J. , Nicot A. , Gandon S. , Rivero A.
Published: March 2015

Invertebrate hosts often bring forward their reproductive effort in response to a parasitic infection. This is widely interpreted as a host-driven response aimed at compensating for the expected losses in future fitness as a result of parasitism. Here we report that mosquitoes bring forward their oviposition schedule when they are infected withPlasmodium, a parasite known to severely curtail mosquito fecundity. This response could aim at compensating for a negative time-dependent effect of the parasite on mosquito fitness, as infected mosquitoes seem to display a strong and progressive decrease in the quality of the eggs they lay. In addition, we show that this shift in oviposition date is dependent on mosquito strain: a comparison of several isogenic mosquitoes strains, one insecticide-susceptible and two insecticide-resistant ones, reveals that only the former shift their oviposition strategy when infected. This pattern suggests the existence of a costly host-driven response to parasitism, as insecticide-resistant mosquitoes have been shown to be in generally poorer condition.
Transgenerational effects of sexual interactions and sexual conflict: non-sires boost the fecundity of females in the following generation
Authors: Garcia-Gonzalez Francisco , Dowling Damian K.
Published: March 2015

The consequences of sexual interactions extend beyond the simple production of offspring. These interactions typically entail direct effects on female fitness, but may also impact the life histories of later generations. Evaluating the cross-generational effects of sexual interactions provides insights into the dynamics of sexual selection and conflict. Such studies can elucidate whether offspring fitness optima diverge across sexes upon heightened levels of sexual interaction among parents. Here, we found that, in
Drosophila melanogaster
, components of reproductive success in females, but not males, were contingent on the nature of sexual interactions experienced by their mothers. In particular, maternal sexual interactions with non-sires enhanced female fecundity in the following generation. This highlights the importance of non-sire influences of sexual interactions on the expression of offspring life histories.
Measuring and modelling the reflectance spectra of male Swinhoe's pheasant feather barbules
Authors: Lee Cheng-Chung , Liao Shih-Fang , Vukusic Pete
Published: March 2015

A range of iridescent colour appearances are presented by male Swinhoe's pheasants' (Lophura swinhoii) mantle feathers. Two distinct regions of the open pennaceous portion of its feathers display particularly conspicuous angle-dependent reflection. A bright blue band appears in one region at normal incidence that spatially shifts to another at higher illumination angles. The two-dimensional photonic crystal-like nanostructures inside the barbules of these two regions are similar. However, this study found that the spatial variation in their colour appearance results from a continuously changing orientation of barbules with respect to the alignment of their associated barb. A multi-layered rigorous coupled-wave analysis approach was used to model the reflections from the identified intra-barbule structures. Well-matched simulated and measured reflectance spectra, at both normal and oblique incidence, support our elucidation of the origin of the bird's distinctive feather colour appearance.
Improving multilevel Monte Carlo for stochastic differential equations with application to the Langevin equation
Authors: Müller Eike H. , Scheichl Rob , Shardlow Tony
Published: March 2015

This paper applies several well-known tricks from the numerical treatment of deterministic differential equations to improve the efficiency of the multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) method for stochastic differential equations (SDEs) and especially the Langevin equation. We use modified equations analysis as an alternative to strong-approximation theory for the integrator, and we apply this to introduce MLMC for Langevin-type equations with integrators based on operator splitting. We combine this with extrapolation and investigate the use of discrete random variables in place of the Gaussian increments, which is a well-known technique for the weak approximation of SDEs. We show that, for small-noise problems, discrete random variables can lead to an increase in efficiency of almost two orders of magnitude for practical levels of accuracy.
Repeatability of adaptation in experimental populations of different sizes
Authors: Lachapelle Josianne , Reid Joshua , Colegrave Nick
Published: March 2015

The degree to which evolutionary trajectories and outcomes are repeatable across independent populations depends on the relative contribution of selection, chance and history. Population size has been shown theoretically and empirically to affect the amount of variation that arises among independent populations adapting to the same environment. Here, we measure the contribution of selection, chance and history in different-sized experimental populations of the unicellular algaChlamydomonas reinhardtiiadapting to a high salt environment to determine which component of evolution is affected by population size. We find that adaptation to salt is repeatable at the fitness level in medium (Ne= 5 × 104) and large (Ne= 4 × 105) populations because of the large contribution of selection. Adaptation is not repeatable in small (Ne= 5 × 103) populations because of large constraints from history. The threshold between stochastic and deterministic evolution in this case is therefore between effective population sizes of 103and 104. Our results indicate that diversity across populations is more likely to be maintained if they are small. Experimental outcomes in large populations are likely to be robust and can inform our predictions about outcomes in similar situations.
CIDER: a pipeline for detecting waves of coordinated transcriptional regulation in gene expression time-course data
Authors: Mina Marco , Jurman Giuseppe , Furlanello Cesare
Published: March 2015

Cell adaptability to environmental changes is conferred by complex transcriptional regulatory networks, which respond to external stimuli by modulating the expression dynamics of each gene. Hence, deciphering the network of transcriptional regulation is remarkably important, but proves to be extremely challenging, mainly due to the unfavorable ratio between the number of available observations and the number of parameters to estimate. Most of the existing computational methods for the inference of transcriptional networks consider steady-state gene expression datasets, and produce models of transcriptional regulation best explaining the observed static gene expression.

Gene expression time-courses are an emergent typology of gene expression data, paving the way to the characterization of the time-dependent dynamics of transcriptional regulation.

In this work we introduce the Complexity Invariant Dynamic Time Warping motif EnRichment (CIDER) analysis, a novel computational pipeline to identify the prominent waves of coordinated gene transcription induced in cells by external stimuli, and determine which TFs are involved in the coordination of gene transcription. The CIDER pipeline combines unsupervised time series clustering and motif enrichment analysis to first detect transcriptional expression patterns, and then identify the TFs over-represented in the promoter regions of gene sets with similar expression dynamics.

The ability of CIDER to correctly identify regulatory interactions is assessed on a realistic synthetic dataset of gene expression timecourses, generated by simulating the effects of knock-out perturbations on the E. coli regulatory network.

The CIDER source code and the validation datasets are available on request from the corresponding author.
Introgression obscures and reveals historical relationships among the American live oaks
Authors: Eaton Deren A. R. , Hipp Andrew L. , González-Rodríguez Antonio , Cavender-Bares Jeannine
Published: March 2015

Introgressive hybridization challenges the concepts we use to define species and infer phylogenetic relationships. Methods for inferring historical introgression from the genomes of extant species are now widely used, however, few guidelines have been articulated for how best to interpret results. Because these tests are inherently comparative, they are sensitive to the effects of missing data (unsampled species) and non-independence (hierarchical relationships among species). We demonstrate this using genomic RADseq data sampled from all extant species in the American live oaks (Quercus series Virentes), a group notorious for hybridization. By considering all species, and their phylogenetic relationships, we were able to distinguish true hybridizing lineages from those that falsely appear admixed. Six of seven species show evidence of admixture, often with multiple other species, but which is explained by hybrid introgression among few related lineages occurring in close proximity. We identify the Cuban oak as the most admixed lineage and test alternative scenarios for its origin. The live oaks form a continuous ring-like distribution around the Gulf of Mexico, connected in Cuba, across which they could effectively exchange alleles. However, introgression appears highly localized, suggesting that oak species boundaries, and their geographic ranges have remained relatively stable over evolutionary time.
regionReport: Interactive reports for region-based analyses
Authors: Collado-Torres Leonardo , Jaffe Andrew E. , Leek Jeffrey T.
Published: March 2015

regionReportis aRpackage for generating detailed interactive reports from regions of the genome. The report includes quality-control checks, an overview of the results, an interactive table of the genomic regions, and reproducibility information.regionReportcan easily be expanded with report templates for other specialized analyses. In particular,regionReporthas an extensive report template for exploringderfinderresults from annotation-agnostic RNA-seq differential expression analyses.

Availability

regionReportis freely available via Bioconductor atbioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/regionReport.html.
Distributed Bayesian Networks Reconstruction on the Whole Genome Scale
Authors: Frolova Alina , Wilczynski Bartek
Published: March 2015

Background

Bayesian networks are directed acyclic graphical models widely used to represent the probabilistic relationships between random variables. They have been applied in various biological contexts, including gene regulatory networks and protein-protein interactions inference. Generally, learning Bayesian networks from experimental data is NP-hard, leading to widespread use of heuristic search methods giving suboptimal results. However, in cases when the acyclicity of the graph can be externally ensured, it is possible to find the optimal network in polynomial time. While our previously developed tool BNFinder implements polynomial time algorithm, reconstructing networks with the large amount of experimental data still leads to computations on single CPU growing exceedingly.

Results

In the present paper we propose parallelized algorithm designed for multi-core and distributed systems and its implementation in the improved version of BNFinder - tool for learning optimal Bayesian networks. The new algorithm has been tested on different simulated and experimental datasets showing that it has much better efficiency of parallelization than the previous version. BNFinder gives comparable results in terms of accuracy with respect to current state-of-the-art inference methods, giving significant advantage in cases when external information such as regulators list or prior edge probability can be introduced.

Conclusions

We show that the new method can be used to reconstruct networks in the size range of thousands of genes making it practically applicable to whole genome datasets of prokaryotic systems and large components of eukaryotic genomes. Our benchmarking results on realistic datasets indicate that the tool should be useful to wide audience of researchers interested in discovering dependencies in their large-scale transcriptomic datasets.
Redundancy-based optimization approach to optimize robotic cell behaviour: application to robotic machining
Authors: Sabourin Laurent , Subrin Kévin , Cousturier Richard , Gogu Grigoré , Mezouar Youcef
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The robot offers interesting capabilities, but suffers from a lack of stiffness. The proposed solution is to introduce redundancies for the overall improvement of different capabilities. The management of redundancy associated with the definition of a set of kinematic, mechanical and stiffness criteria enables path planning to be optimized.

Design/methodology/approach

– The resolution method is based on the projection onto the kernel of the Jacobian matrix of the gradient of an objective function constructed by aggregating kinematic, mechanical and stiffness weighted criteria. Optimized redundancy management is applied to the 11-DoF (degrees of freedom) cells to provide an efficient placement of turntable and track. The final part presents the improvement of the various criteria applied to both 9-DoF and 11-DoF robotic cells.

Findings

– The first application concerns the optimized placement of a turntable and a linear track using 11-DoF architecture. Improved criteria for two 9-DoF robotic cells, a robot with parallelogram closed loop and a Tricept are also presented. Simulation results present the contributions of redundancies and the leading role of the track.

Research limitations/implications

– The redundancy-based optimization presented and the associated simulation approach must be completed by the experimental determination of the optimization criteria to take into account each machining strategy.

Practical implications

– This work in robotics machining relates to milling operations for automotive and aerospace equipment. The study is carried out within the framework of the RobotEx Equipment of Excellence programme.

Originality/value

– The resolution method to optimized path planning is applied to 9- and 11-DoF robotic cells, including a hybrid robot with a parallelogram closed loop and a Tricept PKM.
Hexapod moving in complex terrains via a new adaptive CPG gait design
Authors: Chung Hung-Yuan , Hou Chun-Cheng , Hsu Sheng-Yen
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to use the Matsuoka’s neural oscillators as the basic units of central pattern generator (CPG), and to offer a new CPG architecture consisting of a dual neural CPG of circular three links responsible for oscillator phase adjustment, to which an external neural oscillator is added, which is responsible for oscillator amplitude adjustment, to control foot depth to balance itself when treading on an obstacle.

Design/methodology/approach

– It is equipped with a triaxial accelerometer and a triaxial gyroscope to obtain a real-time robot attitude, and to disintegrate the foot tilt in each direction as feedback signals to CPG to restore the robot’ horizontal attitude on an uneven terrain. The CPG controller is a distributed control method, with each foot controller consisting of a group of reciprocally coupling neural oscillators and sensors to generate different locomotion by different coupling patterns.

Findings

– The experiment results indicated that the gait design method succeeded in enabling a steady hexapod walking on a rugged terrain, the mode of response is such that adjustments can only be made when the tilt occurs.

Practical implications

– The overall control mechanism uses individual foot tilts as the feedback signal input to the neural oscillators to change the amplitude and compare against the reference oscillators of fixed amplitude to generate the foot height reference signals that can balance the body, and then convert the control signals, through a trajectory generator, to foot trajectories from which the actual rotation angle of servo motors can be obtained through inverse kinematics to achieve the effect of restoring the balance when traveling.

Originality/value

– The controller design based on the bionic CPG model has the ability to restore its balance when its body tilts. In addition to the model’s ability to control locomotion, from the response waveforms of this experiment, it can also be noticed that it can control the foot depth to balance itself when treading on an obstacle, and it can adapt to a changing environment. When the obstacle is removed, the robot can quickly regain its balance.
Mobile knowledge: driving a paradigm shift
Authors: West Deborah , Thompson Samantha
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to challenge higher education professors and institutions to consider their role and practice in light of the changing landscape of higher education. It draws attention to the substantial changes taking place in society due to the technological and related knowledge revolution and questions the value of the current paradigm of educational practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– This conceptual paper utilises a sociological lens to explore the future of higher education learning and teaching. It draws on a range of literature to focus on the concepts of mobile education and mobile knowledge and explores these concepts in relation to the role and function of the professor and the university and the implication for pedagogy, curriculum design and teaching practice.

Findings

– While changes in higher education are taking place, they are largely within the current paradigm. With knowledge freely available via technology, the university is no longer the primary holder of knowledge and students are less likely to engage in content delivery styles of education. It is time therefore to consider the shape of education in a new mobile knowledge paradigm.

Originality/value

– This paper draws on a range of existing literature from several fields to highlight the need for a new paradigm in higher education pedagogy.
ICT in higher education: students perceive increased engagement
Authors: Zweekhorst Marjolein B.M. , Maas Jeroen
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– In general, active participation increases learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore how: information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used to improve the participation of students during lectures and the effect of ICT on the learning outcomes of students.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors tested a specific tool, Soapbox, in a compulsory course of a Masters’ program, at VU University, The Netherlands. During half of the lectures the students were invited to participate using their mobile phone or laptop, for the other half of the lectures, taught by the same lecturer, the tool was not used. The authors compared the two groups of lectures. For the evaluation the authors used observations in the classroom, a questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with students and with the lecturer.

Findings

– The results show that the ICT tool facilitated and increased the level of communication and interaction among the students and between the students and the lecturers. Students’ scored lectures with the tool consistently higher on the item “engaging.” Most of the students appreciated the use of the ICT tool and said that they felt more involved.

Originality/value

– Despite the knowledge about the limited learning effect of lectures on larger groups, most of the teaching at universities is conducted through such lectures. The research shows that the majority of the students felt more involved in the lectures with the ICT tool, and almost half of the students feel that the learning effect of lectures with the tool is higher than the learning effect of lectures without. Although observations could not confirm the perceived enhanced involvement, about 80 percent would recommend using the tool in other classes, providing a case for the use of interactive technology in large-scale lectures.
Exploring perceptions of technology’s impact on academic misconduct
Authors: Walters Angela A. , Hunsicker-Walburn Melissa J.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore faculty and students’ perceptions on the issue of technology-facilitated academic misconduct contemporaneously; to gain insight as to how current technologies contribute to academic misconduct, and how perceptions influence policy and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– An interpretive qualitative approach was used to explore participants’ perceptions. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis.

Findings

– Results suggest that while faculty restrict technology in order to decrease opportunity for students to engage in academic misconduct, such technology restrictions may contribute to an increase in student rationalization. Faculty perceive that the restrictions reduce the instances of academic misconduct by reducing the opportunity technology affords. Student perceptions reflect an increase in rationalization that may result in an increase in academic misconduct that seems to be a student response to restrictive policies. Efforts to reduce academic misconduct may need to focus more on positive and proactive approaches to integrating technology rather than restricting or policing technology.

Originality/value

– Few studies have explored both faculty and student perceptions about the role of technology and its impact on academic misconduct contemporaneously, and few attempts have been made to qualitatively assess these issues. Findings may help guide the development of innovative teaching practices that embrace technology and provide incentives for faculty to adapt their instructional methods.
The role of coordination in avoiding project delays in an engineer-to-order supply chain
Authors: Mello Mario Henrique , Strandhagen Jan Ola , Alfnes Erlend
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– ETO supply chains produce high-value products on a project basis. The occurrence of delays is a major problem that impacts the performance of a company and its supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cause of delays and to understand the role of coordination to mitigate them.

Design/methodology/approach

– An in-depth case study was conducted to identify problems that delay a project and to examine such problems from a systemic perspective. Based on data from interviews, group meetings, field observations and documentation, a pattern is proposed to explain the relation between coordination and lead time.

Findings

– Conceptually, to reduce the project lead time a higher level of concurrency is necessary. However, more concurrency increases the interdependencies between activities, something which demands more coordination effort. Since the coordination mechanisms applied are not appropriate to cope with the increasing coordination effort, a number of problems appear causing reworks and delays which increase the lead time.

Research limitations/implications

– The main limitation is that the authors are not able to distinguish which particular project characteristic influences the adoption of a specific coordination mechanism. Further research is required to examine the effect of various coordination mechanisms across a higher number of projects.

Practical implications

– Practitioners can benefit from discussions in this study to comprehend how coordination can improve the delivery performance in ETO supply chains.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to a better understanding of coordination in ETO supply chains by making sense of problems that delay the project. Matching the coordination mechanisms with the required coordination effort, which is based on the project characteristics, is a way to avoid delays and reduce the lead time.
Reducing turn-round variability through the application of Six Sigma in aerospace MRO facilities
Authors: Thomas Andrew J. , Mason-Jones Rachel , Davies Alan , John Elwyn G.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to outline the application of a Six Sigma (SS) methodology as a means of reducing supply chain risk in aerospace maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) functions. In this contribution the LSS method is used to estimate the economic impact on the selection of the most appropriate maintenance strategy pertaining to aircraft display units (DUs) as well as providing a reduction in turn round time (TRT) variation of the DUs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper develops a SS approach which includes the development of the Monte Carlo technique as a mechanism to identify the most cost effective MRO strategy whilst simultaneously reducing variability in TRT servicing of the DUs. This application enabled the authors to obtain further proof of concept and also to apply a number of focused quality improvement techniques to systematically reduce TRT variation.

Findings

– An effective development of the SS approach is proposed and the effectiveness of the method is subsequently evaluated highlighting the benefits to the host organisation. The SS methodology demonstrates that it is possible to identify the most cost effective MRO strategy and thus suggests a suitable DU replacement policy which in turn allows engineers to develop the appropriate maintenance schedules for the company.

Practical implications

– The design, development and implementation of this SS methodology offers an approach to achieving a more cost effective MRO strategy whilst reducing TRT variability which can lead to greater predictability of operations which in turn enables the company to effectively synchronise supply with demand. The paper offers practicing maintenance managers and engineers a practical example for increasing productive efficiency and output.

Originality/value

– This SS strategy contributes to the existing knowledge base on maintenance systems and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards increasing the development companies in an attempt to move the UK manufacturing sector towards world class manufacturing performance.
Environmental practices and innovation performance of US small and medium-sized manufacturers
Authors: Theyel Gregory , Hofmann Kay H.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices by US small and medium-sized manufacturers and explore whether there are discernible differences in product and process innovation that can be explained by differences in their adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research uses descriptive statistics and probit regression analysis of survey data from 295 small and medium-sized US manufacturers in seven industries.

Findings

– There are significant industrial sector differences in the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices, larger and older companies are more advanced in their adoption of these practices, and companies adopting these practices are outperforming their competitors in terms of product and process innovation.

Originality/value

– This research assesses US industry sector differences among small and medium-sized manufacturers in the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices and differences in product and process innovation linked to this adoption.
E-commerce channels for additive manufacturing: an exploratory study
Authors: Eyers Daniel R , Potter Andrew T
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– Whilst there has been considerable research on the use of electronic communications technologies to transfer design files for Additive Manufacturing (AM) between designer and manufacturer, corresponding studies that explore the resulting implications are limited. Often it is assumed that such an electronic approach is optimal; this paper serves to explore this assumption by reviewing the technical solutions, and identifying the practical implications. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The results of a systematic literature review are used to develop four e-commerce channel designs, which are then explored using primary and secondary case studies.

Findings

– It is shown that the use of e-commerce with AM has often been oversimplified, suggesting that it will bring about universal benefits through increased efficiency and cost reductions in information transfer, particularly as a result of supply chain disintermediation. Instead, this paper reinforces current e-commerce research suggesting that e-commerce channels can lead to both disintermediation but also re-intermediation of the supply chain; cost reductions and increased efficiency may not automatically follow.

Practical implications

– For AM suppliers, channel strategy is likely to be a critical consideration. This paper provides a framework of currently available approaches, links these to the original research, and explains the implications arising from each option.

Originality/value

– Whilst there are many technical studies in this area, the potential implications of their adoption are often hypothesized, but seldom explored empirically. This study makes an original contribution through the classification and analysis of the channels from a management perspective.
Low energy production impact on lean flow
Authors: Ball Peter
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– Rising energy costs and potential scarcity are driving energy reduction initiatives in manufacturing companies. The reduction in energy use is complementary to the classic lean production philosophy and the lean and green literature implies that reducing energy waste supports lean objectives. The purpose of this paper is to examine this perceived positive correlation and identify the impact level of energy reduction of lean product flow.

Design/methodology/approach

– To achieve this, published case studies and practices from interview were gathered and categorised against a waste management hierarchy.

Findings

– Energy reduction activities implicitly reduce waste which is compatible with the lean waste objective, however, when applying the waste hierarchy principle to energy efficiency practice, lean product flow is progressively constrained or compromised towards the lower levels of the hierarchy.

Research limitations/implications

– The hierarchical classification seeks to communicate how reported energy efficiency improvements will/will not impact on flow. The research focuses on the modification of existing discrete part production facilities towards greater energy efficiency and neglects alternative production technologies and new build. The results suggest that as manufacturers seeking to be more energy efficient move away from preventative actions to more reduce and reuse actions then production flexibility could become restricted and the design of production facilities make re-think the fast, linear and short flow of product.

Practical implications

– Examples of industrial practices are provided to show the implications of energy reduction practice on production flow.

Originality/value

– Categorises the relationship between classic lean and industrial low-energy initiatives to provide insight to how higher energy cost could impact on production.
Pre-loved luxury: identifying the meanings of second-hand luxury possessions
Authors: Turunen Linda Lisa Maria , Leipämaa-Leskinen Hanna
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to shed light on the consumption of second-hand luxury brands, identifying the meanings attached to second-hand luxury possessions in the context of fashion and, specifically, in the case of luxury accessories. Prior discussions of luxury consumption and marketing have focused on brand-new luxury goods, thus largely neglecting the emergence of markets for used luxury products.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical data for this study were generated through interviews with ten Finnish women and through fashion blogs concerning luxury goods that are bought second-hand.

Findings

– The findings show that second-hand luxury possessions are characterized by five different meaning themes: Sustainable Choice, Real Deal, Pre-loved Treasure, Risk Investment and Unique Find. The study highlights how consumers are able to achieve luxury experiences even without exclusive service, as the informants attached meanings of luxury to second-hand luxury possessions, especially with regard to the symbolic value and authenticity of the product. However, the meaning of authenticity appears to be a double-edged sword in this context, as consumers may also consider that they are taking a financial as well as reputational risk when acquiring a previously owned luxury item.

Originality/value

– This study brings forward novel viewpoints to discussions on luxury brand marketing by connecting the issue with the topical phenomenon of second-hand and luxury consumption. The study suggests important managerial implications for luxury brand marketers.
Overcoming barriers to integrating strategy and leadership
Authors: Schoemaker Paul J.H. , Krupp Steven
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– As uncertainty increases, business strategies need more frequent adjustments which in turn requires leaders who excel at timely external and internal alignment. We describe six challenges such leaders need to master.

Design/methodology/approach

– The six leadership abilities profiled in this article are based on a conceptual model that was pre-tested with selected executives. Using factor analysis and other standard tests of validity, we refined an assessment questionnaire and identified remedies. It has been taken by some 30,000 managers from diverse companies around the world.

Findings

– Our main findings are that strategic leadership can be deconstructed into more basic elements and that leaders can learn to better practice its skills, habits and attitudes once they know where they are personally weakest. Various challenges complicate better integration of strategy and leadership in the heat of battle but successful leaders conquer these by honing six essential capabilities. These are the ability to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align and learn. We illustrate each with examples and then provide practical advice for leaders wishing to increase their strategic acumen.

Practical implications

– Readers can complete a 12-item assessment online (www.decisionstrat.com).

Originality/value

– The skills that comprise strategic leadership in a world of increasing uncertainty should be viewed as a self-reinforcing system. The leadership challenge, which involves practicing six abilities while overcoming barriers to them, allows the best innovators to win the long game while making frequent tactical adjustments along the way in response to surprise and uncertainty.
Does management innovation need a new change model?
Authors: Denning Stephen
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– Believing that the goal of maximizing shareholder value as reflected in the stock price and the management methods of hierarchical bureaucracy combine to cripple the capacity of the firm to innovate, the author offers a new management model.

Design/methodology/approach

– Assuming that the goal of the change process is to foster continuous innovation of products and processes to serve customer needs, the author lays out a roadmap for leaders seeking to move beyond maximizing shareholder value and re-engineering bureaucracy.

Findings

– Any new management model should align with the concept that the best way to serve shareholders’ interests is to deliver value to customers.

Practical implications

– Practices like self-organizing teams, platforms, networks and ecosystems enhance and magnify the value of what employees themselves want to do. Instead of hierarchical management having an adversarial relationship with employees, managers can have a collaborative trusting relationship where institutional and personal goals coincide.

Originality/value

– The article offers leaders a rationale for instituting a combination of managerial, social and political approaches, with change platforms that are allied to an inspiring social and political change movement.
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne dispel blue ocean myths
Authors: Randall Robert M.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors of strategy at INSEAD and co-directors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, introduced and defined the theory and practice of blue ocean strategy – a unique methodology for creating commercially relevant new market space – in 2005. Despite the widespread interest in the concept, many managers still aren’t clear how blue ocean strategy differs from disruption theory, niche marketing, customer-focused innovation and other pioneering practices.

Design/methodology/approach

– To better understand how to use blue ocean strategy methodologies and tools, the interviewer asked the researchers to explain some of the underpinning concepts.

Findings

– Blue ocean strategy is about being first to get the customer offering right by linking innovation to value.

Practical implications

– A blue ocean strategist gains insights about reconstructing market boundaries not by looking at existing customers, but by exploring noncustomers.

Originality/value

– Managers will learn how to use blue ocean strategy to break the value-cost trade off, thereby opening up new market space.
The “need to know” and the lack of online transparency among political parties
Authors: Cuadrado-Ballesteros Beatriz , Vaquero-Cacho Luis Andrés
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to analyse the level of informative transparency among Spanish political parties and political foundations, according to general and descriptive information (e.g. contact, ideas and values, electoral programmes, members, etc.) and economic, governance and financial information.

Design/methodology/approach

– The situation of the parties in each year is represented by a biplot, which is a graphical representation of a multivariate sample. The data for this analysis were obtained from the reports published by Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia (Foundation for Integrity and Transparency) for 2011 and 2012.

Findings

– This paper evidences the existence of serious problems of opacity, especially in relation to financial information (balance sheet, income statement, annual accounts and audit report) and information on the fulfilment of goals and programmes (management report and compliance report).

Originality/value

– This is the first attempt to analyse statistically the level of transparency of political parties and foundations, showing the need for a robust control system and for mechanisms to penalise conduct that limits citizens’ access to public information.
Plant resistance reduces the strength of consumptive and non‐consumptive effects of predators on aphids
Authors: Kersch‐Becker Mônica F. , Thaler Jennifer S.
Published: March 2015

The impact of predators on prey has traditionally been attributed to the act of consumption. Prey responses to the presence of the predator (non‐consumptive effects), however, can be as important as predation itself. While plant defences are known to influence predator–prey interactions, their relative effects on consumptive vs. non‐consumptive effects are not well understood.

We evaluated the consequences of plant resistance and predators (Hippodamia convergens) on the mass, number of nymphs, population growth, density and dispersal of aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). We tested for the effects of plant resistance on non‐consumptive and consumptive effects of predators on aphid performance and dispersal using a combination of path analysis and experimental manipulation of predation risk.

We manipulated plant resistance using genetically modified lines of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) that vary incrementally in the expression of the jasmonate pathway, which mediates induced resistance to insects and manipulated aphid exposure to lethal and risk predators. Predation risk predators had mandibles impaired to prevent killing.

Plant resistance reduced predation rate (consumptive effect) on high resistance plants. As a consequence, predators had no impact on the number of nymphs, aphid density or population growth on high resistance plants, whereas on low resistance plants, predators reduced aphid density by 35% and population growth by 86%. Path analysis and direct manipulation of predation risk showed that predation risk rather than predation rate promoted aphid dispersal and varied with host plant resistance. Aphid dispersal in response to predation risk was greater on low compared to high resistance plants. The predation risk experiment also showed that the number of aphid nymphs increased in the presence of risk predators but did not translate into increased population growth.

In conclusion, the consumptive and non‐consumptive components of predators affect different aspects of prey demography, acting together to shape prey population dynamics. While predation risk accounts for most of the total effect of the predator on aphid dispersal and number of nymphs, the suppressive effect of predators on aphid population occurred largely through consumption. These effects are strongly influenced by plant resistance levels, suggesting that they are context dependent.
A real options analysis of Australian wheat production under climate change
Authors: Sanderson Todd , Hertzler Greg , Capon Tim , Hayman Peter
Published: March 2015

A significant portion of the world's agricultural systems currently operate at the extreme end of the climate conditions that are considered to be suitable for crop and livestock production. Under these conditions, even moderate climate changes are anticipated to drive substantial transformational changes to agricultural systems. Transformations require new investments and infrastructure and can leave some assets stranded. These transformations can be partially or wholly irreversible, and hysteresis effects can make switching difficult and mistakes costly to reverse. This study demonstrates how a real options decision framework, ‘Real Options for Adaptive Decisions’ (ROADs), can be used to investigate how uncertainties about the climate affect the adaptation and transformation of agricultural systems. By building upon recent developments in the mathematics of stochastic optimisation, we extend traditional economic analyses of agricultural investment decisions based on net present values to better represent incomplete knowledge and uncertainty. We report results from a case study in South Australia that describes the transition pathways farmers might follow as their industries are transformed in response to climate change.
Towards Common Ground and Trading Zones in Management Research and Practice
Authors: Romme A. Georges L. , Avenier Marie‐José , Denyer David , Hodgkinson Gerard P. , Pandza Krsto , Starkey Ken , Worren Nicolay
Published: March 2015

The purpose and nature of management scholarship is contested, evidenced by debates about the ‘academic–practitioner divide’ and attendant remedies for addressing it, including mode 2 and mode 3 research, engaged scholarship, evidence‐based management and design science. In this paper the authors argue that, without a culture of dialogical encounter, management scholarship will never be able to emerge from its adolescence, and management will not develop into the profession that it should and can become. The central proposition is that the highly fragmented landscape of management (practice and scholarship) lacks sufficient capability for dialogue among the plurality of actors situated across that landscape. Developing the dialogical capability ultimately required to break this fundamental impasse demands, first, a shared sense of purpose and responsibility (akin to the Hippocratic Oath in medicine) and, second, institutional entrepreneurship to establish more and better ‘trading zones’. Drawing on the philosophy of pragmatism, the authors further this endeavour by identifying and proposing key elements of a statement of shared purpose and responsibility. Finally, they explore the nature and characteristics of successful trading zones, highlighting particular examples that have already been created in management studies.