bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The First Stirrings of Islam in America
Authors: Diouf Sylviane A.
Published: April 2014

This chapter discusses the first manifestations of Islam in America from the eighteenth century to 1975. The first US Muslims were West African Sunnis who had been deported through the transatlantic slave trade. Most came from Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea. Despite being enslaved in a Christian land, they maintained their faith, and evidence shows that some continued to pray, fast, give charity, and follow a particular diet and dress code. Their literacy was well known and manuscripts they wrote in Arabic have been preserved. Part of their legacy can still be heard in American music. After their disappearance and without any evidence of continuity, indigenous movements, such as the Moorish Science Temple of Islam and the Nation of Islam, emerged in the early 1900s. Within their communities, created by and built around charismatic men, they mixed black nationalism, new definitions of identity, and pseudo-Islamic tenets, often in contradiction to the most basic principles of Islam. All these were used to bolster mental emancipation, self-determination, economic improvement, and social justice.
American Muslim Youth Movements
Authors: Kamal Rabia
Published: April 2014

Organizations catering to Muslim youth in the United States have proliferated in the last several decades, offering a wide range of services and activities to an increasingly diverse number of Muslim Americans. While Muslim “youth movements” in the United States continue to grow in range and size, this chapter specifically focuses on major established Muslim organizations, such as the Muslim Students Association, that serve youth in America. . It also briefly discusses the kinds of changes and developments that have occurred within these organizations as a result of 9/11.
Practicing Islam in the United States
Authors: Siddiqi Muzammil H.
Published: April 2014

Islam, which means active surrender and submission to God, emphasizes both beliefs and practices based on the two primary sources of Islam: the Qur’an and Sunna. Muslims across America base their religious practices on the same requirements gleaned from scripture and tradition. Although they represent many different races and cultures and even many different interpretations of Islam, they follow the same basic expectations in terms of affirming the oneness of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad (shahada), prayer (salat, duʿa), fasting (saum), almsgiving (zakat), and pilgrimage (hajj), as well as other prescribed acts of worship. For some Muslims, the details by which they implement these expectations reflect the cultures from which they have originated, while others are focused on understanding how traditional practices of the faith can find their expression in the new culture of America. Such efforts represent nothing new for Muslims, whose practices always have differed slightly in different places according to the conditions of time and place. The main features of Islamic beliefs in particular and Islamic practices in general are constant and remain the same across the many cultures and traditions that represent American Islam.
American Muslims and Global Islam
Authors: Mandaville Peter
Published: April 2014

This article explores some of the ways in which the religious lives of American Muslims are shaped by—and, in turn, shape—Islamic ideas, doctrines, organizations, and movements that circulate beyond the United States. It surveys the role of global Islam in the development of several of the most important American Muslim organizations and institutions in the twentieth century. Profiles are offered of leading American Muslim intellectuals who serve as bridges between the American Muslim community and broader religious currents in the Muslim world in order to illustrate various modalities of American Muslim transnationalism. With the rise of the internet and new media, young Muslims in the United States can today be thought of as contributors to a global Muslim public sphere.
Muslim Immigration to America
Authors: Serhan Randa B.
Published: April 2014

Muslim immigration to America has a protracted history dating back to the first coerced West and North Africans brought on ships as part of the slave trade. Yet, the notion of Muslims as a distinguishable or coherent group arose only in the aftermath of 9/11. The Muslims of the post-9/11 era are defined as fairly recent immigrants from Southeast Asia and the Arab world. Scholarship since 9/11 has implicitly accepted this categorization, whether to make the case that Muslims have been racialized or, conversely, to assess the level of terror threat they may pose. The present chapter views this issue through a longer-range lens and a looser definition of Muslim to allow for the inclusion of the earliest migration flows (coerced and voluntary) and those who are often viewed as contested Muslims, such as the Nation of Islam. In total, six migration flows are analyzed according to Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut’s conceptualization of immigrant modes of incorporation: namely governmental reception, public reaction toward newcomers, and the preexisting community. By casting this wider net and moving away from the confines of the post-9/11 backlash, this chapter evaluates the place of Islam in the lives of those who identify or are identified as Muslims. Analyzing six major migration flows that include Muslims, it finds that Islam has been secondary to the politics of populations identified as such, whether international or domestic. The Nation of Islam was treated as suspect more because of its black nationalist undertones than its claims to Islam.Palestinians, regardless of religion, were treated as terrorists because of the Arab-Israeli war, and Southeast Asian were viewed as model minorities until 9/11 despite their strong identification with Islam. In other words, the contextual elements, especially governmental reception, have a greater influence on minorities and immigrants than religion. Currently, this has meant that American Muslims have been asked to prove their allegiance to the United States. On a positive note, there are enough educated and civically engaged American Muslims that they are able to contest the imposition of a coherent Muslim identity as alien and dangerous.
The Twelver Shi‘is in America
Authors: Takim Liyakat
Published: April 2014

After the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 CE, the early Shiʿis claimed that ‘Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in law, was his only legitimate successor. They also insisted that only the Prophet’s family members, the ahl al-bayt, were qualified to lead the Muslim community after him. When ‘Ali became the fourth Caliph of the Muslim community in 656 CE, Shiʿism emerged as a recognized religious movement in Islam. What sets Shiʿism apart from the majority Sunnis is the notion of the divinely inspired and charismatic leadership of the imams. This article focuses on Shiʿism in America by describing the four major Shiʿi groups: the Twelver Shiʿis, the Nizari Ismaʿilis, the Bohra Ismaʿilis, and the Zaydis. It examines the ethnic factor in American Shiʿism, nationalism and American Shiʿism, women and American Shiʿism, religious leadership in the Shiʿi community, and outreach programs by Shiʿi centers. It also looks at the Universal Muslim Association of America, the conversion of African Americans to Shiʿism, the impact of 9/11 on the American Shiʿi community, and political awareness among American Muslims.
Muslim Women in the United States
Authors: Moore Kathleen M.
Published: April 2014

This essay is about how the academic field of North American Islam has turned to questions of gender and sexuality and how American Muslim women have dealt with the reality of gender constructions and localized dynamics in the American context. Widespread perceptions that Muslim women are oppressed by their religion make it difficult for them to tackle gender disparities in their own communities. If, for instance, a woman pushes to end practices in mosques that require her to pray separately from the men, as some women do, then anti-Muslim activists latch onto their complaints to discredit the Muslim community as a whole. At the same time, these women may be criticized by some within the Muslim community for imposing “western values” on Muslims or undermining the community with their feminist ideas. The influences of anti-Islam populism and intra-Muslim community pressures have shaped contemporary debates about women’s status in Islam and American women’s rights. Contested post-9/11 discourses, women’s leadership in public organizations, mosque participation, online activism, and law are examined.
Muslim Artists in America
Authors: Jiwa Munir
Published: April 2014

This chapter draws on ethnographic fieldwork I conducted with Muslim artists in New York City. Working with artists allows us to think about Muslims in new ways that neither restricts them to theological belief nor locates them only at mosques. It allows us to rethink and remap the locations where we normatively find Muslims, to think about artistic practices and identity in different contexts, and to question and make more complex secular and religious divides. Focusing on the works of Zarina Hashmi, Shirin Neshat, Ghada Amer, and Shahzia Sikander, “celebrities” in the mainstream art worlds in the United States and internationally, provides us insight into the processes of art making and creative expression by Muslim artists in secular contexts. By looking at the landscapes of a wider range of Muslim artists and cultural producers, both within the art worlds and in Muslim communities in America, we are better able to appreciate the diversity of their commitments and practices, aesthetic and/or theological.
Demystifying Schmitt
Authors: Posner Eric , Vermeule Adrian
Published: April 2014

This chapter demystifies Carl Schmitt by interpreting his main insights through the lens of modern social sciences,. There is a large literature in political science on the political foundations of democracy, constitutionalism, and the rule of law. This literature emphasizes that legal rules, by themselves, cannot create a political equilibrium, which always depends on the expectation of political actors that other actors will contribute to preserving the constitutional regime rather than subverting it. This insight allows us to interpret Schmitt’s distinction between legality and legitimacy more concretely than in extant work. There is also a large literature in law and economics on ex ante rules versus ex post standards. Schmitt’s theory of the exception can be understood as an argument that governance through ex post standards, rather than ex ante rules, is inevitable and even desirable where political, economic, or military conditions change rapidly.
Accurate parallax measurement toward the symbiotic star R Aquarii
Authors: Min Cheulhong , Matsumoto Naoko , Kim Mi Kyoung , Hirota Tomoya , Shibata Katsunori M. , Cho Se-Hyung , Shizugami Makoto , Honma Mareki
Published: April 2014

Multiepoch phase-referencing VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) observations with VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry) were performed for the symbiotic star R Aquarii (R Aqr) from 2005 September to 2006 October. Tracing one of the v = 2, J = 1–0 SiO maser spots, we measured an annual parallax of π = 4.59 ± 0.24 mas, corresponding to a distance of $218_{-11}^{+12}\:$pc. Our result is consistent with earlier distance measurements, but yields the highest accuracy of ∼ 5% level. Applying our distance, we derived an absolute K-band magnitude of MK = −7.71 ± 0.11, which is consistent with the recent period–luminosity relation by VLBI parallax measurements for five OH-Mira variables. In addition, the expansion age of an inner nebula around R Aqr is found to be ∼ 240 yr, corresponding to about the year 1773.
O i fluorescent line contamination in soft X-ray diffuse background obtained with Suzaku/XIS
Authors: Sekiya Norio , Yamasaki Noriko Y. , Mitsuda Kazuhisa , Takei Yoh
Published: April 2014

The quantitative measurement of O VII line intensity is a powerful method for understanding the soft X-ray diffuse background. By systematically analyzing the O VII line intensity in 145 high-latitude Suzaku/XIS observations, the flux of O I fluorescent line in the XIS spectrum, contaminating the O VII line, is found to have an increasing trend with time especially after 2011. For these observations, the O VII line intensity would be overestimated unless taking into consideration the O I fluorescent line contamination. Since the O I line emission originates from solar X-rays, this increase suggests that the flux of incident solar X-rays at the O I fluorescence energy tend to be larger than that in the early phase of Suzaku observations (2005–2010).
On the subclasses in Swift long gamma-ray bursts: A clue to different central engines
Authors: Tsutsui Ryo , Shigeyama Toshikazu
Published: April 2014

Analyzing light curves of a complete sample of bright Swift long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) of which the peak photon fluxes constructed with the bin width of one second in the Swift 15–350 keV energy band exceed 2.6 photons cm−2 s−1, we confirm that there does exist the third class of GRBs in addition to short and long GRBs. Being different from previous works based on the duration, fluence, etc., our classification method is based on two properties both quantified with light curve shapes of the prompt emission: the Absolute Deviation from the Constant Luminosity of their cumulative light curve ADCL, and the ratio of the mean counts to the maximum counts$\bar{C}/C_{\rm max}$. These are independent of the distance and the jet opening angle. A cluster analysis via the Gaussian mixture model detects three subclasses: one consisting of LGRBs with small ADCL and large $\bar{C}/C_{\rm max}$ values referred to as Type I, one with large ADCL and large $\bar{C}/C_{\rm max}$ referred to as Type II, and one with intermediate ADCL and small $\bar{C}/C_{\rm max}$, which is composed of contaminating short GRBs with the extended emission. This result is reinforced by different temporal and spectral indices of their X-ray afterglows. The difference is prominent in the temporal index of the steep decay phase in particular; the indices for Type I LGRBs distribute between −6 and −3 while those for Type II LGRBs are between −3 and −2. From these properties, we propose a possible scenario with different central engines: an accreting black hole and a magnetar.
Point source calibration of the AKARI/FIS all-sky survey maps for stacking analysis
Authors: Arimatsu Ko , Doi Yasuo , Wada Takehiko , Takita Satoshi , Kawada Mitsunobu , Matsuura Shuji , Ootsubo Takafumi , Kataza Hirokazu
Published: April 2014

Investigations of the point spread functions (PSFs) and flux calibrations for stacking analysis have been performed with the far-infrared (wavelength range of 60 to 140 μm) all-sky maps taken by the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) on board the AKARI satellite. The PSFs are investigated by stacking the maps at the positions of standard stars with their fluxes of 0.02–10 Jy. The derived full widths at the half maximum (FWHMs) of the PSFs are ∼ 60′′ at 65 and 90 μm and ∼ 90′′ at 140 μm, which are much smaller than those of the previous all-sky maps obtained with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS (∼ 6′). Any flux dependence in the PSFs is not seen on the investigated flux range. By performing the flux calibrations, we found that absolute photometry for faint sources can be carried out with constant calibration factors, which range from 0.6 to 0.8. After applying the calibration factors, the photometric accuracies for the stacked sources in the 65, 90, and 140 μm bands are 9%, 3%, and 21%, respectively, even below the detection limits of the survey. No systematic dependence between the observed flux and model flux is found. These results indicate that the FIS map is a useful dataset for the stacking analyses of faint sources at far-infrared wavelengths.
Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in multi-sized dust layers
Authors: Hasegawa Yukihiko , Tsuribe Toru
Published: April 2014

We examine the effect of the dust size distribution on Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the protoplanetary disk with dust sedimentation. Newly taking into account the dust size distribution, the growth rate of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is calculated using linear stability analysis with a dust density distribution consistent with sedimentation. The dust abundance required for gravitational instabilities before the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is derived from the linear stability analysis, and it is found that the required dust abundance significantly coincides with that estimated from the Richardson number. It is also found that when the dust size distribution is taken into account, the critical Richardson number for the onset of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability tends to increase with dust abundance. This result is different from that in the case without the dust size distribution.
Radiation hydrodynamical wind revisited: Nonrelativistic regime
Authors: Fukue Jun
Published: April 2014

We re-examine the radiatively-driven spherical wind under the diffusion and local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) approximations, while focusing our attention on the topological nature of critical points. We first consider the nonrelativistic case, where there is no radiation drag and advection luminosity. We find that under the diffusion approximation almost all critical points (loci) are of the nodal type, which is higher order singular points, which makes the solutions stiff. On the other hand, under the LTE approximation, where the diffusive terms do not exist in the source terms, the critical points are of the saddle type, and transonic solutions are not stiff. Although the loci of critical points are quite similar for both approximations in the nonrelativistic regime, the types of critical points are found to be quite different.
Tracking protein turnover and degradation by microscopy: photo-switchable versus time-encoded fluorescent proteins
Authors: Knop Michael , Edgar Bruce A.
Published: April 2014

Expanded fluorescent protein techniques employing photo-switchable and fluorescent timer proteins have become important tools in biological research. These tools allow researchers to address a major challenge in cell and developmental biology, namely obtaining kinetic information about the processes that determine the distribution and abundance of proteins in cells and tissues. This knowledge is often essential for the comprehensive understanding of a biological process, and/or required to determine the precise point of interference following an experimental perturbation.
Polar delivery in plants; commonalities and differences to animal epithelial cells
Authors: Kania Urszula , Fendrych Matyáš , Friml Jiří
Published: April 2014

Although plant and animal cells use a similar core mechanism to deliver proteins to the plasma membrane, their different lifestyle, body organization and specific cell structures resulted in the acquisition of regulatory mechanisms that vary in the two kingdoms. In particular, cell polarity regulators do not seem to be conserved, because genes encoding key components are absent in plant genomes. In plants, the broad knowledge on polarity derives from the study of auxin transporters, the PIN-FORMED proteins, in the model plantArabidopsis thaliana.In animals, much information is provided from the study of polarity in epithelial cells that exhibit basolateral and luminal apical polarities, separated by tight junctions. In this review, we summarize the similarities and differences of the polarization mechanisms between plants and animals and survey the main genetic approaches that have been used to characterize new genes involved in polarity establishment in plants, including the frequently used forward and reverse genetics screens as well as a novel chemical genetics approach that is expected to overcome the limitation of classical genetics methods.
Cyclic nucleotide–gated channels, calmodulin, adenylyl cyclase, and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II are required for late, but not early, long-term memory formation in the honeybee
Authors: Matsumoto Yukihisa , Sandoz Jean-Christophe , Devaud Jean-Marc , Lormant Flore , Mizunami Makoto , Giurfa Martin
Published: April 2014

Memory is a dynamic process that allows encoding, storage, and retrieval of information acquired through individual experience. In the honeybee Apis mellifera, olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER) has shown that besides short-term memory (STM) and mid-term memory (MTM), two phases of long-term memory (LTM) are formed upon multiple-trial conditioning: an early phase (e-LTM) which depends on translation from already available mRNA, and a late phase (l-LTM) which requires de novo transcription and translation. Here we combined olfactory PER conditioning and neuropharmacological inhibition and studied the involvement of the NO–cGMP pathway, and of specific molecules, such as cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNG), calmodulin (CaM), adenylyl cyclase (AC), and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMKII), in the formation of olfactory LTM in bees. We show that in addition to NO–cGMP and cAMP–PKA, CNG channels, CaM, AC, and CaMKII also participate in the formation of a l-LTM (72-h post-conditioning) that is specific for the learned odor. Importantly, the same molecules are dispensable for olfactory learning and for the formation of both MTM (in the minute and hour range) and e-LTM (24-h post-conditioning), thus suggesting that the signaling pathways leading to l-LTM or e-LTM involve different molecular actors.
N-[Ethyl(2-hydroxyethyl)carbamothioyl]-3-fluorobenzamide
Authors: Awang Nor Wahida. , Hasbullah Siti Aishah , Yusoff Siti Fairus M. , Yamin Bohari M.
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C12H15FN2O2S, the molecule adopts acisconfiguration of the fluorobenzoyl group with respect to the thiono group about their C—N bond. The dihedral angle between the fluorobenzoyl group and the thiourea N2CS fragment is 69.60 (11)°. An intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, molecules form chains along theb-axis directionviaO—H...S and C—H...O hydrogen bonds.
Dopaminium nitrate
Authors: Gatfaoui Sofian , Marouani Houda , Roisnel Thierry , Dhaouadi Hassouna
Published: April 2014

The asymmetric unit of the title salt [systematic name: 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethanaminium nitrate], C8H12NO2+·NO3−, contains two independent cations and two independent nitrate anions. The crystal structure consists of discrete nitrate ions stacked in layers parallel to (010). These layers are linkedviathe dopaminium cations by O—H...O, N—H...O and weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supramolecular network.
1-[(1-Benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]indoline-2,3-dione
Authors: Qachchachi Fatima-Zahrae , Kandri Rodi Youssef , Essassi El Mokhtar , Bodensteiner Michael , El Ammari Lahcen
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C18H14N4O2, the triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 77.32 (8) and 75.56 (9)°, respectively, with the indoline residue and the terminal phenyl group. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...N hydrogen bonds into tapes parallel to thebaxis. The tapes are linked together by π–π interactions between triazole rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.4945 (9) Å].
6-Fluoro-4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde
Authors: Ishikawa Yoshinobu
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C10H5FO3, the non-H atoms are essentially coplanar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0071 Å), with the largest deviation from the mean plane [0.0203 (15) Å] being found for the ring C atom in the 2-position. In the crystal, molecules are linked into a three-dimensional architectureviaC—H...O hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions between the chromone units along thea-axis direction [centroid–centroid distance between the benzene and pyran rings = 3.707 (2) Å].
Malaria research in India during 2003-2012: a bibliometric analysis
Authors: K. Maharana Rabindra
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to analyze Indian researchers' publications on malaria research and to serve as a guide to libraries needing to collect information on malaria. It also seeks to compare malaria affected Asian countries global rank with their publication and death rates.

Design/methodology/approach

– For the purpose of the study Indian researchers' publication data which were indexed in Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) were used. Various statistical techniques and bibliometric measures have been employed for further analysis.

Findings

– The present study found out 2,020 documents with h-index of 48, published by Indian researchers which were indexed in WoS during 2003 to 2012 and the majority of them were articles (81.43 percent).Malaria Journalis the most favored research journal among the Indian research community which covers 97 papers. A.P. Dash contributed maximum number of 136 (6.74 percent) papers. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is the largest Indian funding agency with 184 (9.11 percent) research grants.

Research limitations/implications

– Limitation by geographical area and time, i.e. the study only focuses the research publication of Indian researchers on malaria research during 2003 to 2012.

Originality/value

– This is the first attempt to apply bibliometric techniques to analyze malaria research by Indian researchers, and, more generally for a country which is very badly affected by the disease.
Building digital collections in a public university library in Ghana: priority-setting and user needs assessment
Authors: Yaa Anima Adzobu Nesba
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Although user needs assessment is an intrinsic element of service quality delivery in digital libraries (DLs), not much has been written on this topic in the context of African universities. This is understandable as academic digital libraries in Africa are rather nascent. Even so, the most frequently-used needs assessment methods do not directly involve the users. This study aims to assess priority setting by academic library administrators and the needs of patrons of digital collections of a public university library in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

– Analysis of official university documents and interviews with digital library patrons at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in Ghana were carried out between September, 2011 and January, 2012. Five research questions were asked: what are the current conditions of the UCC digital library project, the user communities and their needs, what are the priorities set by the university administrators and library leaders at the UCC and the state of technological readiness in place and what are needed by the UCCDL. Also, what is the extent of collaboration by interested parties in the UCCDL?

Findings

– Three general digital library user communities were identified, that is, UCCDL staff- this community was composed of experts in both digital library systems and content, characterized as heavy users of the existing systems, as knowledgeable about articulated (formalized) user needs, and able to devote short (usually less than two hours) amounts of time to individual's needs. Next, are scholars and other visitors to the UCCDL – this community was characterized as having high levels of domain expertise and knowledge of library systems. They are also able to devote large but specific amounts of time (days or weeks) to their individual information needs. Visitors/Prospective users- this community was characterized as having varied levels of domain expertise and low levels of library systems knowledge. They are able to devote only short periods of time to their information needs or explorations. These user communities are influenced by diverse preferences, experiences, and knowledge structures.

Practical implications

– Academic libraries are increasingly advocating local user studies as a way to provide the digital library services that are relevant to the culture and user population of the academic institution. Replicating digital library user studies at the local level can provide information for improving existing services or developing new ones.

Originality/value

– In African public universities, there is little earlier research on digital library user needs assessments or DL priority-setting by academic library administrators.
Bringing anime to academic libraries: a recommended core collection
Authors: Pope Robbins Laura
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide reasons for developing an anime collection within academic libraries as well as providing guidance in starting such a collection.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is based upon research of literature and anime-related websites, as well as familiarity gained through viewing anime.

Findings

– Anime is a medium that can be used to explore all genres, as well as universal themes, and provide a glimpse of Japanese life. The study of film has been accepted for decades and the study of animation has grown from that but has been restricted to primarily American animation. Anime is animation specific to Japan which can inspire students and faculty to explore another culture. Libraries should provide classic anime that can support cross-cultural and interdisciplinary studies. By creating an anime collection, a library will provide their community with engaging materials that can be used for enjoyment as well as study. A list of core titles is included.

Originality/value

– This paper reflects recent trends toward increased interest in Japanese popular culture, specifically anime, and offers academic libraries a rationale for including such materials within their collection to connect with their students and faculty. There are no articles on the topic of collecting anime in academic libraries.
On the role and importance of core assumptions in the field of entrepreneurship research
Authors: Scherdin Mikael , Zander Ivo
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Entrepreneurship researchers have recently engaged in discussions on the boundaries and legitimacy of the field of entrepreneurship research but have overlooked the significance and implications of core assumptions. The purpose of this paper is to invite a more focussed discussion on the role of assumptions in the field of entrepreneurship research and how such assumptions may contribute to the formation of a more distinctive, legitimate, and rapidly advancing field of research.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws upon the neurophilosophy literature to delineate one possible set of core assumptions about the individual and her engagement with the environment, which the paper suggests could serve as a starting point for continued and more explicit discussions about the nature and role of assumptions than existed in the past.

Findings

– Implications for theory development, knowledge accumulation, and the distinctiveness of the field of entrepreneurship research are discussed.

Originality/value

– The paper develops the connection between neurophilosophy and entrepreneurship research and focuses attention on an underemphasized element in the debate on the boundaries and legitimacy of the field of entrepreneurship research.
Measuring the effectiveness of an alternative education collaboration
Authors: Genao Soribel
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Program efficacy and outcomes can often be determined through an examination of collaborative activities between and among inner city school districts with high dropout rates and private, public, and nonprofit organizations. Kettl (2004) adeptly describes additional collaborative practice trends that not only transform governance structures, but blurs the line between and among sectors. These trends illuminate the need for governmental agencies to collaborate with nonprofit and for-profit organizations to address “wicked problems” where no single organization has sufficient resources and the consequences are enormous. The paper aims to discuss theses issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Utilizing a quantitative approach, this research compares the efficacy of a newly developed collaborative alternative education program to existing programs in New Jersey's Newark Public Schools during 2008-2009.

Findings

– The results indicate that the overall performance of the students enrolled in the new research models is significantly higher than in the existing program due to incentives and not administrative collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

– Implications for future research include: first, the need for studies to reveal enduring, universal effects of collaboration; second, longitudinal studies of the effects of collaboration on alternative education issues; and third, an evaluation of the effectiveness of collaborative training.

Originality/value

– This research intends to contribute to the literature concerning these distinctive types of partnerships – specifically the integration of three very different systems into a collaborative service. This single case study presents support of how these services subsist within four settings and what force they have on special services for students in alternative education in the public schools.
Focusing on dilemmas challenging reputation management in higher education
Authors: Suomi Kati , Kuoppakangas Päivikki , Hytti Ulla , Hampden-Turner Charles , Kangaslahti Jukka
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the dilemmas that challenge reputation management in the context of higher education (HE).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper introduces one Finnish multidisciplinary master's degree programme as a case in point. The empirical data comprises a student survey and semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders whose work relates to the master's degree programme in question.

Findings

– The findings identify different types of dilemmas arising from collaboration between stakeholders of HE.

Practical implications

– The paper demonstrates how the dilemma-reconciliation method can be used to enhance reputation management in HE.

Originality/value

– The novelty of the paper is in applying dilemma theory (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 2000) in parallel with reputation theories. Dilemma theory attributes reputation risks to conflicting aims.
The functions, attributes and challenges of academic leadership in New Zealand polytechnics
Authors: Cardno Carol
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Leadership in educational settings has been established as a key factor that impacts student learning outcomes, consequently it is important to understand how academic leadership is conceptualised and enacted. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

– This qualitative study investigated the nature and demands of academic leadership in the New Zealand polytechnic sector by analysing documentary evidence and investigating the perceptions held of the role by 15 academic leaders in four institutions who were interviewed.

Findings

– Findings of the study highlight the four roles of organisational leadership, curriculum leadership, academic management and academic currency. Participants confirmed that they struggle with ambiguity and tensions. The importance of teams, collaboration and communication are established and the study concludes that an understanding of role complexity to reduce ambiguity and provision of support to perform the role should be key institutional concerns.

Originality/value

– This is one of very few research studies into conceptualising and researching the enactment of academic leadership in a polytechnic setting. The findings could impact the design of future leadership development.
Pigeon-inspired optimization: a new swarm intelligence optimizer for air robot path planning
Authors: Duan Haibin , Qiao Peixin
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a novel swarm intelligence optimizer — pigeon-inspired optimization (PIO) — and describe how this algorithm was applied to solve air robot path planning problems.

Design/methodology/approach

– The formulation of threat resources and objective function in air robot path planning is given. The mathematical model and detailed implementation process of PIO is presented. Comparative experiments with standard differential evolution (DE) algorithm are also conducted.

Findings

– The feasibility, effectiveness and robustness of the proposed PIO algorithm are shown by a series of comparative experiments with standard DE algorithm. The computational results also show that the proposed PIO algorithm can effectively improve the convergence speed, and the superiority of global search is also verified in various cases.

Originality/value

– In this paper, the authors first presented a PIO algorithm. In this newly presented algorithm, map and compass operator model is presented based on magnetic field and sun, while landmark operator model is designed based on landmarks. The authors also applied this newly proposed PIO algorithm for solving air robot path planning problems.
Parallelization and sustainability of distributed genetic algorithms on many-core processors
Authors: Sato Yuji , Sato Mikiko
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a fault-tolerant technology for increasing the durability of application programs when evolutionary computation is performed by fast parallel processing on many-core processors such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and multi-core processors (MCPs).

Design/methodology/approach

– For distributed genetic algorithm (GA) models, the paper proposes a method where an island's ID number is added to the header of data transferred by this island for use in fault detection.

Findings

– The paper has shown that the processing time of the proposed idea is practically negligible in applications and also shown that an optimal solution can be obtained even with a single stuck-at fault or a transient fault, and that increasing the number of parallel threads makes the system less susceptible to faults.

Originality/value

– The study described in this paper is a new approach to increase the sustainability of application program using distributed GA on GPUs and MCPs.
Innovation adoption and diffusion in business-to-business marketing
Authors: Sakari Makkonen Hannu , J. Johnston Wesley
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The current knowledge concerning how organizations adopt innovations is considerably less than the sum of its parts. The aim of this paper is to review the innovation adoption and diffusion approach and connect it with the main related theoretical fields within business-to-business marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides a conceptual discussion, the aim being to develop an integrative conceptual framework.

Findings

– The adoption and diffusion approach gives little indication of the effects on adoption of the established relationships and the wider relational setting comprising the direct and indirect influences between the network actors. It is rather the innovation and the related communication that are in focus. As a result, the innovation and its adoption and diffusion are considered unique phenomena, the actors are assigned the static roles of opinion leaders and change agents, social system can be defined, and there is no competition. The current theoretical approaches within the business-to-business marketing could provide support in building a more realistic view of adoption and diffusion in industrial context.

Originality/value

– The contribution of the proposed conceptual model lies in its capacity to take into account organizational behavior in the form of individual-level actions that underpin the adoption process and relate this intra-firm behavior to its wider network context, thereby facilitating the production of a system-level account and a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of adoption.
Understanding the characteristics of the growth of SMEs in B-to-B markets in emerging economies: an organizational ecology approach
Authors: R. Todd Patricia , G. Javalgi Raj , Grossman David
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to focus on the determinants that impact the growth of SMEs in B-to-B markets in emerging economies. The objective is to apply the classic model of organizational ecology to examine the characteristics of growth patterns in the B-to-B environment for SMEs in emerging markets, specifically India and China. Application of the model can guide SMEs owners/managers in their effort to successfully expand internationally in turbulent markets characterized by competitive and technological intensity.

Design/methodology/approach

– An overview of the basics of the organizational ecology model is presented, followed by the description of various economic drivers of B-to-B markets in India and China. The integration of the organizational ecology model and the strategic development of methods to deal with specific challenges of entering international markets are discussed. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for future research.

Findings

– Businesses operating in emerging markets face many of the same roadblocks concerning efficiencies, increasing competition, and the need for capital, that are experienced by businesses throughout the world, however, they also face challenges unique to the developmental nature of the country environment. Ecological models can be used to understand the dynamics between resource utilization and growth.

Practical implications

– The ecology-based view evaluates the utilization of resources with a focus on how changes in resource availability impact the international growth strategy of the B-to-B firm in India and China. These two economies represent a large business environment, generally underdeveloped with regards to taking advantage of potential resource availability.

Originality/value

– While the significant economic contribution of SMEs is well understood, their business practices in emerging economies have not been extensively studied, especially in the B-to-B arena. The goal here is to stimulate the development of new insights for managing the complex relationships between the B-to-B SMEs, organizational ecology, and the international environment in emerging markets. This study extends the literature concerning factors that impact business success in important emerging markets such as India and China.
Family business internationalisation through a digital entry mode
Authors: Plakoyiannaki Emmanuella , Pavlos Kampouri Aikaterini , Stavraki Georgia , Kotzaivazoglou Iordanis
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the emerging literature stream of family business (FB) internationalisation. Its purpose is twofold: first, to provide empirical evidence on the motives, facilitators and obstacles and second, to understand different pathways and entry modes of FB internationalisation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors employ a multiple case study design that draws on various sources of data and examines eight Greek companies in the apiculture sector.

Findings

– The case study evidence brings to the fore the existence of various motives, facilitators and obstacles to FB internationalisation in Greece. Moreover, it fleshes out the “e-born global” FB that employs a digital entry mode and heavily relies on new technologies in order to identify international opportunities and reduce information asymmetries in foreign markets. Such an entry mode allowed the investigated firms to achieve a speedy entry to foreign countries and compete in geographically distant markets.

Practical implications

– Understanding FB internationalisation may assist governments in adopting policies for stimulating outward activities of domestic firms.

Originality/value

– The results provide important insights into how FBs enter foreign markets and use technology in their internationalisation efforts.
Damaging brands through market research
Authors: Franz Horn Christian , Brem Alexander , Ivens Björn
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibility of using the new marketing research tool of prediction markets (PMs), which integrates customers to into the marketing research process. The research questions are: does taking part in PMs influence customers’ brand perception? Is there a danger of damaging a brand through this tool?

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses a series of five short-term (less than one hour) and five long-term (three weeks) experimental online PMs where customers are integrated into marketing research and apply a series of online-surveys before and after taking part as virtual stock market traders. Subjects of research are taken from the sporting goods industry.

Findings

– The paper shows that PMs can be used by marketing researchers without the danger of damaging the brand of the products that are subject of the PMs, although customers are being integrated to improve the markets’ forecasting accuracy.

Research limitations/implications

– The study's subject are medium priced sporting goods only. Possibly in other product fields, results may differ. Thus, the authors see a field for further research in this limitation.

Practical implications

– Managers for marketing intelligence have more reason to make use of the efficient and rather new tool, PMs. Marketers can potentially improve their forecasting accuracy by integrating customer information into their reports. In addition, the authors see a high potential in the area of innovation management as well.

Originality/value

– There has been no research on perceptions of PMs and brands at all so far.
IT can matter: co-evolution fostering IT competitive advantage
Authors: Luse Andy , Mennecke Brian
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This article revisits Nicolas Carr's popular Harvard Review articleIT Doesn't Matteron its ten-year anniversary. The purpose is to analyze Carr's argument by analyzing the development of the argument itself as opposed to finding exceptions to the argument, which has been done in the past.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use co-evolutionary theory as a case against Carr's argument by showing that Carr has only looked at the growth of IT from a population ecology perspective and has failed to anticipate the adaptive nature of IT within the organization.

Findings

– The authors show that Carr's new rules for IT management may not be applicable if viewed through the lens of the three principles of self-renewing organizations espoused by co-evolutionary theory.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors provide a new basis for evaluating the strategic nature of IT and offer a background for future research and case studies into evaluating IT strategic competitive advantage within the organization.

Practical implications

– The research provides guidelines for organizations to better decide how to strategically implement IT to more fully utilize its capabilities.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a new method for refuting a popular article by attacking the argument as opposed to finding exceptions to the argument. This is valuable to those who wish to evangelize the strategic capacity of IT within the organization.