bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of emotion in decision‐making
Authors: Brown Hilary
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This review of the decision‐making literature aims to challenge the rational model of decision‐making upon which the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 is premised.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper forms part of a larger study commissioned by the Office of the Public Guardian looking into complex cases.

Findings

The literature supported the study findings that decisions are not made in a linear way and identified the importance of history and memory, motivation and drive, mood and stability, and openness to influence when assessing the mental capacity of vulnerable people, especially in the context of self‐neglect.

Practical implications

This paper will inform workers in health and social care about the emotional factors that influence decision‐making and increase their ability to make nuanced assessments.

Social implications

Taken together, with other publications from this project, this paper alerts practitioners to situations where vulnerable people are out of their depth; when the role of depression and anxiety may be at least as salient as their understanding of possible consequences and when the past may exert more control over their actions than their understanding of future options.

Originality/value

The paper's added value is that it uses ideas that are current within academic psychology to make explicit some of the factors that lead to complexity when assessing mental capacity under the MCA, especially in the context of self‐neglect.
Market expectations and policy deficiencies in the promotion of building energy efficiency in China
Authors: Qian Queena K. , Chan Edwin H.W. , Xu Peng‐peng
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Future energy consumption in China's building sector will have a considerable influence on both China and the world's energy markets. Although the Chinese government has set out a series of policies to promote building energy efficiency (BEE), the BEE market share remains small. The paper aims to identify the key policy deficiencies that affect such promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the defined roles played by the government, this paper traces the path that China's BEE policies have taken since the 1980s and highlights the key problems. To understand how the Chinese government's BEE policies meet the expectations of market stakeholders, the paper employs data from a questionnaire of building design professionals in the country's major cities to identify the most favourable factors for and existing hurdles to the promotion of the BEE market.

Findings

The Chinese government needs to exert greater effort towards overcoming the deficiencies in its roles as policy maker, fiscal hub and advocate. At this stage, China would benefit more from legal and government intervention than from heavy reliance on voluntary schemes for BEE promotion.

Practical implications

The paper shows that both the government and industry need to become better informed of the conditions required to attract market parties towards the promotion of BEE. This study also identifies the main concerns involved, thus providing a strong foundation for further study in this arena.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the mismatch between market expectations and government policies aimed at BEE promotion in China. It fills the knowledge gap between market stakeholders and government for future policy design concerning BEE promotion.
Developments in corporate creditworthiness around ownership events
Authors: Parnes Dror
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This study seeks to explore developments in corporate creditworthiness before and after ownership events.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the Blockholders database of Dlugosz, Fahlenbrach, Gompers, and Metrick, and three credit quantities, and deploys a standard event study methodology to examine the relation to corporate creditworthiness.

Findings

The paper discovers that ownership‐construction is generally associated with prior‐ and post‐improvement in creditworthiness, while a block‐destruction is typically surrounded by deterioration in corporate creditworthiness. The paper also finds proper evidence for a relation between the construction or destruction of managerial block and future developments in corporate creditworthiness. The paper further realizes that outside shareholders exhibit higher impact than inside block‐holders on later variations in credit risk.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is unable to conduct further robustness checks with structural credit methodologies due to the reduced number of valid observations.

Originality/value

Market participants can utilize the conclusions to better predict future trends in corporate creditworthiness.
Perceived brand globalness in emerging markets and the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism
Authors: Akram Aneela , Merunka Dwight , Shakaib Akram Muhammad
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to study the impact of perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumers' purchase intention (PI) and the mediating role of perceived brand quality (PBQ) and perceived brand prestige (PBP) in this relation, among consumers in emergent markets. The paper also investigate the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism (CE) on the relation between PBG and both PBQ and PBP.

Design/methodology/approach

A web‐based survey was conducted in an emerging market (Pakistan) using both global and local brands. The model was tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

PBG positively impacts both PBQ and PBP while PBQ appears to be a stronger mediator than PBP. The moderating role of CE between PBG and PBQ and between PBG and PBP has been demonstrated; the weaker the CE the stronger the relationships.

Research limitations/implications

A convenience sample was used and caution must be taken when generalizing findings from this study. Managers of global brands must meet consumers' expectations in terms of the quality of their brands and may highlight the prestige associated to them. Low ethnocentric consumers favor global brands, rendering this segment attractive for the managers of global brands.

Originality/value

The paper extends previous work on the role of brand globalness by focusing on an emergent market where the choice problem between local and global brands is acute and by demonstrating the moderating role of CE.
Is Cuba's emerging entrepreneurial economy at the crossroads?
Authors: Becherer Richard C. , Helms Marilyn M.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The Caribbean Island of Cuba, only 90 miles from the US mainland, has remained one of the world's few examples of a centralized communist economy since Fidel Castro overthrew the government in 1959. The country has declined in recent years, most significantly since the fall of Cuba's key trading partner and ally, the former Soviet Union. Recently, under the direction of Fidel's brother, Raúl Castro, the island appears to be slowly loosening some restrictions and promoting new venture creation by allowing more private enterprises and forcing laid‐off state employees to consider entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether entrepreneurship will be the answer to improving Cuba's economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Graham's framework of conditions necessary for encouraging entrepreneurship, Cuba is examined with actual observations by the authors after a July 2010 State Department‐sanctioned research trip to observe entrepreneurship within the centralized economy.

Findings

Further enhancements to encourage new venture creation in Cuba are identified, along with areas for future research on new venture creation.

Originality/value

The value of this research lies in the fact that there are many paths to create an entrepreneurial economy in an emerging market. Cuba represents a nascent entrepreneurial economy with many barriers to overcome based upon its legacy of communism. The country and market has seldom been examined and there is a dearth of literature on Cuba and other countries trying to move immediately from communism to capitalism when their economy is in crisis.
Understanding project manager identities: a framework for research
Authors: Smith Charles
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to propose a framework for researching the possibilities for project manager identities: the multiple ways there are of being a performer, as a manager, in the world of projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The author's line of enquiry was to seek evidence of project manager identity within real‐life stories told by practitioners, the author's perspective being: that identity is produced through action, that action and identity are framed by social narratives, and that identities and the strategies that create and support them are therefore evident in project stories.

Findings

Two examples are discussed; they validate the proposed research framework, demonstrating how storytellers use their projects as vehicles for the performance of their personal professional “project manager identity”.

Research limitations/implications

The form of the stories is crucial to what their analysis can reveal about identities. The personal stories (narrating the storyteller's own experience) must be, in essence, complete, told by individuals addressing situations that challenge them.

Social implications

The primary purpose of this research is to inform personal learning and educational programmes. An enriched understanding of what it means to be a professional in the project world can enhance the awareness of individuals learning to perform roles, and making choices in this field.

Originality/value

The analysis of stories has been used previously as a research methodology to critique projects and power structures. This paper makes proposals to extend the use of such analysis into the realm of personal identity and its construction.
The South African Companies Act of 2008 (SACA2008), and the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002
Authors: Paulo S.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The South African Companies Act of 2008 (SACA2008) seeks to reaffirm the company as a means of promoting the economic welfare and development of South Africa by encouraging efficient, transparent value‐additive corporate management. The purpose of this paper is to present the important role of the cost of capital for financial valuations that are consistent with the purposes of SACA2008, as stated in Section 7.

Design/methodology/approach

The relevant sections of SACA2008 of this legislation were studied. The role of the cost of capital in performing and interpreting financial valuations was presented. As the CAPM is widely used, and in cases is the only approach used to estimate the cost of capital, an update of CAPM empirical evidence was presented to affirm the conclusion by Fama and French that the CAPM is not an acceptable way of estimating the cost of capital. The Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was studied to ascertain the implication of using valuation criteria that lack empirical validity.

Findings

Management that makes financial decisions on the basis of criteria that have not been empirically validated may find it difficult to defend challenges to their efforts at complying with SACA2008 and promoting the success of the company.

Originality/value

From an extensive survey of publicly available literature, there is no evidence to suggest that research on the role of the cost of capital in helping achieve the purposes of SACA2008 has been published. Without a valid and reliable cost of capital it will be difficult to achieve the purposes of this legislation.
Comparative study of China and USA's colleges entrepreneurship education from an international perspective
Authors: Lili Zhang
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Entrepreneurship in most cases can provide new products and services to the market and play an active role in an industry. Nowadays, colleges entrepreneurship education is becoming more of a “business incubator” for future entrepreneurship. This paper reviews the relative literature with entrepreneurship education in China and USA's colleges, aims to identify Chinese colleges' issues, then develops suggestions of Chinese colleges' entrepreneurship education and illustrated its future trends.

Design/methodology/approach

It revealed the theoretical framework of American main entrepreneurship education modes, analyzing three representative entrepreneurship modes in American colleges, its spirit, capability of innovation, entrepreneurship ability contribute to the basic frame of entrepreneurship education in American colleges, then by comparative research between American and Chinese colleges.

Findings

This paper is based on discussing the differences between US and Chinese colleges with entrepreneurship education as well as the enlightenment. Meanwhile, it was pointed out the disadvantages relating to our colleges' entrepreneurship education and its future trends.

Originality/value

By introducing the entrepreneurship modes of US colleges and analyzing the modes together with Chinese colleges entrepreneurship education, it draws out the conclusion to carry out practical activities and establish a good entrepreneurship environment, to strengthen teacher training in entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial consultant team building and to deploy entrepreneurship research.
Entrepreneurship education and employment performance
Authors: Li Zheng , Liu Yang
Published: September 2011

Purpose

College graduates' unemployment problems have gradually become a social problem. This paper aims to find out whether entrepreneurship education can promote employment and improve job satisfaction by finding the impact of entrepreneurship education on increasing employment performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper surveys the undergraduates who graduated by 2010 from Jilin University and attained their entrepreneurship and employment performance value. The paper draws a conclusion by making correlation analysis.

Findings

The results showed that entrepreneurship has a positive impact effect on the employment performance. It is confirmed entrepreneurship education has a positive effect on employment.

Originality/value

The paper made a link between the entrepreneurship research and the employment study, and provided a theoretical underpinning to the concept of “Encouraging entrepreneurship to drive employment”. This also provided the rationality and necessity of entrepreneurship education.
The future roles of STPs in green growth of China
Authors: Zhou Chunyan
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The public‐university‐government triple helix for sustainable development has been proposed, through introducing a new element (public) into the triple helix model while retaining the balance between economic growth and eco‐system development (Etzkowitz and Zhou). This study aims to explore the future roles and influences of science and technology parks (STPs) on green growth in China, which is now releasing about six billion tons of CO2 a year (Maplecroft) as GDP keeps over an 8 percent growth rate.

Design/methodology/approach

The regular research methodology in social sciences is taken including data collections, interviews, and some investigation to construct the theoretical conception and findings.

Findings

Economic growth and environmental sustainability are not in conflict, but are mutually promoting. The green growth approach seeks to create an economic framework which opens up increased opportunities for maximizing the eco‐efficiency, such as sharing and transferring knowledge and technologies for eco‐efficient production processes, for renewable resource use and for integrated natural resources management as well as for creating new job opportunities.

Practical implications

The theme of the paper lies in that a triple helix must be built in order to achieve sustainable development (green growth). The triple helix embodies a couple of objectives of the innovation for economic growth and sustainable development‐triple helix twin. Its most important practical implication is to balance economic growth and sustainability and achieve green growth. STPs' roles should be emphasized.

Originality/value

University‐public‐government triple helix for sustainability is a creative development of triple helix study, which is based on the study in university‐industry‐government triple helix for innovation. The paper uses the idea originally to explore how to get green growth in China though the roles of science parks.
Reforms and accounting system changes
Authors: Johanne Pettersen Inger , Nyland Kari
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the process of the accounting system change as a part of a larger reform initiative taking place in Norway. The research context is the national network of hospital enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses an archival‐based case approach of official documents (between 2000 and 2009) to study the formal layers of accounting practices.

Findings

The accrual accounting information signalled major management control problems, but the hospital owner, the state, did not take action to solve these problems during this period. The contracts between the state and hospital enterprises were characterised as principal‐agent relationships. However, different accounting techniques were mixed in the contracts between the parties, indicating hybridisation of accounting systems.

Research limitations/implications

The authors did not study the perceptions and practices of key actors and this is a limitation of the study.

Practical implications

The findings are likely to be useful for practitioners and researchers to gain knowledge on the implementation of management reforms in public sector service organisations.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to our understanding of the diverse processes within which public sector reforms are taking place. The main contribution is a discussion of the diversity in accounting system changes.
What determines ABC success in mature sites?
Authors: Byrne Suzanne
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine ABC success determinants in mature ABC sites.

Design/methodology/approach

The study surveys 65 managers of service and manufacturing organizations using ABC.

Findings

The stepwise regression results indicate that top management support is the key determinant of ABC success in mature ABC sites.

Research limitations/implications

This research shows that top management support continues to be critical to ongoing ABC success. Past research has shown that top management support is critical in the early stages of ABC adoption and if withdrawn is a major cause of ABC implementation failure. Despite the technical benefits of ABC adoption the extent of change, the resource commitment and the management of conflict and power means that careful consideration of the determinants of success is crucial. Many researchers have examined this at initial implementation or have confounded their results by not distinguishing the stage of adoption. Very few have researched beyond the initial implementation to examine what factors continue to ensure ABC success once fully integrated. Other determinants examined were resource adequacy, education, performance improvement and reward link, and competition intensity.

Practical implications

Practically any ABC adoption needs to secure top management support from inception through to routinisation and integration.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study is in the way ABC success is measured and that the sites examined are only mature adoption sites. By examining only “mature” ABC sites the differences in the stages of implementation are not confounded in the results.
Does voluntary corporate citizenship pay? An examination of the UN Global Compact
Authors: Barros Kimbro Marinilka , Cao Zhiyan
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The UN Global Compact (GC) is the world's largest voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. Signatory companies voluntarily agree to abide by the GC ten principles and explicitly declare compliance with social and human rights, environmental protection, and anti‐corruption practices. Participants commit to CSR and are required to publish a yearly report called Communication on Progress (COP). If firms fail to provide a COP for one year they are labeled “non‐communicating”, and for two years they are “delisted” from the GC. In 2006, the first list of non‐communicating and delisted firms was announced. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent by which being a signatory company – that reports COP – reduces information risk, and thus leads to better market returns, lower cost of debt, and lower cost of equity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors studied the period from the launch of the GC until the first list of non‐communicating firms was made public, investigating the extent by which being a signatory company – that reports COP – reduces information risk, and thus leads to better market returns, lower cost of debt, and lower cost of equity.

Findings

The results suggest that communicating (reporting) firms have statistically significant higher market valuation – lower book to market – than companies that initially agree to participate in the GC but that do not comply with the reporting requirement. Communicating firms also have statistically significant higher ROA, lower cost of debt, lower cost of equity, and lower beta indicating better performance and less risk. The authors also find some evidence that non‐communicating firms might be “free riding” and could have joined the GC to improve their corporate image.

Originality/value

The paper provides evidence of the value of CSR reporting. It is not enough to disclose compliance with CSR, but it is also necessary to account for this through some sort of formal mechanism such as a CSR report. Voluntary disclosures and narrative statements in annual reports will continue to have questionable information content, but standards of environmental reporting, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, not only improve the way in which social and environmental performance is measured, but they also provide evidence of compliance. This paper also presents evidence of the value of voluntary initiatives such as the GC when these initiatives are supported by formal reporting and when accountability/enforcement measures are in place.
Sustainability in businesses, corporate social responsibility, and accounting standards
Authors: Akisik Orhan , Gal Graham
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accounting, in 53 developed and emerging economies over the period 1997‐2008.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting using ordinary least squares estimation technique for country‐level panel data.

Findings

The results of the analyses provide evidence that sustainable development is strongly related to CSR and accounting standards, even after controlling for a variety of macroeconomic variables such as inflation, foreign direct investment, and unemployment. Moreover, the authors find that sustainable development is strongly and positively associated with customer satisfaction and the availability of senior managers.

Practical implications

Conclusions that have been drawn are important for a large group of stakeholders such as investors, companies' managers, employees, customers, suppliers, governmental and private regulatory agencies, and the general public, indicating that socially responsible firms and good accounting standards are likely to contribute to sustainable development in businesses in developed and emerging countries.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first country‐level study of its kind that attempts to explore the association of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting standards.
Behavioural resistance against a protozoan parasite in the monarch butterfly
Authors: Lefèvre Thierry , Chiang Allen , Kelavkar Mangala , Li Hui , Li James , de Castillejo Carlos Lopez Fernandez , Oliver Lindsay , Potini Yamini , Hunter Mark D. , de Roode Jacobus C.
Published: September 2011

1. As parasites can dramatically reduce the fitness of their hosts, there should be strong selection for hosts to evolve and maintain defence mechanisms against their parasites. One way in which hosts may protect themselves against parasitism is through altered behaviours, but such defences have been much less studied than other forms of parasite resistance.

2. We studied whether monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippusL.) use altered behaviours to protect themselves and their offspring against the protozoan parasiteOphryocystis elektroscirrha(McLaughlin & Myers (1970),Journal of Protozoology,17, p. 300). In particular, we studied whether (i) monarch larvae can avoid contact with infectious parasite spores; (ii) infected larvae preferentially consume therapeutic food plants when given a choice or increase the intake of such plants in the absence of choice; and (iii) infected female butterflies preferentially lay their eggs on medicinal plants that make their offspring less sick.

3. We found that monarch larvae were unable to avoid infectious parasite spores. Larvae were also not able to preferentially feed on therapeutic food plants or increase the ingestion of such plants. However, infected female butterflies preferentially laid their eggs on food plants that reduce parasite growth in their offspring.

4. Our results suggest that animals may use altered behaviours as a protection against parasites and that such behaviours may be limited to a single stage in the host–parasite life cycle. Our results also suggest that animals may use altered behaviours to protect their offspring instead of themselves. Thus, our study indicates that an inclusive fitness approach should be adopted to study behavioural defences against parasites.
Evaluating the demographic buffering hypothesis with vital rates estimated for Weddell seals from 30 years of mark–recapture data
Authors: Rotella Jay J. , Link William A. , Chambert Thierry , Stauffer Glenn E. , Garrott Robert A.
Published: September 2011

1. Life‐history theory predicts that those vital rates that make larger contributions to population growth rate ought to be more strongly buffered against environmental variability than are those that are less important. Despite the importance of the theory for predicting demographic responses to changes in the environment, it is not yet known how pervasive demographic buffering is in animal populations because the validity of most existing studies has been called into question because of methodological deficiencies.

2. We tested for demographic buffering in the southern‐most breeding mammal population in the world using data collected from 5558 known‐age female Weddell seals over 30 years. We first estimated all vital rates simultaneously with mark–recapture analysis and then estimated process variance and covariance in those rates using a hierarchical Bayesian approach. We next calculated the population growth rate’s sensitivity to changes in each of the vital rates and tested for evidence of demographic buffering by comparing properly scaled values of sensitivity and process variance in vital rates.

3. We found evidence of positive process covariance between vital rates, which indicates that all vital rates are affected in the same direction by changes in annual environment. Despite the positive correlations, we found strong evidence that demographic buffering occurred through reductions in variation in the vital rates to which population growth rate was most sensitive. Process variation in vital rates was inversely related to sensitivity measures such that variation was greatest in breeding probabilities, intermediate for survival rates of young animals and lowest for survival rates of older animals.

4. Our work contributes to a small but growing set of studies that have used rigorous methods on long‐term, detailed data to investigate demographic responses to environmental variation. The information from these studies improves our understanding of life‐history evolution in stochastic environments and provides useful information for predicting population responses to future environmental change. Our results for an Antarctic apex predator also provide useful baselines from a marine ecosystem when its top‐ and middle‐trophic levels were not substantially impacted by human activity.
Natural variation and persistent developmental instabilities in geographically diverse accessions of the allopolyploid Arabidopsis suecica
Authors: Madlung Andreas , Henkhaus Natalie , Jurevic Leigh , Kahsai Emanual A. , Bernhard James
Published: September 2011

Allopolyploids arise from the hybridization of two species concomitant to genome doubling. While established allopolyploids are common in nature and vigorous in growth, early generation allopolyploids are often less fertile than their progenitors and display frequent phenotypic instabilities. It is commonly assumed that new allopolyploid species must pass through a bottleneck from which only those lines emerge that have reconciled genomic incompatibilities inherited from their progenitors in their combined genome, yet little is known about the processes following allopolyploidization over evolutionary time. To address the question if a single allopolyploidization event leads to a single new homogeneous species or may result in diverse offspring lines, we have investigated 13 natural accessions of Arabidopsis suecica, a relatively recent allopolyploid derived from a single hybridization event. The studied accessions display low genetic diversity between lines, yet show evidence of heritable phenotypic diversity of traits, some of which may be adaptive. Furthermore, our data show that contrary to the notion that unstable phenotypes in neoallopolyploids are eliminated rapidly in the new species, some instabilities are carried along throughout the species' evolution, persisting in the established allopolyploid. In summary, our results suggest that a single allopolyploidization event may lay the foundation for diverse populations of the new allopolyploid species.
Worker Co‐operatives and Spaces of Possibility: An Investigation of Subject Space at Collective Copies
Authors: Cornwell Janelle
Published: September 2011

Abstract:  If we are to understand the organization and growth of capitalist space, should we not also seek to understand the organization and expansion of noncapitalist economic spaces? In contrast to methods employed by theorists such as Harvey, Smith and other geographers focused on capitalist space, the diverse economies framework opens up to investigation such noncapitalist spaces. In this paper, using Gibson‐Graham's “politics of possibility”, I explore the production of work space and time in a growing worker owned co‐operative copy shop in order to gain insight into the organization and growth of co‐operative space. I argue that, in this instance, co‐operative growth emerges from the transformative experience of workers having a say in their daily work lives, having equal authority to govern work space and time and to appropriate and distribute surplus.
Concentrating on Governance
Authors: KADYRZHANOVA DALIDA , RHODES‐KROPF MATTHEW
Published: September 2011

This paper develops a novel trade‐off view of corporate governance. Using a model that integrates agency costs and bargaining benefits of management‐friendly provisions, we identify the economic determinants of the resulting trade‐offs for shareholder value. Consistent with the theory, our empirical analysis shows that provisions that allow managers to delay takeovers have significant bargaining effects and a positive relation with shareholder value in concentrated industries. By contrast, non‐delay provisions have an unambiguously negative relation with value, particularly in concentrated industries. Our analysis suggests that there are governance trade‐offs for shareholders and that industry concentration is an important determinant of their severity.
Motivating Innovation
Authors: MANSO GUSTAVO
Published: September 2011

Motivating innovation is important in many incentive problems. This paper shows that the optimal innovation‐motivating incentive scheme exhibits substantial tolerance (or even reward) for early failure and reward for long‐term success. Moreover, commitment to a long‐term compensation plan, job security, and timely feedback on performance are essential to motivate innovation. In the context of managerial compensation, the optimal innovation‐motivating incentive scheme can be implemented via a combination of stock options with long vesting periods, option repricing, golden parachutes, and managerial entrenchment.
Estimating Abortion Incidence in Burkina Faso Using Two Methodologies
Authors: Sedgh Gilda , Rossier Clémentine , Kaboré Idrissa , Bankole Akinrinola , Mikulich Meridith
Published: September 2011

Abortion is illegal in Burkina Faso except in cases of incest, rape, fetal defect, or when the woman's life or physical health is endangered. As a result, abortion procedures are often conducted illegally and unsafely and measuring incidence proves difficult. We estimate incidence of abortion and associated morbidity using two methodologies. The first is the Abortion Incidence Complications Method (AICM), which uses information on women hospitalized for abortion‐related complications as well as health professionals' assessments of the proportion of women who seek treatment for complications from unsafe abortions. The second is the Anonymous Third Party Reporting (ATPR) method, which entails surveying women about their confidantes' abortions. We conclude that the AICM yields a more accurate result. We estimate that 87,200 abortion procedures were carried out in 2008, representing 25 for every 1,000 women aged 15–49. More than one in four procedures resulted in complications treated at a health facility. The abortion rate estimated using the ATPR approach was 72 percent of that estimated with the AICM. The ATPR method yields information on the characteristics of the women who have abortions as well as the providers and methods they use.
Public Opinion on Abortion in Eight Mexican States amid Opposition to Legalization
Authors: Rodríguez Jorge Valencia , Wilson Kate S. , Olavarrieta Claudia Díaz , García Sandra G. , Sánchez Fuentes Maria Luisa
Published: September 2011

In opposition to Mexico City's legalization of first‐trimester abortion, 17 Mexican states (53 percent) have introduced initiatives or reforms to ban abortion entirely, and other states have similar legislation pending. We conducted an opinion survey in eight states—four where constitutional amendments have already been approved and four with pending amendments. Using logistic regression analyses, we found that higher education, political party affiliation, and awareness of reforms/initiatives were significantly associated with support for the Mexico City law. Legal abortion was supported by a large proportion of respondents in cases of rape (45–70 percent), risk to a woman's life (55–71 percent), and risk to a woman's health (48–68 percent). A larger percentage of respondents favored the Mexico City law, which limits elective legal abortion to the first 12 weeks of gestation (32–54 percent), than elective abortion without regard to gestational limit (14–31 percent).
Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria and the Bacterial Community Response in Gulf of Mexico Beach Sands Impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Authors: Kostka Joel E. , Prakash Om , Overholt Will A. , Green Stefan J. , Freyer Gina , Canion Andy , Delgardio Jonathan , Norton Nikita , Hazen Terry C. , Huettel Markus
Published: September 2011

A significant portion of oil from the recent Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was transported to the shoreline, where it may have severe ecological and economic consequences. The objectives of this study were (i) to identify and characterize predominant oil-degrading taxa that may be used as model hydrocarbon degraders or as microbial indicators of contamination and (ii) to characterize the
in situ
response of indigenous bacterial communities to oil contamination in beach ecosystems. This study was conducted at municipal Pensacola Beach, FL, where chemical analysis revealed weathered oil petroleum hydrocarbon (C
8
to C
40
) concentrations ranging from 3.1 to 4,500 mg kg
−1
in beach sands. A total of 24 bacterial strains from 14 genera were isolated from oiled beach sands and confirmed as oil-degrading microorganisms. Isolated bacterial strains were primarily
Gammaproteobacteria
, including representatives of genera with known oil degraders (
Alcanivora
x,
Marinobacter
,
Pseudomonas
, and
Acinetobacter
). Sequence libraries generated from oiled sands revealed phylotypes that showed high sequence identity (up to 99%) to rRNA gene sequences from the oil-degrading bacterial isolates. The abundance of bacterial SSU rRNA gene sequences was ∼10-fold higher in oiled (0.44 × 10
7
to 10.2 × 10
7
copies g
−1
) versus clean (0.024 × 10
7
to 1.4 × 10
7
copies g
−1
) sand. Community analysis revealed a distinct response to oil contamination, and SSU rRNA gene abundance derived from the genus
Alcanivorax
showed the largest increase in relative abundance in contaminated samples. We conclude that oil contamination from the DH spill had a profound impact on the abundance and community composition of indigenous bacteria in Gulf beach sands, and our evidence points to members of the
Gammaproteobacteria
(
Alcanivorax
,
Marinobacter
) and
Alphaproteobacteria
(
Rhodobacteraceae
) as key players in oil degradation there.
Broad-Host-Range Plasmids from Agricultural Soils Have IncP-1 Backbones with Diverse Accessory Genes
Authors: Sen Diya , Van der Auwera Geraldine A. , Rogers Linda M. , Thomas Christopher M. , Brown Celeste J. , Top Eva M.
Published: September 2011

Broad-host-range plasmids are known to spread genes between distinct phylogenetic groups of bacteria. These genes often code for resistances to antibiotics and heavy metals or degradation of pollutants. Although some broad-host-range plasmids have been extensively studied, their evolutionary history and genetic diversity remain largely unknown. The goal of this study was to analyze and compare the genomes of 12 broad-host-range plasmids that were previously isolated from Norwegian soils by exogenous plasmid isolation and that encode mercury resistance. Complete nucleotide sequencing followed by phylogenetic analyses based on the relaxase gene
traI
showed that all the plasmids belong to one of two subgroups (β and ε) of the well-studied incompatibility group IncP-1. A diverse array of accessory genes was found to be involved in resistance to antimicrobials (streptomycin, spectinomycin, and sulfonamides), degradation of herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxypropionic acid), and a putative new catabolic pathway. Intramolecular transposition of insertion sequences followed by deletion was found to contribute to the diversity of some of these plasmids. The previous observation that the insertion sites of a Tn
501
-related element are identical in four IncP-1β plasmids (pJP4, pB10, R906, and R772) was further extended to three more IncP-1β plasmids (pAKD15, pAKD18, and pAKD29). We proposed a hypothesis for the evolution of these Tn
501
-bearing IncP-1β plasmids that predicts recent diversification followed by worldwide spread. Our study increases the available collection of complete IncP-1 plasmid genome sequences by 50% and will aid future studies to enhance our understanding of the evolution and function of this important plasmid family.
Proteomic and Functional Analysis of the Cellulase System Expressed by Postia placenta during Brown Rot of Solid Wood
Authors: Ryu Jae San , Shary Semarjit , Houtman Carl J. , Panisko Ellen A. , Korripally Premsagar , St. John Franz J. , Crooks Casey , Siika-aho Matti , Magnuson Jon K. , Hammel Kenneth E.
Published: September 2011

Brown rot basidiomycetes have an important ecological role in lignocellulose recycling and are notable for their rapid degradation of wood polymers via oxidative and hydrolytic mechanisms. However, most of these fungi apparently lack processive (
exo
-acting) cellulases, such as cellobiohydrolases, which are generally required for efficient cellulolysis. The recent sequencing of the
Postia placenta
genome now permits a proteomic approach to this longstanding conundrum. We grew
P. placenta
on solid aspen wood, extracted proteins from the biodegrading substrate, and analyzed tryptic digests by shotgun liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Comparison of the data with the predicted
P. placenta
proteome revealed the presence of 34 likely glycoside hydrolases, but only four of these—two in glycoside hydrolase family 5, one in family 10, and one in family 12—have sequences that suggested possible activity on cellulose. We expressed these enzymes heterologously and determined that they all exhibited endoglucanase activity on phosphoric acid-swollen cellulose. They also slowly hydrolyzed filter paper, a more crystalline substrate, but the soluble/insoluble reducing sugar ratios they produced classify them as nonprocessive. Computer simulations indicated that these enzymes produced soluble/insoluble ratios on reduced phosphoric acid-swollen cellulose that were higher than expected for random hydrolysis, which suggests that they could possess limited
exo
activity, but they are at best 10-fold less processive than cellobiohydrolases. It appears likely that
P. placenta
employs a combination of oxidative mechanisms and
endo
-acting cellulases to degrade cellulose efficiently in the absence of a significant processive component.
Evaluation of a Transposase Protocol for Rapid Generation of Shotgun High-Throughput Sequencing Libraries from Nanogram Quantities of DNA
Authors: Marine Rachel , Polson Shawn W. , Ravel Jacques , Hatfull Graham , Russell Daniel , Sullivan Matthew , Syed Fraz , Dumas Michael , Wommack K. Eric
Published: September 2011

Construction of DNA fragment libraries for next-generation sequencing can prove challenging, especially for samples with low DNA yield. Protocols devised to circumvent the problems associated with low starting quantities of DNA can result in amplification biases that skew the distribution of genomes in metagenomic data. Moreover, sample throughput can be slow, as current library construction techniques are time-consuming. This study evaluated Nextera, a new transposon-based method that is designed for quick production of DNA fragment libraries from a small quantity of DNA. The sequence read distribution across nine phage genomes in a mock viral assemblage met predictions for six of the least-abundant phages; however, the rank order of the most abundant phages differed slightly from predictions.
De novo
genome assemblies from Nextera libraries provided long contigs spanning over half of the phage genome; in four cases where full-length genome sequences were available for comparison, consensus sequences were found to match over 99% of the genome with near-perfect identity. Analysis of areas of low and high sequence coverage within phage genomes indicated that GC content may influence coverage of sequences from Nextera libraries. Comparisons of phage genomes prepared using both Nextera and a standard 454 FLX Titanium library preparation protocol suggested that the coverage biases according to GC content observed within the Nextera libraries were largely attributable to bias in the Nextera protocol rather than to the 454 sequencing technology. Nevertheless, given suitable sequence coverage, the Nextera protocol produced high-quality data for genomic studies. For metagenomics analyses, effects of GC amplification bias would need to be considered; however, the library preparation standardization that Nextera provides should benefit comparative metagenomic analyses.
Correlation of Genomic and Physiological Traits of Thermoanaerobacter Species with Biofuel Yields
Authors: Hemme Christopher L. , Fields Matthew W. , He Qiang , Deng Ye , Lin Lu , Tu Qichao , Mouttaki Housna , Zhou Aifen , Feng Xueyang , Zuo Zheng , Ramsay Bradley D. , He Zhili , Wu Liyou , Van Nostrand Joy , Xu Jian , Tang Yinjie J. , Wiegel Juergen , Phelps Tommy J. , Zhou Jizhong
Published: September 2011

Thermophilic anaerobic noncellulolytic
Thermoanaerobacter
species are of great biotechnological importance in cellulosic ethanol production due to their ability to produce high ethanol yields by simultaneous fermentation of hexose and pentose. Understanding the genome structure of these species is critical to improving and implementing these bacteria for possible biotechnological use in consolidated bioprocessing schemes (CBP) for cellulosic ethanol production. Here we describe a comparative genome analysis of two ethanologenic bacteria,
Thermoanaerobacter
sp. X514 and
Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus
39E. Compared to 39E, X514 has several unique key characteristics important to cellulosic biotechnology, including additional alcohol dehydrogenases and xylose transporters, modifications to pentose metabolism, and a complete vitamin B
12
biosynthesis pathway. Experimental results from growth, metabolic flux, and microarray gene expression analyses support genome sequencing-based predictions which help to explain the distinct differences in ethanol production between these strains. The availability of whole-genome sequence and comparative genomic analyses will aid in engineering and optimizing
Thermoanaerobacter
strains for viable CBP strategies.
Recovery of As-Yet-Uncultured Soil Acidobacteria on Dilute Solid Media
Authors: George Isabelle F. , Hartmann Manuela , Liles Mark R. , Agathos Spiros N.
Published: September 2011

A growing number of
Acidobacteria
strains have been isolated from environments worldwide, with most isolates derived from acidic samples and affiliated with subdivision 1. We recovered 18
Acidobacteria
strains from an alkaline soil, among which 11 belonged to the previously uncultured subdivision 6. Various medium formulations were tested for their effects on
Acidobacteria
growth.
Nostophycin Biosynthesis Is Directed by a Hybrid Polyketide Synthase-Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase in the Toxic Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. Strain 152
Authors: Fewer David P. , Österholm Julia , Rouhiainen Leo , Jokela Jouni , Wahlsten Matti , Sivonen Kaarina
Published: September 2011

Cyanobacteria are a rich source of natural products with interesting pharmaceutical properties. Here, we report the identification, sequencing, annotation, and biochemical analysis of the nostophycin (
npn
) biosynthetic gene cluster. The
npn
gene cluster spans 45.1 kb and consists of three open reading frames encoding a polyketide synthase, a mixed polyketide nonribosomal peptide synthetase, and a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. The genetic architecture and catalytic domain organization of the proteins are colinear in arrangement, with the putative order of the biosynthetic assembly of the cyclic heptapeptide. NpnB contains an embedded monooxygenase domain linking nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) catalytic domains and predicted here to hydroxylate the nostophycin during assembly. Expression of the adenylation domains and subsequent substrate specificity assays support the involvement of this cluster in nostophycin biosynthesis. Biochemical analyses suggest that the loading substrate of NpnA is likely to be a phenylpropanoic acid necessitating deletion of a carbon atom to explain the biosynthesis of nostophycin. Biosyntheses of nostophycin and microcystin resemble each other, but the phylogenetic analyses suggest that they are distantly related to one another.