bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphological and molecular data show Synostemon trachyspermus (Phyllanthaceae, Phyllantheae) to be a heterogeneous species assemblage
Authors: Telford Ian R. H. , Pruesapan Kanchana , van Welzen Peter C. , Bruhl Jeremy J.
Published: November 2016

Synostemon trachyspermus (F.Muell.) I.Telford & Pruesapan (Phyllanthaceae, Phyllantheae) is shown, by morphological studies and phylogenetic analysis using nrITS DNA sequence data, to be a heterogeneous species assemblage of four species. Phyllanthus rhytidospermus F.Muell. ex Müll.Arg., with a new combination provided as Synostemon rhytidospermus (F.Muell. ex Müll.Arg.) I.Telford & Pruesapan, and Sauropus hubbardii Airy Shaw, with a new combination as Synostemon hubbardii (Airy Shaw) I.Telford & Pruesapan, are re-instated as species. Phyllanthus arnhemicus S.Moore is lectotypified and placed in synonomy under Synostemon lissocarpus (S.Moore) I.Telford & Pruesapan, which is the new combination provided for Phyllanthus lissocarpus S.Moore (syn. Sauropus lissocarpus (S.Moore) Airy Shaw). Synostemon umbrosus I.Telford & J.J.Bruhl, a rare endemic from the Kimberley, Western Australia, is named as new. The newly described S. hamersleyensis I.Telford & Naaykens, endemic to the Pilbara, Western Australia, and the north-eastern Queensland endemic Sauropus aphyllus J.T.Hunter & J.J.Bruhl are shown to be closely related; the new combination Synostemon aphyllus (J.T.Hunter & J.J.Bruhl) I.Telford & Pruesapan is provided for the latter. Sauropus sp. A of Flora of the Kimberley Region, previously included within S. trachyspermus sens.lat., shows a more distant relationship and is named as Synostemon judithae I.Telford & J.J.Bruhl. Notes on distribution, habitat, phenology, conservation status, photomicrographs of seeds and a key to identification of the species are provided.
From the desert it came: evolution of the Australian paper daisy genus Leucochrysum (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae)
Authors: Schmidt-Lebuhn Alexander N. , Smith Kiarrah J.
Published: November 2016

Present patterns of diversity in the Australian flora have been shaped by increasing seasonality since the Eocene, and by pronounced aridification in the past 3 million years. Arid-zone plants are commonly hypothesised to be the products of radiations of ancestrally temperate or coastal lineages, as in the case of the everlasting paper daisy tribe Gnaphalieae (Asteraceae). However, these inferences are often based on higher-level phylogenies, whereas evolutionary processes in the Australian Gnaphalieae have rarely been studied at the species level. Here, we reconstructed the phylogeny and biogeographic history of the small, but ecologically diverse, paper daisy genus Leucochrysum, to examine recent habitat shifts and character changes, at the same time exploring the feasibility of using amplicon sequencing of low-copy nuclear gene regions to resolve phylogenetic relationships in Australian Gnaphalieae. On the balance of evidence, outgroup comparison and ancestral-area reconstruction support an ancestral range in the arid zone with subsequent diversification towards the south-east, demonstrating a complex evolutionary history with a re-colonisation of temperate areas. Low amplification success rates suggest that methods other than amplicon sequencing of currently available primers will be more promising for molecular phylogenetic work at a larger scale.
Effective application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches in systematics and population genetics: case studies in Eucalyptus and Acacia
Authors: Cross Hugh , Biffin Ed , van Dijk Kor-jent , Lowe Andrew , Waycott Michelle
Published: November 2016

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) provides numerous tools for population and systematic studies. These tools are a boon to researchers working with non-model and poorly characterised organisms where little or no genomic resources exist. Several techniques have been developed to subsample the genomes of multiple individuals from related populations and species, so as to discover variable regions. We describe here the use of a modified AFLPseq method that provides a rapid and cost-effective approach to screening variable gene regions (SNPs) for multiple samples. Our method provides an adaptable toolkit for multiple downstream applications, which can be scaled up or down depending on the needs of the research question and budget. Using minor modifications to the protocol, we successfully recovered variable and useful markers that were applied to three case studies examining different scales of biological organisation, namely, from within populations to phylogenetic questions at the genus level and above. The case studies on Acacia and Eucalyptus generated genomic data across multiple taxonomic hierarchies, including demonstrating the detection of Acacia pinguifolia J.M.Black individuals used in restoration and their population origins, regional phylogeography of Acacia pycnantha Benth., and SNP-marker conservatism across some 70million years of divergence among the Myrtaceae.
Gesture production in the narratives of preschool children
Authors: Zampini Laura , Zanchi Paola , Suttora Chiara , Spinelli Maria , Fasolo Mirco , Salerni Nicoletta
Published: November 2016

The aim of the present study was to examine the use of gestures in the narrative productions of preschool children. Both the developmental patterns of gestures and verbal production and the relationships between them were analysed. The participants included 45 preschool children, aged 38 to 71 months. The narrative competence of each child was assessed individually using a new storybook narrative task (the Narrative Competence Task). Each child’s performance was videotaped to assess both verbal and gestural productions. The results showed that the syntactic complexity and lexical variety in the children’s narratives increased with increasing age, whereas the number of gestures significantly decreased. Moreover, the number of gestures was positively associated with the proportion of utterances without verbs and negatively correlated with the proportion of complex utterances. Therefore, we could hypothesise that gestures can be used as a support in narrative construction by those children who are less proficient in syntactic skills.
The temporal relationship between speech and manual communicative gesture in children with specific language
impairment
Authors: Sanjeevan Teenu , Mainela-Arnold Elina , Alibali Martha W. , Evans Julia L.
Published: November 2016

This study examined the relationship between word frequency and timing of communicative gestures in children with specific language
impairment (SLI) and typically-developing (TD) children. Nine children with SLI and twelve age-matched TD children produced a narrative
after watching an animated cartoon. Redundant gesture-speech pairs were identified and coded for temporal alignment between gesture and
speech onset and gesture duration. Word frequency for the co-occurring words was determined using the SUBTLEXus database. No significant
group differences were found for temporal alignment or gesture duration. However, word frequency was associated with temporal alignment and
gesture duration in TD children, but not in children with SLI. This finding suggests that the role communicative gestures play in lexical
access may be different in children with SLI relative to TD children.
The role of gesture meaningfulness in word learning
Authors: Hupp Julie M. , Gingras Mary C.
Published: November 2016

Adults regularly use word-gesture combinations in communication, and meaningful gestures facilitate word learning. However, it is not clear if this benefit of gestures is due to the speaker’s movement increasing the listener’s attention or if it needs to be a meaningful gesture, if the difficulty of the task results in disparate reliance on gestures, and if word classes are differentially affected by gestures. In the present research, participants were measured on their novel word learning across four gesture conditions: meaningful gesture, beat gesture, nonsense gesture, and no gesture with extended training (Study 1, n = 139) and brief training (Study 2, n = 128). Overall, meaningful gestures and high frequency words led to the highest word learning accuracy. This effect of word frequency did not hold true for beat gestures after brief training suggesting that adding rhythmic information — if not adding semantic information — may detract from word learning. This research highlights the importance of considering task difficulty when analyzing the effects of gestures.
Object expletives in Chinese and the structural theory of predication
Authors: Wu Yicheng , Cao Daogen
Published: November 2016

Based on her conception that the subject is the least droppable NP in a clause, and that object position is generated only because the thematic structure of the predicator requires it, Rothstein (1995, 2001, 2006) proposes a structural theory of predication whereby predication is a syntactic relation which is independent of theta–role assignment holding between a predicate and its subject. Based on this theory, she goes as far as to claim that “there can be no such thing as an object pleonastic”. This article provides evidence from Mandarin and some Chinese dialects, showing that there is a third person singular pronoun that can occur as expletive in object positions. It is argued on empirical grounds that a structural theory of predication such as Rothstein’s, which rests upon parsimonious English data, still faces the challenge faced by the Principle of Projection.
A corpus-based approach to transitivity analysis at grammatical and conceptual levels
Authors: Lee Chang-soo
Published: November 2016

The paper aims to demonstrate the usefulness of a novel corpus-based approach to analyzing Halliday’s transitivity for application to critical discourse analysis (CDA). The approach expands transitivity analysis beyond the traditional profiling of participant roles and process types at grammatical level to conceptual subcategorization, in light of the fact that CDA researchers often end up delving into the meanings of individual processes as part of their transitivity analyses. The paper introduces a scheme for annotating transitivity both at grammatical and conceptual levels on the basis of Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) and applies it to a case study examining news reports from two ideologically opposed South Korean newspapers on a nationwide public movement against US beef imports. The analysis reveals that the two newspapers contrast with each other in representing the riot police and the demonstrators as Actor and Goal in material processes grammatically and in processes of violence conceptually.
How to verify a theory of dialogue
Authors: Weigand Edda
Published: November 2016

In recent decades the term ‘theory’ has pervasively been used in the literature without any reflection upon the conditions of its legitimate use. The paper focuses on the issue of what makes up a theory. Constitutive components are the object-of-study and the methodology. The object of a theory has to be the minimal autonomous unit. The object ‘dialogue’ is a human affair, language used by human beings in the dialogic action game. Any approach which claims to be a theory needs to justify its hypotheses. A theory about human actions and behaviour in the end relates to anthropological insights which can eventually be verified by neuroscience. It is sociobiology which unites the different disciplines in their search for the unity of knowledge.
Determination of Habitat Requirements for Apache Trout
Authors: Petre Sally J. , Bonar Scott A.
Published: November 2016

The Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache, a salmonid endemic to east‐central Arizona, is currently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Establishing and maintaining recovery streams for Apache Trout and other endemic species requires determination of their specific habitat requirements. We built upon previous studies of Apache Trout habitat by defining both stream‐specific and generalized optimal and suitable ranges of habitat criteria in three streams located in the White Mountains of Arizona. Habitat criteria were measured at the time thought to be most limiting to juvenile and adult life stages, the summer base flow period. Based on the combined results from three streams, we found that Apache Trout use relatively deep (optimal range = 0.15–0.32 m; suitable range = 0.032–0.470 m) pools with slow stream velocities (suitable range = 0.00–0.22 m/s), gravel or smaller substrate (suitable range = 0.13–2.0 [Wentworth scale]), overhead cover (suitable range = 26–88%), and instream cover (large woody debris and undercut banks were occupied at higher rates than other instream cover types). Fish were captured at cool to moderate temperatures (suitable range = 10.4–21.1°C) in streams with relatively low maximum seasonal temperatures (optimal range = 20.1–22.9°C; suitable range = 17.1–25.9°C). Multiple logistic regression generally confirmed the importance of these variables for predicting the presence of Apache Trout. All measured variables except mean velocity were significant predictors in our model. Understanding habitat needs is necessary in managing for persistence, recolonization, and recruitment of Apache Trout. Management strategies such as fencing areas to restrict ungulate use and grazing and planting native riparian vegetation might favor Apache Trout persistence and recolonization by providing overhead cover and large woody debris to form pools and instream cover, shading streams and lowering temperatures.

Received January 26, 2016; accepted August 13, 2016 Published online November 28, 2016
Psychometric properties and criterion validity of the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale (PVD) in the Spanish population / Propiedades psicométricas y validez de criterio de la escala de Percepción de Vulnerabilidad a la Enfermedad (PVE en población española)
Authors: Magallares Alejandro , Fuster-Ruiz De Apodaca Maria-Jose , Morales José-Francisco
Published: November 2016

Perceived Vulnerability to Disease may be defined as the beliefs about personal susceptibility to the transmission of infectious diseases and the emotional discomfort associated with the potential disease transmission. To evaluate these beliefs, the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale (PVD) has been used in most studies. The aim of Study 1 was to validate the PVD questionnaire to the Spanish population. The sample was made up of 744 university students from all over Spain. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the items on the short version of the questionnaire corresponding to an interrelated two-factor model (perceived infectability and germ aversion) showed the best fit of all the tested models. In Study 2, scales to measure antifat attitudes, disgust and negative attitudes towards AIDS were used to analyse the criterion validity of the PVD questionnaire. The sample was made up of 434 university students. It was found that germ aversion was positively related with antifat attitudes, disgust and negative attitudes towards AIDS. In light of these results, we conclude that the short version of the questionnaire has good psychometric properties and can be used by the scientific community to measure Perceived Vulnerability to Disease.
Estimating the Effects of Environmental Variables and Gear Type on the Detection and Occupancy of Large-River Fishes in a Standardized Sampling Program Using Multiseason Bayesian Mixture Models
Authors: Gibson-Reinemer Daniel K. , Stewart David R. , Fritts Mark W. , DeBoer Jason A. , Casper Andrew F.
Published: November 2016

Sampling in non-wadeable rivers presents methodological challenges for monitoring fish species. Changing environmental conditions may affect the ability to accurately capture species (i.e., detection) and consequently may lead to inappropriate inferences on occupancy rates. We used hierarchical Bayesian multiseason mixture models to estimate occupancy and detection of 41 of 52 fish species in the Kankakee River, Illinois, by using data from a standardized monitoring program. Fish were sampled with AC boat electrofishing and shoreline seining over 7 years. Some centrarchids (e.g., Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu) were efficiently sampled by boat electrofishing, whereas most other species had low detection probabilities. Moderate changes in environmental conditions, such as water velocity and temperature, produced moderate changes in detection and occupancy. Generally, when species had high detection probabilities, changes in environmental conditions produced relatively small changes in the estimated detection probabilities. Our results also suggested that some sport fishes collected from rivers with only moderate environmental fluctuations are unlikely to produce strongly biased estimates of detection and occupancy among years. However, many species had detection probabilities that were low, imprecisely estimated, or both. Overall, we demonstrate that long-term fisheries monitoring can effectively detect some species at levels that are often relevant for management, but assessments of species with lower and more uncertain detection probabilities may not provide adequate information for management decisions. We recommend the use of sampling designs that allow the estimation of both detection and occupancy.

Received November 19, 2015; accepted June 21, 2016 Published online November 28, 2016
The ARP 2/3 complex mediates endothelial barrier function and recovery
Authors: Belvitch Patrick , Brown Mary E. , Brinley Brittany N. , Letsiou Eleftheria , Rizzo Alicia N. , Garcia Joe G.N. , Dudek Steven M.
Published: November 2016

Pulmonary endothelial cell (EC) barrier dysfunction and recovery is critical to the pathophysiology of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Cytoskeletal and subsequent cell membrane dynamics play a key mechanistic role in determination of EC barrier integrity. Here, we characterizAQe the actin related protein 2/3 (Arp 2/3) complex, a regulator of peripheral branched actin polymerization, in human pulmonary EC barrier function through studies of transendothelial electrical resistance (TER), intercellular gap formation, peripheral cytoskeletal structures and lamellipodia. Compared to control, Arp 2/3 inhibition with the small molecule inhibitor CK‐666 results in a reduction of baseline barrier function (1,241 ± 53 vs 988 ± 64 ohm; p < 0.01), S1P‐induced barrier enhancement and delayed recovery of barrier function after thrombin (143 ± 14 vs 93 ± 6 min; p < 0.01). Functional changes of Arp 2/3 inhibition on barrier integrity are associated temporally with increased intercellular gap area at baseline (0.456 ± 0.02 vs 0.299 ± 0.02; p < 0.05) and thirty minutes after thrombin (0.885 ± 0.03 vs 0.754 ± 0.03; p < 0.05). Immunofluorescent microscopy reveals reduced lamellipodia formation after S1P and during thrombin recovery in Arp 2/3 inhibited cells. Individual lamellipodia demonstrate reduced depth following Arp 2/3 inhibition vs vehicle at baseline (1.83 ± 0.41 vs 2.55 ± 0.46 µm; p < 0.05) and thirty minutes after S1P treatment (1.53 ± 0.37 vs 2.09 ± 0.36 µm; p < 0.05). These results establish a critical role for Arp 2/3 activity in determination of pulmonary endothelial barrier function and recovery through formation of EC lamellipodia and closure of intercellular gaps.
On the exotic Grassmannian and its nilpotent variety
Authors: Fresse Lucas , Nishiyama Kyo
Published: November 2016

Given a decomposition of a vector space

V
=

V
1

⊕

V
2

V=V_1\oplus V_2

, the direct product

X

\mathfrak {X}

of the projective space

P

(

V
1

)

\mathbb {P}(V_1)

with a Grassmann variety

G
r

k

(
V
)

\mathrm {Gr}_k(V)

can be viewed as a double flag variety for the symmetric pair
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="left-parenthesis upper G comma upper K right-parenthesis equals left-parenthesis normal upper G normal upper L left-parenthesis upper V right-parenthesis comma normal upper G normal upper L left-parenthesis upper V 1 right-parenthesis times normal upper G normal upper L left-parenthesis upper V 2 right-parenthesis right-parenthesis">

(
G
,
K
)
=
(

G
L

(
V
)
,

G
L

(

V
1

)
×

G
L

(

V
2

)
)

(G,K)=(\mathrm {GL}(V),\mathrm {GL}(V_1)\times \mathrm {GL}(V_2))

. Relying on the conormal variety for the action of

K
K

on

X

\mathfrak {X}

, we show a geometric correspondence between the

K
K

-orbits of

X

\mathfrak {X}

and the

K
K

-orbits of some appropriate exotic nilpotent cone. We also give a combinatorial interpretation of this correspondence in some special cases. Our construction is inspired by a classical result of Steinberg (1976) and by the recent work of Henderson and Trapa (2012) for the symmetric pair

(

G
L

(
V
)
,

S
p

(
V
)
)

(\mathrm {GL}(V),\mathrm {Sp}(V))

.
Non-algebraic examples of manifolds with the volume density property
Authors: Ramos-Peon Alexandre
Published: November 2016

Some Stein manifolds (with a volume form) have a large group of (volume-preserving) automorphisms: this is formalized by the (volume) density property, which has remarkable consequences. Until now all known manifolds with the volume density property are algebraic, and the tools used to establish this property are algebraic in nature. In this note we adapt a known criterion to the holomorphic case, and give the first examples of non-algebraic manifolds with the volume density property: they arise as suspensions or pseudo-affine modifications over Stein manifolds satisfying some technical properties. As an application we show that there are such manifolds that are potential counterexamples to the Zariski Cancellation Problem, a variant of the Tóth-Varolin conjecture, and the problem of linearization of

C

∗

\mathbb {C}^*

-actions on

C

3

\mathbb {C}^3

.
A weighted renormalized curvature for manifolds with density
Authors: Case Jeffrey
Published: November 2016

We introduce a scalar invariant on manifolds with density which is analogous to the renormalized volume coefficient

v
3

v_3

in conformal geometry. We show that this invariant is variational and that shrinking gradient Ricci solitons are stable with respect to the associated

W

\mathcal {W}

-functional.
Generically Mañé set supports uniquely ergodic measure for residual cohomology class
Authors: Zhang Jianlu
Published: November 2016

In this paper, we proved that for generic Tonelli Lagrangian, there always exists a residual set

G

⊂

H
1

(
M
,

R

)

\mathcal {G}\subset H^1(M,\mathbb {R})

such that
\[
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="ModifyingAbove script upper M With tilde left-parenthesis c right-parenthesis equals ModifyingAbove script upper A With tilde left-parenthesis c right-parenthesis equals ModifyingAbove script upper N With tilde left-parenthesis c right-parenthesis comma for-all c element-of script upper G comma">

M

~

(
c
)
=

A

~

(
c
)
=

N

~

(
c
)
,

∀
c
∈

G

,

\widetilde {\mathcal {M}}(c)=\widetilde {\mathcal {A}}(c)=\widetilde {\mathcal {N}}(c),\quad \forall c\in \mathcal {G},

\]
with

M

~

(
c
)

\widetilde {\mathcal {M}}(c)

supports on a uniquely ergodic measure.
A containment result in 𝑃ⁿ and the Chudnovsky Conjecture
Authors: Dumnicki Marcin , Tutaj-Gasińska Halszka
Published: November 2016

In this paper we prove the containment

I

(
n
m
)

⊂

M

(
n
−
1
)
m

I
m

I^{(nm)}\subset M^{(n-1)m}I^m

, for a radical ideal

I
I

of

s
s

general points in

P

n

\mathbb {P}^n

, where

s
≥

2
n

s\geq 2^n

. As a corollary we get that the Chudnovsky Conjecture holds for a very general set of at least

2
n

2^n

points in

P

n

\mathbb {P}^n

.
Fixed points of the equivariant algebraic 𝐾-theory of spaces
Authors: Badzioch Bernard , Dorabiała Wojciech
Published: November 2016

In a recent work Malkiewich and Merling proposed a definition of the equivariant

K
K

-theory of spaces for spaces equipped with an action of a finite group. We show that the fixed points of this spectrum admit a tom Dieck-type splitting. We also show that this splitting is compatible with the splitting of the equivariant suspension spectrum. The first of these results has been obtained independently by John Rognes.
Bertini theorems for differential algebraic geometry
Authors: Freitag James
Published: November 2016

We study intersection theory for differential algebraic varieties. Particularly, we study families of differential hypersurface sections of arbitrary affine differential algebraic varieties over a differential field. We prove the differential analogue of Bertini’s theorem, namely that for an arbitrary geometrically irreducible differential algebraic variety which is not an algebraic curve, generic hypersurface sections are geometrically irreducible and codimension one. Surprisingly, we prove a stronger result in the case that the order of the differential hypersurface is at least one; namely that the generic differential hypersurface sections of an irreducible differential algebraic variety are irreducible and codimension one. We also calculate the Kolchin polynomials of the intersections and prove several other results regarding intersections of differential algebraic varieties.
On a group theoretic generalization of the Morse-Hedlund theorem
Authors: Charlier Émilie , Puzynina Svetlana , Zamboni Luca
Published: November 2016

In this paper we give a broad unified framework via group actions for constructing complexity functions of infinite words

x
=

x
0

x
1

x
2

⋯
∈

A

N

x=x_0x_1x_2\cdots \in \mathbb {A}^{\mathbb {N}}

with values in a finite set

A

.

\mathbb {A}.

Factor complexity, Abelian complexity and cyclic complexity are all particular cases of this general construction. We consider infinite sequences of permutation groups

ω
=
(

G
n

)

n
≥
1

\omega = (G_n)_{n\geq 1}

with each

G
n

⊆

S
n

.

G_n \subseteq S_n.

Associated with every such sequence is a complexity function

p

ω
,
x

:

N

→

N

p_{\omega ,x}:\mathbb {N} \rightarrow \mathbb {N}

which counts, for each length

n
,

n,

the number of equivalence classes of factors of

x
x

of length

n
n

under the action of

G
n

G_n

on

A

n

\mathbb {A}^n

given by
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="g asterisk left-parenthesis u 1 u 2 midline-horizontal-ellipsis u Subscript n Baseline right-parenthesis equals u Subscript g Sub Superscript negative 1 Subscript left-parenthesis 1 right-parenthesis Baseline u Subscript g Sub Superscript negative 1 Subscript left-parenthesis 2 right-parenthesis Baseline midline-horizontal-ellipsis u Subscript g Sub Superscript negative 1 Subscript left-parenthesis n right-parenthesis Baseline period">

g
∗
(

u
1

u
2

⋯

u
n

)
=

u

g

−
1

(
1
)

u

g

−
1

(
2
)

⋯

u

g

−
1

(
n
)

.

g* (u_1u_2\cdots u_n)=u_{g^{-1}(1)}u_{g^{-1}(2)}\cdots u_{g^{-1}(n)}.

Each choice of

ω
=
(

G
n

)

n
≥
1

\omega =(G_n)_{n\geq 1}

defines a unique complexity function which reflects a different combinatorial property of a given infinite word. For instance, an infinite word

x
x

has bounded Abelian complexity if and only if

x
x

is

k
k

-balanced for some positive integer

k
,

k,

while bounded cyclic complexity is equivalent to

x
x

being ultimately periodic. A celebrated result of G.A. Hedlund and M. Morse states that every aperiodic infinite word

x
∈

A

N

x\in \mathbb {A}^{\mathbb {N}}

contains at least

n
+
1

n+1

distinct factors of each length

n
.

n.

Moreover

x
∈

A

N

x\in \mathbb {A}^{\mathbb {N}}

has exactly

n
+
1

n+1

distinct factors of each length

n
n

if and only if

x
x

is a Sturmian word, i.e., binary, aperiodic and balanced. We prove that this characterisation of aperiodicity and Sturmian words extends to this general framework.
Isometric embedding of ℓ₁ into Lipschitz-free spaces and ℓ_{∞} into their duals
Authors: Cúth Marek , Johanis Michal
Published: November 2016

We show that the dual of every infinite-dimensional Lipschitz-free Banach space contains an isometric copy of

ℓ
∞

\ell _\infty

and that it is often the case that a Lipschitz-free Banach space contains a

1
1

-complemented subspace isometric to

ℓ
1

\ell _1

. Even though we do not know whether the latter is true for every infinite-dimensional Lipschitz-free Banach space, we show that the space is never rotund. In the last section we survey the relations between isometric embeddability of 

ℓ
∞

\ell _\infty

into

X
∗

X^*

and containment of a good copy of 

ℓ
1

\ell _1

in

X
X

for a general Banach space

X
X

.
Invariant random subgroups and action versus representation maximality
Authors: Burton Peter , Kechris Alexander
Published: November 2016

We show that weak containment of free ergodic measure- preserving actions of

F

∞

\mathbb {F}_\infty

is not equivalent to weak containment of the corresponding Koopman representations. This result is based on the construction of an invariant random subgroup of

F

∞

\mathbb {F}_\infty

which is supported on the maximal actions.
Francis Ford Coppola
Authors: Chown Jeffrey
Published: November 2016

Francis Ford Coppola became the first of the film school generation directors to gain celebrity, with the phenomenal financial and critical success of The Godfather (1971). Other directors would follow, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Stephen Spielberg, but by dint of being the first as well as most adroit in media self-promotion, Coppola became something of the symbolic “Godfather” of the film school generation. His patronage of other directors, his multiple attempts at forming his own studio, and his activities in publishing and film preservation furthered this reading. Four films in the 1970s cemented his critical reputation. They were The Godfather (1971), Godfather II (1974), The Conversation (1974), and Apocalypse Now (1979). By 1975, he had five Academy Awards, and Apocalypse Now would go on to share the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Coppola was thirty-two years old at The Godfather premiere, and his early artistic success became a vindication of the film school model of career advancement. He received an MFA from UCLA in the early 1960s and used that as a springboard toward exploitation filmmaking with Roger Corman (see, e.g., Dementia 13 [1963]). As he learned his craft, he became a house writer for Seven Arts, which resulted in the Patton (1970) assignment. Very prolific in this period, he squeezed in smaller films: You’re a Big Boy Now (1967), Finian’s Rainbow (1968), and The Rain People (1969), which the section Pre-Godfather Film Career highlights. Following the phenomenal success of the two Godfather films, public fascination with Coppola’s celebrity settled around the question of what he would do next. Never the shy introvert, Coppola flamboyantly announced that he would do a Vietnam film to commemorate America’s 200th anniversary, which would be released in 1976. The proposed film would also serve as closure to the cultural trauma of the Vietnam War. The two sections concerned with Apocalypse Now in this article will give some sense of the public furor over, as well as the canonization of, the film since its release. Due to financial over-commitments associated with Coppola’s purchase of the Hollywood General studio and the subsequent box office disaster of One from the Heart (1982) Coppola’s films of the 1980s are best characterized as of the “hired gun” variety. In the 1990s, Godfather III gave Coppola a large payday but did little to advance his critical regard. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) has been his biggest financial/critical success in the post–Apocalypse Now years. It also excited much academic commentary for its engagement with Bram Stoker and the vampire myth. As Coppola paid off his financial obligations, an earlier investment in a Northern California winery yielded spectacular financial success, which has allowed him to subsidize more experimental undertakings, represented in the Coda: Recent Films section.
Retargeting: an unrecognized consideration in endonuclease-based gene drive biology
Authors: Scharenberg Andrew M. , Stoddard Barry L , Monnat Raymond J , Nolan Anthony
Published: November 2016

There is intense interest surrounding the use of gene editing nucleases in gene drive systems to control agricultural insect pests and insect vectors of infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue and Zika virus. While gene drive systems offer immense promise for the beneficial modification of deleterious insect populations, their unique mechanism of action also raises novel safety concerns and regulatory issues. A recent US National Academies of Science report provides a list of potential regulatory issues associated with implementation of homologous recombination (HR)-mediated gene drive systems, based on the premise that all such systems would exhibit similar biological behaviors. Here we examine how HR-mediated gene drive systems based on different gene editing nuclease platforms could be affected by mutations that occur during host cell transcription, genome replication, and, in conjunction with gene editing nuclease activity, during HR-mediated gene drive. Our analysis suggests that the same feature that makes RNA-guided nucleases such attractive research tools—their ease of reprogramming by alterations to their guide RNA components—might also contribute to increased rates of retargeting that could influence the long term behavior of RNA-guided gene drive systems. Predictability of behavior over time is an issue that should be addressed by in-depth risk assessment before field testing of organisms incorporating nuclease-mediated gene drives.
A way to increase K-SURE’s export insurance recoveries through arbitration by subrogation
Authors: Ahn Keon-Hyung , Kim Pil-Joon
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to utilize the concept of arbitration by subrogation as a means to increase recoveries of indemnities paid out to exporters or any financial institutions by K-SURE, an export credit agency of Korea, against possible non-payment or breach of obligations from the buyer or the buyer’s country. It looks into the possibility of K-SURE and KCAB reactivating its 2004 MOU to give more jurisdictional protection to K-SURE’s indemnities recovery transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first introduces a brief elucidation about export insurance provided by K-SURE and the necessity of arbitration in the export insurance, and a summary of a subrogation arbitration case referred to the KCAB by K-SURE in 2005. Cognizant of the 2004 MOU between K-SURE and KCAB, as well as the foreign and domestic developments in arbitration, the paper then analyzes legal principles of subrogation by insurer, as well as domestic and overseas precedents on the matters of assignment of claim and arbitration by subrogation.

Findings

While it appears that there is still no universally recognized authority nor established court precedents applying arbitration by subrogation, the authors discovered that similar to Korea, most of leading courts in the world have consistently held that the assignee can request and be requested for arbitration pursuant to the arbitration agreement contained in the assigned contract. The paper concludes that the K-SURE now can be admitted as a party having proper standing in the arbitration proceedings so long as the specific claim right under the contract which includes the arbitration agreement is assigned to the K-SURE.

Originality/value

This paper suggests a possible plan to increase recoveries in export insurance. The outcome of the research is expected to enhance the arbitration system on the back of increasing numbers of arbitration related to export insurance, to improve the balance sheet of K-SURE and ultimately, to help the Korean economy by collecting export insurance recoveries which will lead to saving Korean people’s tax.
Struggles in the WTO’s dispute settlement procedures: focused on the US power dominance
Authors: Kwon Youngmin
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences among member groups, with more detailed division of groups than the existing literatures, during the WTO’s dispute settlement procedures.

Design/methodology/approach

Trade disputes requested through the WTO’s DSU regimes up until 2011 were statistically described and analyzed using logit regression models.

Findings

Despite capacity gaps, developing nations have encountered stronger legal challenges from the US and, although without much capacity gaps, similar patterns of litigation rivalries between the US and other advanced countries, with the exception of the EU, have been also found during dispute settlements in the WTO regimes.

Research limitations/implications

Although the DSU procedures themselves might not be biased for/against certain member groups, there has been some evidence of the struggles of weaker opponent groups of the US during the actual litigation processes.

Originality/value

Power dominances of the US against developing nations as well as developed nations, other than the EU, have been neglected in many previous researches on the topic with a simple developed-developing dichotomy classification.
Supply chain information sharing: challenges and risk mitigation strategies
Authors: Huong Tran Thi Thanh , Childerhouse Paul , Deakins Eric
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how managers perceive risks associated with sharing information with trading partners, and how they attempt to mitigate them.

Design/methodology/approach

In this exploratory New Zealand study, qualitative research was conducted involving semi-structured interviews with boundary spanning managers who are responsible for inter-organizational interfaces. Multiple case studies in different industries are used to highlight managers’ perceptions of risks in data exchange process throughout the supply network, and their underlying reasoning.

Findings

Managers perceive several types of risks when exchanging information across external supply chain interfaces, and adopt different approaches to handling them. The research also reinforces the vital role played by interpersonal relationships and trust as key enablers of inter-organizational cooperation.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on a small sample of 11 case companies based in a single New Zealand province, thereby potentially restricting generalizability. Future work could usefully extend the sample size in order to investigate the correlations between firm sizes, levels of trust, and degrees of data integration within particular industry sectors.

Practical implications

The findings will help managers understand and evaluate different types of risks in the data exchange process, and enable them to make better decisions that enhance information sharing and supply chain performance.

Originality/value

Perceived information sharing risks are peculiar to the individual actors, and as such need to be mitigated through changes to their socially constructed perceptions. This work extends the literature on understanding the various dimensions of inter-organizational information sharing.
Audit committee impact on the quality of financial reporting and disclosure
Authors: Salehi Mahdi , Shirazi Mohammadamin
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to shed further light on the characteristics of an audit committee (AC) and its probable relationship with the quality of financial reporting and disclosure. Based on the findings of extant research that there are different factors that may have implications for the AC’ effectiveness, the authors posit an association between the aforementioned financial aspects and AC presence.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test their hypotheses by performing panel data analysis on a sample of 100 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during 2013-2014. The tests were conducted by using Eviews software.

Findings

Examining previously tested characteristics of an AC, the authors indicate that the number of AC meetings held during fiscal year is negatively associated with the quality of corporate disclosure, whereas AC expertise and size are positively associated with the quality firm’s financial disclosure. Their findings are also indicative of a non-significant relationship between other AC attributes and financial reporting quality (FRQ) except for AC independence, which is positively associated with FRQ. Finally, they provide some evidence that the size of a firm positively affects the quality of its financial reporting and disclosure.

Research limitations/implications

Although the study has been thoroughly considered and cautiously planned, some limitations have yet arisen. Initially, this research was conducted in an Iranian setting where the formation of ACs is on the verge of regulation; therefore, the data utilized for the study only contains the two-year period of ACs’ statutory activity. In addition, a lack of consensus on the precise measures of an AC’s effectiveness could be considered as a restrictive factor.

Originality/value

The authors’ study contributes to the AC literature by providing empirical evidence of an association between ACs’ different attributes and financial aspects in a newly regulated environment like the TSE. The results provided in this paper could be fruitful for auditors, regulators, institutional investors and policymakers.
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment
Authors: Valaei Naser , Rezaei Sajad
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The aim of this study is to examine the structural relationship between Spector’s nine job satisfaction facets (supervision, nature of the work, communication, contingent rewards, co-worker, fringe benefits, payment, promotion and operating procedures), organizational commitment facets (normative commitment, affective commitment and continuance commitment) and the influence of employees’ years of experience on satisfaction and commitment relationships. Owing to the nature of the industry, employee satisfaction, retention and commitment in Information and Communications Technology-Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (ICT-SME) is a matter of great concern.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 256 valid questionnaires were collected among employees of Information and Communications Technology-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ICT-SMEs) to evaluate the measurement and structural model using partial least squares path modelling approach.

Findings

The findings indicate that payment, promotion, fringe benefits, co-worker, communication, operating procedures and nature of the work are positively associated with affective commitment. Furthermore, payment, promotion, fringe benefits, supervision, contingent rewards, operating procedures and nature of the work have a positive relationship with normative commitment. Considering employees’ years of experience as a categorical moderating variable, the results of partial least squares multi-group analysis show how the discrepancies between employees’ years of experience influence their level of commitment.

Originality/value

This study reveals that employees’ affective and normative commitments are positively associated and their continuance commitment is contingent upon their affective commitment, and not normative commitment. There are only three factors, i.e. promotion, fringe benefits and operating procedures, that are conductive to employees’ continuance commitment. Contributions, implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
Exploring the facilitators and mediators of workforce agility: an empirical study
Authors: Muduli Ashutosh
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Recognizing that very less number of research has been conducted on workforce agility, the current research aimed to examine the impact of organizational practices in the form of organizational learning and training, compensation, involvement, team work and information system (IS) on workforce agility. Influenced by the “Black Box” approach, the study also examined the role of psychological empowerment as a mechanism mediating the relationship between organizational practices and workforce agility.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has been conducted in selective Indian industries, representing manufacturing and service sector across public and private sectors. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected from both executives and non-executives through reliable instruments validated in Indian context. Data have been analyzed using descriptive analysis, canonical correlation analysis and multiple regression.

Findings

Findings that organizational practices significantly related to workforce agility prove that organizational practices are capable of improving the agile attributes and behavior of the workforce. In detail, team work has the greatest influence on workforce agility, followed by Reward system, employee involvement, organizational learning and training and ISs. Further, the study result also proved the mediating role of psychological empowerment between organizational practices and workforce agility.

Practical implications

Organizations are to design practices related to organizational learning and training, compensation, involvement, team work and IS and implement them efficiently and effectively to enable agility within the workforce, as an agile workforce can only respond proactively to a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment. Further, the result also suggests that managers should design the organizational practices capable of enhancing psychological empowerment, as the combination can deliver better workforce agility.

Originality/value

The research is useful considering very less number of research on workforce agility.
Research on the adoption barriers of the engineering construction standards in China
Authors: Wang Wei , Zhang Shoujian , King Andrew Philip
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The engineering construction standards in China play an important role in protecting the safety of the construction projects. They are the basic principles that standardize the construction activities and guarantee the quality of projects. However, there are many barriers that affect the adoption of the engineering construction standards. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the barriers that challenge the adoption of the engineering construction standards in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The research reveals the barriers that affect the implementation of the engineering construction standards in China through a literature review. Then this study uses factor analysis to analyze 12 indices which we get from a questionnaire to build explanations from the results.

Findings

According to this paper, four main brands of uncorrelated variables are derived which are the main challenges in implementing the engineering construction standards in China: management barriers, policy barriers, knowledge barriers and market barriers. This paper gives a clear classification of the barriers that the enterprises face while adopting the engineering construction standards in China.

Originality/value

This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the barriers that affect the adoption of the engineering construction standards in China.