bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High intensity proton injector for facility of antiproton and ion research
Authors: Berezov R. , Brodhage R. , Chauvin N. , Delferriere O. , Fils J. , Hollinger R. , Ivanova V. , Tuske O. , Ullmann C.
Published: October 2015

The high current ion source with the low energy beam transport (LEBT) will serve as injector into the proton LINAC to provide primary proton beam for the production of antiprotons. The pulsed ion source developed and built in CEA/Saclay operates with a frequency of 2.45 GHz based on ECR plasma production with two coils with 87.5 mT magnetic field necessary for the electron cyclotron resonance. The compact LEBT consists of two solenoids with a maximum magnetic field of 500 mT including two integrated magnetic steerers to adjust the horizontal and vertical beam positions. The total length of the compact LEBT is 2.3 m and was made as short as possible to reduced emittance growth along the beam line. To measure ion beam intensity behind the pentode extraction system, between solenoids and at the end of the beam line, two current transformers and a Faraday cup are installed. To get information about the beam quality and position, the diagnostic chamber with different equipment will be installed between the two solenoids. This article reports the current status of the proton injector for the facility of antiproton and ion research.
Particle model of full-size ITER-relevant negative ion source
Authors: Taccogna F. , Minelli P. , Ippolito N.
Published: October 2015

This work represents the first attempt to model the full-size ITER-relevant negative ion source including the expansion, extraction, and part of the acceleration regions keeping the mesh size fine enough to resolve every single aperture. The model consists of a 2.5D particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision representation of the plane perpendicular to the filter field lines. Magnetic filter and electron deflection field have been included and a negative ion current density of jH− = 660 A/m2 from the plasma grid (PG) is used as parameter for the neutral conversion. The driver is not yet included and a fixed ambipolar flux is emitted from the driver exit plane. Results show the strong asymmetry along the PG driven by the electron Hall (E × B and diamagnetic) drift perpendicular to the filter field. Such asymmetry creates an important dis-homogeneity in the electron current extracted from the different apertures. A steady state is not yet reached after 15 μs.
Predicting critical temperatures of ionic and non-ionic fluids from thermophysical data obtained near the melting point
Authors: Weiss Volker C.
Published: October 2015

In the correlation and prediction of thermophysical data of fluids based on a corresponding-states approach, the critical temperature Tc plays a central role. For some fluids, in particular ionic ones, however, the critical region is difficult or even impossible to access experimentally. For molten salts, Tc is on the order of 3000 K, which makes accurate measurements a challenging task. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) decompose thermally between 400 K and 600 K due to their organic constituents; this range of temperatures is hundreds of degrees below recent estimates of their Tc. In both cases, reliable methods to deduce Tc based on extrapolations of experimental data recorded at much lower temperatures near the triple or melting points are needed and useful because the critical point influences the fluid’s behavior in the entire liquid region. Here, we propose to employ the scaling approach leading to universal fluid behavior [Román et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 124512 (2005)] to derive a very simple expression that allows one to estimate Tc from the density of the liquid, the surface tension, or the enthalpy of vaporization measured in a very narrow range of low temperatures. We demonstrate the validity of the approach for simple and polar neutral fluids, for which Tc is known, and then use the methodology to obtain estimates of Tc for ionic fluids. When comparing these estimates to those reported in the literature, good agreement is found for RTILs, whereas the ones for the molten salts NaCl and KCl are lower than previous estimates by 10%. The coexistence curve for ionic fluids is found to be more adequately described by an effective exponent of βeff = 0.5 than by βeff = 0.33.
Scanning electrochemical microscopy of graphene/polymer hybrid thin films as supercapacitors: Physical-chemical interfacial processes
Authors: Gupta Sanju , Price Carson
Published: October 2015

Hybrid electrode comprising an electric double-layer capacitor of graphene nanosheets and a pseudocapacitor of the electrically conducting polymers namely, polyaniline; PAni and polypyrrole; PPy are constructed that exhibited synergistic effect with excellent electrochemical performance as thin film supercapacitors for alternative energy. The hybrid supercapacitors were prepared by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly based on controlled electrochemical polymerization followed by reduction of graphene oxide electrochemically producing ErGO, for establishing intimate electronic contact through nanoscale architecture and chemical stability, producing a single bilayer of (PAni/ErGO)1, (PPy/ErGO)1, (PAni/GO)1 and (PPy/GO)1. The rationale design is to create thin films that possess interconnected graphene nanosheets (GNS) with polymer nanostructures forming well-defined tailored interfaces allowing sufficient surface adsorption and faster ion transport due to short diffusion distances. We investigated their electrochemical properties and performance in terms of gravimetric specific capacitance, Cs, from cyclic voltammograms. The LbL-assembled bilayer films exhibited an excellent Cs of ≥350 F g−1 as compared with constituents (∼70 F g−1) at discharge current density of 0.3 A g−1 that outperformed many other hybrid supercapacitors. To gain deeper insights into the physical-chemical interfacial processes occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface that govern their operation, we have used scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) technique in feedback and probe approach modes. We present our findings from viewpoint of reinforcing the role played by heterogeneous electrode surface composed of nanoscale graphene sheets (conducting) and conducting polymers (semiconducting) backbone with ordered polymer chains via higher/lower probe current distribution maps. Also targeted is SECM imaging that allowed to determine electrochemical (re)activity of surface ion adsorption sites density at solid/liquid interface.
Formation and Direct Detection of Non-Conjugated Triplet 1,2-Biradical from β,γ-Vinylarylketone
Authors: Sriyarathne H. Dushanee M. , Thenna-Hewa Kosala R. S. , Scott Tianeka , Gudmundsdottir Anna D.
Published: October 2015

Laser flash photolysis of 2-methyl-1-phenylbut-3-en-1-one (1) conducted at irradiation wavelengths of 266 and 308 nm results in the formation of triplet 1,2-biradical 2 that has λmax at 370 and 480 nm. Biradical 2 is formed with a rate constant of 1.1 × 107 s–1 and decays with a rate constant of 2.3 × 105 s–1. Isoprene-quenching studies support the notion that biradical 2 is formed by energy transfer from the triplet-excited state of the ketone chromophore of 1. Density functional theory calculations were used to verify the characterization of triplet biradical 2 and validate the mechanism for its formation. Thus, it has been demonstrated that intramolecular sensitization of simple alkenes can be used to form triplet 1,2-biradicals with the two radical centres localized on the adjacent carbon atoms.
Explanation in Biolinguistics
Authors: Jenkins Lyle
Published: October 2015

For the last half-century, biolinguistics, the study of the biology of language, has focused on the classical “what” and “how” questions in biology: (1) What is knowledge of language?, (2) How does language develop in the child? and (3) How does language evolve in the species?

The answers to questions (1)–(3) have in turn stimulated investigation into the deeper “why” question; viz., why are the principles of language what they are? (the basis for the “minimalist” program). The answers to all of these questions will provide insight into the “unification problem;” viz., how the study of language can be integrated with the rest of the natural sciences. We review some recent investigations into these questions.
Object Shift, Phases, and Transitive Expletive Constructions in Germanic*
Authors: Richards Marc
Published: October 2015

This paper reconsiders the analysis of Transitive Expletive Constructions (TECs) across Germanic in light of recent developments in the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995 et seq.). I argue that prevailing views of expletives as merged directly into the Spec-TP position are untenable under the Probe-Goal Agree system of Minimalist Inquiries, and propose that T is anomalous amongst the core functional categories (C, T, v) in lacking the Merge-Expl property. This anomaly, I propose, is reducible to another anomaly setting T apart from C and v, namely T’s status as a nonphase head. It follows from the resolution of a basic indeterminacy in the composition of phases that Expl must merge in Spec-vP, the Object Shift position. This, in turn, throws new light on the patterns of complementary distribution that characterize the interaction between Expl, external arguments, and raised internal arguments exhibited by TECs. A strong form of Bures’s Generalization emerges — TECs are directly tied to the availability of full-DP Object Shift in a manner that is arguably both empirically and conceptually superior to existing analyses. Universal, interface-imposed, phase-based constraints on Object Shift and Merge-Expl are thus sufficient to account for the observed patterns of crosslinguistic variation in TEC distribution.
Milton, Hobbes, and Rhetorical Freedom
Authors: O’Gorman Ned
Published: October 2015

In this article, I argue that for John Milton in Paradise Lost and Areopagitica freedom was a rhetorical quality of action: an ethical capacity to address a situation by means of language. I contrast Milton’s approach to that of Thomas Hobbes, for whom freedom was only a state. These reflections suggest that Milton’s rhetorical freedom, a capacity to act amid oppositions by virtue of the wisdom and power of discourse, offers the outlines of an alternate modernity.
Troubled Freedom, Rhetorical Personhood, and Democracy’s Ongoing Constitution
Authors: Allen Ira J.
Published: October 2015

Freedom is a contested concept, at once bound up with and promising transcendence of social bonds. This article examines the understanding of freedom particular to rhetorical theory, a troubled freedom that is the negotiation of constraint. Articulating this concept in negotiation of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s “universal audience,” the article explores a key implication of troubled freedom for the governance of human persons. Given that human personhood is a rhetorical phenomenon, that persons emerge in flows of tendentious discourse, the article urges a rhetorical approach to democratic constitution writing. Constitution should be composed to foster the rhetorical capabilities of demoi.
HapFlow: visualizing haplotypes in sequencing data
Authors: Sullivan Mitchell J. , Bachmann Nathan L. , Timms Peter , Polkinghorne Adam
Published: October 2015

Summary: HapFlow is a python application for visualizing haplotypes present in sequencing data. It identifies variant profiles present and reads and creates an abstract visual representation of these profiles to make haplotypes easier to identify.

Availability and implementation: HapFlow is freely available (under a GPL license) for download (for Mac OS X, Unix and Microsoft Windows) from github (http://mjsull.github.io/HapFlow).

Contact:  apolking@usc.edu.au
Haemorrhagic colitis associated with enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O165 : H25 infection in a yearling feedlot heifer
Authors: Moxley Rodney A. , Stromberg Zachary R. , Lewis Gentry L. , Loy John D. , Brodersen Bruce W. , Patel Isha R. , Gangiredla Jayanthi
Published: October 2015

Introduction:

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) cause haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome in humans. Although EHEC infection typically results in haemorrhagic colitis in all ages of human patients, in cattle it is usually limited to 1- to 5-week-old nursing calves.

Case Presentation:

A 1-year-old feedlot beef heifer was moribund with neurological signs and bloody diarrhoea. At necropsy, the colonic mucosa contained multiple grossly visible haemorrhagic erosions, each measuring < 1 mm in diameter. Histologically, foci corresponding to the gross erosions had E. coli O165 antigen-positive bacterial rods adherent to the apical surfaces of degenerate and necrotic colonic mucosal epithelial cells in association with attaching and effacing lesions, and also within cytoplasmic vacuoles in some of these cells. An E. coli O165 : H25 strain was isolated from the colonic mucosal tissue, and by microarray analysis was found to contain virulence genes corresponding to type III secretion system (T3SS) structure and regulation (cesD, cesT, escD, escF, escN/escV, escR, escT, ler, sepL, sepQ), T3SS effectors (espA, espB, espC, espD, espD, espF, espH, espJ, nleB, nleC, nleD, nleH, tir), serine proteases (eatA, espC, espP), Shiga toxin (stx
2), EHEC-haemolysin (ehxA), and adhesins [intimin-ϵ (eae-ϵ), type 1 fimbria (fimA, fimB, fimH), type IV pili (pilA, pilB, pilC, pilM, pilP, pilQ) and non-fimbrial adhesin (efa1/lifA)].

Conclusion:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of disease in cattle associated with EHEC O165 : H25 infection, the oldest bovine EHEC disease case with isolation of the pathogen and the first bovine case to demonstrate grossly evident, haemorrhagic, colonic mucosal erosions associated with EHEC infection.
Evaluating the performance of selection scans to detect selective sweeps in domestic dogs
Authors: Schlamp Florencia , van der Made Julian , Stambler Rebecca , Chesebrough Lewis , Boyko Adam R. , Messer Philipp W.
Published: October 2015

Selective breeding of dogs has resulted in repeated artificial selection on breed-specific morphological phenotypes. A number of quantitative trait loci associated with these phenotypes have been identified in genetic mapping studies. We analyzed the population genomic signatures observed around the causal mutations for 12 of these loci in 25 dog breeds, for which we genotyped 25 individuals in each breed. By measuring the population frequencies of the causal mutations in each breed, we identified those breeds in which specific mutations most likely experienced positive selection. These instances were then used as positive controls for assessing the performance of popular statistics to detect selection from population genomic data. We found that artificial selection during dog domestication has left characteristic signatures in the haplotype and nucleotide polymorphism patterns around selected loci that can be detected in the genotype data from a single population sample. However, the sensitivity and accuracy at which such signatures were detected varied widely between loci, the particular statistic used, and the choice of analysis parameters. We observed examples of both hard and soft selective sweeps and detected strong selective events that removed genetic diversity almost entirely over regions >10 Mbp. Our study demonstrates the power and limitations of selection scans in populations with high levels of linkage disequilibrium due to severe founder effects and recent population bottlenecks.
A segregating inversion generates fitness variation in a yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) population
Authors: Lee Young Wha , Fishman Lila , Kelly John K. , Willis John H.
Published: October 2015

Polymorphic chromosomal rearrangements, which can bind together hundreds of genes into single genetic loci with diverse effects, are increasingly associated with local adaptation and speciation. They may also be an important component of genetic variation within populations. We genetically and phenotypically characterized a novel segregating inversion (inv6) in the Iron Mountain (IM) population ofMimulus guttatus(yellow monkeyflower). We first identified a region of recombination suppression in three F2mapping populations resulting from crosses among IM plants; in each case, the F1hybrid parent was heterozygous for a homogenous derived haplotype (inv6) across markers spanning over 4.2 Mb of Linkage Group 6. Genotype-phenotype associations in the three F2populations demonstrated negativeinv6effects on male and female fitness components. In addition,inv6carriers suffered a ~30% loss of pollen viability in the field. Despite these costs,inv6exists at moderate and apparently stable frequency (~7%) in the natural population, suggesting counter-balancing fitness benefits that maintain the polymorphism. Across four years of monitoring in the field,inv6had an overall significant positive effect on the seed production (lifetime female fitness) of carriers. This benefit was particularly strong in harsh years and may be mediated (in part) by strong positiveinv6effects on flower production. These data suggest that opposing fitness effects maintain an intermediate frequency, and as a consequence,inv6generates inbreeding depression and high genetic variance. We discuss these findings in the context of theory about the genetic basis of inbreeding depression and the role for chromosomal rearrangements in population divergence with gene flow.
clonotypeR--high throughput analysis of T cell antigen receptor sequences
Authors: Plessy Charles , Mariotti-Ferrandiz Encarnita , Manabe Ri-Ichiroh , Hori Shohei
Published: October 2015

Motivation The T cell receptors are expressed as millions of different rearrangements. Amplified as a complex mixture of PCR products, they can be sequenced directly on next-generation instruments without the need for cloning. This method is increasingly used to characterize, quantify and study these highly diverse receptors. Results We present here clonotypeR, a software package to identify and analyze antigen receptors from high-throughput sequence libraries. ClonotypeR is designed to process, organize and analyze very large numbers of sequences, in the order of millions, typically produced by Roche 454 or Illumina instruments, and is made of two parts. The first contains shell scripts and reference segment sequences to produce a data file where each line represents a the detection of a clonotype in a sequence read. The second part is a R module available from Bioconductor, to load and filter the data, and prepare clonotype abundance tables ready for analysis with third-party tools for differential representation analysis, sample clustering, etc. To analyze clonotype data at the nucleotide level, we introduce unique clonotype identifiers based on those developed by Yassai et al. (2009), that we corrected to avoid identifier collisions. Availability http://clonotyper.branchable.com (CC0 license).
An empirical analysis of the determinants of expenditure on alcohol by alcohol dependent individuals in Mauritius
Authors: Sobhee Sanjeev , Kasseeah Harshana , Tandrayen-Ragoobur Verena , Gopaul Asrani
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Without an understanding of the factors that influence the expenditure of alcohol-dependent individuals on alcohol, it is unclear whether policies to control excessive consumption of alcohol can be effective. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the factors that affect the expenditure of alcohol-dependent individuals on alcohol.

Design/methodology/approach

– The main contribution of this paper is that it relies on a survey consisting exclusively of 300 alcohol-dependent individuals to capture the variables influencing their expenditure on alcohol. The survey was carried out by fieldworkers in the year 2012. The respondents come from varied socio-economic backgrounds and consist of both male and female alcohol-dependent individuals living in various geographical parts of the island of Mauritius.

Findings

– The results obtained indicate that expenditure on alcohol by alcohol-dependent individuals increases as income increases. Given that the coefficient on the income variable is positive but less than one, this indicates that alcohol is viewed as a necessity. Apart from income, the age when the person first started drinking and the family size are important variables influencing the expenditure of alcohol-dependent individuals on alcohol.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings indicate that alcohol-dependent individuals should be sensitized so that they are not tempted to increase expenditure on alcohol as their income increases. Sensitization should be aimed at making them understand that the increase in income allocated toward alcohol expenditure could be better spent. Awareness programs could also help to address the issue of over-consumption of alcohol among the youth.

Originality/value

– As far as the authors know, there has not been any empirical studies conducted in Mauritius on the expenditure on alcohol by alcohol-dependent individuals.
Examining perception of competency through practicum competencies outline
Authors: Esposito Giovanna , Freda Maria Francesca , Bosco Valentina
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the self-perceived competencies of 231 Italian students enrolled in a psychological degree program and involved in a practicum. It analyzes the subjective perception of the competences that students expect to develop, acknowledge as developed and that might be inferred from tasks performed during the practicum; the level of expertise (novice, intermediate or advanced) of these competences; and the relation between the practicum facility and the competences.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study administered anad hocsurvey comprising open-ended questions and used the Practicum Competencies Outline (Hatcher and Lassiter, 2007) as a framework for the content analysis.

Findings

– The results revealed poor perception of some competency domains, such as Diversity: Individual and Cultural Differences; Development of Leadership; Application of Research and Ethics; and a frequent acknowledgment of Psychological Assessment and Professional Development. Before the practicum, the students expected to develop competence mainly at a novice level of expertise; after the practicum, the intermediate level of competences acknowledged as developed and inferred from performed tasks increased.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings have implications for research on competence-based training, such as the necessity of self-assessment training evaluation.

Practical implications

– Undergraduate psychology students must reflect on the value of psychological competences during their formative training to re-orient their learning process and build a competent professional role. Moreover, psychological facilities and university must share common objectives in training undergraduate students.

Originality/value

– This study is the first attempt to analyze Italian college students’ subjective perceptions of psychological competencies expected or developed during practicum .
Visitor discourses on experiences: reasons for festival success and failure
Authors: Kinnunen Maarit , Haahti Antti
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to unfold factors anchored in visitors’ experiences possibly determinant of the success or failure of cultural festivals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The studied data included 931 experience descriptions, 23 interviews and 51 empathy-based stories collected from 17 cultural festivals around Finland during the summers of 2012 and 2013. The nature of the study was exploratory, the theoretical framework was social constructionism, and the analysis was done using Foucauldian discourse analysis. The Method of Empathy Based Stories, a non-active role-playing technique, was used in the data collection.

Findings

– The identified success factors were the programme, good quality food, sense of community, chill-out opportunities and building blocks of one’s identity. The factors that might cause failures were commercialised and low-quality programme, the low quality of services, commercialism demonstrated by elevated ticket and service pricing, VIP services confronting egalitarianism, crowd control and queueing and anti-social behaviour.

Practical implications

– Three areas of particular interest were: how to nurture identity construction and personal well-being, how to enhance egalitarianism within the festival community, and how to promote the desired code of conduct without applying unnecessary rules and restrictions. If successful in these, the festival could boast of features that are not easy to replicate and that could create a competitive edge.

Originality/value

– Empathy-based stories combined with discourse analysis contributed new insights on the issues of the success and failure of festivals. The empathy-based stories were particularly useful in retrieving informants’ perceptions of the future and for identifying factors that might cause failures.
Festival space: gender, liminality and the carnivalesque
Authors: Pielichaty Hanya
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Contemporary outdoor rock and popular music festivals offer liminoidal spaces in which event participants can experience characteristics associated with the carnivalesque. Festival goers celebrate with abandonment, excess and enjoy a break from the mundane routine of everyday life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way gender is negotiated in the festival space.

Design/methodology/approach

– The rock and popular music tribute festival, known as “Glastonbudget” provides the focus for this conceptual paper. A pilot ethnographic exploration of the event utilising photographic imagery was used to understand the way in which gender is displayed.

Findings

– It is suggested that liminal zones offer space to invert social norms and behave with abandonment and freedom away from the constraints of the everyday but neither women nor men actually take up this opportunity. The carnivalesque during Glastonbudget represents a festival space which consolidates normative notions of gender hierarchy via a complicated process of othering.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a conceptual paper which presents the need to advance social science-based studies connecting gender to the social construction of event space. The ideas explored in this paper need to be extended and developed to build upon the research design established here.

Originality/value

– There is currently a paucity of literature surrounding the concept of gender within these festival spaces especially in relation to liminality within events research.
Comparison of sport tourists’ and locals’ motivation to participate in a running event
Authors: Aicher Thomas J. , Karadakis Kostas , Eddosary Melfy M
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, the authors compared tourists with local participants to determine if motivations to participate in a mid-scale marathon event varied based on participant type, and if they perceived the event differently. Second, Kaplanidou and Vogt suggested further testing and validation of their scale to measure meanings people attach to sport events was warranted, and the current investigation provides such evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

– Working with the event organizer, the authors distributed an online questionnaire to marathon participants in a mid-scale event. The questionnaire included the Sport Motivation Scale-II, Sport Event Evaluation Scale, and demographics.

Findings

– Results indicated no differences between sport tourists and residents in motivation and meanings attached to the event; however, differences in perception did exist. Data further validated the Sport Event Evaluation Scale.

Research limitations/implications

– The study established self-determination theory (SDT) as a viable theoretical framework to understand sport event participants motivations. It demonstrated a possible link between the individuals’ motivations and the meanings they associate with the event.

Practical implications

– The paper provides data to support marketing the healthy benefits of participating in a marathon event as well as the need to include the fun and entertaining components of the event as well.

Originality/value

– The study is a unique application of SDT as well as applies a theoretical framework to an area of study that has largely focussed on categorizations. Additionally, the findings establish initial findings that local participants and sport tourists possess similar forms of motivation and attach similar meanings to event participation.
Influence of participation in “table banking” on the size of women-owned micro and small enterprises in Kenya
Authors: Gichuki Castro Ngumbu , Mutuku Milcah Mulu , Kinuthia Lydia Nkatha
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate the inability to access affordable credit in Kenya which hinders many women entrepreneurs from either starting their own or expanding existing enterprises and capital base. The emergence of table banking groups attempts to fill the existing credit gap.

Design/methodology/approach

– A cross-sectional survey involving 225 randomly selected women entrepreneurs who participate in table banking groups within Nakuru Municipality was conducted. Data collection comprised a questionnaire whose reliability coefficient was 0.83 at 0.05 confidence level.

Findings

– Results indicated that a majority women entrepreneurs aged between 20 and 60 years with 71 per cent of them married. Further, 44 per cent had attained secondary-level education, while no illiterate entrepreneurs participated in the study. A positive increase in the number of employees, after members participated in table banking groups, was realized. Credit received from table banking influenced changes in the size of enterprises.

Originality/value

– The study shows that availability, affordability and accessibility of credit from table banking groups led to positive growth of women-owned enterprises.
Inertia as inhibiting competitiveness in Philippine family businesses
Authors: Santiago Andrea
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The failure to innovate has been recognized as one of the prime causes of business failure. In addition to this, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether it is the failure to act or inertia that can also explain the inability of family businesses to move forward.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research documented the experiences of five family businesses in the Philippines that were unable to sustain their business operations. Only five families were identified since it was difficult to trace the business owners of businesses that failed, and once identified, not all were willing to discuss the reason for their business failure.

Findings

– The cases showed that business decline actually results from the failure of family members to address the challenges brought about the change in the different life cycle dimensions. In hindsight, arresting a downward trend necessitates varied strategic approaches. While some family members may felt incapable of introducing innovation in their business, the failure to act, by itself, was a guarantee of business failure.

Research limitations/implications

– The research was limited to five family businesses in the Philippines. It is possible that there may be many other reasons for family business failure based on the experiences of other families. Unfortunately, many business families in the Philippines are tight-lipped about failure, even if there are lessons to be learned.

Practical implications

– This paper brings attention to the need of family business owners to be more proactive in meeting the changing needs of their family business. Formula that worked before may not be appropriate at a different time.

Originality/value

– Research has shown that there are many reasons for family business failure. This paper shows the importance of transcending the feeling of inertia so that family members can be more proactive in meeting the challenges that they are bound to face as their families, their products, their businesses, and the industries they are in, move from one stage of the life cycle to another.
Conflict management and resolution in family-owned businesses
Authors: Alderson Keanon
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the literature concerning the negative effects of conflict among family businesses and to make practitioner focussed recommendations for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict. This paper discusses the prevalence of conflict in family firms, differentiates the types of conflict present, and recommends proven approaches to prevent and manage the conflict, with a focus on corporate governance tools. Examples of well known companies are presented.

Design/methodology/approach

– A review was conducted of the literature concerning family business conflict and corporate governance.

Findings

– Conflict is a common problem in family firms that has significant consequences for the business and the family. Research has shown effective governance may reduce and manage conflict.

Research limitations/implications

– This was a literature review. As such it did not perform original research.

Practical implications

– This paper has practical implications for family business practitioners. The paper offers the negative aspects of conflict and recommends effective mechanisms such as governance tools to enable the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.

Social implications

– Implications exist for practitioners and policy makers in order to reduce conflict and increase the viability of family firms.

Originality/value

– The scholarly literature has been reviewed and synthesized into distillation for family business owners.
Creating space for the business family
Authors: Seaman Claire
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to consider one of the major, under-researched themes in rural studies – the business family. Acting as an economic bedrock and entrepreneurial business base, families may support one or more businesses over varying time frames (Rouvinez, 2001).

Design/methodology/approach

– By reviewing related literature, the paper aims to encapsulate some thoughts on this topic and to consider ways in which future work in this field might be directed.

Findings

– Standing at the divide between entrepreneurship research, business research and research which looks at the family in a social paradigm, business families remain one of the under-researched areas which provide a vital function within rural communities (Getz et al., 2004, p. 3). One distinction drawn out within this paper is of the manner whereby a family business – defined here as a business with one or more family members where the owners perceive it to be a family business – stands in parallel to the business family. Difficulties in definition of the term family business (Sharma, 1996) have further complicated this distinction, but the importance of family businesses in a worldwide context is acknowledged (Poutziouris, 2006) alongside the need for further research in a UK context (Fletcher, 2002; Getz et al., 2004, p. 72). If the term family business is difficult to define, simpler definitions of the business family do appear: families with a distinct track record in portfolio or serial entrepreneurship but where the expertise is embedded within more than one individual.

Originality/value

– Developing thinking around the interaction between families and the businesses they run is a vital development in regional development and of especial importance where agriculture.
Animal personality meets community ecology: founder species aggression and the dynamics of spider communities
Authors: Quinn John L.
Published: October 2015

Silken web‐reef created by the spider Anelosimus studiosus (main picture) and close‐up (insert picture) of multi‐female, adult colony of the same species. (photographs: T. Jones, J. Pruitt and A. Wild)

image

Silken web‐reef created by the spider Anelosimus studiosus (main picture) and close‐up (insert picture) of multi‐female, adult colony of the same species. (photographs: T. Jones, J. Pruitt and A. Wild)

In Focus: Pruitt, J.N. & Modlmeier, A.P. (2015) Animal personality in a foundation species drives community divergence and collapse in the wild. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84

Interspecific interactions form the cornerstone of niche theory in community ecology. The 7‐year study In Focus here supports the view that variation within species could also be crucially important. Spider communities created experimentally in the wild, with either aggressive or docile individuals of the same founder species, were highly divergent in patterns of community succession for several years. Eventually, they converged on the same community composition only to collapse entirely shortly after, apparently because of the specific mix of aggression phenotypes within and between species just before collapse. These results suggest numerous avenues of research for behavioural ecology and evolutionary community ecology in metapopulations, and could help to resolve differences between competing theories.
The appropriateness and feasibility of an online e‐Portfolio for assessment of undergraduate allied health students
Authors: Cordier Reinie , McAuliffe Tomomi , Wilson Nathan J. , Totino Rebekah , Dender Alma , Smith Cally , Stephens Michaela
Published: October 2015

Background/aim

Online technologies are widely used in tertiary institutions for both learning and assessment. There is a paucity of research into the use of e‐Portfolios for assessment in the field of occupational therapy and other allied health disciplines. This study aimed to determine if a new assessment platform, using a flexible online learning platform, PebblePad™, is appropriate and feasible for use with allied health university staff and students in their first and second year of study.

Methods

A mixed methods approach was employed in two phases, before the development of a new assessment (Phase 1) and after completion of the new assessment (Phase 2), aimed to generate a comprehensive analysis of the appropriateness and feasibility of the new assessment platform. Inductive thematic analysis was used to investigate participants’ focus group responses in both phases. To assess learning outcomes survey responses were analysed using t‐tests, and descriptive ratings of the assessment and current use of online platforms were extracted.

Results

Triangulated results indicate that the assessment did not meet all five domains of appropriateness. Negative experiences and a lack of social and ecological validity were attributed to the PebblePad™. The PebblePad™ was not feasible, requiring extensive support in implementation.

Conclusions

While PebblePad™ did not meet all domains of appropriateness and was not feasible, students reported learning gains after completing the assessment, suggesting that content may be more important than the assessment platform. More rigorous research is needed to determine the best online platform for assessment in the allied health disciplines.
Critique as Justification – and Beyond
Authors: Diken Bülent
Published: October 2015

The article discusses the predicament of contemporary critique by focusing on a theoretical case, the ‘sociology of critique’ as it is formulated by Boltanski and Thévenot (2006) and developed by Boltanski and Chiapello (2007) . This sociology is critical of critical theory and endeavours to supplement critical theory with a ‘theory of critique’, with a pragmatic analysis of the normative values that inspire intentional action. In order to be critical, it insists, one must first understand what critique is. However, the sociology of critique delimits critique to justification on the basis of (only) existing values and indexes all critique to the governmental idea of reform. The article elaborates on this by juxtaposing radical critique and pragmatic critique in the light of recent debate.
A Sketch of a System of Theory and Practice
Authors: Alexander James
Published: October 2015

Most political theorists are committed to one particular view about the relation between theory and practice. It is argued in this article that there are in fact four possible ways of relating theory and practice, which are distinguished in terms of the answers that are given to two distinct questions. Derived from this is the suggestion that all political theorists can be classified according to whether they are sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic or choleric. The purpose of this sketch of a system is to indicate the questionable nature of much of what passes for modern political theory – especially that of the now dominant sanguine tradition, which has for several decades especially concerned itself with the ‘impact’ theory can have on practice.
A Spatiotemporal Solution for the Simultaneous Sale Price and Time‐on‐the‐Market Problem
Authors: Dubé Jean , Legros Diègo
Published: October 2015

There exists an important methodological challenge when dealing with sale price and time‐on‐the‐market variables because both variables are simultaneously determined and related to the motivation of the sellers and buyers. Exploiting the fact that transactions occur over space and time, we propose a two‐stage approach based on instrumental variables (IV) built from information collected from previous transactions. The unidirectional temporal property and the fact that other transactions are exogenous from the perspective of a single buyer or seller are exploited to evaluate the effect of the sale price on time‐on‐the‐market, and the effect of time‐on‐the‐market on the sale price. Based on 29,471 transactions occurring in the suburban neighborhood of Montréal (1992‐2000), the results suggest that, everything else being equal, houses staying longer on the market provide negative information to the market, which results in a lower final sale price, while the final sale price is negatively related to time‐on‐the‐market, indicating that houses of better quality (better amenities) stay less time on the market.
Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs
Authors: Lukić B. , Pong‐Wong R. , Rowe S. J. , de Koning D. J. , Velander I. , Haley C. S. , Archibald A. L. , Woolliams J. A.
Published: October 2015

Genetic selection against boar taint, which is caused by high skatole and androstenone concentrations in fat, is a more acceptable alternative than is the current practice of castration. Genomic predictors offer an opportunity to overcome the limitations of such selection caused by the phenotype being expressed only in males at slaughter, and this study evaluated different approaches to obtain such predictors. Samples from 1000 pigs were included in a design which was dominated by 421 sib pairs, each pair having one animal with high and one with low skatole concentration (≥0.3 μg/g). All samples were measured for both skatole and androstenone and genotyped using the Illumina SNP60 porcine BeadChip for 62 153 single nucleotide polymorphisms. The accuracy of predicting phenotypes was assessed by cross‐validation using six different genomic evaluation methods: genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) and five Bayesian regression methods. In addition, this was compared to the accuracy of predictions using only QTL that showed genome‐wide significance. The range of accuracies obtained by different prediction methods was narrow for androstenone, between 0.29 (Bayes Lasso) and 0.31 (Bayes B), and wider for skatole, between 0.21 (GBLUP) and 0.26 (Bayes SSVS). Relative accuracies, corrected for h2, were 0.54–0.56 and 0.75–0.94 for androstenone and skatole respectively. The whole‐genome evaluation methods gave greater accuracy than using only the QTL detected in the data. The results demonstrate that GBLUP for androstenone is the simplest genomic technology to implement and was also close to the most accurate method. More specialised models may be preferable for skatole.
Low indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase activity in persistent food allergy in children
Authors: Buyuktiryaki B. , Sahiner U. M. , Girgin G. , Birben E. , Soyer O. U. , Cavkaytar O. , Cetin C. , Arik Yilmaz E. , Yavuz S. T. , Kalayci O. , Baydar T. , Sackesen C.
Published: October 2015

Background

Indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO), which degrades tryptophan (Trp) to kynurenine (Kyn), has been demonstrated to contribute to modulation of allergic responses. However, the role of IDO in food allergy has not yet been elucidated.

Methods

Serum Trp and Kyn concentrations were analyzed by high‐pressure liquid chromatography. Expression of IDO gene was measured by real‐time PCR. The levels of interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐10, and interferon (IFN)‐γ in cell culture supernatants were measured by ELISA.

Results

Kyn/Trp (IDO activity) was significantly lower in subjects with food allergy (n = 100) than in aged‐matched healthy controls (n = 112) (P = 0.004). Kyn/Trp was decreased from healthy through completely tolerant, partially tolerant, and reactive ones [LN transformation (mean ± SEM) healthy: 3.9 ± 0.02 μM/mM; completely tolerant: 3.83 ± 0.04; partially tolerant: 3.8 ± 0.06; reactive: 3.7 ± 0.04] (P = 0.008). The frequency of genetic polymorphisms of IDO did not reveal a significant association with Trp, Kyn, and Kyn/Trp in healthy and food‐allergic cases. Culture of PBMC experiments yielded that IDO mRNA expression was not different between tolerant and reactive groups. IL‐4 synthesis when stimulated with casein increased significantly in subjects who are reactive and tolerant to foods (P = 0.042, P = 0.006, respectively). Increase in IL‐10 synthesis was observed only in children tolerant to milk, but not in reactive ones. IFN‐γ synthesis, when stimulated with IL‐2 and β‐lactoglobulin in cell culture, was significantly higher in subjects tolerant to milk than in the reactive ones (P = 0.005 and P = 0.029, respectively).

Conclusion

Our results imply the probability of involvement of IDO in development of tolerance process, and we presume that high IDO activity is associated with nonresponsiveness to food allergens despite allergen sensitization.
Nitric therapy in preterm infants: rationalised approach based on functional neonatal echocardiography
Authors: Cheng Daryl R. , Peart Stacey , Tan Kenneth , Sehgal Arvind
Published: October 2015

Aim

Use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in preterm infants is not supported by current evidence. In 2013, in Australia and New Zealand, 14% infants' ≤25 weeks of gestations were administered iNO. Within the cohort administered iNO, we aimed to identify subgroups where it may be more efficacious and compared characteristics before and after the set‐up of the functional echocardiography (fEcho) programme.

Methods

A retrospective audit for the period 2000–2013 involving preterm infants administered iNO in the first four weeks of life was performed. Comparisons were made between the two time epochs: up to 2007 and post‐2007.

Results

Eighty‐five infants fulfilled the inclusion criteria; 62 (73%) were ≤28 weeks of gestation; 51 (60%) survived. Amongst survivors, gestation and birthweight were higher and oxygenation index (OI) was lower. Fourteen (16.5%) infants weighed small for gestation age; survival was lower in this subgroup (6/14, 43%, p = 0.0005). The fEcho programme increased prenitric assessments for a definitive diagnosis and monitoring; iNO was started earlier, at a lower OI with a trend towards reduced usage (hours).

Conclusion

Characteristics of subgroups (within the cohort of infants ≤34 weeks of gestation) more likely to benefit from iNO therapy were identified. Use of fEcho could rationalise usage.