bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weekday and weekend patterns of physical activity and sedentary time among Liverpool and Madrid youth
Authors: Ramirez‐Rico Elena , Hilland Toni A. , Foweather Lawrence , Fernández‐Garcia Emilia , Fairclough Stuart J.
Published: August 2013

Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour among English and Spanish youth are high and vary within different regions of each country. Little though is known about these during specific periods of the day. The purpose of this study was to describe physical activity (PA) and sedentary time during segments of the day and week, and compare these critical contexts between youth in the Liverpool and Madrid areas of England and Spain, respectively. PA was objectively assessed in 235 Liverpool‐ and 241 Madrid youth (aged 10–14 years) who wore accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Minutes of sedentary time, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated for weekdays, weekend days, school time, non‐school time and after‐school. Between‐country differences were analysed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Madrid youth spent significantly more time in sedentary activities than their Liverpool counterparts. Madrid youth engaged in more minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (MPA) than Liverpool youth during weekdays, school time and non‐school time (P<0.01). Liverpool children recorded more time in vigorous physical activity (VPA) than Madrid peers during week days and weekend days (P<0.01) and during school time and after‐school periods (P <0.01). The MVPA was significantly higher among Madrid youth during non‐school time (P<0.01). Around 25% of all youth achieved recommended levels of MVPA. Low levels of MVPA and systematic differences in sedentary time, MPA and VPA exist between Liverpool and Madrid youth. Interventions targeted at the least‐active children during weekends, after‐school and non‐school periods within the cultural contexts common to each city are required.
A remark on invariant subspaces of positive operators
Authors: Troitsky Vladimir
Published: August 2013

If

S
S

,

T
T

,

R
R

, and

K
K

are non-zero positive operators on a Banach lattice such that

S
↔
T
↔
R
⩽
K

S\leftrightarrow T\leftrightarrow R\leqslant K

, where “

↔
\leftrightarrow

” stands for the commutation relation,

T
T

is non-scalar, and

K
K

is compact, then

S
S

has an invariant subspace.
Multiple solutions to the Bahri-Coron problem in some domains with nontrivial topology
Authors: Clapp Mónica , Faya Jorge
Published: August 2013

We show that in every dimension

N
≥
3

N\geq 3

there are many bounded domains

Ω
⊂

R

N

,

\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^{N},

having only finite symmetries, in which the Bahri-Coron problem
\[
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="minus normal upper Delta u equals StartAbsoluteValue u EndAbsoluteValue Superscript 4 slash left-parenthesis upper N minus 2 right-parenthesis Baseline u reverse-solidus in normal upper Omega comma reverse-solidus reverse-solidus u equals 0 reverse-solidus on partial-differential normal upper Omega comma">

−
Δ
u
=

|
u
|

4

/

(
N
−
2
)

u
 \ in 
Ω
,
 \ \ 
u
=
0
 \ on 
∂
Ω
,

-\Delta u=\left \vert u\right \vert ^{4/(N-2)}u\text { \ in }\Omega ,\text { \ \ }u=0\text { \ on }\partial \Omega ,

\]
has a prescribed number of solutions, one of them being positive and the rest sign-changing.
Navigating the Pathway to Robotic Competency in General Thoracic Surgery
Authors: Seder Christopher W. , Cassivi Stephen D. , Wigle Dennis A.
Published: August 2013

Objective

Although robotic technology has addressed many of the limitations of traditional videoscopic surgery, robotic surgery has not gained widespread acceptance in the general thoracic community. We report our initial robotic surgery experience and propose a structured, competency-based pathway for the development of robotic skills.

Methods

Between December 2008 and February 2012, a total of 79 robot-assisted pulmonary, mediastinal, benign esophageal, or diaphragmatic procedures were performed. Data on patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes were retrospectively collected and analyzed. During the study period, one surgeon and three residents participated in a triphasic, competency-based pathway designed to teach robotic skills. The pathway consisted of individual preclinical learning followed by mentored preclinical exercises and progressive clinical responsibility.

Results

The robot-assisted procedures performed included lung resection (n = 38), mediastinal mass resection (n = 19), hiatal or para-esophageal hernia repair (n = 12), and Heller myotomy (n = 7), among others (n = 3). There were no perioperative mortalities, with a 20% complication rate and a 3% readmission rate. Conversion to a thoracoscopic or open approach was required in eight pulmonary resections to facilitate dissection (six) or to control hemorrhage (two). Fewer major perioperative complications were observed in the later half of the experience. All residents who participated in the thoracic surgery robotic pathway perform robot-assisted procedures as part of their clinical practice.

Conclusions

Robot-assisted thoracic surgery can be safely learned when skill acquisition is guided by a structured, competency-based pathway.
Does the aquatic invertebrate nipple array prevent bubble adhesion? An experiment using nanopillar sheets
Authors: Hirose Euichi , Mayama Hiroyuki , Miyauchi Akihiro
Published: August 2013

The nipple array is a submicrometre-scale structure found on the cuticle surfaces of various invertebrate taxa. Corneal nipples are an antiglare surface in nocturnal insects, but the functional significance of the nipple array has not been experimentally investigated for aquatic organisms. Using nanopillar sheets as a mimetic model of the nipple array, we demonstrated that significantly fewer bubbles adhered to the nanopillar surface versus a flat surface when the sheets were hydrophilic. Many more bubbles adhered to the hydrophobic surface than the hydrophilic surfaces. Bubbles on the body surface may cause buoyancy problems, movement interference and water flow occlusion. Here, bubble repellence is proposed as a function of the hydrophilic nipple array in aquatic invertebrates and its properties are considered based on bubble adhesion energy.
Batch spawning facilitates transfer of an essential nutrient from diet to eggs in a marine fish
Authors: Fuiman Lee A. , Faulk Cynthia K.
Published: August 2013

Fatty acid composition of eggs affects development, growth and ecological performance of fish embryos and larvae, with potential consequences for recruitment success. Essential fatty acids in eggs derive from the maternal diet, and the time between ingestion and deposition in eggs is ecologically important but unknown. We examined the dynamics of diet–egg transfer of arachidonic acid (ARA) in the batch-spawning fish, red drum (
Sciaenops ocellatus
), by measuring ARA concentrations in eggs after a single diet shift and during a period of irregular variations in diet. ARA concentrations in eggs changed within 2–16 days of a diet shift. The rate of change was proportional to the magnitude of the shift, with no evidence of equilibration. These results are not consistent with eggs being assembled entirely from accumulated body stores. The immediate source of ARA in eggs appears to be the recent diet. We propose that batch spawning produces rapid diet–egg transfer of ARA because it removes large amounts of fatty acids from the body and prevents equilibration. The immediacy of the diet–egg connection suggests that spawning migration combined with short-interval batch spawning may have evolved to take advantage of nutrients critical for offspring survival that are available at the spawning site.
What can information-asymmetric games tell us about the context of Crick's ‘frozen accident’?
Authors: Jee Justin , Sundstrom Andrew , Massey Steven E. , Mishra Bud
Published: August 2013

This paper describes a novel application of information-asymmetric (signalling) games to molecular biology in which utility is determined by the message complexity (rate) in addition to the error in information transfer (distortion). We show using a computational model how it is possible for the agents in one such game to evolve a signalling convention (separating equilibrium) that is suboptimal in terms of information transfer, but is nonetheless stable. In the context of an RNA world merging with a nascent amino acid one, such a game's equilibrium is alluded to by the genetic code, which is nearly optimal in terms of information transfer, but is also near-universal and nearly immutable. Such a framework suggests that cellularity may have emerged to encourage coordination between RNA species and sheds light on other aspects of RNA world biochemistry yet to be fully understood.
Design and interpretation of cell trajectory assays
Authors: Bowden Lucie G. , Simpson Matthew J. , Baker Ruth E.
Published: August 2013

Cell trajectory data are often reported in the experimental cell biology literature to distinguish between different types of cell migration. Unfortunately, there is no accepted protocol for designing or interpreting such experiments and this makes it difficult to quantitatively compare different published datasets and to understand how changes in experimental design influence our ability to interpret different experiments. Here, we use an individual-based mathematical model to simulate the key features of a cell trajectory experiment. This shows that our ability to correctly interpret trajectory data is extremely sensitive to the geometry and timing of the experiment, the degree of motility bias and the number of experimental replicates. We show that cell trajectory experiments produce data that are most reliable when the experiment is performed in a quasi-one-dimensional geometry with a large number of identically prepared experiments conducted over a relatively short time-interval rather than a few trajectories recorded over particularly long time-intervals.
The unified transform method for the Sasa–Satsuma equation on the half-line
Authors: Xu Jian , Fan Engui
Published: August 2013

We implement the unified transform method to the initial-boundary value (IBV) problem of the Sasa–Satsuma equation on the half line. In addition to presenting the basic Riemann–Hilbert formalism, which linearizes this IBV problem, we also analyse the associated general Dirichlet to Neumann map using the so-called global relation.
Emergence of colour symmetry in free-vibration acoustic resonance of a nonlinear hyperelastic material
Authors: Tarumi Ryuichi
Published: August 2013

We investigated free-vibration acoustic resonance (FVAR) of two-dimensional St Venant–Kirchhoff-type hyperelastic materials and revealed the existence and structure of colour symmetry embedded therein. The hyperelastic material is isotropic and frame indifferent and includes geometrical nonlinearity in its constitutive equation. The FVAR state is formulated using the principle of stationary action with a subsidiary condition. Numerical analysis based on the Ritz method revealed the existence of four types of nonlinear FVAR modes associated with the irreducible representations of a linearized system. Projection operation revealed that the FVAR modes can be classified on the basis of a
single colour
(black or white) and three types of
bicolour
(black and white) magnetic point groups:

,

,

and

. These results demonstrate that colour symmetry naturally arises in the finite amplitude nonlinear FVAR modes, and its vibrational symmetries are explained in terms of magnetic point groups rather than the irreducible representations that have been used for linearized systems. We also predicted a
grey colour
nonlinear FVAR mode which cannot be derived from a linearized system.
Folding behaviour of Tachi–Miura polyhedron bellows
Authors: Yasuda Hiromi , Yein Thu , Tachi Tomohiro , Miura Koryo , Taya Minoru
Published: August 2013

In this paper, we examine the folding behaviour of Tachi–Miura polyhedron (TMP) bellows made of paper, which is known as a rigid-foldable structure, and construct a theoretical model to predict the mechanical energy associated with the compression of TMP bellows, which is compared with the experimentally measured energy, resulting in the gap between the mechanical work by the compression force and the bending energy distributed along all the crease lines. The extended Hamilton's principle is applied to explain the gap which is considered to be energy dissipation in the mechanical behaviour of TMP bellows.
Asymptotic behaviour of random walks with correlated temporal structure
Authors: Magdziarz Marcin , Szczotka Władysław , Żebrowski Piotr
Published: August 2013

We introduce a continuous-time random walk process with correlated temporal structure. The dependence between consecutive waiting times is generated by weighted sums of independent random variables combined with a reflecting boundary condition. The weights are determined by the memory kernel, which belongs to the broad class of regularly varying functions. We derive the corresponding diffusion limit and prove its subdiffusive character. Analysing the set of corresponding coupled Langevin equations, we verify the speed of relaxation, Einstein relations, equilibrium distributions, ageing and ergodicity breaking.
First
in situ
observations of the deep-sea squid
Grimalditeuthis bonplandi
reveal unique use of tentacles
Authors: Hoving Hendrik J. T. , Zeidberg Louis D. , Benfield Mark C. , Bush Stephanie L. , Robison Bruce H. , Vecchione Michael
Published: August 2013

The deep-sea squid
Grimalditeuthis bonplandi
has tentacles unique among known squids. The elastic stalk is extremely thin and fragile, whereas the clubs bear no suckers, hooks or photophores. It is unknown whether and how these tentacles are used in prey capture and handling. We present, to our knowledge, the first
in situ
observations of this species obtained by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in the Atlantic and North Pacific. Unexpectedly,
G. bonplandi
is unable to rapidly extend and retract the tentacle stalk as do other squids, but instead manoeuvres the tentacles by undulation and flapping of the clubs’ trabecular protective membranes. These tentacle club movements superficially resemble the movements of small marine organisms and suggest the possibility that
G. bonplandi
uses aggressive mimicry by the tentacle clubs to lure prey, which we find to consist of crustaceans and cephalopods. In the darkness of the meso- and bathypelagic zones the flapping and undulatory movements of the tentacle may: (i) stimulate bioluminescence in the surrounding water, (ii) create low-frequency vibrations and/or (iii) produce a hydrodynamic wake. Potential prey of
G. bonplandi
may be attracted to one or more of these as signals. This singular use of the tentacle adds to the diverse foraging and feeding strategies known in deep-sea cephalopods.
The evolution of genetic architectures underlying quantitative traits
Authors: Rajon Etienne , Plotkin Joshua B.
Published: August 2013

In the classic view introduced by R. A. Fisher, a quantitative trait is encoded by many loci with small, additive effects. Recent advances in quantitative trait loci mapping have begun to elucidate the genetic architectures underlying vast numbers of phenotypes across diverse taxa, producing observations that sometimes contrast with Fisher's blueprint. Despite these considerable empirical efforts to map the genetic determinants of traits, it remains poorly understood how the genetic architecture of a trait should evolve, or how it depends on the selection pressures on the trait. Here, we develop a simple, population-genetic model for the evolution of genetic architectures. Our model predicts that traits under moderate selection should be encoded by many loci with highly variable effects, whereas traits under either weak or strong selection should be encoded by relatively few loci. We compare these theoretical predictions with qualitative trends in the genetics of human traits, and with systematic data on the genetics of gene expression levels in yeast. Our analysis provides an evolutionary explanation for broad empirical patterns in the genetic basis for traits, and it introduces a single framework that unifies the diversity of observed genetic architectures, ranging from Mendelian to Fisherian.
Experience overrides personality differences in the tendency to follow but not in the tendency to lead
Authors: Nakayama Shinnosuke , Stumpe Martin C. , Manica Andrea , Johnstone Rufus A.
Published: August 2013

In many animal groups, coordinated activity is facilitated by the emergence of leaders and followers. Although the identity of leaders is to some extent predictable, most groups experience frequent changes of leadership. How do group members cope with such changes in their social role? Here, we compared the foraging behaviour of pairs of stickleback fish after a period of either (i)
role reinforcement
, which involved rewarding the shyer follower for following, and the bolder leader for leading, or (ii)
role reversal,
which involved rewarding the shyer follower for leading, and the bolder leader for following. We found that, irrespective of an individual's temperament, its tendency to follow is malleable, whereas the tendency to initiate collective movement is much more resistant to change. As a consequence of this lack of flexibility in initiative, greater temperamental differences within a pair led to improved performance when typical roles were reinforced, but to impaired performance when typical roles were reversed.
Dynamics of mitochondrial inheritance in the evolution of binary mating types and two sexes
Authors: Hadjivasiliou Zena , Lane Nick , Seymour Robert M. , Pomiankowski Andrew
Published: August 2013

The uniparental inheritance (UPI) of mitochondria is thought to explain the evolution of two mating types or even true sexes with anisogametes. However, the exact role of UPI is not clearly understood. Here, we develop a new model, which considers the spread of UPI mutants within a biparental inheritance (BPI) population. Our model explicitly considers mitochondrial mutation and selection in parallel with the spread of UPI mutants and self-incompatible mating types. In line with earlier work, we find that UPI improves fitness under mitochondrial mutation accumulation, selfish conflict and mitonuclear coadaptation. However, we find that as UPI increases in the population its relative fitness advantage diminishes in a frequency-dependent manner. The fitness benefits of UPI ‘leak’ into the biparentally reproducing part of the population through successive matings, limiting the spread of UPI. Critically, while this process favours some degree of UPI, it neither leads to the establishment of linked mating types nor the collapse of multiple mating types to two. Only when two mating types exist beforehand can associated UPI mutants spread to fixation under the pressure of high mitochondrial mutation rate, large mitochondrial population size and selfish mutants. Variation in these parameters could account for the range of UPI actually observed in nature, from strict UPI in someChlamydomonasspecies to BPI in yeast. We conclude that UPI of mitochondria alone is unlikely to have driven the evolution of two mating types in unicellular eukaryotes.
The Tarenaya hassleriana Genome Provides Insight into Reproductive Trait and Genome Evolution of Crucifers
Authors: Cheng Shifeng , van den Bergh Erik , Zeng Peng , Zhong Xiao , Xu Jiajia , Liu Xin , Hofberger Johannes , de Bruijn Suzanne , Bhide Amey S. , Kuelahoglu Canan , Bian Chao , Chen Jing , Fan Guangyi , Kaufmann Kerstin , Hall Jocelyn C. , Becker Annette , Bräutigam Andrea , Weber Andreas P.M. , Shi Chengcheng , Zheng Zhijun , Li Wujiao , Lv Mingju , Tao Yimin , Wang Junyi , Zou Hongfeng , Quan Zhiwu , Hibberd Julian M. , Zhang Gengyun , Zhu Xin-Guang , Xu Xun , Schranz M. Eric
Published: August 2013

The Brassicaceae, including Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica crops, is unmatched among plants in its wealth of genomic and functional molecular data and has long served as a model for understanding gene, genome, and trait evolution. However, genome information from a phylogenetic outgroup that is essential for inferring directionality of evolutionary change has been lacking. We therefore sequenced the genome of the spider flower (Tarenaya hassleriana) from the Brassicaceae sister family, the Cleomaceae. By comparative analysis of the two lineages, we show that genome evolution following ancient polyploidy and gene duplication events affect reproductively important traits. We found an ancient genome triplication in Tarenaya (Th-α) that is independent of the Brassicaceae-specific duplication (At-α) and nested Brassica (Br-α) triplication. To showcase the potential of sister lineage genome analysis, we investigated the state of floral developmental genes and show Brassica retains twice as many floral MADS (for MINICHROMOSOME MAINTENANCE1, AGAMOUS, DEFICIENS and SERUM RESPONSE FACTOR) genes as Tarenaya that likely contribute to morphological diversity in Brassica. We also performed synteny analysis of gene families that confer self-incompatibility in Brassicaceae and found that the critical SERINE RECEPTOR KINASE receptor gene is derived from a lineage-specific tandem duplication. The T. hassleriana genome will facilitate future research toward elucidating the evolutionary history of Brassicaceae genomes.
Economic perspective on outsourcing of property management services
Authors: Lam Terence Y.M.
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the economic forces influencing the outsourcing process of property management services, and investigate how these forces should be applied in order to maximize the productive efficiency and performance quality, thus ensuring optimal use of resources.

Design/methodology/approach

Market competition and transaction monitoring were identified to be the fundamental factors. Single‐case study method was used to quantitatively examine the impact of these economic forces on the outsourcing of property management services of the Hong Kong Housing Authority.

Findings

The property services market was contestable, and through competitive tendering the level of competition had a significant negative impact on production cost and a significant positive relationship with service quality. Fee level was also found to have no significant effect on service quality. Professional maintenance services were found to be complex and associated with significant transaction costs, especially where there was a high degree of contact with tenants.

Research limitations/implications

The outsourcing strategy forms a conceptual baseline on which further research can build to test its significance in many other settings, thus resulting in a more robust economic theory for outsourcing of property management services.

Practical implications

Competitive tendering should be adopted for outsourcing to minimize production cost and maximize service quality. The overall transaction costs should be minimized by focusing the limited resources on monitoring of the complex professional maintenance services, especially the services for major planned maintenance works where there are many occupiers involved.

Originality/value

The confirmatory tests indicate that the strategic objectives of cost and quality improvement from outsourcing, as expected by the stakeholders, can be achieved. Hence the research contributes to the property management practice by developing an economic strategy which optimizes the use of resources for the benefit of corporate organizations which own a property portfolio, whilst at the same time satisfying the power and needs of the tenants and other stakeholders.
Title insurance and the “race to the bottom”
Authors: Gendron Michel , Bourdeau‐Brien Michael
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use a stylised multi‐period model to describe the economic dynamics related to title risks and the implications of title insurance in the risk management decision process. Some fear that insofar as the quality of public records is concerned, the purchase of title insurance might induce a race to the bottom that would reduce the possibility to identify and correct title defects. This phenomenon is illustrated and the impact of different title risk management strategies and conditions under which recourse to lawyers is preferable to the purchase of title insurance are examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The main source of risk is the disparity between the characteristics of a property and what is written on its title. The choice of a title risk management strategy is modeled as the probability of hiring a lawyer versus that of buying insurance. Consistent with the literature, the deterioration of public records is made a function of the risk management decisions.

Findings

Results suggest that when public records are sound, the race to the bottom can be avoided and high title values maintained by adopting a risk management strategy based on recourse to lawyers; when public records are flawed, insurance companies may be in a better position than lawyers to maintain title values; switching back and forth from insurers to lawyers does not benefit title values.

Originality/value

The originality and the value of this paper is the study of title insurance which, while an important component of title risk management process, has received limited attention in the academic literature.
Ownership structure and board structure: are corporate governance mechanisms interrelated?
Authors: Bekiris Fivos V.
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to control for the interrelationships between corporate governance mechanisms. Managerial ownership, external block holders' ownership, board independence, leadership structure and the size of the board, are perceived as the set of ownership and board characteristics embraced to interact in a system of corporate dynamics, which mitigate agency costs.

Design/methodology/approach

By using an extensive sample of Greek listed firms and by applying a simultaneous equations framework in order to control the potential endogeneity, the paper's findings indicate interdependence among these mechanisms.

Findings

More specifically, companies whose CEO is also the chairman of the board tend to have fewer outside directors and lower block holder ownership. The paper also provides evidence that independent boards are more likely to be employed by firms with higher external block holder shareholdings and whose board size is negatively correlated with managerial ownership and board independence.

Originality/value

The aim of this study is to examine the interrelationships among ownership structure and board characteristics in a small open economy, such as the Greek economy.
Exploring the factors influencing credit card spending behavior among Malaysians
Authors: Ming‐Yen Teoh Wendy , Chong Siong‐Choy , Mid Yong Shi
Published: August 2013

Purpose

This paper explores factors affecting spending behavior of credit card holders in Malaysia. Specifically, variables such as demographic factors, banks’ policies, and credit card holders’ attitudes toward money are examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross‐sectional survey through the use of a structured questionnaire was administered on 150 credit card holders based on the area sampling and convenience snowball sampling techniques.

Findings

The results indicate that age, income, and marital status have significant correlation with credit card holders’ spending behavior. The same goes to two of the three items identified under banks’ policies (benefits given and payment policies) and attitudes toward money (willingness to pay and awareness of the total debt owed). Occupation, qualifications to apply for credit card, and management of income vs expenses are not significantly related to credit card spending behavior among Malaysians.

Research limitations/implications

The study serves as a guide for researchers to extend the research work covering more variables in different economies in light of the lowR2value. The small sample size raises the issue of generalizability, which future studies should address.

Practical implications

The results could be used as a guide by emerging market economies or even developed countries where credit card usage is a widespread phenomenon. It also provides insights to the credit card issuing banks in terms of understanding their target consumers, preferences, and the effect of their policies on credit card application and use.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on credit card spending behavior, particularly among Malaysians.
The same old methodologies? Perspectives on OM research in the post‐lean age
Authors: MacCarthy Bart L. , Lewis Michael , Voss Chris , Narasimhan Ram
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The world is changing – economically, technologically, politically, and socially. As an academic discipline, operations management (OM) is, almost by definition, close to practice. Are our OM research methods fit for purpose for the new age? This paper reflects on and develops the principal themes discussed in the “OM Methodology” Special Session at the 2011 EurOMA Conference in Cambridge, UK. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The emerging landscape in which future OM research will be conducted is discussed. The paper provides a range of perspectives on the research challenges facing the discipline with respect to what the authors research and how the authors research it. The range of methods open to us and their relative merits and challenges are debated.

Findings

The traditional research divide between quantitative modelling, often normative in outlook, and the more reflective modes of qualitative enquiry, with a wide spectrum of empirical work in between, is reflected in the different academic traditions, groupings, conferences, and publications across the discipline. Research should not be driven by methodological convenience but by the needs of a changing world. Rather than a sterile “quants versus qual” debate, the paper argues that a rich diversity of approaches can provide a reinforcing cycle to generate relevant, interesting and exciting research underpinned by robust and valid theory.

Originality/value

The paper presents detailed reflections from leading researchers on contemporary and future OM research, arguing that research approaches must evolve that reflect the new realities to further enhance OM as a theoretically sound and practically relevant discipline.
Environmental protection and financial performance: an empirical analysis in Wales
Authors: de Burgos‐Jiménez Jerónimo , Vázquez‐Brust Diego , Plaza‐Úbeda José A. , Dijkshoorn Jeroen
Published: August 2013

Purpose

This paper analyses the relationship between environmental protection and mid‐term financial performance, focusing on when and why this relationship is positive. In particular, the paper disaggregates environmental protection, differentiating between environmental management practices, environmental proactivity and environmental performance of the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

It uses a cross‐section survey of 2,122 Welsh companies to gather information on environmental practices and the FAME database to collect data on accounting based financial performance. The paper uses regression analysis on a combined sample of 186 Welsh companies to evaluate the effect on performance of different types of environmental protection.

Findings

On the whole, the results show a positive effect of environmental protection on mid‐term financial performance. Financial performance has a positive and significant correlation with environmental proactivity and with environmental performance, while it has a no significant relation with environmental management.

Originality/value

The paper presents a disaggregated analysis of environmental protection in relationship with financial performance. The paper differentiates between environmental management practices, environmental proactivity and environmental performance of the organization in their relationship with financial performance.
Supply network structures in the international clothing industry: differences across retailer types
Authors: MacCarthy Bart L. , Jayarathne P.G.S.A.
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The study seeks to classify retailer‐driven clothing supply networks to provide new insights on their structure and operation and examine whether or not differences are evident in the types of networks operated by different types of retailer.

Design/methodology/approach

A large‐scale empirical investigation is conducted of 73 supply networks operating with 26 Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers, representing 39 major retailers. In‐depth interviews and survey methods are used, representing qualitative and quantitative approaches, respectively.

Findings

Six primary types of clothing supply network are identified. A strong association is shown between retailer type and network type, specifically for networks operated by established brand retailers and by value players such as supermarket retailers. The typical attributes of the supply networks of each type of retailer are compared.

Research limitations/implications

Although the empirical study is large, it is limited to supply networks with prime manufacturing partners located in Sri Lanka. The country is important in global clothing production, serving many prominent global retailers. Studying and comparing supply networks anchored in other regions will provide a valuable comparison with the findings here.

Practical implications

The study has implications for clothing retailers in analyzing, managing and developing their networks. For manufacturers, it provides insights to understand the network structures operated by different types of retailer for different classes of garment. The study also offers insights for policy makers in clothing producing regions.

Originality/value

A new empirically based classification is presented for clothing supply networks. The diversity in network types has not previously been shown. The comparison of networks of established brand retailers and value players provides empirical evidence of differences not reported previously. The findings enrich both the theoretical and empirical bases for sector‐specific supply network studies.
New service development: managing the dynamic between services and operations resources
Authors: Bonomi Santos Juliana , Spring Martin
Published: August 2013

Purpose

Previous research suggests new service development (NSD) is characterized by less stable offerings, less formal processes and is more emergent than new product development. In face of these issues, it seems managers must concern themselves more with the management of the underlying resources. To understand this distinctive nature of NSD, this study aims to investigate the relationship between NSD and operations resources.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the resource and capabilities perspective, a multiple case study was designed to investigate how the NSD is influenced by and reconfigures operations resources and capabilities. Data were collected in three providers of bespoke B2B services.

Findings

The paper proposes a model of NSD composed of three stages: emergence, accommodation and consolidation. This model describes the process that takes place when providers redeploy their operations resources and capabilities to implement emerging service ideas. The findings also show the challenges associated with the reconfiguration of operations resources and capabilities and with the reconciliation of the requirements of the existing and new services.

Research limitations/implications

The paper looked at services successfully implemented in knowledge‐intensive SMEs. Other studies could explore these NSD processes in other contexts and initiatives that failed.

Practical implications

The paper presents the risks and efforts involved in using existing resources to take advantage of emerging service ideas.

Originality/value

The model takes a fundamentally different perspective from many NSD models. It shifts the focus from managing the new service to managing the resources that underpin the evolving and emerging service ideas and offerings. This paper should interest people willing to understand the distinctive nature of NSD.
“A dozen ideas to the minute”
Authors: Scanlon Jennifer
Published: August 2013

Purpose

This article aims to explore the work lives and contributions of a group of women employed at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in the early twentieth century.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival source material from the J. Walter Thompson Company archives at Duke University includes personnel files, advertising campaign reports, and meeting minutes. The archival work is placed in historical context.

Findings

The J. Walter Thompson Women's Editorial Department played a significant role in the development of advertising and in furthering women's opportunities as advertising professionals.

Originality/value

Advertising was one of the few male‐dominated professions open to women in the early years of the twentieth century. An exploration of these women's work experiences greatly enhances our understanding of the field, of women's roles as advertisers, and of women's roles as consumers.
The use of benevolent leadership development to advance principles of responsible management education
Authors: Karakas Fahri , Sarigollu Emine , Manisaligil Alperen
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to proposes benevolent leadership development as a framework to incorporate principles of responsible management education to mainstream management curriculum, specifically within the context of leadership courses.

Design/methodology/approach

The illustrative processes, exercises, and projects in this paper come from leadership development courses offered in Turkey and in Canada.

Findings

This paper presents four anchors that support benevolent leadership development: ethical sensitivity, spiritual depth, positive engagement, and community responsiveness.

Research limitations/implications

The paper develops the framework of benevolent leadership as a means to impart the principles of responsible management.

Practical implications

The paper shares pedagogical strategies to incorporate benevolent leadership in leadership development courses through use of individual and team projects and exercises.

Originality/value

The paper shares a theoretical framework and practical insights for incorporating multiple literacies and sensitivities – namely morality, spirituality, positivity, and community – in leadership development.
Feeling responsible vs acting responsibly: contributions of a leadership programme
Authors: Karssiens Amaranta E.A. , van der Linden Claartje , Wilderom Celeste P.M.
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the effects of a unique leadership programme, four years after its delivery: in a Dutch penitentiary organisation. This intervention was initiated because of a felt lack of safety in an organisation that was characterised by steep hierarchy, forceful authority, constant employee cynicism and indifference. The focus of the intervention lies on actually assuming responsibility and producing the intended, strategically relevant results.

Design/methodology/approach

First we sketch Hoebeke's ideas on “responsibility in one's own work system” (Hoebeke, 2004). We show how these ideas are related to the leadership programme. Next we illustrate the programme's effect with quotes from three in‐depth group interviews with the penitentiary's governor, unit manager, four department heads and six employees.

Findings

The interviews show that acting responsibly has become a living concept in the sense that is now being explicitly used among employees in all layers of the organisation. Employees and managers have learned to translate responsibility into concrete and relevant results. A new strategy for the continuity of the organisation has been co‐created with all management levels and the Workers Council and it has been implemented successfully. The intervention also defeated the cynicism and lack of integrity in the organisation.

Originality/value

This case shows that being trained in the ability “to be present with reality” and actually assuming responsibility for the relationship between one's own “way of being” and the results one produces had a lasting, positive impact on an organisation and its people.
An exploratory study of UK based, family‐owned, Asian firms' motives for internationalising
Authors: Crick Dave , Chaudhry Shiv
Published: August 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate UK based, family‐owned, Asian firms' motives for internationalising.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on eight interviews with the key decision‐makers in UK based, Asian, family‐owned firms.

Findings

Differences were found between two groups of firms: first, “internationally oriented Asian entrepreneurs” were those whose manufacturing operations were based in the UK but whose businesses were involved in overseas sales; second, “transnational entrepreneurs” were those who operated in two socially embedded environments and leveraged their family's resources in their country of origin in order to serve overseas markets.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is that it offers socio‐cultural insights into issues that motivated these firms to internationalise and especially those that outsourced operations to the Indian sub‐continent.
SME perceptions of and responses to the recession
Authors: Price Liz , Rae David , Cini Veronica
Published: August 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to explore perceptions of the recession and recovery by SMEs in Lincolnshire and Rutland. The paper seeks to examine the relationship between businesses' perceptions of the economy and their growth ambitions.

Design/methodology/approach

The results were generated from a bi‐monthly online survey of SMEs. The survey includes two years of data from July 2010 to May 2012, spanning periods of recovery and recession. The survey comprises a number of Likert‐scale questions which have been tracked throughout the period.

Findings

The findings suggest a separation of how businesses perceive wider economic conditions, and their role and performance within the economy. Views on trading conditions and public sector cuts are identified as a more important determinant of business behaviour than views on the economy overall.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on research undertaken with SMEs in a specific geographical area of England and, as such, there is limited scope for generalisation beyond this area. Further research could compare the responses of SMEs in this predominantly rural area with metropolitan areas, for example.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the importance of revenue sourced from the public sector for SMEs in peripheral areas. Policy implications include the need to support SMEs in identifying alternative sources of revenue and/or new business models in the face of reducing public sector expenditure.

Originality/value

The paper presents an innovative approach for analysing SME perceptions, the findings of which have informed a business support programme run by the University of Lincoln, and used as a benchmarking tool by participating SMEs.
Entrepreneurship, occupational division and social capital differentials
Authors: Lee Robert , Tuselmann Heinz
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how occupational division impacts on social capital and access to resources that may have a bearing on the growth potential and success of a new venture.

Design/methodology/approach

This study compares the social capital profiles of early‐stage entrepreneurs in England with distinct occupational classifications – i.e. entrepreneurs who were completing training on the Science and Enterprise Challenge (SEC) initiative and pursuing professional and higher technician businesses, and entrepreneurs who were completing training on the New Entrepreneurship Scholarship (NES) initiative and who were residing in deprived areas, unemployed or underemployed and pursuing non‐professional businesses. The European Socio‐economic Classification (ESeC) was adopted to classify occupation. The entrepreneurs completed aided name generator questionnaires and in‐depth interviews.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that professional and higher technician entrepreneurs have higher levels of bridging and diverse resources when compared to non‐professional entrepreneurs residing in deprived areas. The non‐professional entrepreneurs also seem over‐reliant on too much bonding.

Practical implications

Policy makers strive to understand who has the most productive social capital when launching a business and who does not. The findings may help provide an initial awareness that across the board entrepreneurial policies are inappropriate, as the building of social capital seems contextual.

Originality/value

The high bridging social capital of professional and higher technician entrepreneurs could enable “getting ahead” and could be entrepreneurial/innovative “facilitating social capital”. The non‐professional entrepreneurs residing in deprived areas' over‐reliance on bonding social capital could be a liability and entrepreneurial/innovative “inhibiting social capital”.
SMEs export consortia and the development of intangible resources
Authors: Antoldi Fabio , Cerrato Daniele , Depperu Donatella
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of export consortia in developing countries as a means to develop intangible resources that enhance SMEs' competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a framework for the analysis of the processes through which intangible resources are developed within export consortia. The methodology employed involves in‐depth case studies of nine export consortia supported by UNIDO in Morocco, Peru, Tunisia, and Uruguay, during the period 2004‐2007.

Findings

The participation in export consortia is very important not only to develop intangible resources that increase competitiveness abroad, but also for becoming more competitive at domestic level. This is particularly relevant for SMEs from developing countries.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on nine case studies of export consortia in developing countries. All these consortia are rather young and developed with the support of UNIDO. Future studies should explore the issues addressed in the paper through the analysis of consortia of different size and age as well as different countries.

Practical implications

The findings and the framework proposed can be used by SMEs, consultants and agencies that support export consortia in the formulation of the consortium strategy and by policy‐makers to identify conditions for successful cooperation among SMEs.

Originality/value

The research is among the few that analyze export consortia and the first to offer a conceptual framework and empirical evidence linking intangible resources, export consortia, SMEs and developing countries.