bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A synthesis of the theories and concepts of early human evolution
Authors: Maslin Mark A. , Shultz Susanne , Trauth Martin H.
Published: January 2015

Current evidence suggests that many of the major events in hominin evolution occurred in East Africa. Hence, over the past two decades, there has been intensive work undertaken to understand African palaeoclimate and tectonics in order to put together a coherent picture of how the environment of Africa has varied over the past 10 Myr. A new consensus is emerging that suggests the unusual geology and climate of East Africa created a complex, environmentally very variable setting. This new understanding of East African climate has led to the
pulsed climate variability hypothesis
that suggests the long-term drying trend in East Africa was punctuated by episodes of short alternating periods of extreme humidity and aridity which may have driven hominin speciation, encephalization and dispersals out of Africa. This hypothesis is unique as it provides a conceptual framework within which other evolutionary theories can be examined: first, at macro-scale comparing
phylogenetic gradualism
and
punctuated equilibrium
; second, at a more focused level of human evolution comparing
allopatric speciation
,
aridity hypothesis
,
turnover pulse hypothesis
,
variability selection hypothesis
,
Red Queen hypothesis
and
sympatric speciation
based on sexual selection. It is proposed that each one of these mechanisms may have been acting on hominins during these short periods of climate variability, which then produce a range of different traits that led to the emergence of new species. In the case of
Homo erectus
(
sensu lato
), it is not just brain size that changes but life history (shortened inter-birth intervals, delayed development), body size and dimorphism, shoulder morphology to allow thrown projectiles, adaptation to long-distance running, ecological flexibility and social behaviour. The future of evolutionary research should be to create evidence-based meta-narratives, which encompass multiple mechanisms that select for different traits leading ultimately to speciation.
Genetic recapitulation of human pre-eclampsia risk during convergent evolution of reduced placental invasiveness in eutherian mammals
Authors: Elliot Michael G. , Crespi Bernard J.
Published: January 2015

The relationship between phenotypic variation arising through individual development and phenotypic variation arising through diversification of species has long been a central question in evolutionary biology. Among humans, reduced placental invasion into endometrial tissues is associated with diseases of pregnancy, especially pre-eclampsia, and reduced placental invasiveness has also evolved, convergently, in at least 10 lineages of eutherian mammals. We tested the hypothesis that a common genetic basis underlies both reduced placental invasion arising through a developmental process in human placental disease and reduced placental invasion found as a derived trait in the diversification of Euarchontoglires (rodents, lagomorphs, tree shrews, colugos and primates). Based on whole-genome analyses across 18 taxa, we identified 1254 genes as having evolved adaptively across all three lineages exhibiting independent evolutionary transitions towards reduced placental invasion. These genes showed strong evidence of enrichment for associations with pre-eclampsia, based on genetic-association studies, gene-expression analyses and gene ontology. We further usedin silicoprediction to identify a subset of 199 genes that are likely targets of natural selection during transitions in placental invasiveness and which are predicted to also underlie human placental disorders. Our results indicate that abnormal ontogenies can recapitulate major phylogenetic shifts in mammalian evolution, identify new candidate genes for involvement in pre-eclampsia, imply that study of species with less-invasive placentation will provide useful insights into the regulation of placental invasion and pre-eclampsia, and recommend a novel comparative functional-evolutionary approach to the study of genetically based human disease and mammalian diversification.
The role of invasive trophoblast in implantation and placentation of primates
Authors: Carter Anthony M. , Enders Allen C. , Pijnenborg Robert
Published: January 2015

We here review the evolution of invasive placentation in primates towards the deep penetration of the endometrium and its arteries in hominoids. The strepsirrhine primates (lemurs and lorises) have non-invasive, epitheliochorial placentation, although this is thought to be derived from a more invasive type. In haplorhine primates, there is differentiation of trophoblast at the blastocyst stage into syncytial and cellular trophoblast. Implantation involves syncytiotrophoblast that first removes the uterine epithelium then consolidates at the basal lamina before continuing into the stroma. In later stages of pregnancy, especially in Old World monkeys and apes, cytotrophoblast plays a greater role in the invasive process. Columns of trophoblast cells advance to the base of the implantation site where they spread out to form a cytotrophoblastic shell. In addition, cytotrophoblasts advance into the lumen of the spiral arteries. They are responsible for remodelling these vessels to form wide, low-resistance conduits. In human and great apes, there is additional invasion of the endometrium and its vessels by trophoblasts originating from the base of the anchoring villi. Deep trophoblast invasion that extends remodelling of the spiral arteries to segments in the inner myometrium evolved in the common ancestor of gorilla, chimp and human.
Privacy-preserving search for chemical compound databases
Authors: Shimizu Kana , Nuida Koji , Arai Hiromi , Mitsunari Shigeo , Attrapadung Nuttapong , Hamada Michiaki , Tsuda Koji , Hirokawa Takatsugu , Sakuma Jun , Hanaoka Goichiro , Asai Kiyoshi
Published: January 2015

Background

Searching for similar compounds in a database is the most important process for in-silico drug screening. Since a query compound is an important starting point for the new drug, a query holder, who is afraid of the query being monitored by the database server, usually downloads all the records in the database and uses them in a closed network. However, a serious dilemma arises when the database holder also wants to output no information except for the search results, and such a dilemma prevents the use of many important data resources.

Results

In order to overcome this dilemma, we developed a novel cryptographic protocol that enables database searching while keeping both the query holder’s privacy and database holder’s privacy. Generally, the application of cryptographic techniques to practical problems is difficult because versatile techniques are computationally expensive while computationally inexpensive techniques can perform only trivial computation tasks. In this study, our protocol is successfully built only from an additive-homomorphic cryptosystem, which allows only addition performed on encrypted values but is computationally efficient compared with versatile techniques such as general purpose multi-party computation. In an experiment searching ChEMBL, which consists of more than 1,200,000 compounds, the proposed method was 36,900 times faster in CPU time and 12,000 times as efficient in communication size compared with general purpose multi-party computation.

Conclusion

We proposed a novel privacy-preserving protocol for searching chemical compound databases. The proposed method, easily scaling for large-scale databases, may help to accelerate drug discovery research by making full use of unused but valuable data that includes sensitive information.
Managers’ views of the effects on their service of hosting a cognitive-behavioural anger management group
Authors: Rose Nicola , Rose John , Stenfert Kroese Biza , Stimpson Aimee , MacMahon Pamela , Jahoda Andrew , Townson Julia , Felce David , Hood Kerenza , Willner Paul
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how service managers perceive their service prior to, and following the delivery of a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) anger management group for individuals with an intellectual disability.

Design/methodology/approach

– Telephone interviews were conducted with seven service managers, before and after a CBT group intervention. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to identify common and/or contrasting themes.

Findings

– Before the intervention took place managers observed a lack of consistency in how their staff dealt with challenging incidents and the serious consequences these incidents had for service users as well as staff. They spoke about the importance of multi-disciplinary working and good quality staff selection, support and training. After the group intervention managers commented on a positive “spilling-out effect” whereby the whole organisation was influenced by the intervention, a greater willingness on the part of service users to talk about their problems, and an increased confidence in the staff members who had co-facilitated the group work.

Research limitations/implications

– The implications of the themes raised are discussed and recommendations for further research are suggested.

Originality/value

– This research provides a unique contribution of managers’ views and insight into how hosting a CBT group intervention impacted on their wider services.
How can mental health clinicians, working in intellectual disability services, meet the spiritual needs of their service users?
Authors: Loynes Benjamin , O'Hara Jean
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify approaches that mental health clinicians, working in intellectual disability services, can adopt to ensure the spiritual needs of their service users are met.

Design/methodology/approach

– A narrative literature review examining original research, expert opinion pieces and book chapters was undertaken. To broaden the perspective of the paper, publications from different academic areas were reviewed including intellectual disabilities, mental health, neurodevelopmental disorders, general health and spirituality literature.

Findings

– The main principles of spiritual assessment tools from the general health literature can be applied to this group. However, the literature would suggest that certain approaches are of particular importance in intellectual disabilities mental health including advocating for service users to attend the religious services they wish to and working collaboratively with families and carers when addressing spiritual issues.

Research limitations/implications

– The question of how to meet the spiritual needs of people with autism and severe intellectual disability is a neglected research area. Research examining the spiritual needs of service users with intellectual disabilities, on mental health inpatient units, is also needed as well as a review of whether spiritual needs are being met in current person-centred care plans.

Originality/value

– No published literature review was identified that specifically addressed the question of how mental health clinicians should approach the spiritual needs of their service users.
The might of the brand
Authors: Beneke Justin , Trappler Emma
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– This study examined the influence of supermarket brand name on the perceived quality of its private label merchandise. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the fascia brand of a retail chain has the power to positively or negatively skew prevailing opinions concerning the quality of its own merchandise range, beyond the set of product-specific intrinsic benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

– A within-subject two-phase research design was adopted, intially using an experimental approach and thereafter modeling the cognitive effect with the inclusion of a moderator variable (brand interaction). Paired sample t-tests were used to assess differences in mean ratings and partial least squares analysis was implemented in order to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

– In the experiment phase, both products were rated equally at the outset in unsighted conditions, however, ratings diverged when brand name was introduced. Here, the high-end private label brand was scored considerably better than in its unsighted condition, while the low-end brand suffered a marginal decline in rating. In the modeling phase, two iterations of the conceptual model were run, considering the high-end and low-end brands seperately. The results were mutually reinforcing. A strong relationship, significant at the one percent level, was found to exist between brand name and perceived quality for both the lower- and higher-end brands, whereas no moderation effect was found to exist. This suggests that entrenched views of the brand strongly determine the perceived quality thereof, with operational and day-to-day fluctuations having little bearing on this.

Research limitations/implications

– This study focusses solely on South Africa, an emerging market within the BRICS consortium. To this end, the results are not transferable to other markets. The context of the study pitted a top tier retail brand against a mid tier retail brand. In accordance with this eventuality, lower income consumers, and retail chains catering to this market segment, do not constitute components of this particular study.

Originality/value

– While the relationship between store image and perceived quality of private label merchandise is well documented, this study considers the effect through an experimental design. Here, perceived quality was measured both with and without brand cues evident. Thus, the results are likely to be more accurate than those acquired through strictly survey research. As a defining feature, the study points to the brand name as being a supremely powerful extrinsic cue, and hinting at the fact that it is long term influences that create a distinct brand aura, with these being largely undisturbed by short term fluctuations.
Reducing food waste: an investigation on the behaviour of Italian youths
Authors: Principato Ludovica , Secondi Luca , Pratesi Carlo Alberto
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the knowledge of youths concerning food waste as well as to identify factors that influence changes in behaviour concerning food wasted and planning shopping for preventing it.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data used were collected from a sample of 233 students at Roma-Tre University in Italy. Probit models were specified to identify factors affecting food waste reduction in both pre-shopping and consumption phases.

Findings

– Results show that the more aware youths are concerning food waste, the more likely they are to reduce leftovers. In contrast, the concern about food freshness increases waste. A greater awareness of the consequences of food wasted increases the likelihood that youths will make a shopping list.

Research limitations/implications

– The main limitation of the study can be found in the non-probabilistic sampling design used for the collection of data.

Practical implications

– This study provides information for both social marketers and policy makers. New educational campaigns against food waste should be carried out by providing them with a realistic perception of food waste as well as by teaching young consumers how to recognize the level of freshness of food.

Originality/value

– This study provides a first insight of the factors that influence food waste reduction as well as the habit of making a shopping list from an individual perspective.
The education treatment effect on the non-farm income of Chinese western rural labors
Authors: Luan Jiang , Chen Jian-cheng , He Zhong-wei , Li Qiang , Qiu Huanguang
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– Education plays an important role in improving Chinese rural laborers’ non-farm incomes. However, in Chinese western rural area, the level of return to education is very low due to the underdeveloped economy and the condition of the education system. For improving the schooling returns level, Chinese central government is paying great attention to the condition of education in the rural western area. To date, no research has examined what educational style is more favorable for improving western rural laborers’ non-farm incomes. To answer this question, the purpose of this paper is to compare the treatment effect of high school education and secondary vocational education on their non-farm incomes. That will provide significant evidence for the government to carry out educational policy.

Design/methodology/approach

– Base on the Mincer model, several methods is used to estimate the average return to a year education on western rural labors’ non-farm income, including OLS, IV and Heckman tow-steps method, to accounting for the ability endogenous and self-selection bias. And the propensity score matching method is used in estimate the treatment effects of high school education and secondary vocational education.

Findings

– The results from Mincer model showed that the schooling returns in Chinese western rural area were estimated to range from 2.7 to 3.9 percent, that were lower than the average levels in Chinese whole rural area that are estimated in the other recent studies. By using propensity score matching to roll out the heterogeneous bias, show that the treatment effect from high school education was higher than that from secondary vocational education, indicating that the secondary vocational education is better.

Originality/value

– Studies concerning the causal relationship between schooling (high school education and secondary vocational education) and non-farm earnings in the western region of China remain very limited, even empty. This paper will make an update contribution to the literature in the area of education earnings in China.
Examining the impact of negative, user-generated content on stakeholders
Authors: Haigh Michel M , Wigley Shelley
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to (n=472) examine how negative, user-generated content on Facebook impacts stakeholders’ perceptions of the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– At Phase 1, stakeholders’ perceptions about the organization – public relationship, corporate social responsibility, attitude toward the organization, and reputation of the organization were assessed. A week later, at Phase 2, participants were exposed to negative Facebook comments. This study employed the theory of inoculation as a way to bolster stakeholders’ attitudes to protect against attitude shift following exposure to negative, user-generated comments.

Findings

– Paired sample t-tests indicate stakeholders’ perceptions of the organization – public relationship and corporate social responsibility significantly decrease after stakeholders read negative, user-generated content. The pattern of means supports the idea inoculation can prevent against attitude shift.

Practical implications

– Strategic communication professionals should be aware of the impact negative posts can have and develop a strategy to respond to negative comments on Facebook.

Originality/value

– There is limited experimental research examining the impact of negative Facebook posts on stakeholders. It extends current literature and provides practitioners with some guidance on the impact of negative, user-generated content.
Financial communication in initial public offerings
Authors: Tong Suk-Chong
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of financial communication to investigate the process of communicating risk signals between listed companies and their individual retail investors in initial public offerings (IPOs).

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey study on individual IPO investors (n=212) in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was conducted to examine how risk estimates of individual retail investors were affected by three factors of financial communication, namely organizational trust, organizational reputation and investors’ trust in the media specialists. Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted.

Findings

– Respondents’ perceived risks of below-target returns and perceived risks of losses of principals were significantly affected by their perceived market risks. Respondents relied significantly on organizational trust to estimate their amounts of target returns and mitigate their perceived risks of losses of principals. Organizational reputation, which could be possibly reinforced by respondents’ trust in the media specialists, could enhance organizational trust.

Practical implications

– Corporate communications practitioners should pay attention to the effect of perceived market risk on risk estimate. As organizational trust is a significant precondition of risk taking in IPOs, practitioners should rethink the effectiveness of financial communication in which organizational trust, organizational reputation and investors’ trust in the media specialists are interrelated.

Originality/value

– There is a lack of research in financial communication from the organization-stakeholders perspective. This paper conceptualizes financial communication and provides insights to both scholars and practitioners in corporate communications on how significant factors of financial communication affect risk estimate in the financial market.
Addressing the complexities of managing domestic and multinational corporate brands
Authors: Khojastehpour Morteza , Ferdous Ahmed Shahriar , Polonsky Michael
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on the differences between managing domestic corporate brands (DCBs) and multinational corporate brands (MCBs), and presents a framework highlighting six types of complexity associated with managing both forms of corporate brands in an international business context.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper proposes a framework addressing six types of complexity involved in managing DCBs and MCBs drawing on the literature related to corporate branding, corporate brands, and domestic and multinational corporations. The six types of complexity examined include: strategic role, organisational structure, culture, knowledge, positioning and extended responsibility.

Findings

– The research identifies that DCBs have a lower degree of complexity in regard to strategic role, knowledge and positioning, but have a higher level in regard to organisational structure, cultural and extended responsibility complexity. MCBs face more complexity than DCBs across all dimensions because they operate across business environments and need to coordinate activities while adapting to environmental differences.

Practical implications

– The findings highlight the importance of environmental complexity for firms managing brands globally. The issues of complexity identified in this paper need to be understood if firms are to effectively build and manage their corporate brands within and across markets.

Originality/value

– The paper highlights the concepts of DCBs and MCBs, and identifies the factors that contribute to the complexity of managing these two types of corporate brands domestically and internationally.
Corporate identity, corporate identity scholarship and Wally Olins (1930-2014)
Authors: Balmer John M.T.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The role of Wally Olins (1930-2014)vis-à-viscorporate identity scholarship is appraised. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

– A review of Wally Olins published output on corporate identity. Specific focus is accorded to his two seminal publications (books):The Corporate Personality: An Inquiry into the Nature of Corporate Identity(1978) andCorporate Identity: Making Business Strategy Visible through Design(1989).

Findings

– Olins’ contribution to corporate identity scholarship is fivefold, namely: inspired and greatly influenced the first generation of corporate communications and corporate marketing academics; provided binary definitions of corporate identity; noted the importance of theCorporate Personality vis-à-visthe corporate identity; introduced the heroic and technocratic identity notions; and identified three, core, corporate identity structures (monolithic identity, endorsed identity and branded identity). In terms of his entire opus three distinct eras can be discerned, namely: 1978-1979: the identity exposition era; 1985-1999: the identity reiteration era; and 2000-2014 brand adherent era.

Practical implications

– Olins was also part of the English corporate marketing revolution where the importance of organisations (other than products and services) were recognised. His reflections and those of others inspired Balmer (1998) to formally introduced the corporate marketing perspective where the focus of marketing focuses on organisations, stakeholders, societal concerns and the temporal dimension.

Originality/value

– This is the first assessment of Olins’ influence on corporate identity scholarship. It critically appraises the nature of his contribution in his three writing periodsvis-a-viscorporate identity scholarship and identifies five, significant, contributions he has made to the corporate identity canon.
A critical review of relationship between corporate governance and firm performance: GCC banking sector perspective
Authors: Dalwai Tamanna Abdul Rahman , Basiruddin Rohaida , Abdul Rasid Siti Zaleha
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing studies on the relationship of corporate governance with firm performance in different regions and address the need for similar analysis for the Gulf Coperation Council (GCC) sector. The banking sector comprises the conventional and Islamic banks in the GCC sector and is important due to their ability to bring stability to this region. Existing studies that measure the relationship of GCC sector conventional banks and firm performance are limited. This study proposes a need for future research on corporate governance in the GCC region.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper will review and analyze the different empirical and theoretical contributions in establishing the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance.

Findings

– This paper will create a focus for future research of measuring the impact of corporate governance mechanism on firm performance. The regulators will be encouraged to focus on more research studies for the GCC sector development in the field of corporate governance of the banking sector.

Research limitations/implications

– The existing studies are valid and practicable for the region under study, and the results need not be applicable for other business environments. In addition, the evolving business and economic environment have always brought about inconsistent conclusions; thus, the period of study can always give varied results.

Practical implications

– The analysis undertaken in this paper will address the literature gaps for the GCC banking sector and play an instrumental role for future studies by theoreticians and regulators.

Originality/value

– This paper identifies the literature gaps for the GCC region and analyses the most applicable existing studies that can be useful for the banking sector corporate governance improvement. This paper will create opportunities for the future researchers.
“Most of them are junk food but we did put fruit on there and we have water”
Authors: Waddingham Suzanne , Stevens Stella , Macintyre Kate , Shaw Kelly
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The Australian Dietary Guidelines support good health and disease prevention. Children with healthy eating habits established early in life have been shown to continue these habits into adulthood compared with those children who have poor eating habits in their younger years. The nutritional intake of many Australian children is not in accordance with the national guidelines. The reasons children make the food choices they do are unclear from the literature. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used participatory action research methods to explore why primary school-aged children make the food choices that they do. A non-government primary school requested assistance in encouraging their children to make healthier choices from the school canteen menu. The authors gathered opinions from the children in two different ways; a group discussion during class and a “discovery day” that involved four class grades. The authors identified children’s food preferences and food availability in canteens. The authors explored how the children perceived healthy foods, the importance of a healthy food environment and what criteria children use to decide what foods to buy.

Findings

– Children’s food preferences were mostly for unhealthy foods, and these were readily available in the canteen. The perception about what foods were healthy was limited. Despite being asked to develop a “healthy” menu, the majority of choices made by the children were not healthy. Children described unhealthy choices as preferable because of taste of the food, if it was sugary, if it was quick to eat, available and cheap, the relationship of food and weather, the connection to health conditions and peer dominance.

Practical implications

– This study suggests that children make their food choices based on simple concepts. The challenge lies around producing healthy options in collaboration with the school community that match the children’s food choice criteria.

Originality/value

– This paper provides a modern and inspiring whole school approach based on equity and empowerment of the children. Discovering why children make food choices from the children’s perspective will help to present healthy options that will be more appealing for children. The methodology used to uncover why children make their food choices has also provided valuable insight into a study design that could be used to address other childhood research questions. The methodology offers an educative experience while gathering rich information directly from the children. This information can be used by the school to support children to have more control over their health and to develop behaviours to increase their health for the rest of their lives.
Interventions to increase free school meal take-up
Authors: Woodward Jenny , Sahota Pinki , Pike Jo , Molinari Rosie
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to design and implement interventions to increase free school meal (FSM) uptake in pilot schools. This paper describes the interventions, reports on acceptability (as perceived by school working parties) and explores the process of implementing change.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research consisted of two phases, an exploratory phase followed by an intervention phase. Findings from the latter are presented. Ten pilot schools (five primary and five secondary) in Leeds, England were recruited. Each established a working party, examined current claiming processes and implemented individualised action plans. This paper draws on the final action plans and interviews/focus groups with working parties.

Findings

– Interventions to improve FSM claiming process, minimise discrimination and maximise awareness were designed. The majority were implemented successfully, the exception being amending anti-bullying policies. Creative ways of delivering interventions were demonstrated. The process of change was effective, critical factors being having individualised action plans that allowed flexibility in implementation, reflecting on current claiming processes, and setting up working parties.

Practical implications

– Ways of working with schools to increase FSM uptake and more generally improve nutritional policies are suggested. Amending claiming systems in schools is recommended as is greater pupil and parent involvement in nutrition policies.

Originality/value

– An estimated 300,000 UK children do not take FSMs they are entitled to – with many schools unaware of the issue. This study worked with schools to discover how to address this issue and evaluated the perceived acceptability and feasibility of the approach.
Fatigue life assessment of welded structures based on fracture mechanics
Authors: Krasovskyy A. , Virta A.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– Even though modern welding technology has improved, initial defects on weld notches cannot be avoided. Assuming the existence of crack-like flaws after the welding process, the stage of a fatigue crack nucleation becomes insignificant and the threshold for the initial crack propagation can be used as a criterion for very high cycle fatigue whereas crack growth analysis can be applied for the lifetime estimation at lower number of cycles. The purpose of this paper is to present a mechanism based approach for lifetime estimation of welded joints, subjected to a multiaxial non-proportional loading.

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed method, which is based on the welding process simulation, thermophysical material modeling and fracture mechanics, considers the most important aspects for fatigue of welds. Applying worst-case assumptions, fatigue limits derived by the weight function method can be then used for the fatigue assessment of complex welded structures.

Findings

– An accurate mechanism based method for the fatigue life assessment of welded joints has been presented and validated.

Originality/value

– Compared to the fatigue limits provided by design codes, the proposed method offers more accurate lifetime estimation, a better understanding of interactions between welding process and fatigue behavior. It gives more possibilities to optimize the welding process specifically for the considered material, weld type and loading in order to achieve the full cost and weight optimization potential for industrial applications.
Numerical study of fractured sandwich beams with homogenous or FGM faces under three point bending
Authors: Vartholomaios Simonidis D. , Theotokoglou Efstathios E.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– In this study composite and sandwich beams with homogeneous core and homogeneous or Functional Graded Materials (FGM) faces under three point bending have been confronted. The purpose of this paper is to study numerically sandwich beams with homogeneous core and homogeneous or FGM faces under three point bending and to compare the results for the stress and displacement fields with those resulted of coating – substrate and homogeneous beams. Considering a crack in the lower face sheet to study the influence of the material gradation on the stress intensity factors.

Design/methodology/approach

– At first a static finite element analysis is performed throughout the composite and sandwich beams, which is taking into account the graded character or not of the faces. For this reason five plane models are considered in order to have a comparable study for the stress and displacement fields of composite beams, which are subjected to three point bending. Second a crack in the lower face is considered parallel to the axis of gradation. When subjected to three point bending, this crack will propagate slowly perpendicular to the lower face.

Findings

– Computed distributions of the stress fields across the core material and near the interfaces are given for different materials gradation of the faces; and possible crack-initiation positions have been identified. Stress intensity factors are calculated using finite element method, and assuming linear fracture mechanics and plane strain conditions.

Originality/value

– The originality of the proposed analysis is to investigate for the first time numerically the influence of the FGMs or homogeneous faces in the core material of sandwich beams under three point bending relative to the coating – substrate and to the homogeneous beams. Second to study the influence of a crack in the lower graded face sheet on the overall behavior of the composite beam and to investigate the influence of the material gradation on the values of stress intensity factors.
Impact of plasticity generated by Rayleigh waves on the residual stress behavior of structural components subjected to laser peening
Authors: Vasu Anoop , Grandhi Ramana V.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The impact of laser peening on curved geometries is not fully comprehended. The purpose of this paper is to explain the action of laser peening on curved components (concave and convex shapes for cylindrical and spherical geometries) by means of shock wave mechanics.

Design/methodology/approach

– An analytical formulation is derived based on the plasticity incurred inside the material and the results are compared with the prediction by numerical simulation.

Findings

– A near-linear relationship is observed between curvature and compressive residual stress; an increasing trend was observed for concave models and a decreasing trend was observed for convex models. The consistency in the analytical formulation with the simulation model indicates the behavior of laser peening for curved geometries.

Originality/value

– The differences observed in the residual stresses for spherical and cylindrical geometries are primarily due to the effect of Rayleigh waves. This paper illustrates the importance of understanding the physics behind laser peening of curved geometries.
Predicting mobile social network acceptance based on mobile value and social influence
Authors: Lin Kuan-Yu , Lu Hsi-Peng
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– Building upon studies of value theory and social psychology literature, the purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model that incorporates antecedents of value (mobile convenience, service compatibility, security risk, and cognitive effort) and mobile value (utilitarian and hedonic value), and social influence (social norms and number of peers) to examine factors affecting user intention toward mobile social networking sites (SNSs).

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 318 users on their perceptions of mobile SNSs. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationships of the research model.

Findings

– The results revealed that mobile convenience, service compatibility, security risk, and cognitive effort have a significant and indirect impact on the user acceptance of mobile SNSs through their respective paths on hedonic value and utility value.

Practical implications

– Mobile SNSs practitioners should focus on enhancing users’ mobile value through perceived benefits, lower perceived costs, and simultaneously developing social influence to further boost users’ intention to use for mobile social networking services.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’ intention to use the mobile SNSs.
The distinct roles of dedication-based and constraint-based mechanisms in social networking sites
Authors: Kim Byoungsoo , Min Jinyoung
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of dedication- and constraint-based mechanisms on users’ post-adoption behavior in the social networking site (SNS) context.

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed framework uses user satisfaction and trust belief to capture the dedication-based mechanism and perceived switching costs and social norms to capture the constraint-based mechanism. Hypotheses were tested by applying partial least squares to data from 250 experienced Facebook users. A structural equation modeling was used to test the validity of the proposed research models.

Findings

– The analysis results show that SNS users’ continuance intention is jointly affected by two distinctive mechanisms: a dedication-based one and a constraint-based one, the former playing a more critical role. The findings indicate that both perceived relative benefits and perceived enjoyment significantly influence user satisfaction. Learning and network size were found to be the key predictors of perceived switching costs.

Research limitations/implications

– This study applies the dedication- and constraint-based models by incorporating numerous sets of antecedents. The framework provides a theoretical lens of how two distinctive mechanisms influence SNS users’ post-adoption behaviors.

Practical implications

– The analysis results provide several insights that can aid SNS providers understand SNS users post-adoption behaviors. Moreover, the findings will help SNS providers effectively facilitate dedication- and constraint-based mechanisms by enhancing the key antecedents of two distinctive mechanisms.

Originality/value

– SNSs have become an important component of individuals lives. However, few systematic works investigate the fundamental mechanisms leading to SNS users’ continued usage. In an attempt to extend the horizons of SNS research, this study incorporates a set of antecedents to dedication- and constraint-based models.
Regulatory framework and deposit – investment guarantee fund in Greece
Authors: REPOUSIS SPYRIDON
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the current regulatory framework of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund, trying to show solutions for strengthening it.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper aims to investigate the deposit and investment guarantee fund in Greece by identifying new problems and developing solutions.

Findings

– The main finding is that the deposit and investment guarantee fund contributes to the stability of the Greek banking sector and also offers practical solutions to strengthen it. Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund has an important feature, which is the speed of a decision about a bank failure resolution (in five working days), but needs immediately strengthening and increasing its funds to cope with the resolution of non-viable banks and undertaking for costs. There should be an appropriate ratio between the size of total assets (especially cash and cash equivalents) of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund and the amount of total guaranteed deposits, which is now below 2 per cent. Regulatory framework needs revising and fees must be increased if its funds fall below a certain level of coverage of guaranteed deposits. Also, a guarantee premium, not only a flat rate premium, should be implemented for all banks. An additional risk-adjusted premium varying according to Greek banks’ risks of their portfolios would be better to increase funds of deposit guarantee fund and reduce moral hazard of bank manager by increasing costs. They must ensure an adequate diversification of re-deposits of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund funds and must limit and avoid a conflict of interest of its board membership for individuals who are actively involved in Greek commercial banks by implementing framework and rules about it. Also, as a consequence of obeying the regulatory framework, it is necessary to include as board members of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund only those banks that are subject to strong prudential supervision and regulation.

Practical implications

– As a result of research, changes are necessary to immediately be made to cope with current financial crises and problems of Greek banking sector.

Originality/value

– The originality of this paper is that it is the first description of the Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund and its results are important for economists, politicians and international community, who evaluate the regulatory framework of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund, especially at the current time when the Greek economy and the Greek banking sector are in a very weak fiscal position.
Effective regulatory regimes: a comparative analysis of GCC financial regulators
Authors: Ramady Mohamed Aly
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the global financial crisis on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bank regulation and the impact on the region and the policies adopted by the regulators to avoid financial panic and contagion.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author examines GCC countries’ financial soundness indicators in terms of capital adequacy, non-performing loans and provisioning rates, including central bank liquidity support, deposit guarantees, capital injections and monetary easing and policies to mitigate risk assessment, and the monitoring and elimination of practices promoting excessive risk. GCC compliance regimes through multinational organizations and the exposure of the region to cross-border financial linkages to test for financial soundness are assessed.

Findings

– Overall, results indicate that comprehensive regulatory oversight exists in the GCC in conformity with international standards, and Basel capital adequacy requirements, and that the GCC regulators have acted prudently to establish high coverage in all measures but that gaps exit concerning cross-border surveillance and a need for imposition of capital surcharges on banks deemed high systemic risk. The supervision of Islamic financial institutions and a lack of inter-GCC liquidity support mechanism for this segment are highlighted.

Practical implications

– The paper shows that the GCC regulators need to address cross-border surveillance, as local banks branch internationally and foreign banks operate in the region.

Originality/value

– The author is not aware of any similar work that compares the regulatory policies of the GCC.
How fund managers in Malaysia make decisions
Authors: Glanville bin Mohamad Samsukri Glanville bin Mohamad , Perry Chad
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how fund managers in a non-Western country like Malaysia follow investment processes developed in the West and taught in the finance departments of universities.

Design/methodology/approach

– This convergent interview research investigates how fund managers in Malaysia actually make their decisions, and develops a framework about their investment process.

Findings

– Understanding the economy was important for the managers but was an ongoing learning process. Their analyses sometimes started bottom-up or top-down, but all followed a four-layer process. The managers did not believe the investment process could be quantified.

Research limitations/implications

– Convergent interviewing is meant to be a first step in a complete research program. So, future researchers could consider extending the research to different periods, different research settings in other countries like Singapore, India or Indonesia, different types of investors and different methodologies like surveys.

Practical implications

– Practitioners should build on their experience, and understand principles of behavioral finance. Students in business schools should be taught in an experiential way, and school staff should use qualitative methods like convergent interviewing in their research projects.

Originality/value

– Contributions centre on the article’s behavioural finance findings that experience and non-quantitative methods are the core of Malaysian investment managers’ decision-making, and on its detailed description of the unusual research methodology in finance of convergent interviewing.