bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
German Ordnung
Authors: Cramer Rahel
Published: December 2015

This study aims to illustrate the intricate connections that exist between features of a certain language and underlying culture-specific conceptualizations. The analysis sheds new light on a German cultural core value, namely, Ordnung “order,” its relationship to other cultural themes, and the influence it exerts on German interpersonal style. To reach a better understanding of the German core value Ordnung “order” as it relates to other German cultural themes, we first provide an analysis of the common expressions alles (ist) in Ordnung “everything [is] in order” and Ordnung muss sein “there has to be order.” This will be followed by an analysis of the social descriptor term locker “loose.” We seek to illustrate the merits of a perspective in language and culture studies that is truly culture-internal and can thus facilitate cross-cultural understanding, and we do so by applying the principles of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to semantic and ethnopragmatic description.
Transformation challenge for magazines advertising expenditure (ADEX) revenue in Malaysia
Authors: Sannusi Shahrul Nazmi , Mustaffa Normah , Pitchan Muhammad Adnan Bin
Published: December 2015

The Advertising Expenditures or (ADEX) revenue is a major contributor for the survival of magazine publishing. In the recent report by the Magazine Publisher Association (MPA 2014) shows a total of RM207.8 million ADEX was successfully secured by the local publishing company. From the total amount, RM120.9 million was dominated by English-language magazine publishers, while only RM60.1 million was achieved by Malay-language magazine publishers. This paper will discuss on factors, as well as potential and challenges in this magazine publishing industry. The main question is, how the local magazine publisher now is ready to face the changes in the industry which is seen to be challenging. The secondary analysis method has been applied to the data from the latest ADEX report which is provided by Magazine Publisher Association (MPA 2014) from 2010 to 2014 (July). The findings of this analysis indicate ADEX earning in the English-language magazines is more than the Malay-language magazines. However, ADEX for the English-language magazines has declined over the past four years, as well as the number of magazines published are less than the Malay-language magazines which are considered to be more stable even though their revenue is less. Competition with other media channels, readers’ purchasing power and preference are seen as factors contributing to this trend. Thus, it can be concluded that the Malay-language magazines are still competitive and have more stable prospects as compared to the English-language magazines, despite their low ADEX turnover.
Social capital and the learning organization
Authors: Wan Sulaiman Wan Idros , Mahbob Maizatul Haizan , Sannusi Shahrul Nazmi
Published: December 2015

Department of Information of Malaysia is one of the public organizations directly involved in the provision of information to the public. To ensure that all services rendered acceptable, organizational communication in the Department of Information should be given serious consideration so that each activity can be transformed properly. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess organizational communication in a learning organization in order to see the extent to which employees have a description of social capital and support to the organization of learning activities. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship that is formed through the social interactions between workers and management by integrating the four aspects of social capital, namely social trust, institutional trust, social norms and networking. For this purpose, a total of 190 respondents from the Information Department headquarters staff in Putrajaya was selected for this study. The study uses questionnaires as research tool and analyses key findings using the Pearson correlation test to examine relationships between various aspects. The study also applied social capital theory as the basis of research framework the when analyzing findings. The results showed that staff describe positive social capital within the organization and consider organizational learning as a strategy to improve the performance of the department in the future.
Malaysia’s contemporary broadcast media regulation through the eyes of regulators
Authors: Peng Kee Chang , Nie Kho Suet , Korff Rudiger , Helbardt Sascha
Published: December 2015

This paper aims to gauge the perception of media regulators in Malaysia on the contemporary media landscape and regulation processes in Malaysia, specifically focusing on the broadcast media. The researchers aims to understand the regulation procedures conducted, the steps taken to resolve conflicts of regulation if any and also the regulators perceptions on freedom of speech, self regulation and media governance. This study employed the qualitative method of in-depth interviews with five regulators from three different regulatory bodies, namely the Ministry of Home Affairs, Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Communication and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF). The interviews proved that contrary to the common belief, the public sphere in Malaysia has a strong influence on the regulators as all regulatory bodies act upon public complaints. The study also showed that there are formal and informal procedures and conflict resolution strategies applied on case-to-case basis. The regulators painted a positive picture of good relationship with the broadcast media with much communication between the two entities. They agreed that the current media law in Malaysia is sufficient, albeit a need to improve the standard operating procedures. They also believe in shared responsibility with the industry rather than self regulation.
Control and freedom of the Internet
Authors: Pitchan Muhammad Adnan Bin , Wan Mahmud Wan Amizah , Sannusi Shahrul Nazmi , Salman Ali
Published: December 2015

The Internet has become a popular medium now because it provides many benefits to users, though at the same time it also carries negative effects, especially to developing countries, such as sedition, pornography, defamation and cyber crime. Therefore, this study focuses on the control and freedom of the Internet system and the challenges faced by the government. The main focus of this paper is to see whether the government face challenges in controlling the content of the Internet. This study uses two theories, namely the theory of media development and media dependency theory as a guideline for the study. Qualitative approach such as in-depth interviews were chosen as research methodology to obtain the qualitative data. The study found that there are several challenges faced by the government in controlling the misuse of Internet, such as Internet domain registration, difficulties in identifying suspects, false registration, development of technology and content monitoring aspects.
The acceptance of government transformation program (GTP) among urban and rural communities
Authors: Mahbob Maizatul Haizan , Rahmat Noorazwa , Wan Sulaiman Wan Idros
Published: December 2015

Government Transformation Program (GTP) is a social innovation program aimed to transform Malaysian public services, and social affairs, such as improving integrity of public servants, national security, education, public transport, rural development and the cost of living in order to increase social wellbeing. The objectives of this study are to identify the differences in the acceptance of social innovation, particularly GTP and to examine factors influencing the acceptance among urban and rural communities. Through this comparison, the government can focus its GTP advocacy in urban and rural areas based on the factors that have been identified. This research used a survey of 200 people around Kuala Lumpur and one of the FELDA settlements in Kulai, Johor. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. In terms of acceptance level, the study found that rural communities are more receptive to GTP compared to urban communities. Factors influencing the acceptance of GTP among these two communities are also different. For the urban communities, the influencing factors are usefulness and self efficacy, while among the rural communities, are compatibility, familiarity and self-efficacy.
The transformational reading of Gen Y on British greatness through historical documentary
Authors: Shahizan Ali Mohd. Nor , Abd. Rahman Mat Pauzi , Salman Ali , Mohammad Salleh Mohd. Azul
Published: December 2015

Youth generation in this century (Gen Y) as a whole are exposed to technological developments, particularly in the process of getting information. As a result, any information that comes to them will be interpreted widely and critically. Recently, a documentary aired regularly shaped history back to the audience (especially Gen Y) to express the spirit of patriotism to the country. The question here involves the interpretation by the youth (Gen Y) which is more focused on the implicit meaning of the historical documentary ‘The Kinta Story’ (1949) produced by the National Film of Malaysia (FINAS). This article analyzes the interpretation of Gen Y based on understanding of the cognitive and aesthetic elements of the historical documentary. A focus group discussion was conducted on seven informants. The discussion focuses on the propaganda aspect, the aspect of British greatness and the overall interpretation of the historical documentary narrative as a message. From the results, the Gen Y informants interpreted the colonialists of British Malaya as having personal interests to reap the economic resources and make communist as a cause to justify their relevance in Malaya. The results also showed that the transformation of social technologies and the impact of extensive and open information have influenced the interpretation (read: reading) of Gen Y.
Consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners
Authors: Chan Kara , Tsang Lennon , Ma Yanni
Published: December 2015

This study investigated consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners, and how attitudes varied among different demographic groups and user experiences in TCM. A survey using quota sampling was conducted. Altogether 1,039 adults aged 20 or above in Hong Kong filled in an online questionnaire in March 2014. Factor analysis found that attitudes toward TCM advertising consisted of four underlying dimensions: information value of TCM advertising; benefits of TCM advertising; confidence in financial aspects of TCM; and doubts about TCM advertising. Consumers’ attitudes toward TCM practitioners were in general favorable. Respondents appreciated information value of TCM advertising, but held some skepticism and worries about it. Respondents perceived strongly that advertising by medical professionals would lead to increase in the cost of services. Respondents with TCM consultation experience demonstrated a more positive attitude toward TCM advertising than respondents without TCM experience. Practical implications and limitations were discussed. (149 words)
Phraseology for humor in Spanish
Authors: Ruiz-Gurillo Leonor
Published: December 2015

The aim of this paper is to propose a phraseological approach to humor in Spanish. Phraseological units will be analyzed as markers or indicators in accordance with a revised General Theory of Verbal Humor (Ruiz-Gurillo, 2012, 2013). A marker is a linguistic element which helps to understand humor; instead, an indicator is a per se humorous element. Thus, discursive marker idioms can be used as markers that infringe the prerequisite of Quality (Levinson, 2000; Rodríguez-Rosique, 2013), whereas routine formulas, specific utterances, phraseological schematas, etc., could behave as indicators. These phraseological indicators have to do not only with the infringement of the Manner Principle but also with that of the Informativity principle. En serio and es broma are analyzed as phraseological markers of humor. Routine formulas such as tus nietos no te olvidan, ¿¡qué vamos a hacer!?, ¡que me parta un rayo!, ¡me la suda! or ¡que os den!, specific utterances such as no somos nadie, el roce hace el cariño, idioms such as a buenas horas and phraseological schematas such as ni columna ni columno are proposed as phraseological indicators. Our corpus contains humorous monologues and parodies.
Les parémies et leurs variantes intergénérationnelles
Authors: Sevilla Muñoz Julia
Published: December 2015

Paremiological researches provide new and continuous interesting data for both the scientific and the speakers’ community. In spite of the numerous aspects that have already been studied, there are still many others left to be researched, such as the variations. For this reason, this work analyses the intergenerational variants of paremies, particularly the formal variation of folk paremies utilized by two different generations within the same family. The results obtained will enable a more complete systematisation in the field of linguistic heritage, a better understanding of the current situation of this type of paremies, and, at the same time, they will contribute to design more efficient tasks for the teaching and learning of paremies in the classroom of Spanish language.
Translating English verbal collocations into Spanish
Authors: Corpas Gloria
Published: December 2015

Language varieties should be taken into account in order to enhance fluency and naturalness of translated texts. In this paper we will examine the collocational verbal range for prima-facie translation equivalents of words like decision and dilemma, which in both languages denote the act or process of reaching a resolution after consideration, resolving a question or deciding something. We will be mainly concerned with diatopic variation in Spanish. To this end, we set out to develop a giga-token corpus-based protocol which includes a detailed and reproducible methodology sufficient to detect collocational peculiarities of transnational languages. To our knowledge, this is one of the first observational studies of this kind. The paper is organised as follows. Section 1 introduces some basic issues about the translation of collocations against the background of languages’ anisomorphism. Section 2 provides a feature characterisation of collocations. Section 3 deals with the choice of corpora, corpus tools, nodes and patterns. Section 4 covers the automatic retrieval of the selected verb + noun (object) collocations in general Spanish and the co-existing national varieties. Special attention is paid to comparative results in terms of similarities and mismatches. Section 5 presents conclusions and outlines avenues of further research.
Variation diatopique des pragmatèmes en espagnol
Authors: Blanco Xavier
Published: December 2015

First, we define the concept of pragmateme as a formula (prototypically multilexical and semantically compositional) restricted in his signified by the communication situation in which it is produced. Then, we briefly describe our dictionary of Spanish pragmatemes and, finally, we present pragmatemes variants in Spanish of the Río de la Plata, Mexico and Colombia. We observe a huge diversity that ask for specific lexicographical descriptions.
Phraseological features in conversational routines
Authors: Alvarado-Ortega M. Belén
Published: December 2015

This paper deals with the analysis of routine formulas according to their degree of independence in discourse, with the aim of establishing a gradual line which restructures Sphere III (Corpas 1996, Alvarado 2015) — where phraseological utterances belong. The system developed by Briz and the Val.Es.Co. Group (2003, 2014) will help us segment conversation and check that phraseological utterances show various degrees of independence, both in Peninsular Spanish and in Latin American Spanish, which will make it possible to restructure Sphere III. The methodology utilized corresponds to the phraseological and pragmatic approach, and the examples were extracted from the Corpus de Conversaciones Coloquiales of Briz and the Val.Es.Co. Group (2002), and from the Corpus Preseea (2014).
Cognitive landscapes
Authors: Gosden Chris
Published: December 2015

Human engagements with the world form the basis for their intelligent understanding of it. Such material engagements are not piecemeal but follow some broad set of regularities as activities in one area of life are picked up and developed in another. Sweeping changes in life processes, which we might see as bursts of creativity, occur across areas of life we might label as secular or pragmatic and the sacred, calling into question such distinctions. In this paper, I follow the case of the emergence of the early medieval village and parish in England from around AD 750 onwards to examine how new cognitive landscapes emerge and what their entailments are more generally. I conclude by looking at the links between material engagement, identity and novelty.
Creating practical cyborgs
Authors: Warwick Kevin
Published: December 2015

In this paper we consider the creative realisation of new beings — namely, cyborgs. These can be brought about in a number of ways, and several versions are discussed. A key feature is merging biological and technological sections into an overall living operational whole. A practical look is taken at how the use of implant and electrode technology can be employed to open up new paths between humans/animals and technology, especially linking the brain directly with external entities. Actual experimentation in each of the different cyborg forms perhaps defines the paper’s contents more than anything else. Considered are RFID implants, magnet implants, deep brain stimulation, Braingate implants and growing biological brains in robot bodies.
A socio-pragmatic investigation of the persuasive strategies in "al-ittijāh al-muʿākis" (‘The Opposite Direction’) on Al-Jazeera TV
Authors: Issa Sadam
Published: December 2015

This study is a socio-pragmatic analysis of persuasive strategies used by the participants in “al-ittijāh al-muʿākis”, “The Opposite Direction”, on the Al-­Jazeera TV channel. An ethnographic approach was adopted in the research; the analysis focused on the use of politeness strategies and face-saving and face-­threatening interactions in order to find out their persuasive factors. I observe that religious citations, prophetic sayings, proverbs, and metaphor are used predominantly by the participants in communicating various political issues. I argue that the persuasiveness of these rhetorical strategies stems from their aesthetic influence in establishing moral credibility and in evoking emotional responses. I also argue that these rhetorical strategies are speech acts that indirectly provoke responses and/or aim at saving the speakers’ and/or addressees’ face. The study concludes that persuasiveness is facilitated in part by transferring socio-pragmatic meanings through the use of some politeness and figurative devices such as honorific modes, metaphors and proverbs.
Ephrin-A3 promotes and maintains slow muscle fiber identity during postnatal development and reinnervation
Authors: Stark Danny A. , Coffey Nathan J. , Pancoast Hannah R. , Arnold Laura L. , Walker J. Peyton D. , Vallée Joanne , Robitaille Richard , Garcia Michael L. , Cornelison DDW
Published: December 2015

Each adult mammalian skeletal muscle has a unique complement of fast and slow myofibers, reflecting patterns established during development and reinforced via their innervation by fast and slow motor neurons. Existing data support a model of postnatal "matching" whereby predetermined myofiber type identity promotes pruning of inappropriate motor axons, but no molecular mechanism has yet been identified. We present evidence that fiber type–specific repulsive interactions inhibit innervation of slow myofibers by fast motor axons during both postnatal maturation of the neuromuscular junction and myofiber reinnervation after injury. The repulsive guidance ligand ephrin-A3 is expressed only on slow myofibers, whereas its candidate receptor, EphA8, localizes exclusively to fast motor endplates. Adult mice lacking ephrin-A3 have dramatically fewer slow myofibers in fast and mixed muscles, and misexpression of ephrin-A3 on fast myofibers followed by denervation/reinnervation promotes their respecification to a slow phenotype. We therefore conclude that Eph/ephrin interactions guide the fiber type specificity of neuromuscular interactions during development and adult life.
Microcephaly protein Asp focuses the minus ends of spindle microtubules at the pole and within the spindle
Authors: Ito Ami , Goshima Gohta
Published: December 2015

Depletion of Drosophila melanogaster Asp, an orthologue of microcephaly protein ASPM, causes spindle pole unfocusing during mitosis. However, it remains unclear how Asp contributes to pole focusing, a process that also requires the kinesin-14 motor Ncd. We show that Asp localizes to the minus ends of spindle microtubule (MT) bundles and focuses them to make the pole independent of Ncd. We identified a critical domain in Asp exhibiting MT cross-linking activity in vitro. Asp was also localized to, and focuses the minus ends of, intraspindle MTs that were nucleated in an augmin-dependent manner and translocated toward the poles by spindle MT flux. Ncd, in contrast, functioned as a global spindle coalescence factor not limited to MT ends. We propose a revised molecular model for spindle pole focusing in which Asp at the minus ends cross-links MTs at the pole and within the spindle. Additionally, this study provides new insight into the dynamics of intraspindle MTs by using Asp as a minus end marker.
Zero energy scattering for one-dimensional Schrödinger operators and applications to dispersive estimates
Authors: Egorova Iryna , Holzleitner Markus , Teschl Gerald
Published: December 2015

We show that for a one-dimensional Schrödinger operator with a potential, whose

(
j
+
1
)

(j+1)

-th moment is integrable, the

j
j

-th derivative of the scattering matrix is in the Wiener algebra of functions with integrable Fourier transforms. We use this result to improve the known dispersive estimates with integrable time decay for the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation in the resonant case.
Cluster algebras of Grassmannians are locally acyclic
Authors: Muller Greg , Speyer David
Published: December 2015

Considered as commutative algebras, cluster algebras can be very unpleasant objects. However, the first author introduced a condition known as “local acyclicity” which implies that cluster algebras behave reasonably. One of the earliest and most fundamental examples of a cluster algebra is the homogenous coordinate ring of the Grassmannian. We show that the Grassmannian is locally acyclic. Morally, we show the stronger result that all positroid varieties are locally acyclic. However, it has not been shown that all positroid varieties have a cluster structure in the expected manner, so what we actually prove is that certain cluster varieties associated to Postnikov’s alternating strand diagrams are locally acylic. We actually establish a slightly stronger property than local acyclicity that is designed to facilitate proofs involving the Mayer-Vietores sequence.
Green’s function and anti-holomorphic dynamics on a torus
Authors: Bergweiler Walter , Eremenko Alexandre
Published: December 2015

We give a new, simple proof of the fact recently discovered by C.-S. Lin and C.-L. Wang that the Green function of a torus has either three or five critical points, depending on the modulus of the torus. The proof uses anti-holomorphic dynamics. As a byproduct we find a one-parametric family of anti-holomorphic dynamical systems for which the parameter space consists only of hyperbolic components and analytic curves separating them.
Homo imitans? Seven reasons why imitation couldn't possibly be associative
Authors: Heyes Cecilia
Published: December 2015

Many comparative and developmental psychologists believe that we areHomo imitans; humans are more skilled and prolific imitators than other animals, because we have a special, inborn ‘intermodal matching’ mechanism that integrates representations of others with representations of the self. In contrast, the associative sequence learning (ASL) model suggests that human infants learn to imitate using mechanisms that they share with other animals, and the rich resources provided by their sociocultural environments. This article answers seven objections to the ASL model: (i) it presents evidence that newborns do not imitate; (ii) argues that infants receive a plentiful supply of the kind of experience necessary for learning to imitate; (iii) suggests that neither infants nor adults can imitate elementally novel actions; (iv) explains why non-human animals have a limited capacity for imitation; (v) discusses the goal-directedness of imitation; (vi) presents evidence that improvement in imitation depends on visual feedback; and (vii) reflects on the view that associative theories steal ‘the soul of imitation’. The empirical success of the ASL model indicates that the mechanisms which make imitation possible, by aligning representations of self with representations of others, have been tweaked by cultural evolution, not built from scratch by genetic evolution.
Group bias in cooperative norm enforcement
Authors: McAuliffe Katherine , Dunham Yarrow
Published: December 2015

A hallmark of human social cognition is the tendency for both adults and children to favour members of their own groups. Critically, this in-group bias exerts a strong influence on cooperative decision-making: people (i) tend to share more with members of their in-group and (ii) differentially enforce fairness norms depending on the group membership of their interaction partners. Butwhydo people show these group biases in cooperation? One possibility is that the enforcement of cooperative norm violations is an evolved mechanism supporting within-group cooperation (Norms-Focused Hypothesis). Alternatively, group bias in cooperation could be a by-product of more general affective preferences for in-group members (Mere Preferences Hypothesis). Here, we appraise evidence from studies of both adults and children with the goal of understanding whether one of these two accounts is better supported by existing data. While the pattern of evidence is complex, much of it is broadly consistent with the Mere Preferences Hypothesis and little is uniquely supportive of the Norms-Focused Hypothesis. We highlight possible reasons for this complexity and suggest ways that future work can continue to help us understand the important relationship between group bias and cooperation.
Empathy as a driver of prosocial behaviour: highly conserved neurobehavioural mechanisms across species
Authors: Decety Jean , Bartal Inbal Ben-Ami , Uzefovsky Florina , Knafo-Noam Ariel
Published: December 2015

Empathy reflects the natural ability to perceive and be sensitive to the emotional states of others, coupled with a motivation to care for their well-being. It has evolved in the context of parental care for offspring, as well as within kinship bonds, to help facilitate group living. In this paper, we integrate the perspectives of evolution, animal behaviour, developmental psychology, and social and clinical neuroscience to elucidate our understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying empathy. We focus, in particular, on processing of signals of distress and need, and their relation to prosocial behaviour. The ability to empathize, both in animals and humans, mediates prosocial behaviour when sensitivity to others' distress is paired with a drive towards their welfare. Disruption or atypical development of the neural circuits that process distress cues and integrate them with decision value leads to callous disregard for others, as is the case in psychopathy. The realization that basic forms of empathy exist in non-human animals is crucial for gaining new insights into the underlying neurobiological and genetic mechanisms of empathy, enabling translation towards therapeutic and pharmacological interventions.
Do ETFs outperform CEFs in fixed income investing?
Authors: Chang C. Edward , Krueger Thomas M. , Witte H. Doug
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– For a number of reasons ranging from their more recent introduction to their perceived lesser excitement relative to stock-based peers, there have been few studies of fixed income (mainly bond) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The purpose of this paper is to fill the void by comparing performance measures of fixed income ETFs to fixed income closed-end funds (CEFs).

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper examines operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of all available fixed income ETFs and CEFs in the USA over the last five and ten years ending on December 31, 2014. Operating characteristics include expense ratios, annual turnover rates, tax cost ratios, and tracking error ratios. Performance measures include average annual returns, risks (measured by standard deviations), and risk-adjusted returns (measured by Sharpe ratios and Sortino ratios).

Findings

– This study finds material and significant difference in a variety of expenses, return measures, and risk measures. Sharpe and Sortino ratio significance is highly dependent on whether net asset values or market values serve as the dependent variable. ETFs would be the preferred choice of fixed income investors who are presumed to be focussing on market-based return measures.

Originality/value

– This paper empirically compares operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of US fixed income ETFs and fixed income CEFs in the same Morningstar categories over the last five and ten years.
Development of managers’ emotional competencies: mind-body training implication
Authors: Gruicic Dusan , Benton Stephen
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to research about the effect of mind–body training on the development of emotional competencies of managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Quasi-experimental design, i.e. before and after (test–retest).

Findings

– Results showed that the experimental group, after training, achieved around 15 per cent higher scores compared to results before training on all three subscales of an emotional skills and competence questionnaire (ESCQ-45), a statistically significant improvement in scores. The control group (no training) scores showed no significant difference. This result indicates support for the view that emotional intelligence may be treated as a competency and is responsive to training programmes.

Research limitations/implications

– Emotional competencies are still a contested concept. The participants may provide socially desirable responses because of the self-assessment questionnaires. The sample is not a representative sample of European managers; hence, there is a limited generalisability of the results.

Practical implications

– These research findings indicate Mind–body training is a practical method for people to improve the management of their emotions, and hence impact positively on core organisational activities.

Originality/value

– This is the first research on this mind-body training (emotional relief technique) in an eight-week programme in a management context. The findings indicate the positive impact that can be achieved on emotional competencies scores from this method of self-development.
Land acquisition and industrial growth
Authors: Das Satya P. , Saha Anuradha
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to understand the impact of land acquisition and the provision of rehabilitation and remuneration (R
&
R) transfers included in it, toward the short-run and the long-run growth of an economy as well as on the welfare of farmers and industrialists over time.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors develop a two-sector model of growth with agriculture and manufacturing in which land is an essential input to production in both sectors. Industrialists buy land from farmers and deals include R
&
R payments. Individuals live for one period and at its end, bequeath land and capital assets to their child. There is Hicks-neutral technical progress in each sector.

Findings

– The R
&
R policy has no effect on the long-run sectoral growth or land allocation. While such a policy benefits the farmers initially, after a certain period, it reduces their welfare. The R
&
R scheme makes the industrialist worse-off in all periods. It was found that besides the standard convergence effect, land acquisition by the industrial sector increases the growth rate of capital. This may lead to non-monotonic growth rate of capital.

Research limitations/implications

– The two-sector model abstracts from labor and labor markets. Hence, sectoral employment mobility or changes in the skill-wage premium over time are not captured.

Originality/value

– First, this paper developed a two-sector growth model with land as a factor of production and an asset. Second, it examined growth and distributive impacts of the R
&
R package embodied in land transactions.
Centralized vehicle leasing in humanitarian fleet management: the UNHCR case
Authors: Kunz Nathan , Van Wassenhove Luk N. , McConnell Rob , Hov Ketil
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Fleet management is a key function in humanitarian organizations, but is not always recognized as such. This results in poor performance and negative impacts on the organization. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrates how the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) managed to substantially improve its fleet management through the introduction of an Internal Leasing Program (ILP), in which headquarters procures vehicles and leases them to field offices.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper develops a framework for fleet management based on a longitudinal case study with UNHCR. It compares fleet performance indicators before and after implementation of an ILP.

Findings

– At UNHCR, vehicle procurement was driven by availability of funding. Fleet management was highly decentralized and field offices had limited awareness of its importance. These systems and behaviors led to major challenges for the organization. The introduction of the ILP positively impacted fleet management at UNHCR by reducing fleet size, average age of fleet and procurement costs.

Practical implications

– This paper provides fleet managers with a tool for analyzing their fleet. The frameworks and actions described in this paper contain practical recommendations for achieving a well-performing fleet.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to analyze fleet management before and after introduction of an ILP. It describes the benefits of this model based on empirical data, and develops frameworks to be used by researchers and practitioners.
Resolution of international trade disputes in the WTO and other Fora
Authors: Sacerdoti Giorgio
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the success of the world trade organisation (WTO) dispute settlement system and its transferability to other fora.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper compares the design and case law of trade and investment law, and seeks lessons for the settlement of trade and investment disputes in other fora.

Findings

– It concludes that despite its shortcomings, the WTO Appellate Body provides vital stability regarding legal interpretations, something notably absent from other fora.

Originality/value

– The paper offers the perspective of a former Member and Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body on the success of the dispute settlement system.
Operational risk capital charges (Basel II): factoring in external loss data to the internal datasets
Authors: Prorokowski Lukasz
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to discuss ideas of factoring in external loss data to the internal loss data sets to obtain a true picture of operational losses for non-bank financial services firms, focusing on a case study of the interdealer brokers business and a specific Basel II category of the operational risk capital charges. As it transpires, financial services firms are increasingly required by regulators to merge external loss data with their internal data sets when using a loss distribution approach. However, there is a significant constrain on the availability and completeness of the external data for non-bank financial services firms.

Design/methodology/approach

– Embarking on a modified Kaplan-Meier method is a clever way of factoring in external loss data into the internal data set. It allows non-bank financial firms to choose which fragments of the data constitute “the best fit”. In choosing the external data, this paper posits that such firms need to rely on loss-type events that display similar patterns in probabilities of occurrence. This method eliminates over-reliance on the external data that are specific for a different entity. One of the most important assumption underpinning the method presented in this paper is the fact that constant time intervals between the recorded operational loss events are assumed. Hereto, reaching a certain level of loss is used as the event of interest in both groups. For simplification purposes and to eliminate the noise and capture significant losses, we set this level as a multiplicity of the interdealer broker’s loss threshold.

Findings

– Obtaining external loss data is difficult for the non-bank financial services firms. Furthermore, institutions operating as interdealer brokers are exposed to different levels of operational risk that affect their own Advanced Measurement Approach to capital charges under Basel II. The existing consortium data sets are not suitable for non-bank financial institutions. With this in mind, the non-bank firms should select only the parts of the external data that fit their business environment.

Originality/value

– This paper should be of interest to any financial services firms that is required by regulators to merge its internal loss data sets with external loss data. Furthermore, this paper makes strong recommendations for regulators who should understand that the contemporary operational risk consortium data sets are not suitable for non-bank financial services firms.
Being where the people are: the challenges and benefits of search engine visibility for public libraries
Authors: Dickinson Zoe , Smit Mike
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and benefits presented by search engine visibility for public libraries. This paper outlines the preliminary results of a pilot study investigating search engine visibility in two Canadian public libraries, and discusses practical approaches to search engine visibility.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study consists of semi-structured interviews with librarians from two multi-branch Canadian public library systems, combined with quantitative data provided by each library, as well as data obtained through site-specific searches in Google and Bing. Possible barriers to visibility are identified through thematic analysis of the interviews. Practical approaches are identified by the author based on a literature review.

Findings

– The initial findings of this pilot study identify a complex combination of barriers to visibility on search engines, in the form of attitudes, policies, organizational structures and technological difficulties.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper describes a small, preliminary pilot study. More research is needed before any firm conclusions can be reached.

Practical implications

– A review of the literature shows the increasing importance of search engine visibility for public libraries. This paper outlines practical approaches which can be undertaken immediately by libraries, as well as delving into the underlying issues which may be affecting libraries’ progress on the issue.

Originality/value

– There has been little original research investigating the reasons behind libraries’ lack of visibility in search engine results pages. This paper provides insight into a previously unexplored area by exploring public libraries’ relationships with search engines.
Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: Snapchat and the rise of ephemeral communication
Authors: Anderson Katie Elson
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The traditional library image that comes to mind upon hearing this word is of vertical files filled with newspaper clippings, photos, brochures, flyers on a popular topic or event.

Design/methodology/approach

– The modern image of ephemera, however, is now more nuanced and complex, as the increased creation of digital ephemera provides opportunities and challenges for libraries and archives.

Findings

– There now need to be considerations for dealing with digital materials and artifacts that are short-lived and temporary. These digital ephemera are increasing every day, with a presence in the world that is anything but temporary.

Originality/value

– The Library of Congress announced that it would be digitally archiving every public tweet since Twitter’s inception in March 2006 (Raymond, 2010). As of 2013, they had archived 170 billion tweets and were receiving nearly a half billion tweets a day (Allen, 2013). However, the magnitude of the project is being grappled with and currently the project appears to be in limbo (Scola, 2015).
Association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with aerobic fitness of offspring in young adulthood: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Hagnäs MP , Cederberg H , Jokelainen J , Mikkola I , Rajala U , Keinänen‐Kiukaanniemi S
Published: December 2015

Objective

We evaluated the association of maternal pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and maternal smoking with aerobic fitness in young men aged 19–20 years.

Design

A 19–year prospective cohort study.

Setting

Data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) and the Sodankylä Jaeger Brigade, Finland, in 2005–6.

Population

Mothers and the 508 offspring in the NFBC 1986 who entered military service at the Sodankylä Jaeger Brigade in 2005.

Methods

Associations of weight, 12–minute running test (Cooper test), and muscle fitness index (MFI) of offspring on entry to military service were evaluated with antenatal factors, including maternal smoking, pre‐pregnancy BMI, and GWG.

Main outcome measures

Aerobic and muscle fitness of the offspring were evaluated by the Cooper test and MFI.

Results

Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with lower aerobic fitness of male adolescents, measured by the Cooper test (2356 m; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 2265–2446 m), compared with the offspring of mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy (2537 m, 95% CI 2499–2574 m). This association was independent of the BMIs of both the mother and the offspring, GWG, and the smoking and physical activity of offspring (regression coefficient −140.6 m, 95% CI −273.1 to −8.0 m). High maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG were also associated with lower aerobic fitness of the offspring; however, this association was mediated via the weight of the offspring.

Conclusions

Maternal smoking during pregnancy may have a negative impact on the aerobic fitness of the offspring.

Tweetable abstract

Study shows that young men have lower aerobic fitness if their mothers smoked during pregnancy.
Bacteria may contribute to distant species recognition in ant–aphid mutualistic relationships
Authors: Fischer Christophe Y. , Detrain Claire , Thonart Philippe , Haubruge Eric , Francis Frédéric , Verheggen François J. , Lognay Georges C.
Published: December 2015

Mutualistic interactions between ant and aphid species have been the subject of considerable historical and contemporary investigations, the primary benefits being cleaning and protection for the aphids and carbohydrate‐rich honeydew for the ants. Questions remained, however, as to the volatile semiochemical factor influencing this relationship. A recent study highlighted the role of bacterial honeydew volatile compounds in ant attraction. Here, ant's ability to distantly discriminate 2 aphid species was investigated based on bacterial honeydew semiochemicals emissions using a two‐way olfactometer. Both the mutualistic aphidAphis fabaeL. and the nonmyrmecophilous aphidAcyrthosiphon pisumHarris were found to be attractive for the antLasius nigerL. The level of attraction was similar in both assays (control vs. one of the aphid species). However, when given a choice between these 2 aphid species, ants showed a significant preference forAphis fabae. Honeydew volatiles, mostly from bacterial origins, are known to be a key element in ant attraction. Using the same olfactometry protocol, the relative attractiveness of volatiles emitted by honeydews collected from each aphid species and by bacteria isolated from each honeydew was investigated. Again, ants significantly preferred volatiles released byAphis fabaehoneydew and bacteria. This information suggests that microbial honeydew volatiles enable ants to distantly discriminate aphid species. These results strengthen the interest of studying the occurrence and potential impact of microorganisms in insect symbioses.
Are Front of Pack Claims Indicators of Nutrition Quality? Evidence from 2 Product Categories
Authors: Schaefer Debra , Hooker Neal H. , Stanton John L.
Published: December 2015

American grocery shoppers face an array of front of pack (FOP) nutrition and health claims when making food selections. Such systems have been categorized as summary or nutrient specific. Either type should help consumers make judgments about the nutrition quality of a product. This research tests if the type or quantity of FOP claims are indeed good indicators of objective nutrition quality. Claim and nutrition information from more than 2200 breakfast cereals and prepared meals launched between 2006 and 2010 were analyzed using binary and multinomial logistic regression models. Results suggest that no type or number of front of pack claims could distinguish “healthy” foods. However, some types and frequencies of FOP claims were significant predictors of higher or lower levels of certain key nutrients. Given the complex and crowded label environment in which these FOP claims reside, one may be concerned that such cues are not closely related to objective measures of nutrition quality.
Effects of Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water on Inactivation of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus Spores in Suspension and on Carriers
Authors: Zhang Chunling , Li Baoming , Jadeja Ravirajsinh , Hung Yen‐Con
Published: December 2015

Spores of some Bacillus species are responsible for food spoilage and foodborne disease. These spores are highly resistant to various interventions and cooking processes. In this study, the sporicidal efficacy of acidic electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water (AEW) and slightly acidic EO water (SAEW) with available chlorine concentration (ACC) of 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 mg/L and treatment time for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 min were tested on Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus spores in suspension and on carrier with or without organics. The reduction of spore significantly increased with increasing ACC and treatment time (P < 0.05). Nondetectable level of B. cereus spore in suspension occurred within 2 min after exposure to both EO waters containing 120 mg/L ACC, while only SAEW at 120 mg/L and 2 min treatment achieved >6 log reductions of B. subtilis spore. Both types of EO water with ACC of 60 mg/L and 6 min treatment achieved a reduction of B. subtilis and B. cereus spores to nondetectable level. EO water with ACC of 80 mg/L and treatment time of 3 min on carrier test without organics addition resulted in reductions of B. subtilis spore to nondetectable level. But, addition of 0.3% organics on carrier decreased the inactivation effect of EO water. This study indicated that EO water was highly effective in inactivation of B. subtilis and B. cereus spores in suspension or on carrier, and therefore, rendered it as a promising disinfectant to be applied in food industry.