bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Empowering leadership and socio-technological practices: an empirical investigation of BTS’s success
Authors: Park Diane So-Hyun , Kim Seung-Chul , Hong Paul
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This study explores the global phenomenon of BangTan Sonyeondan (BTS), a Korean singing group, from an under-researched art and entertainment market perspective. We introduce a research model to delineate the impacts of leadership motivation, socio-technological practices and global prominence outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical foundation clarifies the research context, justifying the relevance of key concepts, linking them to primary research questions and forming the basis for a well-structured empirical investigation. Our research model presents the flows of leadership influence, training practices, technology use and global prominence outcomes. Utilizing a survey instrument, we gathered data from BTS fans and analyzed the empirical findings.

Findings

BTS’s success is attributed to unique factors: (1) upstream flow of leadership influence; (2) process flow of internal service training and technological excellence, fostering stakeholder enthusiasm. The results indicate that service empowerment leadership is crucial in driving talent development and appropriate technology use, enhancing brand reputation. Fan loyalty and collective passion are key moderators in these dynamics.

Research limitations/implications

While focused on BTS, our findings have broader applicability in entertainment organizations, underscoring the relevance of socio-technological theory in understanding phenomena similar to BTS’s success.

Practical implications

Long-term brand performance in service organizations extends beyond financial metrics and necessitates empowering service leadership, training for key performers, technological infrastructure and managing personal interactions and group dynamics.

Originality/value

This study is unique in applying a leadership motivation perspective and socio-technological theory to BTS’s long-term success, utilizing BTS fans’ views to examine and assess their success factors and outcomes.
Do green finance and energy counteract a sustainable environment in Vietnam? Quantile and frequency analysis
Authors: Phuoc Tran , Hung Ngo Thai
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Green finance aims to promote sustainable financial activities, environmental conservation and ecological balance. This study examines how renewable energy consumption (REN), technological innovation (TEC) and green finance (GRF) influence CO2 emissions in Vietnam from 2000 to 2022.

Design/methodology/approach

We utilize a novel three-stage methodology including quantile-on-quantile regression, wavelet coherence and wavelet-quantile regression to explore the relationship in the structure of intercorrelation in terms of quantile, time and frequency.

Findings

The findings show that Vietnam will increase environmental quality for higher green development. Specifically, there is a negative influence of TEC, REN and GRF on CO2 emissions across different quantiles and timescales.

Practical implications

The study recommends policies that support green development and reduce carbon emissions, such as increasing the use of renewable energy and conducting well-planned research to achieve a carbon-free, sustainable environment.

Originality/value

This article looks into the effects of GRF, TEC and REN on CO2 emissions in Vietnam. Some studies argue that green development in underdeveloped nations is insufficient to reduce CO2 emissions, thereby limiting the sample to a few advanced economies. Adopting diverse methodologies demonstrates the varied and intricate nature of understanding CO2 drivers. Additionally, our work makes detailed policy implications for Vietnam to meet its net-zero emission target and achieve sustainable development by 2050.
Graph-based rank aggregation: a deep-learning approach
Authors: Keyhanipour Amir Hosein
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This study aims to introduce a novel rank aggregation algorithm that leverages graph theory and deep-learning to improve the accuracy and relevance of aggregated rankings in metasearch scenarios, particularly when faced with inconsistent and low-quality rank lists. By strategically selecting a subset of base rankers, the algorithm enhances the quality of the aggregated ranking while using only a subset of base rankers.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed algorithm leverages a graph-based model to represent the interrelationships between base rankers. By applying Spectral clustering, the algorithm identifies a subset of top-performing base rankers based on their retrieval effectiveness. These selected rankers are then integrated into a sequential deep-learning model to estimate relevance labels for query-document pairs.

Findings

Empirical evaluation on the MQ2007-agg and MQ2008-agg data sets demonstrates the substantial performance gains achieved by the proposed algorithm compared to baseline methods, with an average improvement of 8.7% in MAP and 11.9% in NDCG@1. The algorithm’s effectiveness can be attributed to its ability to effectively integrate diverse perspectives from base rankers and capture complex relationships within the data.

Originality/value

This research presents a novel approach to rank aggregation that integrates graph theory and deep-learning. The author proposes a graph-based model to select the most effective subset for metasearch applications by constructing a similarity graph of base rankers. This innovative method addresses the challenges posed by inconsistent and low-quality rank lists, offering a unique solution to the problem.
Can digital transformation alleviate corporate fraud? Evidence from China
Authors: Shang Duo , Yuan Dongliang , Wu Xinmei , Li Dehui
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between digital transformation and corporate fraud.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses panel data of Chinese listed corporations from 2010 to 2021 and captures digital transformation from the perspectives of awareness and investment by extracting related content from annual reports. Our work investigates whether and how digital transformation influences corporate fraud and examines the moderating effects of the legal environment, media environment and privacy concerns.

Findings

Our findings show that digital transformation, captured either from awareness or actual investment, can significantly alleviate corporate fraud. Our results are robust in a set of endogeneity tests and robustness checks. Additionally, we confirm that digital transformation alleviates corporate fraud through two mechanisms: improving internal monitoring and boosting information flow. Additionally, this alleviating effect is more pronounced for corporations with fewer privacy concerns and in worse legal and media environments.

Practical implications

Our findings provide insights for policymakers to motivate corporations to engage in digital transformation for fraud prevention. We also offer guidelines for corporations to improve their awareness and actual investments in digital transformation and take advantage of its governance effect in preventing corporate fraud.

Originality/value

Overall, we highlight the governance role of digital transformation in alleviating corporate fraud and provide policy implications for regulators in emerging economies to regard digital transformation as an effective tool for fraud prevention.
Gameful systems for corporate sustainability: systematic review, conceptual framework and research agenda on gamification and sustainable employee behavior in companies
Authors: Kirchner-Krath Jeanine , Dijkstra-Silva Samanthi , Morschheuser Benedikt , von Korflesch Harald F.O.
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Given the urgency of corporate engagement in sustainable development, companies seek ways to involve their employees in sustainability efforts. In this regard, gamified systems have gained attention as a novel tool to promote sustainable employee behavior. However, as the research field matures, researchers and practitioners are confronted with a scattered academic landscape that makes it difficult to grasp how gamification can be designed to engage employees in sustainable behavior and to understand how gamification effects unfold at psychological, behavioral and corporate levels of sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a systematic literature review to consolidate the existing knowledge on gamification designs and their effects on sustainable employee behavior.

Findings

Studies have explored a variety of utilitarian and achievement-, immersion- and social-related gameful affordances to promote positive behavior- and system-related psychological effects as a basis for employee engagement in sustainable behavior. However, the evidence regarding their impact on rational decision-making processes and overcoming the intention-action gap inherent in sustainability is still limited. Nevertheless, several studies in focused areas indicate the potential to elicit behavioral changes that drive sustainability outcomes at the corporate level as well.

Originality/value

Our study provides three main contributions. First, we develop a conceptual framework that illustrates how gamification can drive sustainable behavior in the workplace. Second, we derive seven agenda points to guide future research on gamification for corporate sustainability. Third, we deduce three practical approaches to use gamification as a strategic intervention to promote sustainable behavior in organizations.
Medical staff planning for field hospital deployments: the START hospital
Authors: Martin-Campo F. Javier , Ortuño Sánchez M. Teresa , Ruiz-Gonzalez Berta
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The deployment of a field hospital can play an important role in the response to an emergency. This paper is concerned with the management of emergency staff to a field hospital from a roster of volunteers with different characteristics. This paper aims to propose a mathematical optimisation model that selects the necessary profiles of the roster according to several criteria and provides travel planning taking into account the total cost of the operation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a multi-criteria optimisation model to take into account the preferences of the three main stakeholders involved in the deployment of the field hospital: the cooperation organisation, the staff and the end users. The model considers the possibility of using commercial or chartered flights, allows staff to indicate their preferred availability, considers the grading of volunteers according to their skills and training and provides a final flight schedule for all the medical personnel needed to operate the field hospital. Compromise programming is used to provide a Pareto optimal solution, which is compared with solutions provided by Goal programming.

Findings

The model has been validated using data from the operation in a case study of the deployment of the Spanish START hospital in Turkey 2023, demonstrating the practical utility of the model in similar operations.

Originality/value

The study innovates by considering a multi-criteria model that takes into account the main actors involved in the response – cooperation organisation, staff and end users – in an integrated way and proposes new measures of efficiency.
Proactive influence tactics that increase work engagement for remote employees
Authors: Mayfield Clifton O. , O’Donnell Mark
Published: November 2024

Purpose

COVID-19 accelerated the already growing prevalence of employees working remotely, and limited research exists on the effectiveness of proactive influence tactics in remote work settings. This study aims to identify which proactive influence tactics may best facilitate employee work engagement in a remote work setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data stems from 231 employees who work remotely in the USA. Hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data and assess interaction effects.

Findings

Evidence was found for positive relationships between work engagement and multiple proactive influence tactics (collaboration, consultation, inspirational appeals, exchange, apprising, rational persuasion, personal appeals and ingratiation) and a negative relationship between work engagement and pressure. The percentage of time an employee spends working remotely moderated the proactive influence tactic-work engagement relationship. Significant interaction effects were found for exchange and personal appeals.

Practical implications

The results highlight several influence tactics that managers can consider using to increase employee work engagement. The findings also demonstrate the increasing effectiveness of certain influence tactics, such as exchange and personal appeals, as employees spend more time working remotely, shedding light on important considerations for managers seeking to optimize employee engagement in remote work environments.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the limited literature on proactive influence tactics and work engagement and examines these relationships in a remote work setting. In addition, it examines the moderating effect of the percentage of time an employee spends working remotely.
Readiness for transformation towards smart sustainable city models: residents’ perspective
Authors: Alkhalifa Fay
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Despite growing interest in smart sustainable city models, empirical evidence on progress, public perceptions and major adoption obstacles remains sparse. This study aims to assess the readiness of the world’s largest urban agglomerations, including megacities and metacities, to transition towards smarter and more sustainable models, while also exploring the primary challenges and obstacles to this transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from pragmatism as a theoretical standpoint, a mixed methodology utilizing an online survey as an instrument of exploration was employed to investigate the perspectives of 400 residents of large urban centers globally regarding their city’s readiness to transition towards a smart sustainable city model.

Findings

Participants prioritize sustainability over intelligence, focusing on quality of life, environmental benefits and resource efficiency in smart sustainable city initiatives. Key considerations include sustainable urban planning, resource management and smart buildings. Challenges persist in energy management, waste reduction, economic development and education. While policies support sustainability, gaps remain in education, political will, funding, collaboration and technology infrastructure. The study highlights a global trend towards smarter, more sustainable cities and a strong correlation between participants' prioritization of sustainability and their commitment to sustainable practices.

Practical implications

By exploring residents’ viewpoints, priorities and aspirations, this research provides empirical evidence for decision-makers, urbanists and others involved in shaping future cities.

Originality/value

This research contributes to urban studies by exploring the emerging trend towards smart sustainable cities, aligning with perspectives from futurists and urban theorists. Future research should focus on predictive analysis and enhancing collaboration across government, private sector and civil society to accelerate this transformative process.
Disparities among EU-27 countries in the implementation of the European Green Deal strategy goals
Authors: Tutak Magdalena , Brodny Jarosław
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The paper presents the findings of a study assessing the progress of implementing the European Green Deal (EGD) strategy goals across the EU-27 countries. The research aimed to evaluate individual countries' implementation of the strategy, considering its multidimensional nature.

Design/methodology/approach

A research methodology was devised, incorporating 18 indicators that characterize various dimensions pertinent to the EGD strategy. Evaluation of the strategy’s goals relied on the European Green Deal Index (EGDI), determined using the combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) method and a hybrid approach to weigh the indicators. Three analytical methods – criteria importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC), statistical variance, equal weights – and the Laplace criterion were utilized to ascertain the final weights of these indicators. The EGDI values for the years under scrutiny (2019–2021) served as the basis for assessing the EU-27 countries' progress towards the goals of the EGD.

Findings

The survey results indicate that from 2019 to 2021, the highest EGDI values – exceeding 2 – were achieved by Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Austria also recorded very strong results. In contrast, the “new EU-13” countries generally exhibited lower levels of implementation of the EGD, as reflected in their EGDI values. Bulgaria and Cyprus, in particular, had the weakest results over the study period, with EGDI values below 1.5. Consequently, the “old EU-14” countries performed significantly better in implementing the EGD compared to the “new EU-13” countries. Among the “old EU-14” countries, Ireland recorded the weakest performance.

Originality/value

The originality of the research is highlighted by several key factors. Firstly, it addresses a significant research gap by assessing the initial positions and efforts of EU countries toward the EGD goals, providing a benchmark for effectiveness and strategy development. Secondly, it pioneers an authoritative and universal multi-criteria evaluation approach through the Green Deal Index (GDI), offering a robust methodology for assessing EGD implementation. Lastly, the study’s holistic approach incorporates energy, environmental and socioeconomic dimensions, significantly expanding knowledge and contributing to informed decision-making and policy formulation.
Age‐prevalence curves in a multi‐species parasite community
Authors: Preston Daniel L. , Falke Landon P. , Novak Mark
Published: November 2024

The relationship between infection prevalence and host age is informative because it can reveal processes underlying disease dynamics. Most prior work has assumed that age‐prevalence curves are shaped by infection rates, host immunity and/or infection‐induced mortality. Interactions between parasites within a host have largely been overlooked as a source of variation in age‐prevalence curves.

We used field survey data and models to examine the role of interspecific interactions between parasites in shaping age‐prevalence curves. The empirical dataset included quantification of parasite infection prevalence for eight co‐occurring trematodes in over 15,000 snail hosts. We characterized age‐prevalence curves for each taxon, examined how they changed over space in relation to co‐occurring trematodes and tested whether the shape of the curves aligned with expectations for the frequencies of coinfections by two taxa in the same host. The models explored scenarios that included negative interspecific interactions between parasites, variation in the force‐of‐infection (FOI) and infection‐induced mortality that varied with host age, which were mechanisms hypothesized to be important in the empirical dataset.

In the empirical dataset, four trematode parasites had monotonic increasing age‐prevalence curves and four had unimodal age‐prevalence curves. Some of the curves remained consistent in shape in relation to the prevalence of other potentially interacting trematodes, while some shifted from unimodal to monotonic increasing, suggesting release from negative interspecific interactions. The most common taxa with monotonic increasing curves had lower co‐infection frequencies than expected, suggesting they were competitively dominant. Taxa with unimodal curves had coinfection frequencies that were closer to those expected by chance.

The model showed that negative interspecific interactions between parasites can cause a unimodal age‐prevalence curve in the subordinate taxon. Increases in the FOI and/or infection‐induced mortality of the dominant taxon cause shifts in the peak prevalence of the subordinate taxon to a younger host age. Infection‐induced mortality that increased with host age was the only scenario that caused a unimodal curve in the dominant taxon.

Results indicated that negative interspecific interactions between parasites contributed to variation in the shape of age‐prevalence curves across parasite taxa and support the growing importance of incorporating interactions between parasites in explaining population‐level patterns of host infection over space and time.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Another tool in the toolbox: Aphid‐specific Wolbachia protect against fungal pathogens
Authors: Higashi Clesson H. V. , Patel Vilas , Kamalaker Bryan , Inaganti Rahul , Bressan Alberto , Russell Jacob A. , Oliver Kerry M.
Published: November 2024

Aphids harbor nine common facultative symbionts, most mediating one or more ecological interactions. Wolbachia pipientis, well‐studied in other arthropods, remains poorly characterized in aphids. In Pentalonia nigronervosa and P. caladii, global pests of banana, Wolbachia was initially hypothesized to function as a co‐obligate nutritional symbiont alongside the traditional obligate Buchnera. However, genomic analyses failed to support this role. Our sampling across numerous populations revealed that more than 80% of Pentalonia aphids carried an M‐supergroup strain of Wolbachia (wPni). The lack of fixation further supports a facultative status for Wolbachia, while high infection frequencies in these entirely asexual aphids strongly suggest Wolbachia confers net fitness benefits. Finding no correlation between Wolbachia presence and food plant use, we challenged Wolbachia‐infected aphids with common natural enemies. Bioassays revealed that Wolbachia conferred significant protection against a specialized fungal pathogen (Pandora neoaphidis) but not against generalist pathogens or parasitoids. Wolbachia also improved aphid fitness in the absence of enemy challenge. Thus, we identified the first clear benefits for aphid‐associated Wolbachia and M‐supergroup strains specifically. Aphid‐Wolbachia systems provide unique opportunities to merge key models of symbiosis to better understand infection dynamics and mechanisms underpinning symbiont‐mediated phenotypes.
Metagenomic analysis reveals houseflies as indicators for monitoring environmental antibiotic resistance genes
Authors: Yang Yuhan , Xu Ping , He Wei , Tao Fei
Published: November 2024

Given the threat to public health posed by antibiotic resistance transmission, environmental monitoring is essential for tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Houseflies, being ubiquitous organisms capable of carrying and disseminating ARGs, serve as suitable indicators for environmental monitoring. In this study, we employ metagenomic approaches to investigate housefly body surface samples from five typical sites associated with human activities. The investigation reveals microbiome diversity among the samples, along with variations in the occurrence and mobility potential of ARGs. Metagenomic analysis indicates that the composition of ARGs on housefly body surfaces is influenced by environmental ARGs, which may be enriched on the housefly body surface. The resistance genes related to multidrug, β‐lactam, bacitracin, and tetracycline were the predominant ARGs detected, with multidrug‐related ARGs consistently exhibiting dominance. Furthermore, the abundance of ARGs in the different housefly body surface samples was found to correlate with the population density and mobility of the sampling site. Natural environments exhibited the lowest ARG abundance, while areas with higher population density and limited population mobility displayed higher ARG abundance. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of houseflies as monitors for environmental ARGs and underscores their potential for assessing and controlling antibiotic resistance risks in urban environments.
‘Kind of scared but happy something was detected.’ Cross‐sectional survey of Let's Test for HPV participants to understand perspectives on an HPV detected result
Authors: Rose Sally B. , McBain Lynn , Bell Rebecca , Innes Carrie , Te Whaiti Sarah , Tino Alexandria , Sykes Peter
Published: November 2024

Background

Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing became the primary cervical screening modality in Aotearoa New Zealand in September 2023. To inform the national roll‐out of HPV primary screening, a multiregion implementation study (‘Let's Test for HPV’) was undertaken in primary care in 2022–2023.

Aims

To explore participant perspectives and information needs following receipt of an HPV detected result.

Materials and methods

An online survey completed in 2023 by 921 Let's Test for HPV participants included 95 people with an HPV detected result (10.3%). Data collection included: adequacy of information provision, receipt of results, emotional response, views on HPV primary screening and needing cervical cytology and/or colposcopy, and intent to screen again.

Results

Receipt of an HPV detected result was worrying for most people and many had unanswered questions about HPV, how HPV testing fits with cytology, implications for follow‐up and outcomes. Knowledge gaps and uncertainty appeared to be linked with feeling anxious about possible outcomes and fear of a cancer diagnosis. All survey participants received recommended follow‐up (cytology and/or colposcopy). Having a choice of screening test and the ability to self‐test were welcomed and the majority (88%) expressed intent to screen again.

Conclusions

These survey findings highlight the importance of giving clear information about potential outcomes at the time of screening and again when sharing results. Sensitive delivery of results, providing reassurance and answering questions are also important to mitigate fear and worry. Population‐level education would help improve understanding of key messages about HPV testing and the changes to cervical screening.
The effect of experience and environment in private tutoring on human capital investment
Authors: Lee Jaeram , Kim Minsun , Ihm Jungjoon
Published: November 2024

This study investigated how experience and the environment of private tutoring impact investment in human capital, utilizing panel data from Korea. We scrutinized the effects of past private tutoring expenditures and the local tutoring landscape on decisions regarding private tutoring expenditures. To mitigate potential selection bias, we employed Heckman's selection model, revealing a significant correlation between substantial past spending on private tutoring, competitive environments, and increased future investment. Notably, at the middle and high school levels, individuals who had experienced high private tutoring expenses and those situated in environments with elevated private tutoring expenditures surpassed those who had not. The findings indicate that substantial past private tutoring expenditures, coupled with highly competitive environments, may lower the current consumption baseline and elevate future benchmarks. This implies the potential emergence of a vicious cycle that could ensnare families by escalating educational costs.
Heritabilities for copy number variation of porcine endogenous retrovirus by a quantitative PCR
Authors: Giang Thanh‐Nhan T. , Ta Can V. , Ishihara Shinya , Arakawa Aisaku , Okamura Toshihiro , Dang‐Nguyen Thanh Q. , Nguyen Dai V. , Pham Lan D. , Kikuchi Kazuhiro , Taniguchi Masaaki
Published: November 2024

Pigs (Sus scrofa) have been expected to have organs transplanted to humans, but porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) is one of the risks because the PERV has the possibility to get infected with human cells. Therefore, the pigs are required to have as low a PERV copy number as possible. In this study, firstly, we investigated the estimates of heritabilities for the PERV copy numbers in the Vietnamese native breeds. Genomic heritabilities for four genes on PERV were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood method with the genomic relationship matrix. The genomic heritability estimates of these genes ranged from 0.27 to 0.71, indicating that it would be possible for these genes not to follow the normal Mendelian inheritance. Secondly, we bred the pig population to reduce the pol gene number and estimated the heritability for the number. Despite the high heritability estimate for the pol gene (0.59), little improvement was progressed after selection for reducing the gene number in the three generations. In order to reduce the PERV copy numbers from the pig genome, it would be difficult to adapt only conventional breeding technology, and we need to consider using another technology like genome editing.
Can Platform Leadership Drive Twin Transitions in Greening SMEs? Exploring the Nexus Between AI Infrastructure Flexibility, Information Effects, and Green Sustainable Practices
Authors: Mehmood Khalid , Kiani Ataullah , Rehman Hina , Alshibani Safiya Mukhtar , Piccardi Patrice
Published: November 2024

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underpin a holistic approach to promote global sustainability, sparking the emergence of the “twin transition” concept, which combines environmentally friendly practices and digitalization for a greener future. Taking note of the SDGs, the primary objective of this research is to explore the twin transition within the context of high‐tech industries. This study aims to bridge existing knowledge gaps by exploring the indirect impact of information effects and the moderating role of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure flexibility in the relationship between platform leadership and green sustainable practices. Grounded in the framework of the diffusion of innovation paradigm, our findings are based on a three‐wave time‐lagged field survey conducted among 437 high‐tech SMEs in China. The study's findings uncover a positive relation between platform leadership and green sustainable practices, with information effects, specifically responsiveness and usability, acting as mediating factors. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that AI infrastructure flexibility acts as a moderator in the relationship between platform leadership and information effects, influencing the indirect effect of platform leadership on green sustainable practices through information effects. This research not only contributes to our understanding of the twin transition in high‐tech SMEs but also sheds light on the critical role of platform leadership, information effects, and AI infrastructure flexibility in driving green sustainable practices. These findings have significant implications for managers, policymakers, and scholars focused on sustainability and innovation in the high‐tech sector.
Organizational Governance and Trade‐Offs Between Pay and Subjective Employee Well‐Being: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Budd John W. , Lamare J. Ryan
Published: November 2024

The incompleteness of labour contracts is expected to cause uncertainty among forward‐looking employees as to whether implicit contracts with greater intrinsic rewards in lieu of pay will be breached by employers, thus reducing employee well‐being. David Marsden theorized that an organization's form of governance can serve as a stable, easy‐to‐observe signal of the likelihood of a breach, and thus employees across governance types will exhibit different extrinsic–intrinsic trade‐offs. Using the European Working Conditions Survey, we extend Marsden's theory and find supportive evidence across 35 European countries and 9 governance categories. We also extend Marsden's theorizing into the comparative domain and analyse patterns of subjective well‐being, compensatory pay and organizational governance across varieties of political economies.
Utility of the social skills improvement system–rating scales for capturing dynamic social constructs: Evidence using the measurement model of derivatives
Authors: Frye Katherine E. , Anthony Christopher J. , Lei Pui‐Wa , Husmann Kyle D. , DiPerna James C.
Published: November 2024

Social skills are dynamic developmental constructs typically measured using assessments developed via cross‐sectional methods. The measurement model of derivatives (MMOD), a factor analytic approach targeting individual growth trajectories, was used to evaluate the longitudinal factor structure of the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales (SSIS‐RS) teacher form with a sample of 1320 first and second grade students (51.6% female, 54.8% white, 20.6% Black, 14.4% Hispanic). Although results provided support for three of the original SSIS‐RS factors (Assertion, Empathy, Self‐Control), there was some evidence that the other four original domains (Cooperation, Responsibility, Engagement, Communication) could be explained by two factors in this age range. Implications for using the SSIS‐RS and the utility of the MMOD in developmental research are discussed.
Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain
Authors: Nores Carlos , Álvarez‐Laó Diego , Navarro Alberto , Pérez‐Barbería Francisco Javier , Castaños Pedro María , Castaños de la Fuente Jone , Morales Muñiz Arturo , Azorit Concepción , Muñoz‐Cobo Joaquín , Fernández Delgado Carlos , Granado Lorencio Carlos , Palmqvist Paul , Soriguer Ramón , Delibes Miguel , Vilà Montserrat , Simón Miguel , Cabezudo Baltasar , Galán Carmen , García‐Berthou Emili , Almodóvar Ana , Elvira Benigno , Brufao Curiel Pedro , Casinos Adriá , Herrero Juan , Blanco Juan Carlos , García‐González Ricardo , Nogués‐Bravo David , Margalida Antoni , Fisher Brendan , Arlettaz Raphaël , Gordon Iain J. , Ludwig Arne , Lovari Sandro , Cook Brian D. , Carranza Juan , Csányi Sándor , Apollonio Marco , Kowalczyk Rafał , Demarais Steve , López‐Bao José Vicente
Published: November 2024

Most European rewilding initiatives are based on the recovery of large herbivores, particularly European bison Bison bonasus, aiming at restoring ecosystem processes and increase trophic complexity. The growing support for the release of bison as a wild species, and change its legal status, in Spain, as an ecological analogue of the extinct steppe bison Bison priscus, makes it an excellent example to reflect the limits of a rewilding biogeographically advisable. We discuss if this initiative could be justified from ecological, biogeographical, ethical, and legal reasons. Besides remarkable taxonomic and functional differences between both bison species, the Mediterranean environment, under the present and future climatic scenarios, does not suit the European bison. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the presumption that the European bison was ever present in the Iberian Peninsula, with legal implications. We expect that our approach will be inspirational for similar assessments on rewilding initiatives globally.
The Multifaceted Impact of Education on Fertility: Unpacking the “BASIC” Effects in China
Authors: Liu Yufei , Zhao Chuanmin
Published: November 2024

Research is increasingly showing that the impact of education on fertility can result in various and sometimes conflicting outcomes. Using data from the China General Social Survey, this study investigates this issue by exploring five channels (the five “BASIC” effects – base, ambition, spouse, income, and concept effects) through which education might influence different fertility behaviors. Using the number of Confucian temples in a region as an instrumental variable for education and employing the two‐stage least squares estimation, the results indicate that after taking into account the BASIC effects, the impact of education on actual fertility behavior – both the number of children and the decision to have children – becomes insignificant. However, the negative influence of education on fertility intentions persists. This suggests that, although an increase in the level of education may reduce people's desire to have children, the actual fertility behavior can be influenced more by factors such as individual work status (the base effect) and personal expectations (the ambition effect). These findings provide new insights to assist China to optimize its population policy further, helping policymakers to understand better how education affects fertility choices and to formulate more precise population development strategies.
An Attention‐Driven Hybrid Deep Neural Network for Enhanced Heart Disease Classification
Authors: Lilhore Umesh Kumar , Simaiya Sarita , Alhussein Musaed , Dalal Surjeet , Aurangzeb Khursheed , Hussain Amir
Published: November 2024

Heart disease continues to be a primary cause of mortality globally, highlighting the critical necessity for efficient early prediction and classification techniques. This study presents a new hybrid model attention‐based CNN‐Bi‐LSTM that integrates the SMOTE with an attention‐driven improved convolutional neural network‐recurrent neural network architecture to improve the classification of heart sounds, especially from imbalanced datasets. Heart sounds are difficult to classify because of their complex acoustic properties and the variability of their characteristics across frequency and temporal domains. The proposed model utilises an advanced CNN to effectively extract global and local features, in conjunction with a bidirectional long short‐term memory network to improve the architecture by capturing contextual information from both preceding and subsequent time sequences. The incorporation of spatial attention within the CNN and temporal attention in the RNN enables the model to concentrate on the most pertinent audio segments. To address the challenges presented by imbalanced and noisy datasets that may impede the efficacy of deep learning algorithms, our model employs SMOTE to improve data representation. The hybrid model outperformed popular models such as CNN, LSTM and CNN‐LSTM, achieving a classification accuracy of more than 97% on the PCG and PASCAL heart sound datasets. The findings demonstrate the model's reliability as an initial evaluation tool in clinical settings, thereby improving support for cardiovascular disease diagnosis.
Interaction with the cysteine‐free protein HAX1 expands the substrate specificity and function of MIA40 beyond protein oxidation
Authors: Rothemann Robin Alexander , Stobbe Dylan , Hoehne‐Wiechmann Michaela Nicole , Murschall Lena Maria , Peker Esra , Knaup Lara Katharina , Racho Julia , Habich Markus , Gerlich Sarah , Lapacz Kim Jasmin , Ulrich Kathrin , Riemer Jan
Published: November 2024

The mitochondrial disulphide relay machinery is essential for the import and oxidative folding of many proteins in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Its core component, the import receptor MIA40 (also CHCHD4), serves as an oxidoreductase but also as a chaperone holdase, which initially interacts with its substrates non‐covalently before introducing disulphide bonds for folding and retaining proteins in the intermembrane space. Interactome studies have identified diverse substrates of MIA40, among them the intrinsically disordered HCLS1‐associated protein X‐1 (HAX1). Interestingly, this protein does not contain cysteines, raising the question of how and to what end HAX1 can interact with MIA40. Here, we demonstrate that MIA40 non‐covalently interacts with HAX1 independent of its redox‐active cysteines. While HAX1 import is driven by its weak mitochondrial targeting sequence, its subsequent transient interaction with MIA40 stabilizes the protein in the intermembrane space. HAX1 solely depends on the holdase activity of MIA40, and the absence of MIA40 results in the aggregation, degradation and loss of HAX1. Collectively, our study introduces HAX1 as the first endogenous MIA40 substrate without cysteines and demonstrates the diverse functions of this highly conserved oxidoreductase and import receptor.
Using Social Space Perspective to Explore SDGs Curricula Localisation: Case Study at Two Japanese National and Private Universities
Authors: Enkhtur Ariunaa , Rakhshandehroo Mahboubeh
Published: November 2024

Drawing on the concept of the Production of Space this article examines how sustainable development agenda was localised—in design, operation and students' lived experiences—in two international education programmes at two universities in Japan. We analysed relevant programme documents, interviews with faculty members, students' reflective notes, as well as the authors' autoethnographic journals. The findings show that the local and institutional context influenced the SDGs curriculum design (representations of space or the conceived space). The virtual and physical learning spaces, the pedagogy and the operation of the programme (spatial practice or perceived space) shaped students' interaction and learning outcomes (representational space or the lived space). As instructors attempted to adopt SDGs in their teaching (through perceived space) and as students tried to gain interdisciplinary knowledge through SDGs (through lived space), both parties negotiated and challenged the programme design shifting the conceived spaces. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the localisation of SDGs within the internationalisation of higher education by employing Lefebvre's spatial analysis. This approach reveals the complex socio‐spatial dynamics at play, offering insights into how educational environments are constructed and experienced.
Sinonasal adenosquamous carcinomas arising in seromucinous hamartoma or respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma with atypical features: Report of five detailed clinicopathological and molecular characterisation of rare entity
Authors: Bradová Martina , Costes‐Martineau Valerie , Laco Jan , Vaněček Tomáš , Grossmann Petr , Němcová Jana , Pavlovský Zdeněk , Skálová Alena , Michal Michal
Published: November 2024

Aims

Sinonasal adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is a rare tumour classified as a variant of squamous cell carcinoma, exhibiting both squamous and glandular differentiation. ASC has a poorer prognosis compared to sinonasal mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), another uncommon tumour in this region. ASC is believed to originate from metaplastic squamous epithelium, though it may also arise from respiratory epithelium in respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) or seromucinous glands in seromucinous hamartoma (SH).

Methods and results

Five cases of sinonasal ASC were retrieved from our registry. Initially, they were classified as sinonasal MEC (n = 3), ASC (n = 2), and carcinoma ex REAH (n = 1). All cases showed adenosquamous malignant proliferation beneath the surface respiratory epithelium with occasional squamous metaplasia, except for one case that showed dysplasia. The respiratory epithelium exhibited an inverted growth pattern consistent with REAH/SH, and displayed atypical sinonasal glands (ASGSH) arising within seromucinous hamartoma. Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) revealed multiple pathogenic mutations in two cases, and in case 4 GGA2::PRKCB and EYA2::SERINC3 gene fusions. One case was positive for high‐risk HPV. None of the cases exhibited CRTC1/3::MAML2 gene fusion.

Conclusion

The connection between ASGSH and ASC has not been described in the literature. There is a growing need for additional studies on the morphological, immunohistochemical, and genetic aspects of these tumours. SH/REAH may serve as precursor lesions in the progression of atypical sinonasal glands to malignancy, and their role in tumour development deserves further investigation.
Uncovering the impact of digital technologies on strategising: Evidence from a systematic literature review
Authors: Zhou Qijun , Yu Honglan , Adams Kweku , Attah‐Boakye Rexford , Johansson Jeaneth
Published: November 2024

Adopting digital technologies in different organizations has become a trend over the last decade, yet our understanding regarding impact of digital technologies on strategising needs to be more cohesive. This paper reviews existing research on how digital transformation intersects with strategic management to adress this gap. Specifically, the aim is to explore how the digital context changes strategising. Based on a systematic review of empirical evidence from 163 journal papers, we showcased the manifestation of strategising in the digital age in terms of strategic practitioners, practices and praxis. By consolidating these findings, a typology of strategic actions in the digital age is developed and discussed, highlighting the interplay among changes in strategy‐as‐practice parameters. This framework clarifies in strategic scenarios of digital transformation and identifies various strategic directions and actions. Overall, we argue that although digital transformation has created additional strategic options, it has yet to change the underlying assumptions of strategising in firms.
LGR4 Deficiency Aggravates Skin Inflammation and Epidermal Hyperplasia in Imiquimod‐Induced Psoriasis
Authors: Xue Mengfei , Yang Ruijie , Li Guihong , Ni Zhizhan , Chao Yuqing , Shen Kairui , Ren Hua , Du Bing , Qin Juliang , Sun Zhenliang
Published: November 2024

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterised by inflammatory cell infiltration, keratinocyte hyperproliferation and increased neovascularization. Despite extensive research, the precise mechanisms underlying psoriasis pathology and treatment strategies remain unclear because of a complex aetiology and disease progression. Hence, in this study, we aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets for psoriasis and explore their effects on disease progression. We observed that G protein‐coupled receptor LGR4 attenuates psoriasis progression. Bioinformatics analysis of publicly available clinical data revealed lower LGR4 expression in the skin lesions of patients with psoriasis than in their non‐lesioned skin. Both in vitro (HaCaT cell) and in vivo (mouse) models confirmed this phenomenon. The Lgr4‐knockout mouse model further confirmed that LGR4 plays a positive role in psoriasis progression. Specifically, Lgr4 knockout promoted the secretion of inflammatory factors, accumulation of local immunocyte infiltration in skin lesions, and keratinocyte proliferation. In conclusion, we demonstrated that LGR4 is critical to limiting psoriasis progression, suggesting that it is a viable target for the clinical management of this skin condition.
Constructing a Predictive Model for Psychological Distress of Young‐ and Middle‐Aged Gynaecological Cancer Patients
Authors: Qu Yitong , Zhang Yinan , Zhou Xueying , Wang Linan , Zhu Xinran , Jin Shimei , Zhuang Shumei
Published: November 2024

Background

Cancer patients experience substantial psychological distress which causes the reduction of the quality of life. However, the risk of psychological distress has not been well predicted especially in young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for psychological distress in young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients using the artificial neural network (ANN).

Methods

A cross‐sectional study of young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients (n = 368) was conducted between March and December 2022. We used the univariate analysis to determine the factors affecting psychological distress. ANN was used for psychological distress prediction in young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients. Also, a traditional logistic regression (LR) model was constructed for comparison. The area under the receiver's operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the model's predictive performance.

Results

ANN and LR showed that self‐efficacy, economic income and sleep duration were the top risk variables for psychological distress in young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients. The AUC of the ANN was 0.977, the sensitivity was 94.83% and the specificity was 86.44%, whereas logistic regression's were 0.920, 85.57% and 82.76%, respectively.

Conclusion

Compared with the LR model, the ANN model shows obvious superiority across all assessment index outcomes, and it may be used as a decision‐support tool for early identification of young‐ and middle‐aged gynaecological cancer patients suffering from psychological distress.