bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A novel uncultured marine cyanophage lineage with lysogenic potential linked to a putative marineSynechococcus‘relic’ prophage
Authors: Flores-Uribe José , Philosof Alon , Sharon Itai , Fridman Svetlana , Larom Shirley , Béjà Oded
Published: May 2018

Marine cyanobacteria are important contributors to primary production in the ocean and their viruses (cyanophages) affect the ocean microbial communities. Despite reports of lysogeny in marine cyanobacteria, the genome sequence of such temperate cyanophages remains unknown although genomic analysis indicate potential for lysogeny in certain marine cyanophages. Using assemblies from Red Sea andTaraOceans metagenomes, we recovered genomes of a novel uncultured marine cyanophage lineage, which contain, in addition to common cyanophage genes, a phycobilisome degradation protein NblA, an integrase and a split DNA polymerase. The DNA polymerase forms a monophyletic clade with a DNA polymerase from a genomic island in Synechococcus WH8016. The island contains a relic prophage that does not resemble any previously reported cyanophage but shares several genes with the newly identified cyanophages reported here. Metagenomic recruitment indicates that the novel cyanophages are widespread, albeit at low abundance. Here we describe a novel potentially lysogenic cyanophage family, their abundance and distribution in the marine environment.

Originality-Significance Statement

Marine cyanobacteria are major contributors to primary production in the ocean. Despite reports of lysogeny in marine cyanobacteria, genomes from lysogenic marine cyanophages have not been reported yet. Using metagenomics assemblies, we recovered complete genomes of a novel uncultured marine cyanophage lineage. Remarkably, the DNA polymerase of these uncultured phages forms a monophyletic clade with the DNA polymerase from a genomic island inSynechococcusWH8016. The genomic island contains a putative relic prophage that does not resemble any known cultured cyanophage but shares several genes with the newly identified cyanophage family. These findings provide both phylogenomic and abundance estimates that are missing from current ecological models of this important group of marine viruses.
Theaflavins, polyphenols of black tea, inhibit entry of hepatitis C virus
Authors: Chowdhury Pritom , Sahuc Marie-Emmanuelle , Rouillé Yves , Vandeputte Alexandre , Brodin Priscille , Goswami Manoranjan , Bandyopadhyay Tanoy , Dubuisson Jean , Séron Karin
Published: May 2018

The treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by combination of direct acting antivirals (DAA), with different mode of action, has made substantial progress in the past few years. However, appearance of resistance and high cost of the therapy is still an obstacle in the achievement of the therapy, more specifically in developing countries. In this context, search for affordable antivirals with new mechanisms of action is still needed. Tea, after water, is the most popular drink worldwide. Polyphenols extracted from green tea have already shown anti-HCV activity as entry inhibitors. Here, three different theaflavins, theaflavin (TF1), theaflavin-3’-monogallate (TF2), and theaflavin-3-3’-digallate (TF3), which are major polyphenols from black tea, were tested against HCV in cell culture. The results showed that all theaflavins inhibit HCV infection in a dose-dependent manner in an early step of infection. Results obtained with HCV pseudotyped virions confirmed their activity on HCV entry and demonstrated their pan-genotypic action. No effect on HCV replication was observed by using HCV replicon. Investigation on the mechanism of action of black tea theaflavins showed that they act directly on the virus particle and are able to inhibit cell-to-cell spread. Combination study with inhibitors most widely used in anti-HCV treatment regimen demonstrated that TF3 exerts additive effect. In conclusion, theaflavins, that are present in high quantity in black tea, are new inhibitors of HCV entry and hold promise for developing in therapeutic arsenal for HCV infection.
Unprecedented account of mortality and morbidity in free ranging Formosan Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla)
Authors: Sun Nick Ching-Min , Arora Bharti , Lin Jing-Shiun , Lin Wen-Chi , Chi Meng-Jou , Chen Chen-Chih , Pei Kurtis Jai-Chyi
Published: May 2018

Globally, pangolins are overt for poaching and illegal trade, but Taiwan projects totally a contrary image where their population is stable and increasing. This paper illustrated the factors responsible for causing mortality and morbidity in free ranging Formosan pangolin (M. pentadactyla pentadactyla). Results from radio-tracking showed that Formosan pangolins are highly susceptible to stuck in tree hallows or ground burrows despite being proficient burrowers, and killed by gin traps, especially during the dryer season. Whilst the data consolidated from the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals illustrated the trauma (73.0%) was the major reason of causing morbidity in Formosan pangolin. The gin traps were the leading cause of trauma (77.8%) along with tail injuries caused by dog attack (20.4%). Despite all the pressing data about the injuries Taiwan, it is able to establish substantial success rate in rescuing and releasing pangolins through consolidating and applying valuable information among the rescue centers in the span of two decades. Taiwan has made a phenomenal progress in sustaining a salubrious population of pangolin but the situation requires continuous examination to ensure the existence of this species on the island.
Hormonal signaling cascades required for phototaxis switch in wanderingLeptinotarsa decemlineatalarvae
Authors: Meng Qing-Wei , Xu Qing-Yu , Zhu Tao-Tao , Jin Lin , Fu Kai-Yun , Guo Wen-Chao , Li Guo-Qing
Published: May 2018

Many animals exploit several niches sequentially during their life cycles, a fitness referred to as ontogenetic niche shift (ONS). To successfully accomplish ONS, transition between development stages is often coupled with changes in one or more primitive, instinctive behaviors. Yet, the underlining molecular mechanisms remain elusive. We show here thatLeptinotarsa decemlineatalarvae finish their ONS at the wandering stage by leaving the plant and pupating in soil. At middle wandering phase, larvae also switch their phototactic behavior, from photophilic at foraging period to photophobic. We find that enhancement of juvenile hormone (JH) signal delays the phototactic switch, andvise verse. Moreover, RNA interference (RNAi)-aided knockdown ofLdPTTH(prothoracicotropic hormone gene) orLdTorso(PTTH receptor gene) impairs avoidance response to light, a phenotype nonrescuable by 20-hydroxyecdysone. Consequently, the RNAi beetles pupate at the soil surface or in shallow layer of soil, with most of them failing to construct pupation chambers. Furthermore, a combination of depletion ofLdPTTH/LdTorsoand disturbance of JH signal causes no additional effects on light avoidance response and pupation site. Finally, we establish that TrpA1 (transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel) is necessary for light avoidance behavior, acting downstream of PTTH. We conclude that JH/PTTH cascade concomitantly regulates metamorphosis and the phototaxis switch, to drive ONS of the wandering beetles from plant into soil to start the immobile pupal stage.

Author summary

Many animals occupy distinct niches and utilize diverse resources at different development stages in order to meet stage-dependent requirements and overcome stage-specific limitations. This fitness is referred to as ontogenetic niche shift (ONS). During the preparation for ONS, animals often change one or more primitive, instinctive behaviors. Holometabolous insects, with four discrete developmental periods usually in different niches, are a suitable animal group to explore the molecular modes of these behavioral switches. Here we find thatLeptinotarsa decemlineatalarvae, an insect defoliator of potatoes, switch their phototactic behavior, from photophilic at feeding period to photophobic during the larval-pupal transition (wandering stage). This phototactic switch facilitates the wandering larvae to accomplish the ONS from potato plant to their pupation site below ground. We show that JH/PTTH cascade controls the phototaxis switch, through a step in photo transduction between the photoreceptor molecule and the transient receptor potential cation channel.
Messenger RNAs transcribed from yeast linear cytoplasmic plasmids possess unconventional 5’ and 3’ UTRs and suggest a novel mechanism of translation
Authors: Vopálenský Václav , Sýkora Michal , Mašek Tomáš , Pospíšek Martin
Published: May 2018

Linear plasmids with almost identical compact genetic organization have been found in the cytoplasm of yeast species from nine genera. We employed pGKL1,2 plasmids fromKluyveromyces lactisas a model to investigate the previously unstudied transcriptome of yeast cytoplasmic linear plasmids. We performed 5’ and 3’ RACE analysis of all the pGKL1,2 mRNAs and found them not 3’ polyadenylated and containing mostly uncapped 5’ poly(A) leaders that are not complementary to the plasmid DNA. The degree of 5’ capping and/or 5’ polyadenylation is specific to each gene and is controlled by the corresponding promoter regions. We refined the description of the pGKL1,2 promoters and found new alternative promoters of several genes. We also provide evidence thatK2ORF3encodes an mRNA cap guanine-N7-methyltransferase and that 5’ capped pGKL1,2 transcripts contain N7-methylated caps. Translation of pGKL1,2 transcripts is enhanced inIsm1Δandpab1Δstrains and is independent of eIF4E and Pab1 translation factors. We suggested a model of a primitive regulation of pGKL1,2 plasmids gene expression where degree of 5’ mRNA capping, degree of 5’ non-template polyadenylation and presence of negative regulators as PAB1 and Lsm1 play an important role. Our data also suggest a close relationship between linear plasmids and poxviruses.
Splicing and epigenetic factors jointly regulate epidermal differentiation
Authors: Tanis Sabine E.J. , Jansen Pascal W.T.C. , Zhou Huiqing , Vermeulen Michiel , Mulder Klaas W.
Published: May 2018

Epidermal homeostasis requires a continuous balance between progenitor cell proliferation and loss of differentiated cells from its surface. During this process cells undergo major changes in their transcriptional programs to accommodate new cellular functions. We found that transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms underlying these changes are functionally connected and jointly control genes involved in cell adhesion, a key process in epidermal maintenance. Using siRNA-based perturbation screens, we identified novel DNA/RNA binding regulators of epidermal differentiation. Computational modeling and experimental validation identified functional interactions between the matrin-type 2 zinc-finger protein ZMAT2 and the epigenetic modifiers ING5, SMARCA5, BRD1, UHRF1, BPTF, SMARCC2. ZMAT2 is required to keep cells in an undifferentiated, proliferative state and quantitative proteomics identified ZMAT2 as an interactor of the pre-spliceosome. RNA-Immunoprecipitation and transcriptome-wide RNA splicing analysis showed that ZMAT2 associates with and regulates transcripts involved in cell adhesion in conjuction with ING5. Thus, joint control by post-transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms is important to maintain epidermal cells in an undifferentiated state.

Highlights

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Gene-perturbation screens identify a role for ZMAT2 in the control of human epidermal differentiation.

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ZMAT2 functionally interacts with known epigenetic regulators of epidermal differentiation.

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ZMAT2 interacts with the pre-spliceosome and transcripts involved in cell adhesion.

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ZMAT2 mediated splicing and epigenetic control jointly target an adhesion related transcriptional program in human epidermal stem cells.
Quantifying Uncertainty and Robustness in a Biomathematical Model Based Patient-Specific Response Metric for Glioblastoma
Authors: Hawkins-Daarud Andrea , Johnston Sandra K. , Swanson Kristin R.
Published: May 2018

Glioblastomas, lethal primary brain tumors, are known for their heterogeneity and invasiveness. A growing literature has been developed demonstrating the clinical relevance of a biomathematical model, the Proliferation-Invasion (PI) model, of glioblastoma growth. Of interest here is the development of a treatment response metric, Days Gained (DG). This metric is based on individual tumor kinetics estimated through segmented volumes of hyperintense regions on T1-weighted gadolinium enhanced (T1Gd) and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs). This metric was shown to be prognostic of time to progression. Further, it was shown to be more prognostic of outcome than standard response metrics. While promising, the original paper did not account for uncertainty in the calculation of the DG metric leaving the robustness of this cutoff in question. We harness the Bayesian framework to consider the impact of two sources of uncertainty: 1) image acquisition and 2) interobserver error in image segmentation. We first utilize synthetic data to characterize what non-error variants are influencing the final uncertainty in the DG metric. We then consider the original patient cohort to investigate clinical patterns of uncertainty and to determine how robust this metric is for predicting time to progression and overall survival. Our results indicate that the key clinical variants are the time between pre-treatment images and the underlying tumor growth kinetics, matching our observations in the clinical cohort. Finally, we demonstrated that for this cohort there was a continuous range of cutoffs between 94 and 105 for which the prediction of the time to progression and was over 80% reliable. While further validation must be done, this work represents a key step in ascertaining the clinical utility of this metric.
Annelid brain and nerve cord in siboglinidRiftia pachyptila
Authors: Rimskaya-Korsakova Nadezhda N. , Galkin Sergey V. , Malakhov Vladimir V.
Published: May 2018

Vestimentifera is a peculiar group of marine gutless siboglinids which has uncertain position in annelid tree. The detailed study of the fragmentary explored central nervous system of vestimentiferans and other siboglinids is requested to trace the evolution of the siboglinid group. Among all siboglinids the vestimentiferans preserve the gut rudiment what makes them a key group to homologize main cerebral structures with the ones of typical annelids, such as supra- and subesophageal commissures, cirsumesophageal connectives etc. Histologically we revealed main annelid brain structures in the compact large brain ofRiftia pachyptila: circumesophageal connectives (longitudinal nerve tracts) and commissures (dorsal, supra- and subenteral commissures). Innervation of tentacles makes them homologous to peristomial palps of the rest annelids. The single nerve cord is represented by paired intraepidermal longitudinal strands associated with the ventral ciliary field in vestimentum and bearing giant axons originating from at least four pairs of perikarya. The absence of regularly positioned ganglia and lateral nerves in the nerve cord in vestimentum and trunk and presence of them in the opisthosome segments. Among siboglinids, the vestimentiferans distinguished by a large and significatly differentiated brain which is reflection of the high development of the palp apparatus.Osedax, frenulates andSclerolinumhave less developped brain. Frenulates andSclerolinumhave good ganglionization in the opisthosome, which probably indicates its high mobility. Comparative neuroanatomical analysis of the siboglinids and annelid sister clades allows us to hypothesize that the last common ancestor of siboglinids might had brain with a dorsal commissure giving rise neurite bundles to palps and paired ventral nerve cord.
Acquisition premiums and the recognition of identifiable intangible assets in business combinations pre- and post-IFRS adoption
Authors: Su Wun Hong , Wells Peter
Published: May 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the relation between acquisition premiums and amounts recognised as identifiable intangible assets (IIAs) in business combination, in periods before and after transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Design/methodology/approach

This is an empirical archival research using data from business acquisitions.

Findings

In the pre-IFRS period, there is evidence of firms recognising IIAs in business combinations having higher acquisition premiums. This association of acquisition premiums and IIAs ceased with transition to IFRS, notwithstanding the relative latitude provided in accounting standards for the recognition of IIAs.

Research limitations/implications

This paper complements the study by Su and Wells (2015) which founds little association between IIAs and performance subsequent to business acquisitions prior to transition to IFRS. The results here suggest that it is attributable to overpayment. Problematically, the incentives for opportunism remain and an issue requiring address is whether alternative sources of accounting flexibility in relation to business combinations exist, such as goodwill which is no longer subject to mandatory amortisation.

Practical implications

The results are consistent with accounting opportunism and suggest “overpayment” and accounting flexibility having an economic consequence. This would be expected to result in asset impairments in subsequent periods; however, there is little evidence of this occurring.

Social implications

These results have relevance for regulators concerned with the operation of regulation relating to business acquisitions (AASB 3) and intangible assets (AASB 138).

Originality/value

This paper complements a number of papers concerned with the recognition of IIAs in business combinations and confirms what many researchers in the area typically assume (triangulation).
Attaining elite leadership: career development and childhood socioeconomic status
Authors: Jones-Morales Jennifer , Konrad Alison M.
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The existence of disadvantaged sub-populations whose talents are under-leveraged is a problem faced by developing and developed countries alike. Life history data revealed that a large proportion of elite business leaders in the Caribbean emerged from childhood poverty (families subsisting on US$1-2 a day, 40 percent). The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors supporting the career development of elite leaders from a broad socioeconomic spectrum and both genders in order to build a model of career development for elite leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via in-depth interviews from a deliberately gender-balanced sample of 39 male and 39 female elite business leaders. Thematic analysis identified consistencies across independent interviews and resulted in a model identifying factors supporting pre-career development as key to eventual attainment of elite leadership.

Findings

Findings indicated that in childhood and youth, proactivity plus talent recognition and mentoring by adults enhanced access to early developmental opportunities. Early career mentoring guided talented youth to build personal drive, self-esteem, altruism, and integrity, which created a foundation for developing career capital through values-based action. Altogether, these findings indicate the importance of pre-career relational capital to attainment of elite career success.

Originality/value

Difficult-to-access elite leaders provided rich information emphasizing the importance of pre-career development in childhood and youth to eventual elite leadership attainment. Virtually all of the elites in the sample remember being identified as talented early in life and consider early messages about drive to achieve as well as support received from parents, teachers, and other interested adults to be critical to their success. Hence, a process of talent recognition and encouragement to excel appear to be crucial for connecting young people to important relational capital allowing them to eventually achieve elite status, particularly those individuals hailing from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Core self-evaluations, job search behaviour and health complaints
Authors: Vîrga Delia , Rusu Andrei
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role played by core self-evaluations (CSEs) in relationship to both job seekers’ job search behaviour and health complaints by examining the mediating role of job search self-efficacy (JSSE).

Design/methodology/approach

The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 216 Romanian unemployed persons. The hypothetical and alternative models (partial and full mediation) were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results supported a total mediation between CSE and job search behaviour and a partial one in relationship with health complaints, via JSSE. As apost hocdecision, a brief meta-analysis was conducted for the relationship between CSE and job search behaviour which revealed a very small effect (r=0.07,p=0.001). This result complemented and certified the findings on the lack of a total and also a direct effect between CSE and job search behaviour.

Originality/value

JSSE seems to be an important motivational factor. Fuelled by CSE, JSSE enables proper job search behaviour and also promotes job seekers’ health. From a practical point of view, the data suggest that developing interventions to strengthen unemployed individuals’ personal resources such as CSE and, especially JSSE, could not only foster their employment but could also protect their health.
The impact of R&D sourcing strategies on basic and developmental R&D in emerging economies
Authors: Ozturk Ebru
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of R&D sourcing strategies and their governance modes on basic and developmental R&D. Following the concept of cognitive distance, this research proposes that there are trade-offs between basic and developmental R&D when emerging economy firms engage in different R&D sourcing strategies. R&D sourcing can enable emerging economy firms to access different level of heterogeneity of knowledge inputs depending on the cognitive distance between the firm and its suppliers. Distance in cognition increases when firms obtain knowledge from abroad and independent suppliers in comparison to the acquisition of knowledge from home boundaries and affiliates.

Design/methodology/approach

Tobit maximum likelihood estimation approach is used.

Findings

Using data from Turkish firms, this study finds out that offshore R&D with an outsourcing governance mode affects basic R&D. In contrast, domestic R&D with an insourcing mode influences developmental R&D.

Originality/value

This research extends recent efforts to better understand the determinants of different R&D types by examining offshore and domestic R&D together and by taking into account different governance modes of each R&D sourcing strategy. This study becomes important because it investigates this issue from the perspective of emerging economy firms.
Innovation inputs and efficiency: manufacturing firms in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Barasa Laura , Vermeulen Patrick , Knoben Joris , Kinyanjui Bethuel , Kimuyu Peter
Published: May 2018

Purpose

Countries in Africa have a common goal policy of industrialisation that is expected to be driven by investing in innovation that yields efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the technical efficiency effects arising from innovation inputs including internal R&D, human capital development (HCD), and foreign technology adoption in manufacturing firms in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses cross-sectional firm-level survey data from the 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey and the linked 2013 Innovation Follow-up Survey. A heteroscedastic half-normal stochastic frontier is used for analysing the technical efficiency effects of innovation inputs of 418 firms.

Findings

This study reveals that internal R&D, and foreign technology have negative effects on technical efficiency. Notwithstanding, the combination of foreign technology and internal R&D, and foreign technology and HCD reinforce each other’s effects on technical efficiency.

Practical implications

This study provides evidence that whereas individual innovation inputs may not yield positive efficiency outcomes, the combination of absorptive capacity enhancing inputs comprising internal R&D and HCD with foreign technology is vital for enhancing technical efficiency in manufacturing firms in Africa. This study offers important lessons for managers in manufacturing firms in Africa.

Originality/value

This study is virtually the first to investigate the relationship between innovation inputs and efficiency in Africa. This study demonstrates that investing in foreign technology in isolation from absorptive capacity enhancing innovation inputs diminishes efficiency. HCD and internal R&D are imperative for building absorptive capacity that enhances efficiency outcomes arising from foreign technology.
Women leader/ship development: mindfulness and well-being
Authors: Phillips Teri , Grandy Gina
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose mindfulness (e.g. practices such as yoga, meditation) as a fruitful addition to women leader/ship development research and practice, specifically as a means through which to prevent and mitigate negative health outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a literature review-based paper that integrates scholarly research on gender and women’s leadership, well-being (including stress reduction), women leader/ship development and mindfulness.

Findings

Women continue to be under-represented in senior leadership roles and many confront a “labyrinth” of “gender-organization-system” challenges throughout their careers. These challenges can have material effects on the well-being of women leaders. Research reveals positive psychological and biological effects of mindfulness practices on well-being (including stress). Some of this research reveals that women are more likely to engage in mindfulness practices and experience greater benefits. Leader/ship development programs designed specifically for women are needed, and it is proposed that incorporating mindfulness into these programs may result in beneficial outcomes for women leaders.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the limited body of work on women leader/ship development, mindfulness and leadership.
Adoption and implementation of new technologies in hospitals: a network perspective
Authors: Mikhailova Olga
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address challenges and opportunities that smaller hospitals with limited resources may face when they are adopting and implementing innovative technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a single case study with interviews and document analysis, this paper focuses on the recombination of resources, actors and activities during the process of technology adoption and implementation at a Danish hospital. Theoretically, it takes an interaction perspective for exploring the interplay between inner and outer networking during the innovation processes.

Findings

This study illustrates how the adoption and implementation of advanced medical technology requires significant investment, which is particularly burdensome for smaller hospitals. Constrained by limited resources, they have to develop creative combinations of resources through negotiation and embrace collaborative approaches to join and sustain themselves in the user-producer network.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the innovation field by suggesting ways in which practitioners at smaller hospitals can align with technology providers’ strategies and succeed by positioning their hospitals in relation to extended user-producer networks. This study further emphasizes the necessity of a broader discussion regarding the importance of user-producer interactions during innovation processes in health care settings.
The influence of knowledge related to innovative performance
Authors: Leiva Juan Carlos , Brenes-Sanchez Ronald
Published: May 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to assess knowledge relatedness as a possible determinant of business innovation performance. Knowledge relatedness is understood as the degree of similarity between a firm’s knowledge and that of its parent, i.e. the company that the entrepreneur leaves to establish his or her own firm. Innovation performance results from the competitive position that the company achieves through its management of new products and services on the market.

Design/methodology/approach

For the empirical work, the authors used a database composed of 356 entrepreneurs who established recently their own business in Costa Rica: people who stopped working in multinational companies in Costa Rica and created their own businesses, and people who created their own businesses simultaneously as the former employees of multinationals.

Findings

This paper reports a positive and significant correlation between knowledge relatedness and innovation performance for a number of young firms.

Originality/value

This paper presents the fact of including knowledge relatedness as a research topic linked to business innovation.
Earnings management para evitar reportar pérdidas: Chile, 2010-2014
Authors: Cornejo-Saavedra Edinson Edgardo
Published: May 2018

Propósito

Examinar si las firmas no financieras que estuvieron registradas en la Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros de Chile (SVS) manipularon la cifra de beneficios para evitar reportar pérdidas o disminuciones en las ganancias, durante el período 2010-2014.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Se analizó la distribución de los beneficios netos y la distribución de los cambios en los beneficios netos de las firmas, de acuerdo con la metodología de Burgstahler y Dichev (1997).

Hallazgos

Los resultados mostraron frecuencias inusualmente bajas de pequeñas pérdidas y de pequeñas disminuciones en los beneficios, y frecuencias inusualmente altas de pequeñas utilidades y de pequeños incrementos en las ganancias. Ambos resultados fueron estadísticamente significativos.

Implicaciones prácticas

El estudio presentó evidencia de posibles prácticas de earnings management para evitar reportar pérdidas o disminuciones en el beneficio neto durante el período 2010-2014. Estos resultados permitirían identificar empresas “sospechosas” de earnings management, y aumentarían la probabilidad de detectar las firmas que manipularon al alza el beneficio reportado en los estados financieros o que —en un caso extremo— cometieron un fraude aún no revelado.

Originalidad/valor

Los resultados de este tipo de estudios podrían ser útiles para focalizar actividades de monitorización y fiscalización para una mayor transparencia en el mercado bursátil.

Palabras clave

Manipulación del beneficio contable, Distribución de frecuencias, Beneficio neto, Pérdida, Umbral de beneficios.

Clasificación del artículo

Trabajo de investigación
Assessing growth in occupational licensing of low-income occupations: 1993-2012
Authors: Timmons Edward , Meehan Brian , Meehan Andrew , Hazenstab John
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document the changes in low- and moderate-income occupational licensing over time.

Design/methodology/approach

Using US state level data, the authors document the rise in occupational licensing for low- and moderate-income occupations over the 1993-2012 period.

Findings

States averaged 32 additional low- and moderate-income occupations licensed over this period. Louisiana added the most licenses with 59 new licenses for these occupations, while Oklahoma and Kentucky only added 15 licenses for these low- and moderate-income occupations.

Originality/value

These data have not been documented before and should provide useful for future research into occupational licensing.
Reshoring drivers and barriers in the Swedish manufacturing industry
Authors: Engström Gabriella , Sollander Kristina , Hilletofth Per , Eriksson David
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore reshoring drivers and barriers from a Swedish manufacturing perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a case study, including four Swedish manufacturing companies, with focus on drivers and barriers from the context of the Swedish manufacturing industry. A literature review of previously established drivers and barriers is used to map out the empirical findings and thereby identify potential gaps between the current body of literature and drivers and barriers from a Swedish manufacturing context.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that quality issues continue to be one of the strongest reshoring drivers. Except for product quality, quality is also connected to host country’s infrastructure, communication and service. The supply chain perspective is a source of several drivers and is identified as a perspective often overlooked in offshoring decisions. Barriers related to firm specifics were more elaborately discussed by the companies, especially concerning calculation of location decision and the need to invest in resources, which allows for a higher level of capacity at the home country facility.

Research limitations/implications

The study develops a structured table of reshoring drivers and barriers which can serve as a base for future research. Future research on the calculation of location decisions is deemed as a crucial step to further understand reshoring and aid companies in the decision-making process.

Practical implications

The drivers and barriers identified in the study can give practitioners insight into reshoring from the perspective of the Swedish manufacturing industry and thus aid in future manufacturing location decisions. The table of drivers and barriers can also be important to understand how Sweden can strengthen its competitive advantage and motivate more companies to reshore manufacturing.

Originality/value

This is one of only few papers from the Nordic countries and also one of few case studies examining reshoring in manufacturing companies.
Flow revisited: process conceptualization and a novel application to service contexts
Authors: Drengner Jan , Jahn Steffen , Furchheim Pia
Published: May 2018

Purpose

Flow is an important yet under-utilized concept to examine extraordinary experiences in service encounters. An extensive review of extant literature revealed several conceptual concerns that have contributed to a blurred understanding of flow. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptualization of flow that is complete yet parsimonious.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper includes a survey (Study 1,N=202) that covers gaming and online services and a field study (Study 2,N=448) covering a festival context. Structural equation modeling and regression-based mediation analysis are used to analyze the data.

Findings

Flow can meaningfully be conceptualized as the process from engrossment to enjoyment. Engrossment comprises loss of self-consciousness, transformation of time, concentration on the task at hand, and action-awareness merging. In service encounters with high achievement content (e.g. gaming or sports), challenge-skill balance, clear goals, unambiguous and immediate feedback, and sense of control serve as antecedents of engrossment. Yet flow also appears in service contexts without achievement content (i.e. where consumers have less control over the outcomes of their performance, such as when listening to music). Across service contexts, the enjoyment and engrossment (directly or indirectly) impact service loyalty.

Practical implications

In terms of improving loyalty or training outcomes service providers should have a clear interest in providing the utmost potential for creating flow experiences during the service encounter. Hedonic offers that allow engrossing in the activity seem particularly effective in this regard.

Originality/value

This paper offers a clear theoretical and empirical distinction of formerly treated facets of flow. It further contributes to extant literature by providing a revised conceptualization that regards flow as the process from engrossment to enjoyment. The revised conceptualization is void of unnecessary dimensions and can be applied and compared across various research contexts, including hedonic, nonachievement services. Moreover, the paper indicates that research streams on flow and immersion might be linked more closely.
Examining digital advertising using an affect transfer hypothesis
Authors: Stewart Kristin , Kammer-Kerwick Matt , Koh Hyeseung Elizabeth , Cunningham Isabella
Published: May 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a framework for understanding consumers’ response to digital advertising using the affect transfer hypotheses and incorporating search behaviors. The paper also offers future research suggestions.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach is used in this paper by conducting survey research on a research panel. Structural equation model with multi-group comparisons is conducted. The research is conducted using a general US population sample.

Findings

Findings demonstrate that the affect transfer hypothesis is sufficient to enhance extant understanding of consumers’ response to digital advertising, but the incorporation of search intentions into the model improves the explanatory power.

Originality/value

To date, little research in digital marketing has studied search intentions and less has done so in the context of digital video advertising. Interestingly, theory from a more traditional domain can lends support for the authors hypotheses.
National citizenship as a mediator of organizational innovation
Authors: Goby Valerie Priscilla , Alhadhrami Abdelrahman
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report an initial investigation into the role of national citizenship status in relation to leadership and organizational innovation in the context of the United Arab Emirates, an Arabian Gulf country with a workforce in which migrants far outweigh the number of locals.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use grounded theory methodology to gather initial data and reveal potentially appropriate theory for further research into the role of national citizenship as it correlates with organizational innovation.

Findings

The dominant themes that emerged were that citizen leaders display high levels of willingness to deviate from organizational schemata to respond to new situations; a preference for focus on the big picture; and low monitoring of subordinates. These findings indicate that citizen leaders experience greater ease in diverging from organizational schemata, suggesting that national citizenship status may afford a freedom that enhances the potential to contribute to organizational innovation.

Research limitations/implications

The issue of national citizenship is clearly one of increasing significance in the global workplace and, therefore, must be added to the academic research agenda given the combination of more frequent worldwide professional migration and the growing imperative of organizational innovation. To this end, the authors suggest potentially useful frameworks for further study.

Originality/value

This pioneering research has applicability to other geopolitical regions with high numbers of migrants in their workforces.
The development and implementation of a peer support model for a specialist mental health service for older people: lessons learned
Authors: Coates Dominiek , Livermore Patrick , Green Raichel
Published: May 2018

Purpose

There has been a significant growth in the employment of peer workers over the past decade in youth and adult mental health settings. Peer work in mental health services for older people is less developed, and there are no existing peer work models for specialist mental health services for older people in Australia. The authors developed and implemented a peer work model for older consumers and carers of a specialist mental health service. The purpose of this paper is to describe the model, outline the implementation barriers experienced and lesson learned and comment on the acceptability of the model from the perspective of stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

To ensure the development of the peer work model met the needs of key stakeholders, the authors adopted an evaluation process that occurred alongside the development of the model, informed by action research principles. To identify stakeholder preferences, implementation barriers and potential solutions, and gain insight into the acceptability and perceived effectiveness of the model, a range of methods were used, including focus groups with the peer workers, clinicians and steering committee, consumer and carer surveys, field notes and examination of project documentation.

Findings

While the model was overall well received by stakeholders, the authors experienced a range of challenges and implementation barriers, in particular around governance, integrating the model into existing systems, and initial resistance to peer work from clinical staff.

Originality/value

Older peer workers provide a valuable contribution to the mental health sector through the unique combination of lived experience and ageing. The authors recommend that models of care are developed prior to implementation so that there is clarity around governance, management, reporting lines and management of confidentiality issues.
Understanding employees’ intention to take sabbaticals
Authors: Altmann Sarah , Kröll Claudia
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of supervisor support for employees’ work-life balance (WLB) on employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. According to the theory of planned behavior, intentions are based on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which mediate the relationship between supervisor support and the intention to take sabbaticals.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 510 employees in Germany. The hypotheses developed are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results show that supervisor support has a direct negative effect on employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. In addition, supportive supervisors are associated with a decreased attitude toward sabbaticals, which reduces employees’ intention to take them. In contrast, supervisor support promotes employees’ perceived behavior control, which increases their intention to take sabbaticals.

Practical implications

The findings show that supervisors play an important role in employees’ decision-making process regarding whether to take sabbaticals. If supervisors are supportive regarding employees’ WLB, the need to take sabbaticals decreases. However, in order to encourage participation and to exploit the positive outcomes of sabbaticals, supervisors should communicate the possibility of taking them.

Originality/value

Prior research has focused solely on the direct link between supervisor support and the actual use of WLB policies. As behavior is intentional, it is important to understand how supervisor support affects employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. This paper explores the mechanism that explains the relationship between supervisor support and employees’ intention to take sabbaticals.
The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on work performance
Authors: Zhang Ying , Zhang Jian , Li Jingjing
Published: May 2018

Purpose

Based on the goal content theory (GCT), the purpose of this paper is to focus on the essence of goals and examine the associations between different work goal contents (intrinsic and extrinsic goals) and work performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from 279 employees and their immediate supervisors, and the theoretical hypotheses were tested by correlation and hierarchal regression analyses.

Findings

The results of the analyses showed that intrinsic goal content positively predicted task performance, dedicative performance, interpersonal performance, and adaptive performance and that extrinsic goal content positively predicted the task performance and adaptive performance; intrinsic goals were also found to enhance the relationship between extrinsic goals and task performance.

Originality/value

The contribution of the current study is that it explores whether both extrinsic goals and intrinsic goals can contribute to predicting work performance. Moreover, different from previous studies that focus on discussing the separate effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on outcomes, the authors aim to study the interaction effect between these goals, which enriches GCT.
Graduate student writing: Complexity in literature reviews
Authors: Badenhorst Cecile M.
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore Master’s students’ literature reviews to better understand the literacies required for engaging in complexity in this genre and to inform graduate student pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

In this qualitative study, data were collected in the form of student literature review papers (23 drafts and 23 final versions) from students attending a research seminar course in an all-course Master’s program. All papers were analyzed for citations patterns, genre awareness and levels of complexity.

Findings

Results highlight the nature of complexity in this genre – that this complexity is underpinned by discursive issues such as “truth”, “claims” or “facts” that often mislead novice academic writers, and recognizing that knowledge contested in academic contexts is important to understanding and teaching students about complexity in writing.

Originality/value

One of the most challenging writing tasks graduate students face, is the literature review. Literature reviews require sophisticated conceptual maneuverings. Despite being analytical in nature, many students find it difficult to engage with the layers of complexity required in this genre. How do we make the complexity in literature reviews more visible and accessible? The argument in this paper is that understanding the nature of complexity in literature reviews can enhance writing processes and intentional explicit pedagogy.
The strange case of dating apps at a gay resort: hyper-local and virtual-physical leisure
Authors: Vorobjovas-Pinta Oskaras , Dalla-Fontana Isaac Jonathan
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report novel information about the use of gay apps by the patrons of an exclusively gay resort in Queensland, Australia. This novel research environment facilitates an understanding of the embeddedness of gay dating apps within contemporary gay culture and community and the spatial reorientation that comes alongside the juxtaposition of physical and digital geographies.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic study was conducted at the resort, and qualitative data presented here are drawn from semi-structured interviews with 27 gay-identifying male patrons of the resort. Critical ethnography provided beneficial access to situated perspectives and realities.

Findings

These data indicate that gay apps remain a pervasive way of making connections, even in an environment where common homosexuality is a reasonable expectation and where open self-expression is permitted and even encouraged. This complicates assumptions that gay apps’ emergence was in response to a need for privacy or anonymity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in wider, straight society.

Originality/value

This paper reports the results of an ethnographic survey conducted in a highly novel research environment and particularly seeks to address divergent experiences of social and cultural change by LGBT people, including generational divides. It has value in demonstrating clear differences, ambiguities and mixed implications of gay apps and their relationship with changing LGBT spaces.