bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Restoring an eroded legitimacy: the adaptation of nonfinancial disclosure after a scandal and the risk of hypocrisy
Authors: Bellucci Marco , Acuti Diletta , Simoni Lorenzo , Manetti Giacomo
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study contributes to the literature on hypocrisy in corporate social responsibility by investigating how organizations adapt their nonfinancial disclosure after a social, environmental or governance scandal.

Design/methodology/approach

The present research employs content analysis of nonfinancial disclosures by 11 organizations during a 3-year timespan to investigate how they responded to major scandals in terms of social, environmental and sustainability reporting and a content analysis of independent counter accounts to detect the presence of views that contrast with the corporate disclosure and suggest hypocritical behaviors.

Findings

Four patterns in the adaptation of reporting – genuine, allusive, evasive, indifferent – emerge from information collected on scandals and socially responsible actions. The type of scandal and cultural factors can influence the response to a scandal, as environmental and social scandal can attract more scrutiny than financial scandals. Companies exposed to environmental and social scandals are more likely to disclose information about the scandal and receive more coverage by external parties in the form of counter accounts.

Originality/value

Using a theoretical framework based on legitimacy theory and organizational hypocrisy, the present research contributes to the investigation of the adaptation of reporting when a scandal occurs and during its aftermath.
COVID pandemic and virtual classes: a study of students from Punjab
Authors: Chadda Ishu , Kaur Hardeep
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The current corona virus pandemic had a major impact upon the health, economy and education worldwide. In India, the government as a part of the nationwide lockdown closed all educational institutions, as a consequence of which, the teaching-learning, examination and placement scenario of students were affected. UNESCO estimated that about 32 crore students have been affected in India. The adoption of an online e-learning approach tried to minimize the academic loss and stress on students. However, the online teaching transition moved on an untested and unprecedented scale in a very short span of period. The present study analyses the perception and level of acceptance of transition from offline to online learning amongst the students of higher education in Punjab.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis was carried out by surveying 200 students of higher education from Punjab belonging to different regions. An appropriate pre-tested questionnaire was framed on Google Forms. A five-point Likert scale was employed to determine the perception of students regarding quality of audio and video lectures, instructor's content, preparation, interactiveness, discussion regarding doubts and assessing likes and dislikes of students. The data were coded-decoded in SPSS by using descriptive statistics and factor analysis.

Findings

The study revealed the level of acceptance of online study among the students of higher education in Punjab. It is found that both online and offline modes of learning process have their own pros and cons. The sudden transition from regular mode to virtual mode was not an easy task for students either. The study revealed that both online and offline study modes have been accepted by students depending upon the availability of IT infrastructure as almost half of the respondents perceived online mode and the other half offline.

Originality/value

Punjab is a recognized state of northern India. In Punjab, the quality of higher education is good and students' satisfaction is always the priority of the educational institutions. At the time of the pandemic, this sudden transition from regular to virtual mode impacted education with students coming from diverse backgrounds like urban areas, rural areas, remote areas, rural-urban areas etc. So, in the light of this sudden transition, it is important to study the viewpoint of the students of Punjab. So, the present study was conducted to understand the perception of the students toward online learning during this ongoing pandemic. For this purpose, the study employed factor analysis. Application of factor analysis in this area is unique.
“Do they mean what they say?” Measuring greenwash in the sustainable property development sector
Authors: Quoquab Farzana , Sivadasan Rames , Mohammad Jihad
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to measure the greenwash construct in the sustainable property development (GSPD) context. Property development products such as residential homes, which are generally high-priced, require a long-term financial commitment from the consumers. It makes the property development sector unique. Hence, a specific scale is required to measure greenwash activities in this specific context by the marketers. However, the scale available to measure the greenwash construct is general which is not suitable to use in this particular context. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies were conducted to develop the GSPD measure in different phases. In developing the scale, qualitative interviews (study 1) were conducted to generate the initial pool of items. The preliminary set of questions were then validated (content and face validity) by experts' opinions. Exploratory factor analysis (using SPSS) was conducted to extract the factor structure of the newly developed measure (study 2) which was then again validated to ensure predictive reliability and nomological validity by using the SEM-PLS technique (study 3).

Findings

The exploratory factor analysis result revealed that greenwash in sustainable property development (GSPD) is a multi-dimensional construct. The dimensions are namely, false claims and misleading claims. The confirmatory composite analysis confirmed these two dimensions.

Practical implications

This newly developed GSPD scale will enable the researchers to measure the greenwash activities practiced by some of the housing developers. Marketers will be conscious to avoid such activities. Moreover, the government agencies may use this scale to monitor measure and deter greenwashing activities by property development companies.

Originality/value

This is a pioneer study that develops and validates a new scale to measure greenwash construct in sustainable property development in a developing context i.e. Malaysia. In addition, this study operationalized the greenwash construct in sustainable property development as a multi-dimensional behavioural construct determined by two dimensions i.e. false claims and misleading claims.
Assessment of mental fatigue using electroencephalography (EEG) and virtual reality (VR) for construction fall hazard prevention
Authors: Tehrani Behnam M. , Wang Jun , Truax Dennis
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Despite the importance of cognitive monitoring, limited studies attempted to continuously monitor cognitive status of workers regarding mental fatigue effects on fall hazard. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate and understand the effects of working at height on mental fatigue development for fall hazard prevention.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative framework using two well-known methods, i.e. Wavelet Packet Decomposition and Sample entropy, is developed to analyze the captured brain signals from Electroencephalography (EEG) to quantitatively assess mental fatigue levels, and seven mental fatigue indices were obtained. Between-subjects lab experiment was designed and conducted to assess mental fatigue in Virtual Reality (VR) environment.

Findings

Both of the quantitative methods confirmed that height exposure can adversely affect subjects' vigilance levels and indicated higher levels of mental fatigue. Significant differences were found between the two tested groups (i.e. working at height or on the ground) for six out of seven indices. The results suggested that working-at-height group had higher mental fatigue levels.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of this study is the limited number of subjects recruited for the experiment. Overall, this study is a preliminary and exploratory work towards mental fatigue monitoring and assessment in subjects exposed to fall risk.

Originality/value

This is the first study to explore and focus on mental fatigue assessment, particularly for construction falling-from-height hazard prevention by continuously monitoring mental fatigue levels of workers. The research provides insight into construction safety enhancement using smart technologies.
Method for managing requirements in healthcare projects using building information modelling
Authors: Baldauf Juliana Parise , Formoso Carlos Torres , Tzortzopoulos Patricia
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper proposes a method for managing client requirements with the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The development of healthcare projects demands a large amount of requirements information, in order to deal with a diversity of clients and frequents changes in healthcare services. The proposed method supports healthcare design by adopting a process-based approach for client requirements management, with the aim of improving value generation.

Design/methodology/approach

Design Science Research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation. The main outcome of this study emerged from an empirical study carried out in a healthcare project in Brazil.

Findings

The proposed method involves three stages: (1) capturing and processing requirements; (2) product and requirements modelling, which involves the connection between requirements and the BIM 3-D model and (3) supporting design solution refinement, through the communication of requirements and the assessment of design in relation to updated client requirements information.

Originality/value

This study explores client requirements management from a process perspective, proposing activities and their interdependences and possible sources of data, including healthcare services information. The main theoretical contributions are related to the understanding of the nature and complexity of the information involved in client requirements management, and how this can be modelled.
TopSteel: swimming sustainably in the blue metal ocean
Authors: Kong Siew Mui , Muthuveloo Rajendran , Chan Josephine Ie Lyn , Teoh Ai Ping
Published: August 2021

Learning outcomes

This paper aims to enable students craft a winning corporate strategy applicable for organizations in various contexts. The practical approach consists of conducting scenario planning based on internal and external environment analysis, identifying the winning factor, proposing an implementation strategy of entry and exit strategies, and future customers, and evaluating matching of business ethics and legality.

Case overview/synopsis

Wesley Chen, the executive director and group chief executive officer, has the ultimate challenge of leading his management team to operate from a sole proprietorship management style to a listed large company in the Malaysian Stock Exchange. He identified the gap in the need to craft a winning corporate strategy for business sustainability. The corporate strategy should address expansion of their service offerings and needs to be carefully crafted to suit TopSteel’s risk appetite and overall business strategy. The strategy must also consider the internal and external factors that TopSteel faced with, identify the core competency of TopSteel, build in strategic agility in the implementation plans to address the dynamic business landscape, and most importantly ensure the corporate strategy must be in compliance to ethical and legal standards. The case study documents the one year of transition of TopSteel’s operations with a strong focus on the strategic management process direction for a winning OEM+ model through the use of SWIM concept.

Complexity academic level

This case is suitable for undergraduate or postgraduate programs or even executive courses in strategic management.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy
Manager directives for salesperson ambidextrous selling and resulting job satisfaction: a regulatory focus perspective
Authors: DeCarlo Thomas E. , Powers Thomas , Sharma Ashish
Published: August 2021

Purpose

To sustain firm profitability, it is critical for sales managers to direct business-to-business (B2B) salespeople to generate revenues by simultaneously acquiring new customers and selling to current customers. However, emerging research indicates territory-based B2B salespeople have a preferred customer engagement orientation that reflects a tendency for engaging in selling activities to new (i.e. hunters) and/or existing (i.e. farmers) customers, suggesting that managerial ambidexterity directives could have deleterious effects on salespeople. This paper aims to address this possibility by investigating the moderating effects of salesperson regulatory focus on the relationship between managerial directives for salesperson ambidexterity and salesperson job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a mixed-method approach by using a field study of 106 matched sales manager–salesperson dyads from a large Fortune 500 B2B industrial distributor sales force and an experiment involving 152 B2B salespeople from a cross-section of industries.

Findings

The results indicate that sales manager ambidexterity requests reduce salesperson job satisfaction. However, the findings also demonstrate that salesperson regulatory focus moderates these negative effects such that the negative effect of manager ambidexterity requests on job satisfaction is reduced for salespeople with high vs low levels of regulatory focus ambidexterity balance. The results from the cross-sectional experimental study illustrate the cognitive mechanism that helps explain why this occurs.

Research limitations/implications

The Fortune 500 firm used in Study 1 uses a territory-based generalist sales force model where salespeople are not incentivized to prioritize hunting over farming (and vice versa). As a result, the findings may not generalize to firms with hunting/farming incentive systems or to those that operate in particular industries requiring a focus on either hunting or farming.

Practical implications

The findings show why managers attempting to direct territory-based salespeople to increase their ambidexterity behaviors may undermine the job satisfaction of certain salespeople by triggering a decrease in motivation while the same directives have the opposite effect for other salespeople. The findings also demonstrate salesperson reactions to ambidexterity requests, which provide additional insights for effective salespeople hiring, training and management.

Originality/value

The findings have implications for better understanding the effectiveness of sales management leadership directives. The study also offers a promising direction for future research to investigate salesperson receptivity to managerial controls.
Humanitarian relief chain agility: identification and evaluation of enabling factors
Authors: Dashtpeyma Mosayeb , Ghodsi Reza
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This research paper aims to identify and evaluate the enabling factors of agility capability in humanitarian relief chain network.

Design/methodology/approach

The research phases were implemented based on an integrated framework. First, a reference framework of the enablers has been constructed based on a literature review. Then, a hybrid evaluation approach is applied that combines fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP) to achieve reliable results. It provides a road map to identify and evaluate the interactions between the enabling factors and determines the weights correspond to their relative importance. This approach takes advantage of fuzzy set theory to deal with ambiguities, uncertainties and vagueness inherent in the evaluation process.

Findings

Relief chain agility is a vital determinant of the effectiveness to succeed humanitarian missions during and after natural and unnatural disasters such as earthquakes, epidemics and terrorist attacks. Results shed light on the essential enabling factors, relationships among them, and their importance for developing humanitarian relief chain agility enhancing the overall performance quality.

Originality/value

The integrated framework is implemented for the Red Crescent, a nongovernmental organization in Iran, which is trying to optimize the agility of their humanitarian relief chain network. In short, the findings are beneficial for identification and utilization of the essential prerequisites of agility in order to develop an agile humanitarian relief chain.
The influence of sports policies on the right to fair competition for women
Authors: Hissa Marcelo Rocha Nasser , Hissa Miguel Nasser
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Competitions in high-performance sports are based on the premise of fairness and the absence of advantages for participants. Therefore, several metrics were created to divide participants into categories and neutralize the advantages of some athletes. The division by sex is justified in the face of differences in body development between men and women due to testosterone levels. Faced with the difficulties of determining a single unequivocal criterion for determining sex, major sports entities periodically change the rules that guide the inclusion criteria to compete in the female category. The purpose of this study is to assess whether changes in gender metric rules bring female sports performance closer to male performance, reducing the equality of conditions for female competitors.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a retrospective study that compared female and male results from the past 5 Olympic games in the 100-metre dash, high jump and javelin throw.

Findings

The performance in the men's category in the 100-metre dash was superior to the women's in the Olympic Games in Sydney by 8.78% (± 0.16), in Athens by 9.88% (± 0.21), in Beijing by 10.11% (± 0.29), in London by 9.25% (± 0.59) and in Rio de Janeiro by 8.6% (± 0.23). The male high jump was higher than the female by 17.24% (± 1.18) in Sydney, 16.61% (± 1.83) in Athens, 17.01% (± 1.79) in Beijing, 15.47% (± 1.96 higher) in London and 19.67% (± 1.09) in Rio de Janeiro. In the javelin throw, the male superiority was 34.87% (± 2.35) in Sydney, 29.88% (± 4.15) in Athens, 31.87% (± 4.15) in Beijing, 29.44% (± 3.24) in London and 32.31% (± 2.69) in Rio de Janeiro.

Research limitations/implications

As limitations of the study, this study mentions the lack of hormonal dosage of the athletes involved, the non-evaluation of other modalities with different dynamics of execution and muscular requirements and the non-evaluation of the rules in sexual metrics during the qualifying stages for the games.

Practical implications

In this manuscript, the authors show that interference of the International Olympic Committee in the sex metric influences the athletic performance of women in some sports. Rules that facilitate participation of transgender athletes, or with sexual differentiation disorder and other forms of hyperandrogenism, improve female athletic performance overall.

Originality/value

The authors believe that this manuscript is appropriate for publication by International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare because it is an original paper that fits the goals of the publication. This manuscript creates a paradigm for future policies that rule the sex determination metrics in competitive sports.
Wise reasoning and political leadership amid COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory study on Ghana
Authors: Kutor Senanu Kwasi , Kyeremeh Emmanuel , Owusu Bernard , Amoak Daniel , Ishola Temitope Oluwaseyi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper examines how one group of frontline health workers (nurses) amid coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic perceive the Government of Ghana (GOG)'s decision to ease the lockdown restrictions when cases were increasing. This paper contributes to the literature on Igor Grossman's concept of wise reasoning and its applicability to COVID-19 management decision-making by political leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employed an exploratory qualitative design. The decision to adopt qualitative method is linked to the paucity of research on wise reasoning, political leadership and COVID-19. The paper draws on qualitative online survey with 42 nurses located in Accra Metropolis, Ghana.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that a confluence of research participants perceived the government's act of easing the lockdown restrictions to be in bad faith on account of (1) nonrecognition of different perspectives and viewpoints from stakeholders and interest groups; (2) rising number of cases which naturally make the decision to lift the restriction unwise; (3) concerns about the prioritization of peripheral issues over citizens' health and (4) concerns about limited and robust health facilities and their implications.

Research limitations/implications

The key claims must be assessed against the limitations of the study. First, the study is an exploratory study and, therefore, not intended for a generalization purpose. Second, the research participants are highly educated, and the responses in this study are skewed toward them.

Originality/value

The paper is novel in seeking to explore wise reasoning and political leadership during a global pandemic such as COVID-19. This exploratory study demonstrates that COVID-19, though devastating and causing havoc, presents an opportunity to test Igor Grossmann's wise reasoning framework about decision-making by political leaders. This extends the literature on wise reasoning beyond the discipline of psychology (the fact that all the authors are geographers) and Global North to Global South since the data for this study are gathered in Ghana.
The effect of fervid attachment to religious rites on tourism: evidence from the Holy Week in Southern Italy
Authors: Sestino Andrea , Pino Giovanni , Guido Gianluigi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is aimed to examine natives' Fervid Attachment to religious rites, as a part of cultural heritage, in its extrinsic (sense of belonging, rituality) and intrinsic (intimate bond, emotionality) characteristics, by shedding light on how leveraging on these characteristics could be emphasized to promote sustainable local development.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the principles of an ethnographic research approach based on observational methods, this paper analyzes the rites of Holy Week in Taranto, a city located in the Southern Italy, by capturing individuals' behavior according the concept of Fervid Attachment.

Findings

Results show that tourism destinations preserving their traditions and religious rites as part of their cultural heritage can satisfy tourists' spirituality needs and, by promoting the interaction with the local population (natives) in terms of relationship between them and tourists, supporting local communities' development. Moreover their Fervid Attachment in terms of sense of belonging, rituality, intimate bond and emotionality could be empathized to promote sustainable local development.

Practical implications

Our results provide suggestions on how local policymakers and tourism marketers could leverage natives' attachment to religious rites to boost religious tourism.

Originality/value

This paper shows from a new perspective based on the concept of natives' Fervid Attachment how local people are relevant in promoting a tourism destination.
Are atheist consumers less ethical? Investigating the role of religiosity and atheism on consumer ethics
Authors: Arli Denni , Nguyen Tuyet-Mai , Nham Phong Tuan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

There is a perception that non-religious consumers are less ethical than religious consumers. Studies found prejudices against atheists around the world and assumed that those who committed unethical behavior were more likely to be atheists. Hence, first, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of consumers’ intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity and atheism on consumers’ ethical beliefs. Second, this study attempts to segment consumers and identify differences between these segments.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 235 study participants in the USA and 531 in Vietnam. Subsequently, a two-step cluster approach was used to identify segments within these samples.

Findings

The study results show consumers’ intrinsic religiosity negatively influences all consumers’ unethical beliefs. Similarly, atheism also negatively influences all consumers’ unethical beliefs. This study also complements other studies exploring consumer ethics in developing countries. In addition, the segmentation analysis produced unique segments. The results from both samples (USA and Vietnam) indicated that non-religious consumers are less likely to accept various unethical behaviors compared to religious consumers. Religious consumers are not necessarily more ethical and atheism consumers are not necessarily less ethical. In the end, are implications for business ethics, religious and non-religious leaders on how to view the impact of beliefs on consumer ethical behaviors.

Originality/value

This is one of the first few studies investigating the impact of atheism on consumer ethics. The results of this study further extend the knowledge of study in consumer ethics by comparing consumers’ religiosity and atheism.
Positionality of refugee business support and hospitality building under cognitive dissonance theory: an enterprising route of refugee entrepreneurship
Authors: Qin Shuai
Published: August 2021

Purpose

For the developed economies in Europe, to which refugees move, and as refugees’ enterprising expectations evolve, emerging cognitive factors have become closely intertwined with their post-arrival encounters. However, the link between refugees’ social cognition and entrepreneurship commitment tends to be overlooked. This paper aims to join the international debates regarding cognitions of refugee entrepreneurship and explain the bewildering effects of refugees’ social cognitive dissonance on refugee business support.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews the extant knowledge of refugee entrepreneurship and refugee business support. It synthesizes the literature on cognitive dissonance, multiple embeddedness and hospitality to inform a conceptual model and explain the ramifications of refugees’ entrepreneurial cognition on refugee business support and how public attitudes in the destination transform accordingly.

Findings

This paper illustrates the prevalent imbalance between the provision of support and refugees’ anticipations in developed economies. A conceptual toolkit is framed to disclose the succeeding influence of cognitive dissonance on the performances of refugee business support. This framework indicates that the cognitive dissonance could elicit heterogeneous aftermath of refugee business support service, resulting in a deteriorated/ameliorated hospitality context.

Originality/value

This conceptual toolkit unfolds cognitive ingredients in the refugee entrepreneurship journey, providing a framework for understanding refugee business support and the formation of hospitality under cognitive dissonance. Practically, it is conducive to policymakers nurturing rational refugee anticipation, enacting inclusive business support and enhancing hospitality in the host country.
Research on the action mechanism of circular economy development and green finance based on entropy method and big data
Authors: Xiaofei Yan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

By calculating the information entropy of the indicator and measuring the amount of information in the data, this paper determines the weight of the indicator according to the impact of the relative change of the indicator on the whole.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to study the action mechanism of circular economy development and green finance, based on the entropy method, this paper constructs a system analysis model based on event research.

Findings

Moreover, this paper uses the analytic hierarchy process to obtain subjective weights based on expert opinions and then uses the entropy method to obtain objective weights and finally combines the two. In addition, an intelligent model is constructed based on the action mechanism of circular economy development and green finance to improve the system structure.

Originality/value

Finally, this paper designs experiments to verify the performance of the system model. The research results show that the system model constructed in this paper meets the actual situation.
Work–life balance and life satisfaction among the self-employed
Authors: Best Shawn , Chinta Ravi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The self-employed are an essential segment of society who contribute to economic growth and stabilisation in their communities. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate whether they enjoy a work–life balance (WLB) and life satisfaction (LS), which are two separate concerns of the self-employed in this study. Existing literature indicates that household income (HI) is a significant determinant of WLB and LS. This study investigates the levels and relationship of WLB and LS among the self-employed in the USA and the possible influence of HI on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are from an online panel survey of 435 self-employed persons residing in the USA. The authors test the hypotheses via regression analysis and ANOVA.

Findings

This study revealed that WLB is a significant predictor of LS for the self-employed. Further, it showed that HI has a statistically significant direct effect on LS and moderates the relationship between WLB and LS. Among the control variables, only firm size was seen to contribute positively to a high level of LS. Gender, education, age, the number of dependent children, industry and hours worked were not found to be statistically significant. The study also found that WLB was most important in predicting LS of the self-employed followed by HI and then firm size.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to investigate the relations between WLB and LS among the self-employed and extends the scant existing scholarship on this issue.
Leveraging inter-tourists interactions via chatbots to bridge academia, tourism industries and future societies
Authors: Calvaresi Davide , Ibrahim Ahmed , Calbimonte Jean-Paul , Fragniere Emmanuel , Schegg Roland , Schumacher Michael Ignaz
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing radical innovation boosted by the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies. Increasingly sophisticated chatbots are introducing novel approaches, re-shaping the dynamics among tourists and service providers, and fostering a remarkable behavioral change in the overall sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper is two-folded: (1) to highlight the academic and industrial standing points with respect to the current chatbots designed/deployed in the tourism sector and (2) to develop a proof-of-concept embodying the most prominent opportunities in the tourism sector.

Design/methodology/approach

This work elaborates on the outcomes of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a Focus Group (FG) composed of experts from the tourism industry. Moreover, it presents a proof-of-concept relying on the outcomes obtained from both SLR and FG. Eventually, the proof-of-concept has been tested with experts and practitioners of the tourism sector.

Findings

Among the findings elicited by this paper, we can mention the quick evolution of chatbot-based solutions, the need for continuous investments, upskilling, system innovation to tackle the eTourism challenges and the shift toward new dimensions (i.e. tourist-to-tourist-to-chatbot and personalized multi-stakeholder systems). In particular, we focus on the need for chatbot-based activity and thematic aggregation for next-generation tourists and service providers.

Originality/value

Both academic- and industrial-centered findings have been structured and discussed to foster the practitioners' future research. Moreover, the proof-of-concept presented in the paper is the first of its kind, which raised considerable interest from both technical and business-planning perspectives.
Price dynamics of cryptocurrencies in parallel markets: evidence from Bitcoin exchanges in Brazil
Authors: Andrade Daniel Modenesi de , Barros Jr Fernando , Motoki Fabio Yoshio , Oliveira da Silva Matheus
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to study the dynamics of bitcoin prices in Brazil, a large emerging economy with an unregulated bitcoin market.

Design/methodology/approach

First, this study tests if the Law of One Price (LOOP) is valid for bitcoin prices in Brazil, conducting tests with data from three Brazilian exchanges. Next, this study documents bitcoin price dynamics in the short run by studying the price discovery mechanism in these exchanges. This study uses Information Share and Component Share, combining the two measures to obtain an Information Leadership Share (ILS) measure.

Findings

This study finds a common trend within bitcoin prices among a set of exchanges, with cointegration tests between the price series indicating that LOOP is valid in Brazilian markets in the long run. ILS indicated that, for closing prices, the most liquid exchange (Foxbit) leads discovery, whereas the least liquid (Local Bitcoin) lags, with Mercado Bitcoin in the middle both in terms of discovery and liquidity. Finally, this study provides evidence that the price variation in the market that leads price discovery can be used to construct an arbitrage in another exchange.

Originality/value

This research brings the first evidence of a price discovery mechanism for exchanges in Brazilian Reais. Although LOOP is valid in the long run, price leadership in bitcoin markets potentially create arbitrage opportunities in the short run. This study contributes to the growing literature of bitcoin prices with novel evidence from a large emerging economy.
Nursing home admissions for persons with dementia: Role of home‐ and community‐based services
Authors: Wang Sijiu , Yan Di , Temkin‐Greener Helena , Cai Shubing
Published: August 2021

Objective

To examine the relationship between Medicaid home‐ and community‐based services (HCBS) generosity and the likelihood of nursing home (NH) admission for dually enrolled older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and their level of physical and cognitive impairment at NH admission.

Data Sources

National Medicare data, Medicaid Analytic eXtract, and MDS 3.0 for CY2010‐2013 were linked.

Study Design

Eligible Medicare–Medicaid dual beneficiaries with ADRD were identified and followed for up to a year. We constructed two measures of HCBS generosity, breadth and intensity, at the county level for older duals with ADRD. Three binary outcomes were defined as follows: any NH placement during the follow‐up year for all individuals in the sample, high (vs. not high) physical impairment, and high (vs. not high) cognitive impairment at the time of NH admission for those who were admitted to an NH. Logistic regressions with state‐fixed effects and county random effects were estimated for these outcomes, respectively, accounting for individual‐ and county‐level covariates.

Data Extraction Methods

The study sample included 365,310 community‐dwelling older dual beneficiaries with ADRD who were enrolled in fee‐for‐service Medicare and Medicaid between October 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012.

Principal Findings

Considerable variations of breadth and intensity in county‐level HCBS were observed. We found that a 10‐percentage‐point increase in HCBS breadth was associated with a 1.4 (p < 0.01)‐percentage‐point reduction in the likelihood of NH admission. Among individuals with NH admission, greater HCBS breadth was associated with a higher level of physical impairment, and greater HCBS intensity was associated with a higher level of physical and cognitive impairment at NH admission.

Conclusions

Among community‐dwelling duals with ADRD, Medicaid HCBS generosity was associated with a lower likelihood of NH admission and greater functional impairment at NH admission.
Health status and housing tenure decisions of older Australians
Authors: Awaworyi Churchill Sefa , Yew Siew Ling , Nguyen Thi Minh Thu
Published: August 2021

This study empirically examines the effects of health status on housing tenure decisions of older Australians. Using longitudinal data drawn from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey covering 2001–2017, we measure health status using self‐reported health scores and capture aspects of housing tenure decisions including homeownership, housing transition between owning and renting, and ownership downsizing or upsizing. Our results suggest that better health is associated with a higher probability of owning a home; a lower probability of transitioning from homeownership to renting; and a higher probability of transitioning from renting to homeownership. We also find a positive association between health and decisions to downsize and upsize although the probability is slightly higher for downsizing compared to upsizing. These findings are robust to a suite of sensitivity checks including alternative estimation methods, alternative measures of health and housing transitions, and to different population subgroups. We find that the preference to continue living in an area is an important channel through which health influences homeownership and housing transition between owning and renting. Our findings point to the need for policies that promote healthy aging and improve home and community healthcare services.
Handling missing data in a rheumatoid arthritis registry using random forest approach
Authors: Alsaber Ahmad , Al‐Herz Adeeba , Pan Jiazhu , AL‐Sultan Ahmad T. , Mishra Divya ,   KRRD Group
Published: August 2021

Missing data in clinical epidemiological research violate the intention‐to‐treat principle, reduce the power of statistical analysis, and can introduce bias if the cause of missing data is related to a patient's response to treatment. Multiple imputation provides a solution to predict the values of missing data. The main objective of this study is to estimate and impute missing values in patient records. The data from the Kuwait Registry for Rheumatic Diseases was used to deal with missing values among patient records. A number of methods were implemented to deal with missing data; however, choosing the best imputation method was judged by the lowest root mean square error (RMSE). Among 1735 rheumatoid arthritis patients, we found missing values vary from 5% to 65.5% of the total observations. The results show that sequential random forest method can estimate these missing values with a high level of accuracy. The RMSE varied between 2.5 and 5.0. missForest had the lowest imputation error for both continuous and categorical variables under each missing data rate (10%, 20%, and 30%) and had the smallest prediction error difference when the models used the imputed laboratory values.
Pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in non‐small cell lung cancer with EGFR ex20ins mutation: A case report
Authors: Zhang Meng , Nie Ligong , Cheng Yuan
Published: August 2021

The efficacy of immunotherapy in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with uncommon epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations is not well clarified, even though immunotherapy has brought revolutionary improvements in EGFR wild‐type NSCLC. In addition, pseudoprogression has increased the difficulty in immunotherapy management and data on the incidence of pseudoprogression in patients with EGFR exon 20 insertions (ex20ins) is rarely reported. Here, we discuss the case of an advanced lung adenocarcinoma patient with EGFR ex20ins alteration. The patient received pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first‐line therapy and disease control was achieved. Progression‐free survival (PFS) was 9 months. The patient was subsequently treated with pembrolizumab plus docetaxel and bevacizumab as second‐line therapy and the disease remained stable. After two cycles of first‐line treatment, the patient showed improvement in performance and the primary left upper lung lesion was stable; however, there was an increase in size as well as number of small diffuse bilateral pulmonary nodules. Therapy was maintained with the original regimen and complete regression of the bilateral lung nodules was achieved after a third cycle of treatment. Pseudoprogression was diagnosed. In the case reported here, we advocate the use of a PD‐L1 inhibitor plus conventional chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC patients harboring EGFR ex20ins mutation and hope that our experience might be beneficial to other clinicians in distinguishing pseudoprogression from true progression.
Disturbance ecology and the problem of n = 1: A proposed framework for unifying disturbance ecology studies to address theory across multiple ecological systems
Authors: Buma Brian
Published: August 2021

Disturbances are a key part of ecosystem dynamics at multiple scales. They can maintain ephemeral habitat, alter local and landscape biodiversity, drive carbon balance changes and trigger whole ecosystem regime shifts. Yet, there are few theories and only limited frameworks underlying disturbance ecology by which scientists and practitioners can anticipate the impacts of novel disturbances or changes in disturbance regimes. Much of the challenge in developing and testing theories lies in the diversity of ecosystems and disturbance processes and the general inability to (a) properly replicate studies and (b) compare results across disparate systems, from bacterial communities to boreal forests.

General syntheses of disturbance processes have identified key aspects of disturbance impact and response—resource stock change, resource flux change, spatial dynamics and trait diversity—that should apply across systems. Yet, application and testing remain challenging due to a lack of a common set of metrics and baselines for comparisons across systems.

Here, I propose a discipline‐wide effort to develop and publish standardized metrics (in addition to study‐specific data) such that the field as a whole can build and test general theory that works across ecological systems. Ten metrics spanning event type, location/design data and biotic composition comprise this suite of ‘minimum descriptors’ and are directly derived from current disturbance ecology theory. Several examples of cross‐system applicability, from bacterial studies to palaeoecological disturbances, are noted. These are example metrics, intended to open the conversation about the most appropriate and theory‐based lines of commonality across the field, and they may be further refined through cross‐disciplinary conversation.

The result of standardizing metrics will be a coordinated dataset that allows for inter‐system testing of theory, meaning disturbance ecology studies can move past disparate, seemingly unique systems with little replication to integrated research. To phrase it in another way, disturbance ecology studies should be planned, in part, to contribute to future quantitative meta‐analyses. If done, we (as a community) will be much better prepared to address the challenges of emerging disturbances, novel ecosystems, and no‐analogue changes in disturbance regimes which are anticipated with climate change and increasing human pressures.
The effect of willow diversity on insect herbivory and predation
Authors: Kollberg Ida , Weih Martin , Glynn Carolyn
Published: August 2021

The relationship between plant diversity and ecosystems functions such as regulation of insect herbivory is complex and context‐dependent. The empirical data necessary to account for these interactions are scarce.

Our objective is to test the top‐down effects of predation and bottom‐up effects of plant traits to understand what drives patterns of herbivory in managed systems.

We established single‐ and multiple‐variety willow field plots with up to four varieties, to study herbivory and predation, and greenhouse experiments to investigate the effects on insect preference and performance.

Herbivore damage in the field was higher in single‐ as opposed to multiple‐variety plots for the two most prevalent insect types in one of the 3 years. Predation was higher in multiple‐variety plots than in pure plots during 2016 but the opposite occurred in 2018. Predation on leaf beetle eggs was higher in multiple‐variety plots, but the result was related to specific variety mixtures rather than increased numbers of varieties. Leaf beetle feeding choice and egg‐laying were influenced to some extent by plant diversity.

Our results give insights into the links between plant diversity, composition and levels of herbivore damage. They also spark questions about how temporal aspects influence these links.
The first genome‐wide association study concerning idiopathic epilepsy in Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
Authors: Deschain T. , Fabricius J. , Berendt M. , Fredholm M. , Karlskov‐Mortensen P.
Published: August 2021

The dog breed Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen has a relatively high prevalence of idiopathic epilepsy compared to other dog breeds and previous studies have suggested a genetic cause of the disease in this breed. Based on these observations, a genome‐wide association study was performed to identify possible epilepsy‐causing loci. The study included 30 unaffected and 23 affected dogs, genotyping of 170K SNPs, and data analysis using plink and emmax. Suggestive associations at CFA13, CFA24 and CFA35 were identified with markers close to three strong candidate genes. However, subsequent sequencing of exons of the three genes did not reveal sequence variations, which could explain development of the disease. This is, to our knowledge, the first report on loci and genes with a possible connection to idiopathic epilepsy in Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. However, further studies are needed to conclusively identify the genetic cause of idiopathic epilepsy in this dog breed.
The integrative biology of genetic dominance
Authors: Billiard Sylvain , Castric Vincent , Llaurens Violaine
Published: August 2021

Dominance is a basic property of inheritance systems describing the link between a diploid genotype at a single locus and the resulting phenotype. Models for the evolution of dominance have long been framed as an opposition between the irreconcilable views of Fisher in 1928 supporting the role of largely elusive dominance modifiers and Wright in 1929, who viewed dominance as an emerging property of the structure of enzymatic pathways. Recent theoretical and empirical advances however suggest that these opposing views can be reconciled, notably using models investigating the regulation of gene expression and developmental processes. In this more comprehensive framework, phenotypic dominance emerges from departures from linearity between any levels of integration in the genotype‐to‐phenotype map. Here, we review how these different models illuminate the emergence and evolution of dominance. We then detail recent empirical studies shedding new light on the diversity of molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying dominance and its evolution. By reconciling population genetics and functional biology, we hope our review will facilitate cross‐talk among research fields in the integrative study of dominance evolution.