bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Being bisexual in contemporary Italy: between stigma and desire of visibility
Authors: Monaco Salvatore
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The Italian sociological scientific community has shown a limited interest in issues related to bisexuality. The purpose of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap on the subject, showing data of an empirical research conducted online on the Italian bisexual community.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on a mixed methods online survey on Italian bisexual people, which included 218 interviews. The questionnaire was made up of closed and open-ended questions, to investigate their behaviours, habits and lifestyles.

Findings

Social pressure and lack of understanding by others sometimes make difficult for bisexual people to show themselves openly for what they are, especially in some contexts, such as the word of work. From a sociological point of view, one can argue that one of the tools when bisexual people face the stigma related to bisexuality is to control, often in an obsessive way, the information they provide about themselves, carefully evaluating the contexts in which they can free themselves and the time when they must expose themselves in line with the expectations of the heteronormative society.

Research limitations/implications

The non-probabilistic sample limits the external validity of the findings. There are also critical elements that characterise social research when transposed online: first, the profiles of the respondents not always are verifiable; second, the digital divide excludes some groups that cannot access the web or involves an over-representation of those who are more familiar with technologies.

Originality/value

The work presented is the first Italian sociological study aimed at deepening the “invisible B” phenomenon of the LGBT acronym in a systematic way. Nowadays bisexuality remains under-researched in social sciences and overall in sociology. Putting “bisexuality” at the centre of the sociological attention appears important to provide serious and scientifically valid data and information useful both to develop the knowledge on this identity category and to contain forms of discrimination and prejudice.
Economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies: the Finnish cases of ridesharing and timebanking
Authors: Eskelinen Teppo , Venäläinen Juhana
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper explores economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies and argues that the diverse economies approach is particularly useful in elaborating the self-understandings of such economic communities. The analysis focuses on two types of alternative economies in Finland: ridesharing and timebanking.

Design/methodology/approach

Through qualitative data, the paper looks into moments of negotiation where economic moralities of self-organised alternative economies are explicitly debated. The main research data consists of social media conversations, supplemented by a member survey for the participants of the studied timebank. The data are analysed through theory-guided qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The analysis shows that the moments of negotiation within alternative economies should not be understood as simple collisions of mutually exclusive ideas, but rather as complex processes of balancing between overlapping and partly incommensurable economic moralities. While self-organised alternative economies might appear as functionally uniform at the level of their everyday operations, they still provide considerable leeway for different conceptions of the underlying normative commitments.

Originality/value

To date, there is little qualitative research on how the participants of self-organised alternative economies reflect the purpose and ethics of these practices. This study contributes to the body of diverse economies research by analysing novel case studies in the Finnish context. Through empirical analysis, this paper also provides a theoretical framework of how the different economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies can be mapped.
How and when Islamic work ethic (IWE) leads to employee promotive and prohibitive voice? The interplay of employee moral identity and perceived voice opportunity
Authors: Hameed Imran , Bhatti Zeeshan Ahmed , Khan Muhammad Asif , Syed Sumaiya
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine the moderated-mediation effects of employees’ Islamic work ethic (IWE) on their promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors through the integrated frameworks of social identity theory and self-consistency theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Using two-source data collection from employees and supervisors, data were collected from 217 participants working in various companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After initial data screening, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test for the factorial validity of the used measures with AMOS. The hypothesized relationships were tested in the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Findings

The results of this study supported the integration of social identity theory with self-consistency theory in explaining the indirect effects of employees’ IWE on their promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors through the mediation of moral identity. Furthermore, this study also indicated that the indirect effect was conditional on the employees’ perceptions of perceived voice opportunity, which significantly moderated the relationship between their moral identity and their prohibitive voice. However, no such effect was recorded for promotive voice.

Originality/value

This study is the first that explains how and when employees’ IWE leads them to exhibit promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors through the mediation of moral identity and the moderation of perceived voice opportunity. Thus, this study contributes to the IWE, moral identity and employee voice literature by addressing questions with useful theoretical and managerial implications for employees’ promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors in the workplace.
Social network technology (SNT) as a tool and a social actor: from self-verification to SNT use
Authors: Min Jinyoung , Yoo Youngjin , Hah Hyeyoung , Lee Heeseok
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Rather than viewing social network technology (SNT) as a mere tool to access a networked audience, we emphasize its role as both a means and a social actor to help verify people’s self-images in an online social context.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon self-verification theory, this study investigates a mechanism of how users are willing to use SNTs continuously through the cognitive and affective reactions on two different SNTs. Structural equation modeling was used via data collected from 320 Facebook and 313 Twitter users.

Findings

Our results demonstrated that Facebook users regard it only as a useful tool for presenting self-images, while Twitter users are likely to feel an emotional attachment to technology as a social actor when ideal self-verification is gained, and that different types of SNTs create differential contexts for self-verification.

Research limitations/implications

This study suggests a new lens to understand SNT’s role as a social actor in the self-verification process, further identifying the SNT context in which SNT takes different roles.

Practical implications

In a certain SNT usage context, users are attached to SNTs, suggesting SNT providers consider features that enable SNT users to fulfill their own self-verification motives.

Originality/value

This study explores the roles of SNTs from a self-verification perspective. Our conceptualization of technology as a self-verifying social actor can further extend existing discussions on the role of SNT in response to self-verifying needs, while also promoting the continued use of SNTs in the future.
Effect of marketing messages and consumer engagement on economic performance: evidence from Weibo
Authors: Chen Jia , Kou Gang , Peng Yi , Chao Xiangrui , Xiao Feng , Alsaadi Fawaz E.
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Social media commerce provides a convenient way for users to share information and interact with each other. Few studies, however, have examined the effect of marketing messages and consumer engagement behaviors on the economic performance of marketing. This study, therefore, explored the economic performance of social media in terms of marketing messages and consumer engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Using ordinary least squares regression and data collected from Weibo and Maoyan, this study analyzed the effects among marketing messages, consumer engagement and movie ticket sales.

Findings

The results indicated that marketing messages on Weibo had a positive effect on box office revenues, while consumer engagement behavior (whether personal or interactive) did not affect box office revenues. The results suggested that marketing messages on social media have more salient effects for predicting economic performance than consumer engagement behaviors.

Originality/value

This study underscores the importance of social media in consumer purchasing behavior. The findings also extend the literature related to commerce and product message design on social media platforms.
Acquaintances or friends? Exploring the effects of contracts, trust and ethical level on opportunism in manufacturer-distributor relationships
Authors: Miller Richard J. , Munoz Laura , Mallin Michael
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine how contractual mechanisms, trust and ethical levels impact opportunism in marketing channel relationships between manufacturers and distributors. Because the type of interactions, short-term or transaction-based vs long-term or relation-based, may also affect the level of opportunism, the study includes two scenarios to assess the impact of interaction type.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 145 distributors were collected with 69 being transaction-based and 75 being relation-based interactions.

Findings

The sole use for transaction-based and relation-based interactions is not a significant deterrent for opportunistic behavior by a distributor. Ethical level is negatively related to opportunism in transaction-based interactions, perhaps because of calculative commitment. Trust positively moderates the relationship between contractual enforcement and opportunism in transaction-based interactions. Under relation-based interactions, the opposite occurs as trust reduces contractual enforcement efforts, and thus, opportunism is reduced as well. Ethical level negatively moderates the relationship between contractual enforcement and opportunism in transactional and relational based interactions.

Originality/value

Researchers have called for a more holistic approach to better understand phenomena. This study addressed that call by being the first to include contracts, trust, ethical level and opportunism within the context of the transaction and relation-based interactions between a manufacturer and a distributor. Contractual enforcement is not a significant deterrent of opportunism for transactional or relational interactions. Trust is negatively related to opportunism only in transaction-based interactions; perhaps, the threshold for acting opportunistically may be lower because of the short-term nature of the interaction. The ethical level is negatively related to opportunism in transaction and relational interactions.
An on-campus university student accommodation model
Authors: Simpeh Fredrick , Shakantu Winston
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that can be used as a guide for the provision, adaptation and management of on-campus student accommodation spaces and services.

Design/methodology/approach

A phenomenological research strategy was used for the study. Qualitative data were collected by means of focus group discussions (FGDs) and observations. A total of ten FGDs were conducted. The student accommodations were observed to augment the information gathered through the FGDs. The data was analysed thematically.

Findings

The study found that students perceived some spaces and services as essential, whereas others were perceived as nonessential. Spaces including washroom, sleeping space, kitchen, laundry area and dry line, sick bay, computer area and study area, as well as services such as electricity, water, security, fire safety, internet, study furniture, health care, generators, electric fittings, ventilation, maintenance, pest control, refuse collection and cleaning were perceived as the most essential spaces and services required in student accommodations. It also became evident that apart from the spaces and services aforementioned, a student accommodation should also be provided with spaces and services that promote students’ well-being and leisure.

Practical implications

The model can be used as a guide by estate, facility, maintenance and hostel managers to effectively manage on-campus university student accommodation spaces and services. Moreover, the model can assist to ensure that all spaces and services perceived as essential are provided when designing, constructing or upgrading student accommodations.

Originality/value

Although several studies have been conducted on student accommodations, studies that mainly focused on identifying and prioritising the spaces and services required in student accommodations is lacking.
Corporate impact of carbon disclosures: a nonlinear empirical approach
Authors: Mora Rodríguez Maria , Flores Muñoz Francisco , Valentinetti Diego
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of recent developments in corporate reporting, specifically from the carbon disclosure project (CDP) environment, in the evolution of European post-crisis financial markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretical and instrumental advancements from nonlinear dynamics have been applied to the analysis of market behaviour and the online presence or reputation of major European listed banks.

Findings

The application of a nonlinear statistical methodology (i.e. the autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average [ARFIMA] estimation model) demonstrates the presence of a long history of collected data, thus indicating a certain degree of predictability in the time series. Also, this study confirms the existence of structural breakpoints, specifically the impact of the CDP reporting in both stock prices and online search trends of the sampled companies for certain periods.

Research limitations/implications

This study introduces new methodological perspectives in corporate reporting studies, as the application of nonlinear techniques can be more effective in capturing corporate transparency issues. A limitation to overcome is to explore whether the impact of reporting is different due to the specific reporting behaviour each company adopts.

Practical implications

The “breakpoint” concept should enlighten the importance to firms of providing more information in specific moments, which can impact on both traditional (i.e. stock prices) and modern (i.e. online popularity) performance metrics. Additionally, it should be taken into account by stakeholders, when analysing the accountability of firms to improve their decision-making processes and policymakers, for monitoring and contrasting speculative and insider trading activities.

Social implications

Online search trends represent a new public attitude to how society “measures” the effectiveness of firms’ disclosure behaviours.

Originality/value

Combining ARFIMA with structural break techniques can be regarded as a relevant and complementary addition to classic “market reaction” or “value relevance” techniques.
Sustainable human resource management: a systematic review of a developing field
Authors: Anlesinya Alex , Susomrith Pattanee
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to systematically review sustainable human resource management (HRM) research with the aim of establishing its research themes, methods and contextual focus to develop a better understanding of the state of the field and the gaps in the research, as well as to propose a future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a systematic literature review method that involves the use of 122 studies from six reputable databases covering January 2003 to March 2020.

Findings

There is an over-concentration on the ecological perspective of sustainable HRM and managers dominate the examined population. Moreover, there are geographical imbalances in sustainable HRM research. More so, the idea of bundling sustainable HRM practices together has received scanty research attention relative to the individual sustainable HRM best practices. Consequently, from a strategic HRM perspective, the authors highlight various ways to bundle sustainable HRM practices together. Also, the authors suggest that the ability-motivation-opportunity enhancing (AMO) theory’s perspective provides particularly useful means for this investigation. Furthermore, the findings suggest that sustainable HRM can influence organisations to become more competitive and effective in their quests to ensure economic prosperity, social well-being and ecological outcomes for their stakeholders.

Practical implications

The evidence reveals that there are significant gaps in the literature on the topic and confirms that the field is still at its developmental stage. Hence, there is a need for more rigorous research on the topic to help develop a better understanding of this new field.

Originality/value

This study contributes by providing the first comprehensive review of sustainable HRM themes, methods and contextual focus and by proposing future research agenda. It, therefore, offers a valuable point of departure for those moving into the sustainable HRM domain, as well as valuable insights for those already working in this space.
Development of a decision support system for assessing the supply chain risk mitigation strategies: an application in Indian petroleum supply chain
Authors: Tarei Pradeep Kumar , Thakkar Jitesh J. , Nag Barnali
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision support system (DSS) to assist supply chain (SC) risk managers to select a suitablerisk management(RM) strategy and expedite the implementation of corresponding RM enablers. The relationship between RM strategies and RM enablers is explored by identifying the underlying factors between them, which is further used to build the DSS.

Design/methodology/approach

The DSS is built by integrating heterogeneous techniques. Asystematic reviewapproach is employed to explore bothproactiveandreactiveRM enablers, and they are further mapped to various RM strategies by using correspondence analysis(CA). Anin-depth interviewis conducted to develop the rules for constructing the decision system. A rule-basedfuzzy inference system(FIS) is utilized to counteract the uncertainty involved in the decision variables. The efficacy of the proposed DSS is demonstrated by considering two conjectural scenarios in the case of Indian petroleum SC (IPSC).

Findings

The results reveal three primary underlying factors between the risk mitigation strategies viz. SC managers'preparednessto face risk, organization'sresource capabilityto deal with risk and thesophistication of the implementationof the RM enablers; with explained variances of 37%, 29% and 22%, respectively.Risk avoidancestrategy comprises of RM enablers such assupplier evaluation, technology adaption, information security,etc. Whereas, therisk-sharingstrategy includesrevenue sharing, insurance, collaboration, public-private-partnership, etc.as essential RM enablers. The DSS recommendsrisk-mitigationandrisk-sharingas effective RM strategies for the IPSC under the considered scenarios.

Research limitations/implications

This paper develops a decision support framework for recommending an effective risk mitigation strategy and outranking the corresponding enablers. The study explicitly focuses on the risk mitigation step of the supply chain risk management (SCRM) process. Pre- and post-risk mitigation steps of the SCRM process, such as risk assessment and risk monitoring are beyond the scope of this research.

Originality/value

The operational procedure of the proposed DSS is explained by considering a real-life case of petroleum SC in the Indian scenario. The unique contributions of this study are presented astheoretical implicationsandmanagerial propositionsin the context of a developing country.
You are a brand: social media managers’ personal branding and “the future audience”
Authors: Jacobson Jenna
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Social media management is an emerging profession that is growing as companies increasingly adopt social media. The purpose of this paper is to analyze social media managers’ personal branding.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth qualitative data is drawn from 20 semi-structured interviews with social media managers and supported by three years of orienting fieldwork in Toronto, Canada.

Findings

Social media managers are responsible for managing and executing organizations’ brands and presence on social media and digital platforms. As lead users of social media, social media managers provide critical insight into the emerging practices of personal branding on social media. “The future audience” is introduced to describe how individuals project a curated brand for all future unknown and unanticipated audiences, which emphasizes a professional identity. Due to workplace uncertainty, social media managers embody the mentality of being “always-on-the-job-market”, which is a driver for personal branding in their attempt to gain or maintain employment.

Originality/value

While personal branding is largely discussed by industry professionals, there is a need for empirical research on personal branding that examines how various employee groups experience personal branding. This research fills this gap by analyzing how people working in social media brand their identity and how their personal branding is used to market themselves to gain and maintain employment. The development of “the future audience” and “always-on-the-job-market” can be used to understand other professions and experiences of personal branding.
Self-presentation and interactivity: luxury branding on social media
Authors: Wang Ye , Chen Huan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the influence of different self-presentation strategies (cultural, personal and informational posts) and interactivity on luxury brands’ social media advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

Three pre-tests and a main experiment collected responses from 459 Chinese participants in total.

Findings

Cultural posts significantly influenced brand attitudes, interest and purchase intention, and the effects were mediated by perceived reinforcement of the brand’s social media account. Informational posts added to perceived informativeness of the brand’s social media account, but were more likely to trigger a perception that the brand was conservative and distancing itself from consumers. Interactivity increased perceived closeness and reduced perceived inactiveness and conservativeness of the brand’s social media account and subsequently improved brand attitudes. Perception of brand’s social media accountfully mediated the effects of self-presentation strategies and interactivity on brand attitudes, interest and purchase intention.

Research limitations/implications

Self-presentation transfers desirable brand associations to luxury brands, reinforces brand image, and subsequently influences responses to luxury brands. Interactivity largely influences relational perceptions and brand attitudes.

Practical implications

Curating content about brand heritage and culture creates a social media self-presentation that is effective and influential on consumers. Brand and product information satisfies informational needs. Interactivity maintains customer relationship.

Originality/value

A theoretical model of luxury brands’ advertising was generated from the findings.
How blockchain technology can monetize new music ventures: an examination of new business models
Authors: Owen Robyn , O'Dair Marcus
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how blockchain technology is disrupting business models for new venture finance.

Design/methodology/approach

The role of blockchain technology in the evolution of new business models to monetize the creative economy is explored by means of a case study approach. The focus is on the recorded music industry, which is in the vanguard of new forms of intermediation and financialization. There is a particular focus on emerging artists.

Findings

This paper provides novel case study insights and concludes by considering how further research can contribute to building a theory of technology-driven business models which apply to the development, on the one hand, of new forms of financial intermediaries, more correctly referred to as “infomediaries,” and on the other hand, to new forms of direct monetization by artists.

Originality/value

This paper provides early insight into the emerging potential applications of blockchain technologies to streamline music industry business service models and improve finance streams for new artists. The findings have far-reaching implications across the creative sector.
Building positive resilience through vulnerability analysis
Authors: Kubacki Krzysztof , Siemieniako Dariusz , Brennan Linda
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrative framework for vulnerability analysis in social marketing systems by identifying, investigating and problematising the relationships among several interrelated concepts, including power, power asymmetry, vulnerability and resilience, in the context of social marketing systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper synthesising literature from social marketing, sociology and marketing management.

Findings

The main outcome of the discussion is a proposed integrative framework for vulnerability analysis. The framework identifies the main groups of stakeholders within a social marketing system and the bases for their power and consequential power asymmetries. It focusses on the types and states of vulnerability to identify the distinct characteristics of the social conditions of vulnerability for micro-level system actors. It leads to building positive resilience through efforts aiming to change the power asymmetries at the downstream, midstream and upstream levels.

Originality/value

The integrative framework for vulnerability analysis answers the call from Wood (2019) for the development of practical approaches to better understand resilience-building approaches in social marketing programmes. The framework provides reconciliation for diverse dimensions of vulnerability as a natural characteristic of all social marketing systems and as a universal, constant and inherent social condition.
Utopian and dystopian ideological systems and unintended and adverse consequences
Authors: Usó Doménech José Luis , Nescolarde-Selva Josué Antonio , Lloret-Climent Miguel , Alonso Kristian , Gash Hugh
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate mathematically the impossibility of achieving a utopian society. Demonstrate that any attempt to correct deviations from a hypothetical trajectory whose ultimate goal is the utopia, increasingly demands more work, including measures that lead to terror, which may even be absolute, leading to the horrible paradox that in seeking paradise hell is constructed.

Design/methodology/approach

Scientific tools that the authors have used are: the theory of the system linkage, alysidal algebra, kinematic theory and vector analysis.

Findings

Myths are the substrate of some complex systems of beliefs and utopia is its ultimate goal. The use of the combination of the theory of trajectories, belonging to the alysidal algebra, the theorem of unintended effects and kinematics theory provides an approximation to deviations suffering utopian ideological currents and their corrections.

Originality/value

This paper is a continuation of other previous papers developing the theory of complex societies.
Tax increment financing and major league venues
Authors: Sroka Robert
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This article intends to shine a light on venue-related tax increment financing (TIF) through the first comprehensive inventory of its use at the major league level.

Design/methodology/approach

For each 2018 venue in the five North American major leagues, data was collected on TIF contributions to direct venue capital costs as well as to projects using TIF to enable real estate development ancillary to a venue. Neighborhoods surrounding a venue were also assessed for the presence of a TIF district. With both the direct and ancillary elements, data was collected from government, industry, academic, mapping and media sources. A review of this data set and findings are followed by a discussion of implications and directions for future work.

Findings

Over one-third of the TIF eligible permanent stadiums and arenas studied in the five major leagues have a direct or strong TIF connection. Direct TIF contributions to sports venues, as well as TIF use intended to generate real estate development around these venues, are most frequent and financially significant in arenas and soccer-specific stadiums. Additionally, arena and stadium projects using TIF often accompany ancillary real estate development.

Originality/value

A primary purpose of this article is to provide a previously missing general reference resource to governments and citizens of jurisdictions considering facility TIF use on the scope, nature, extent and identity of TIF projects related to major league sports venues. More generally, the inventory and assessment of TIF use in professional sports venues offered by this article sets the stage for future research on associative relationships between TIF contributions and facility finance outcomes as well as the normative value of venue-related TIF.
Experimental evidence of multiple ecosystem services and disservices provided by ecological intensification in Mediterranean agro‐ecosystems
Authors: Segre Hila , Segoli Michal , Carmel Yohay , Shwartz Assaf
Published: July 2020

Intensifying agricultural production in sustainable ways is pivotal to increasing food production while reducing environmental impacts. Ecological intensification is based on managing organisms that provide services underlying crop production to simultaneously intensify agricultural production and increase biodiversity. However, few studies address the interactions and trade‐offs between biodiversity, multiple ecosystem services and crop production.

We experimentally quantified the effect of uncultivated field margins, a prominent practice of ecological intensification, on agricultural production, biodiversity, as well as on multiple ecosystem services and disservices, in an intensive Mediterranean agro‐ecosystem. We used a split‐plot design and sampled butterflies, rodent and arthropod pests, arthropod natural enemies (both parasitoids and predators), weeds, damage to crop and crop yield in different distances into the field in 3 tomato and 11 wheat crops along the growing season.

Field margins increased natural enemy densities, reduced pest‐damage to crop and consequently increased yield in tomato crops. Notably, we found that pest control by one predator species was dominant in the field centre, whereas parasitoid natural enemies were confined to the field edges. Pest control was more prominent in the late crop‐stage compared to early season sampling and field margins increased weed control in tomato crops by reducing weed cover.

Field margins increased natural enemy densities in wheat at the beginning of the season, but effects on arthropod pests were inconsistent. Field margins slightly increased weed cover, but had no impact on rodent densities and total yield.

Butterfly abundance, but not richness, was positively affected by vegetated field margins.

Synthesis and applications. Promoting ecological intensification requires a holistic approach that considers the complex relationships among ecological and economic aspects of agro‐ecosystems. We found that ecologically intensified field margins provided pest and weed control in the highly intensive tomato crop, yet they increased weed cover in wheat, which could potentially restrict yields at the field scale. Farmers' guidelines should therefore consider the interactive effects of multiple services on a variety of crops. Moreover, biodiversity components that do not provide crop production services should be independently targeted (e.g. by sowing plants that provide food resources).
Genotypic diversity weakens competition within, but not between, plant species
Authors: Noto Akana E. , Hughes A. Randall
Published: July 2020

Intraspecific diversity can affect the ecological function of communities. Because community function is the outcome of species interactions, understanding how intraspecific diversity affects species interactions may shed light on the mechanism by which intraspecific diversity affects communities. Competition among and within plant species may be particularly important, as the relative strengths of these interactions can influence species coexistence and community stability.

We established a field experiment in a New England salt marsh to determine how plant intraspecific diversity affects both intra‐ and interspecific competition. Focal plants of two species (Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens) were planted with S. alterniflora neighbours that were either genotypically identical to one another (monoculture) or genotypically distinct (polyculture).

After two growing seasons, S. alterniflora performance was enhanced in the presence of polyculture conspecific neighbours compared to monoculture neighbours, whereas S. patens was not strongly affected by diversity of its S. alterniflora neighbours. This suggests that intraspecific competition was weakened by intraspecific diversity, potentially even shifting to facilitation, but we did not find strong evidence of intraspecific diversity impacting interspecific competition. By weakening competition within species, intraspecific diversity may promote coexistence of genotypes within that species.

Synthesis. The community‐level effects of intraspecific diversity may be mediated in part by its effect on intraspecific competition/facilitation. Furthermore, stronger intraspecific competition and decreased coexistence resulting from reduced diversity may exacerbate ongoing declines in biodiversity in response to global change.
Osmotic stress induces gut microbiota community shift in fish
Authors: Lai Keng Po , Lin Xiao , Tam Nathan , Ho Jeff Cheuk Hin , Wong Marty Kwok‐Shing , Gu Jie , Chan Ting Fung , Tse William Ka Fai
Published: July 2020

Alteration of the gut microbiota plays an important role in animal health and metabolic diseases. However, little is known with respect to the influence of environmental osmolality on the gut microbial community. The aim of the current study was to determine whether the reduction in salinity affects the gut microbiota and identify its potential role in salinity acclimation. Using Oryzias melastigma as a model organism to perform progressive hypotonic transfer experiments, we evaluated three conditions: seawater control (SW), SW to 50% sea water transfer (SFW) and SW to SFW to freshwater transfer (FW). Our results showed that the SFW and FW transfer groups contained higher operational taxonomic unit microbiota diversities. The dominant bacteria in all conditions constituted the phylum Proteobacteria, with the majority in the SW and SFW transfer gut comprising Vibrio at the genus level, whereas this population was replaced by Pseudomonas in the FW transfer gut. Furthermore, our data revealed that the FW transfer gut microbiota exhibited a reduced renin–angiotensin system, which is important in SW acclimation. In addition, induced detoxification and immune mechanisms were found in the FW transfer gut microbiota. The shift of the bacteria community in different osmolality environments indicated possible roles of bacteria in facilitating host acclimation.
The influence of learning curve of robot‐assisted laparoscopy on oncological outcomes in early‐stage cervical cancer: an observational cohort study
Authors: Baeten IGT , Hoogendam JP , Schreuder HWR , Jürgenliemk‐Schulz IM , Verheijen RHM , Zweemer RP , Gerestein CG
Published: July 2020

Objective

To investigate the learning curve of robot‐assisted laparoscopy in early‐stage cervical cancer and quantify impact on oncological outcomes.

Design

Observational cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary referral centre with one surgical team.

Population

All women with early‐stage cervical cancer treated consecutively with robot‐assisted laparoscopy between 2007 and 2017.

Methods

With multivariate risk‐adjusted cumulative sum analysis (RA‐CUSUM), we assessed the learning curve of robot‐assisted laparoscopy of a single surgical team based on cervical cancer recurrence. Subsequently, a survival analysis was conducted comparing oncological outcomes of women treated during different phases of the learning curve.

Main outcome measures

Surgical proficiency based on recurrence, survival rates in the different learning phases.

Results

One hundred and sixty‐five women with cervical cancer underwent robot‐assisted laparoscopy, with a median follow up of 57 months (range 3–132 months). The RA‐CUSUM analysis demonstrated two phases of the learning curve: a learning phase of 61 procedures (group 1) and an experienced phase representing the 104 procedures thereafter (group 2). The 5‐year disease‐free survival was 80.2% in group 1 and 91.1% in group 2 (P = 0.040). Both the 5‐year disease‐specific survival and overall survival significantly increased after the learning phase.

Conclusion

The learning phase of robot‐assisted laparoscopy in early‐stage cervical cancer in this institutional cohort is at least 61 procedures, with higher survival rates in the women treated thereafter. The learning curve of robot‐assisted laparoscopy affects oncological outcomes and warrants more attention in the design of future studies.

Tweetable abstract

The learning curve of robot‐assisted laparoscopy in early‐stage cervical cancer affects oncological outcomes and warrants more attention.
High‐quality Digital 3D Reconstruction of Microscopic Findings in Forensic Pathology: The Terminal Pathway of a Heart Stab Wound*
Authors: Porzionato Andrea , Guidolin Diego , Emmi Aron , Boscolo‐Berto Rafael , Sarasin Gloria , Rambaldo Anna , Macchi Veronica , De Caro Raffaele
Published: July 2020

High‐quality digital three‐dimensional (3D) reconstructions of microscopic findings have been used in anatomical and histopathologic research, but their use in forensic pathology may also be of interest. This paper presents an application of these methods to better characterize the pathway of a stab wound of the anterior surface of the heart in a case of suicide. A portion of the heart wall including the stab wound was serially sectioned for microscopic analysis along the full extent of the wound. Histologic sections were digitally acquired, and a 3D reconstruction was created with ImageJ software for 3D computer graphics. This showed a full‐thickness wound path extending to the endocardial surface of the left ventricle, curvilinear in appearance. After correction for shrinkage, 3D reconstruction allowed estimation of the dimensions of the myocardial injury and comparison of the appearance of the wound with the suspected knife used. The curvilinear appearance was considered to reflect injury during myocardial contraction. Complete microscopic sectioning and 3D reconstruction may allow virtual sectioning through various orientations and also provide useful forensic information for selected injuries.
Rating shopping: evidence from the Chinese corporate debt security market
Authors: Chang Zhang , Hu Xiaolu , Pan Zheyao , Shi Jing
Published: July 2020

We provide the first direct evidence on how issuers choose a credit rating agency (CRA). Using rating data from a leading CRA in China, we find that although in most cases the issuers publish more favourable ratings, in some cases issuers just select the ratings provided by CRAs they have business relationships with, especially when the more favourable ratings are above issuers’ prior ratings. Our further analysis suggests that this phenomenon is driven by the switching cost arising from the issuer being considered as a rating shopper when it obtains an upgrade from a CRA without a business relationship.
Land cover change of arid environment in Tunisia based on analysis of Landsat images
Authors: Henchiri Malak , Zhang Sha , Essifi Bouajila , Ouessar Mohamed , Bai Yun , Jiahua Zhang
Published: July 2020

The impact of Land use/land cover (LULC) change was assessed through monitoring the distribution of ecological indicators and tracking the aeolian deposits, which provides valuable information on desertification and climate change in Tunisian arid regions. This study was conducted in Oum Zessar area, in southeastern Tunisia. Both visual interpretation and automated classification approach were developed to extract sand features using Landsat images for 2000, 2008 and 2014. The automated classification includes a decision tree classifier (DT) and an unsupervised classification applied to the principal components extracted from Knepper ratios composite. The validation of the classification methods showed that the DT had an overall accuracy over 84%. The results of the change detection have shown an increase in the classes of Agriculture behind tabia by 10.68%, the rangelands and croplands by 24.37% and the mountain rangelands by 14.93%, and a decrease in the classes of Agriculture behind jessour by 33.65%, sand encroachments by 12.93% and halophyte rangelands by 3.4%, respectively. These resulting maps seem to be the suitable decision‐support tools for management of land use in arid regions of Tunisia, in particular, for land degradation assessment and water and soil conservation.
Proliferation does not contribute to murine models of renin cell recruitment
Authors: Guessoum Omar , Zainab Momna , Sequeira‐Lopez Maria Luisa S. , Gomez R. Ariel
Published: July 2020

Aim

Renin cells are essential for regulation of blood pressure and fluid‐electrolyte homeostasis. During homeostatic threat, the number of renin cells in the kidney increases, a process termed as recruitment. It has been proposed that recruitment occurs by proliferation, yet no systematic studies have been performed. We sought to determine the extent to which proliferation contributes to the recruitment process.

Methods

Mice were subjected to recruitment before analysing the renin cells’ cell cycle. For acute threats, we subjected SV129 and C57Bl6 mice to a low sodium diet plus captopril. Tissue sections from treated mice were co‐stained for proliferation markers (Ki67, PCNA, pH3 and BrdU) and renin. Chronic recruitment was studied in deletion models of aldosterone synthase and angiotensinogen through co‐immunostaining and counting mitotic figures in periodic acid‐Schiff‐stained sections. Finally, RNA‐seq of renin cells isolated from recruited mice was performed to study mitotic signature.

Results

Mice subjected to low salt and captopril displayed increases in renin cell number (312 ± 40 in controls to 692 ± 85 in recruited animals, P<.0001), 10‐fold increases in renin mRNA and fourfold increases in circulating renin. Co‐staining these kidney sections for proliferation markers revealed negligible proliferation of renin cells (<2%), indistinguishable from control animals. Similarly, chronic models of recruitment—aldosterone synthase KO and angiotensinogen KO—had negligible proliferation. Additionally, the transcriptome of recruited renin cells revealed overall downregulation of mitotic pathways when compared to proliferative cell lines.

Conclusion

Acute and chronic physiological threats to homeostasis produced a distinct increase in renin‐synthesizing cells, but we found no evidence to suggest the involvement of proliferation.
A Bayesian hierarchical model for characterizing the diffusion of new antipsychotic drugs
Authors: Gu Chenyang , Huskamp Haiden , Donohue Julie , Normand Sharon‐Lise
Published: July 2020

New prescription medications are a primary driver of spending growth in the United States. For patients with severe mental illnesses, second‐generation antipsychotic (SGA) medications feature prominently. However, many SGAs are costly, particularly before generic entry, and some may increase the risk of diabetes. Because physicians play a prominent role in new prescription adoption, understanding their prescribing behaviors is policy‐relevant. Several features of prescription data, such as different antipsychotic choice sets over time, variable physician prescription volumes, and correlation among drug choices within physicians, complicate inferences. We propose a multivariate Bayesian hierarchical model with piecewise random effects to characterize the diffusion of new antipsychotic drugs. This model captures the complex prescriber‐specific relationships among the different diffusion processes and takes advantage of the Bayesian paradigm to quantify uncertainty for all parameters straightforwardly. To evaluate the prescribing patterns for each physician, we propose various indices to identify early new SGA adopters. A sample of nearly 17,000 US physicians whose antipsychotic drug prescribing information was collected between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2007 illustrates the methods. Determinants of high prescription rates and adoption speeds of new SGAs included physician sex, age, hospital affiliation, physician specialty, and office location. Large within‐ and between‐provider variations in prescribing patterns of new SGAs were identified. Early adopters for one drug were not early adopters for another drug.